How Much Can A Starving Artist Eat?

March 25, 2024

Funny black and white cartoon of Bryan checking his weight on a bathroom scale. Drawn by artist Bryan Skinnell.

Just how much can a starving artist eat?

Now there’s an interesting thought experiment. We all know it takes a heaping pile of delicious calories to be creative and productive so my guess is that a starving artist can pack away an awful lot of chow if he had a chance. I had a grand opportunity yesterday to dedicate my own body to finding out as my church put out a spread that surely would have fed an army to the point where they all would have called for world peace and took a nap afterwards. Maybe that’s the way to achieving world peace? Our world leaders should look into that. I know after that meal I was ready for a few hours of peace and quiet myself.

The spread was fabulous and I’d wager a bet that King Solomon never ate better. So how much could a starving artist eat? It looks like half a chicken along with two heaping platefuls of the Baptist special and a little ice cream and peach cobbler afterwards is what’s needed. Not too shabby I’d say! It was a tough job but one that needed to be done and I’m glad we finally know the answer to that perplexing mystery. For the record we can assume that said artist will be eating light for some time afterwards.

I’d get busy being creative but I need to take a nap. Selah y’all!!

Why hello there! My name is Bryan Skinnell and I am a middle-aged (50-ish) artist and neighborhood kook who is living the artistic and creative life out in the boonies of Bedford, Virginia. Bedford is one of the largest counties in the commonwealth of Virginia and, for the most part, it’s still a mostly rural one that bridges the gap between Roanoke and Lynchburg. You could say, in more ways than one, that Bedford is the heart of Virginia. I can’t argue with that although I usually think of Bedford more as Virginia’s belly button myself.

I grew up right here in Bedford and have lived and toiled most of my life on our infamous red clay. The sort of clay that makes the stickiest mud known to man after a rain and which clings like super glue from God to anything and everything it touches. If you are so foolish as to get it on yourself you’ll wind up tracking and leaving a trail of red goop everywhere you go for days afterwards to the delight of your family and friends. But I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else and Lord knows I tried as I’ve wandered from one end of the country to the other. But Bedford has my heart and that’s where I’ve chosen to live my life today. In my free time when I’m not stuck in my studio making art I do love being outside gardening or hiking or just pestering the neighbors.

Every day I try to write something that’s original, entertaining, and half-way thoughtful here on my blog while sharing my happy-go-lucky attitude and zest for life. Quite often I don’t have the foggiest notion of what I’ll end up saying in a post. But, whatever I end up writing about, I do hope you enjoy it!

I do keep a mailing list for interested readers and fans. If you would like to get in on the action and follow my musings and rabble-babble, that can be easily arranged. Just give me an email address that you would like for me to send my blog posts to and I’ll see that you get it.

Thanks for stopping by!
Bryan Skinnell