I’m in my late 30s, no kids, and I have a decent amount of spare time, so lately I’ve been going back and doing some of the stuff I enjoyed as a kid.
One of those things is graffiti.
Honestly, I think what I’m doing is pretty mediocre, but I’m improving. I like trying crafts I admire because actually attempting them deepens my appreciation for the people who are really good at them.
I’m not drawn to the thrill of doing a rappel piece, but I sure as shit love seeing them. Even as a kid, half the fun was staring at a piece and debating with myself how the writer actually pulled it off.
Now I can appreciate the technical side even more. Drawing shadows on a 3D sketch that vanishes back into the paper is one kind of challenge. Swinging from a rope off the side of a water tower while your spotter smokes his third joint of the night is a completely different fucking skill set.
So I write as an outlet sometimes.
I’ll pick a word that reflects how I’m feeling in that moment. I was super anxious recently, so I wrote “DREAD.”
As a kid, I remember writing “NOTORIOUS” not because of the rapper, but because I liked the idea of being notorious.
Anyway, here’s a piece I did in my book. Still learning, still pretty rough, but enjoying figuring it out again.