Ready To Rock My Garden

My funny black and white comic of a hungry groundhog in the garden. Drawn by artist Bryan Skinnell.

Spring has erupted like a giant bloated zit. And that means I’ve procrastinated long enough and had better get busy on my garden for the year. Gardening is wonderful exercise and this 50 year old wad I happily call my bod really needs some moving around. Having a garden to keep me occupied is the perfect activity to keep me fit and manly while keeping me out of trouble. With any luck I just might even successfully grow something edible which would be nice. Even nicer would be if I can keep the critters from getting it first. They always think of my garden as their personal buffet for some reason. I do like cute and cuddly animals but don’t let their good looks fool you! They’re mischievous little cusses. So much so they are fixing to riot if I don’t provide drinks and a dessert line. It’s really getting out of hand!

But nonetheless, I firmly believe that every artist ought to keep and tend a garden because it’s a totally zen experience that helps to relax and soothe one’s creative spirit. Plus working in the garden is an excellent excuse to put off making art. I use that excuse all the time which is why I never have much art to show! I’ll personally confess that working a garden can really wear a fella out. So I’m often just too darn pooped to creatively inspire myself to do anything more strenuous than binge watch YouTube videos all evening.

For art bums like me that sounds like the perfect artistic life! Why don’t you give it a shot and see if you don’t fall in love with it? You’ll be glad you did. And so will all the hungry critters of the world who will thank you by pooping on your sidewalk.

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

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