I love Aviation (and Elvis)

Besides art and trying to find that significant other in my life (still looking), aviation consumes my free time. I watch aviation channels on YouTube, I collect aviation related art and aviation paraphernalia. I have a job in the aviation industry and of course I create aviation related art. So is this an interest or is this an obsession? I believe that it’s an interest, a consuming interest nonetheless, but not an obsession. I have an obsession (Elvis Presley), so I know the difference.

(c) 2019 by Michael Hopkins

                                                        

                                     (c) 2019 by Michael Hopkins

(c) 2019 by Michael Hopkins

It’s a blessing that I work in the aviation industry, it feeds my creative addiction. My job also serves as creative inspiration for my aviation related art. So it’s no coincidence, that when I first started working in the aviation related industry in 2011, I also created my webcomic, Missed Approach.

Looking back, it’s also no coincidence, that the fire in my soul (that helped me create Missed Approach, turned into a mere smolder, when I left the aviation industry and started bartending. While bartending, I was often asked, “why don’t you start a webcomic about bartending?”  Easy answer..
I loathed bartending. It was a job that paid the bills. One can also look back at the time and see that my artistic creativity diminished

Unfortunately for most artists, until they are financially successful in the chosen field, they must work a side gig (a real job) until their creative side can (hopefully) one day can pay the bills. It’s a fact of life. The key to not destroying and crushing your creativity, while you are working that side gig, is to find a job that you can enjoy and at the same time, ignites your creativity. The good news is that I realized this prior to stepping off the cliff last summer. As such, since I left bartending and got back into the aviation industry, my artistic creativity (and not to mention, my happiness) has flourished once again. So I guess there’s a lesson to be learned. One needs to find happiness for their creativity to prosper (i.e., if you're miserable in life, if will reflect in your creativity or lack of..). 

I’m sure there are exceptions. Scholars would say, the most notable exception was, Vincent van Gogh. History books have told us, that he was not a happy man when he created the greatest masterpieces of all time. That is the prevailing belief. I disagree. Through years of being fascinated by his art, I believe that he painted what made him happy. He had found his happiness and shared it with us.  However, the “scholars” have chosen to focus not on what was in his heart, but focus instead on history's observations of a man who did not meet their definition of joyful person. 

People who are not creative, should not judge the creative.

I Left My Heart in San Francisco

"Hello my friends! I just flew in from San Francisco, California and boy are my arms tired!"

I know...that joke is even older than me (believe it or not) and I’m no Henny Youngman (now I’ve really lost you).

For the sake of honesty and truth in "media"...I just drove back from San Francisco, California (actually Stow Lake @ Golden Gate Park) and boy is my bum tired! 

However, it was worth it!

I was invited to draw caricatures at the One Year Anniversary Celebration and Fundraiser of Beyond Rescue! https://www.gobeyondrescue.org What an amazing organization! We met some really wonderful people and their loved ones! Please check out their website to find out more and support them in anyway you can! 

Also, thank you Corina Beczner of Vibrant Events https://vibrantevents.net. We appreciate the opportunity!

Enjoy the pictures by Photographer Stevey https://steveyphotos.weebly.com  from the event below!!

Just Saying...

You can tell, when you have found your calling in life, by the fact that you really don’t want to do anything else. Which is a wonderful thing..trust me.

However, I also believe that when you are working somewhere (that is not your calling), whether it be for necessity (you need to pay the bills) or the fact that you’re just too comfortable and too lazy to go after what you really want in life, the littlest things irritate you and you actually seek out these irritants. When this happens, this is your mind’s way of telling you to get off your butt and go after what you really want in life. Unfortunately, most of us ignore what our mind is telling us and we give into the irritations that we have searched for. When this happens, you become what the scientific community calls, Homo Whiny Ass Bitchy Employee Neanderthalensis. You can tell you are at this stage in your development, when you find yourself saying things like…

• "Management don’t care ‘bout nobody!"
• "I get written up fur breaking da rules that everybody breaks!"
• "This companies so (insert curse word here) cheap!"
• "I got me four job offers this week and I’m so outta here (yet, you’re still here)!
• "I’m so tard of this here place!"
• ..and so on…..

All of these may be ligament complaints, however if you don’t have the wherewithal to do something about it (get off your butt and change your situation), JUST SHUT UP!

By participating in these daily, "bitching out loud" sessions, you’re just making the situation worse. You’re especially making it worse for the other employees around you, who are just trying to make the best of their situation. They actually may like where they’re working. Maybe they just want to do their job, the best that they can, enjoy their day and go home. But, NOPE!!….they have to tolerate your whiny ass bitching sessions, EVERY FREAKING DAY!!!

Do the world a favor, fix your situation or keep your miserableness to yourself.

Just saying….

Private - No Social Media

Things are going exceptionally well here and I hope everything is going well for you.. 

