I used to be green...

A loss of innocence.  

I grew up playing the Zelda series.  I have to imagine, Link did too.  At first, the killing is necessary.  You're fighting for your very survival; just trying to secure your place in the world.

But how many enemies were slain for a handful of rupees that would be wasted on your next magic potion fix?  Next thing you know, you're knee deep in the ichor of the fallen, numb to the consequences of your actions. The line between what is right and what is seemingly necessary is a thin one, and easily blurred.  

One day you'll wake up and realize who you are.

Sometimes to save a princess you have to kill a few bugs...

just don't be surprised when you end up with red on you.

Non Sequitur Monday

This is a Canadian llama who has been eating poison chicken.

He loves it.

The Rise and Fall of Sméagol

I started this one last Labor Day weekend.  My brother and I visited a friend in Chicago and in the sparse downtime, I did the pencils. It was originally a request from another friend who asked for some Tolkien content.  I let it sit because I wasn't really happy with how it was progressing. It just wasn't working...and I tend to avoid broken things like the plague. 

Today I inked and colored it.    

Why?  

Recently, I've been struggling with how I feel about the material world.  Learning to let things go and give to those who need it much more.  I'm not a rich man. Never have been.  But the longer I live, the more I realize just how lucky I am.  And how much responsibility that luck carries.  

As for the image itself, I wanted to catch the exact moment that Sméagol made the choice to become Gollum. Perched atop that precipice, knowing that what lay below was nothing but destruction...we've all been there and let ourselves fall.  It was a choice.  

It's always a choice.  

The things you own, end up owning you -Tyler Durden

Also, I drew a monkey: