“Gunplay”. 11 x 15” / Watercolor on Acid-Free Strathmore Watercolor paper.
 
       Is socializing really just ‘warfare concealed’?       I’ve heard that said, but I prefer to consider social settings as a way to enjoy the more positive labyrinthine aspects of that particular means of‘cross pollination’. Having found myself in a number of social situations where it was obviously peopled by those who believed they were in a combative atmosphere, as well as more relaxed atmospheres~ I can well understand the sentiment.       In either case~ sometimes people may feel less than up to the challenge of being urbane in a room full of strangers; feeling more of an odd duck who’d be more at home~ at home.       Yet, sometimes, with the deep breath of a newly inspired thought AND whatever has half-filled the Brandy snifter, one may still rule the day.       And though many may think I am pushing Brandy as the accelerant~ it is actually the inspired thought that I believe will fuel the night.       
       Stepping out of one’s ‘comfort zone’, to experiment with a different aspect of oneself, in a less than usual set of circumstances, can help one shed the old skin of ungainly predictability. In the end, that ‘gunplay’ is more about beating oneself to-the-draw in the mirror.