Into The Dreamtime

I always have incredibly vivid dreams after eating junk such as Chinese food (last night's culprit), pizza or ice cream. I think it's the complex carbohydrates and sugars, but whatever the catalyst, it always makes for some incredibly detailed and drawn-out dreams.

I had a very long dream last night wherein I went to visit the studio of a local artist (a woman with long red hair who I've never seen, nor whose art style I've never encountered). In the dream I knew she had a low level of fame (New England/NY or so), but it was mostly underground and word-of-mouth. Which was a shame, because she was amazing. If she had been real, she could draw any comic book she chose, and sculpt her own toys based on her designs. Her dimly-lit barn studio (located somewhere in rural VT or NH) had a big table taking up the center of the room with many of her hardcover works in piles for sale alongside open sketchbooks, pastel works, and paintings of characters both her own and more famous (Fantastic Four, very early X-Men, etc...). I spent what felt like hours poring over all of her amazing artwork (yes, I dream in color), flipping through the pages of her many published art books, and turning her fine statues over and over in my hands. When I finally dragged myself away and reached for my wallet to buy a couple of the thicker hardcovers (with signed and numbered prints!), my wallet only had a few dollars in it. I was stammering an apology for why I couldn't buy anything when I woke up.

I was crestfallen!

Anyway, I come away from this dream feeling like I've been instructed to do a LOT more drawing. And not merely the inspired scribbles I do a for few minutes each day when I am reading (or during commercials), but full-on hour upon hour of honing my dusty skills. And also, to watch what I eat for supper, and how late at night I eat it!☺

Thanks to John Byrne (a lifelong influence) for the "how to" drawing! I actually bought the original comic off the stands back in the day...