Cartoona - A Creature-Building GameA lot of you may not be aware that I have a lot going on in addition to creating playlists for Yahoo. Today, I thought I would share another part of my life. Namely, my painting, and a brand new board game that I've invented. This playlist features 16 songs that had the heaviest rotation as I worked on my new project called Cartoona, a creature-building, tile-laying board game. It's a view into the kind of music that helps me focus, and provides the vibe I need to be creative. I claim no responsibility if it does not work for you in the same way.
Cartoona did not start its life as most board games do. Traditionally, a game designer has an idea for a mechanic, or a set of mechanics that are built upon, and a theme is layered on top. More rarely, the theme comes first with mechanics developed to fit.
With Cartoona the art came first. So it's already odd man out.
I've been painting my whimsical creatures for over 20 years now, and it's this experience from which the game was born. Sure, I could probably theme it with zombies, or Cthulhu, or vampires, or dragons and have a built-in audience millions of times greater than fans of my paintings. But the idea came from my art, and so it's with my art that the project will live or die.
Sometime in 1993, I started creating odd creature paintings which garnered some attention, so I continued. This led to a lot of mural work in the Southeast along with a few sold out gallery shows, including one with the late, great Howard Finster. I became prolific, sometimes producing 50 paintings or more in week long creative spurts. I made a living on my art by selling it at reasonable prices and making up for it with volume.
Eventually my creatures became second nature to me. I could draw one without thinking about it, I just put together different body part shapes to create a brand new one every time. The possibilities became endless.
It became an obsession, but selling art is hard. And raising a family on the economic ups and downs of an artist's income leaves you with a constant feeling that you could slip through the cracks at any moment.
So I got a real job in technology.
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front-porchWhen I think of uniquely American imagery a lot of things come to mind. But the ultimate American image for me is a row of houses, all set behind small green patches of grass and white picket fences, and all with large front porches -- American flags hanging proudly from each home. It's a comforting ideal; the American dream. Neighbors sitting on the porch together watching the children play, telling stories, or maybe even picking some string instruments.
