Wednesday, April 8, 2009

"Stepping Out..."

...of my artistic comfort zone
in an attempt to "urbanize" my art focus a bit.
It is also one of my 2009 art goals. :)
Well...
this little "piece" was left in the back seat of our car by an
auto tech who was working on it.
We didn't notice the gun
until we were clear across the valley at a shopping mall
and went to place our purchases
on the back seat.
(Here in Arizona car windows are darkly tinted
due to the intense sun...so seeing it
through the side windows
was next to impossible...obviously.)
Never even thought to look in the back seat
when the car was picked up...never even thought of that!
Sooooo...what the HECK
was a gun doing in our back seat in the first place???
Well...
we would soon find out...after a few phone calls.
And, of course, in the meantime
before we returned it...I felt it just had to be drawn.
However...
midway through my drawing,
my imagination got the better of me,
and
I felt compelled to google the gun.
I launched myself into "CSI trainee mode"...and found out that
this particular gun was luckily "only" a pellet gun
(and that the bag of white "pill like things" were not drugs, but pellets.)
The very surreal part of this though
was that the gun was
the same exact model style and specs
of the Walther P99 semi automatic pistol used by military
and law enforcement around the world.
On top of that, I found that
Walther also created several limited editions of the P99
including the MI-6 (James Bond)
a marketing tie-in with the new James Bond movies! Wowza!
So now...
my little artistic journey "into the urban jungle"
had instantly, by the click of a mouse,
became one that was
interlaced with espionage and
international intrigue.
My pen now hatched over my sketchbook pages
with a new energy and sense of adventure.
How artistically exhilarating!
And...yes,
to make a long story short...
heads rolled at the dealership and apologies were profuse.

"Move out of your comfort zone.
You can only grow if you are willing to feel
awkward and uncomfortable
when
you try something new."
~
Brian Tracy

30 comments:

Marva Plummer-Bruno said...

Okay, when I first saw this I thought, what the heck? It's a really good sketch! What an interesting story! Glad it wasn't a real loaded gun.

spinyurchin said...

Holy Smokes!

Sherry Pierce Thurner said...

Who knew? This is an amazing story.

Alex said...

The story is great ^^ Yeah, when I first saw it the sketch "Ah.. A Walther P99!" I didn't see the BB pellets or the orange tip of the gun barrel... and then I saw that "Made in Taiwan" stamping instead of Germany, because Walther IS German :)

It's just so wonderfully done!

Teri and her Stylish Adventure Cats said...

wow...interesting story and nice to step out of line a bit too...

Lisa Adams Reed said...

You crack me up, Peg! Great story and I am glad you got to sketch something that was such a departure for you. Good job...but I must say, I prefer most of your subject matter more than this!! I think you should add some zentangles to it or vines coming out of the barrel! Lisa

Julie said...

What a day!!!!! I was shocked to see you draw a gun, but wow...what a story!!! Heavens!

Linda T said...

Hilarious story! I knew it was an airsoft gun b/c of the bag of pellets--my sons have several of these toys... Certainly is a different subject for you, but expertly drawn. What an adventure for your pen!

Aveen said...

Goodness that must have been a bit of a shock, you don't expect to see a gun sitting on the back seat of your car! I love the drawing.

Jules said...

Oh Gosh! I'd have been completely gobsmacked to turn around and see thatttt!!!!!!!!

Great drawing though!

Anita Davies said...

Margaret my Harry would give his right arm for that little Bond beauty! He has a few replicas himself to go with his Bond tuxedos'. LOL!
Great drawing!

Caroline said...

I was wondering what made you think of sketching this gun - great job, by the way!!! What a story to go with it too!!

Lisa at Greenbow said...

I would find this a very unsettling experience especially if it was the real thing. What was that person thinking??

Guns don't bother me per say. I come from a "hunting" and "quick draw" competetors family. But to have somenone I don't know leave a piece in my vehicle. I wouldn't like it.

A great sketch though. Something very unusual.

Nina Johansson said...

Wow, what a story! It certainly was a surprise to see a gun at your blog! Beautiful drawing, and hilarious story behind it.

FitFoodieMegha said...

Beautiful drawing with nice story...Well done...:) BTW I have started a new blog dedicated to my sketch work — Art on Sketchbook

Shirley said...

Wow! Scarey story, even for someone who lives in the biggest urban environment. I would have been afraid to handle it to position it for drawing.

Anonymous said...

Love your sense of adventure and danger! And love the story and the drawing!

RH Carpenter said...

The drawing is well done - and it definitely drew me into your blog today to see what you were doing over here!! So glad there was not a curious child in the backseat who decided to try this thing out - and what in the world was the tech doing just sitting it in your backseat like that? Well, you are safe, no one injured, just a curiosity from you that was fun to share :)

Stacey D said...

Wow! That is a crazy story! Regardless of how it got there - what in the world was someone doing with it at a car dealership/auto shop?

Great drawing - I love your stuff!

Kate (Cathy Johnson) said...

Great job! Guns don't bother me, either, as my dad was a great sportsman and gave me my first pellet gun at 7 years old. Target shooting is fun, like any other skill!

But it WOULD unnerve me to suddenly find a strange one in the back seat of my car!! I'll bet the auto tech DID get reamed!

How cool that you researched it and drew it...

Teri said...

Oh my gosh, what a fantastic experience!!! I can imagine how the heads rolled at the garage.

This could only happen to you.

Adresses and recommendations coming later today.

sandy said...

Great sketch and quite an adventure finding this I bet!

john.p said...

Too much! Heck of a story and sketch. Finding that would have given me pause for thought, and like guns. Good thing you didn't call the cops and get the bomb squad out to your car to assess the questionable contraband.

Sandy said...

Annie get your gun!! And CSI is down a few investigators, they could use you!

soulbrush said...

i bet heads rolled, what a shock, i would've freaked! but an excellent srawing, i do prefer your cactuses though!!

seesue said...

That is one bizarre story you've presented with your excellent sketch.

studio lolo said...

Maybe you should be a police sketch artist! :P

I think my first instinct would have been to call the cops. I hate hate hate guns of all kinds.
I do love the sketch though!

3rdEyeMuse said...

excellent rendering and what an interesting tale.

Serena Lewis said...

Good grief! That's the last thing you'd expect to find on the back seat of your car. I enjoyed reading your well written post drawing us into your tale of adventure. Fantastic drawing too...a little too realistic for my liking. ;) Guns give me the heebie-jeebies...don't like them at all.

Jennifer Lawson said...

That's hilarious..the story, not the gun—yikes. I would have run as far away as possible and let someone else deal with it or draw it for that matter. Great drawing!