This past weekend, I was at  Lake Tahoe for a private corporate event, to draw caricatures. Unfortunately, I was not able to take pictures like I normally do. The gig was booked through a 3rd party Booking Agent and after discussing the event with him, he seemed to be very reluctant to the idea of me taking pictures and posting them on social media. Which is fine, since he’s the one paying me (and without this agent, I wouldn’t have had the event this weekend), so I played by the rules. Still, the fact that I wasn’t able to take pictures, left me with a bad feeling. However, that’s life, and we move forward…

I did take some photos of my drawings and a couple Lake Tahoe (which was gorgeous as usual) Please check a few of them out below.

I was also thinking about Vlogging my trip up to Tahoe. However, my phone kept overheating, while I was trying to video the trip. So alas, it didn't happen. One of the days…

By the way, I have a new side gig (i.e., a second job until the caricatures create enough income so I need a second job). I’m working at Reno/Tahoe Airport, fueling airliners. Hopefully, this is my last side gig. Anyways, this job gives me a chance to be involved in my second passion, aviation. So that's cool and for now, it'll do..right? Below are some pictures I took, when not actively fueling aircraft. Enjoy and have a great day!

Someone Saved My Life...

I almost fell off the cliff...

Someone Saved My Life Tonight - Elton John

To begin at the beginning... Two weeks ago, I almost gave up all of this, for the "brass ring". Of course that ring came with a 24/7 work schedule (at least being on call  24/7) and the forfeiture of my life as I know it.

As I’ve probably mentioned before, I previously had that life And the day that I left it, was (and still is) one of the happiest days of my life..and yet..I was about to jump into it again. Yes, sometimes I question my sanity (actually quite often). 

Anyways...prior to relocating to Gallifrey...and due two intense weeks of little sleep and High Anxiety...

I decided I needed a break and make sure I was doing the right thing. So where do I go? Yep! That's right! I took a road trip to Vegas to fix myself...and make sure I was doing the right thing That is why you are reading this today and why I am not currently residing in Gallifrey...

"Welcome to Elko"

It’s funny when I listen to my inner being and do the right thing, everything falls into place. Concurrently, when I don't listen, my life falls apart. 

So I think I have a new secret identity, but I’m not going to tell you what it is yet (‘cause I don't want to jinx it). I’ll give you a hint though...You’re probably going to see a lot more aviation related stuff on this blog..and that makes me a happy man!

So on to the next chapter of my life…

Also, below are some drawings from my latest events...

I hope you enjoyed the drawings and if you’re interested in booking me for your future event, you can contact me via email at scribblesisme@yahoo.com or visit my Gigmasters page at

https://www.gigmasters.com/caricaturist/michael-hopkins-caricatures

Talk to you soon!

Michael

The Michael Hopkins Cartoons Vlog!

Hello All...

I apologize for the delay between blogs. Sometimes life get in the way of creativity, to succeed, one needs to find a way of combining both and I’m not an expert at that. Anyways…

First off, a “Hello” to my brother and his wife, who are currently visiting China. My brother is one of my biggest supporters and one of my biggest “pains in the derriere”, when I don’t draw...or write in my blog.  Cheers Brother!...I hope you and Fang are having a great time... and have a Chinese Beer on me!

"My brother Roger and his wife Fang"

I’ve been in kind of a subtle, depressionary state lately, over my pen and ink caricatures. Although I love creating them, when they don’t sell as quickly as I think they should, I start questioning my pricing, my marketing decisions and everything else! When that happens, I become prone to rash decisions, about everything! Oh well, at least they are decisions, right?

When I was a young, several of my idols were artists (Al Hirschfeld, Chuck Jones, Bob McCausland, Charles Schutz, Paul McCartney Johnny Cash…) and my love for their work, led me to become an artist. I read (and purchased) books and periodicals related to these artists (which included the comics, of course). I visited museums, art shows, purchased art, music and even tried to learn how to play some instruments (unsuccessfully). I immersed myself in all of this, because I valued these artists work and I wanted emulate them.

These days however, I believe that artists and their creations have lost some value in our society. Why? Partially because, society can enjoy an artists creation for free, via the internet. Why pay the artists (who created the art) for the actual work of art or an album, when one can see it for free? As such, the artist and their creations are of less value to a society.

Creators (including both artists and musicians) have to find ways to make a living in a society that doesn’t value the arts as much as much as it once did. We can collectively bitch, moan and complain about how  technology is making it difficult for us to make a living or we can begrudgingly embrace technology, try to use it to our advantage and grab some of the attention (and dollars) of those, signing their paychecks over to Apple, Samsung, Microsoft and Intel...

I have chosen to embrace technology (nose fully plugged), because let’s face it, technology isn’t going away anytime soon. Although I already market myself on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook , I have now decided to take another step into the abyss... Welcome to my YouTube Channel, The Michael Hopkins Cartoons Vlog! 

Goodbye Petey

Petey Hopkins

2008 - March 10th, 2019

We'll miss you buddy...