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Ranma and Akane

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Ranma and Akane "A Love unsaid".

Okay,
I have meant to put this up for YEARS now, basically
I hate scanning, or-rather I do alot of procrastinating
about scanning.

Ready for a long story?
Mostly its about a bad time in my life . . .
but this was one of those rare moments lost in the
bliss of painting (And I want to thank "Rachel" for
coming out of her way to visit me back then: [link] ).

So I don't paint in Oil or Acrylics anymore, and before
this Mural... it had to be decades. This was in circa
1998? in West Hills Ca. at a place called "Collectors
Guide to the Galaxy" located in the former "Fallbrooke
Mall".
Imagine a HUGE store filled with gifts, collectables and
toys, then go into the next HUGE Room full of comics,
a Big Screen TV, Games and TONS of recent and super
rare Videos, "Dioramas" built with action figures and
on-going Murals painted on the walls and floors.
Sounds like Geek heaven right? Not if you "Lived"
there. Occasionally seeing Cute Girls, and being the
"Porn Capital of the World" I got to meet Asia Carrera
with her "smart ass" little brother. But when youre
in the dumps, your confidence level is in the dirt.
(The weirdest run-in, was seeing the Bass Player for
the "Canadian" Prog Rock Band "Saga" come in
looking for "Pogs" for his Son!).

But the BEST part of those terrible days was hanging in
the "Graveyard Shift" with about 5 other mural Artist,
all younger than me, but having the same goals and
aspirations, same wants of "settling down with a nice
job, our own place and being content". But we were all
struggling and "taking what was offered".
This was life after my stint at being in a prestigious
Japanese Video Game company, and my life crashing
down all around me trying to survive while building a
Portfolio to send to ILM in dire circumstances.
I had soo many things to worry about in my survival
while trying to stay focused with a goal to find the right
job, save for an Apt. and get the hell out of there!
(Not a fan of the "Valley" either).

But in those rare moments, I did a Mural of a fave
Comedy Manga/Anime., "Ranma 1/2". I chose to do
this 1st because I still had a thing for my Ex, and she
adored the series, it brings back tearful memories of
what I couldn't have, just like my life back then, all the
things I could not achieve.
But as romance, unrequited love will do, it inspires, so
I picked up the various paints and brushes and set to
work on the floor, sketched out my idea with chalk and
then dived right into it!
It only took me about 20 hours, and another 2-3 hours
to refine it by getting a Tamiya Paint Marker and adding
a black outline to everything.
The smell of the Paints, the mixing, and even though it
been years (and not much experience, but I used to
build model kits when I was younger), I could see clearly
in my mind how the paints would flow, how they would
adhere/feel on the floor, how it all worked. It invigorated
my senses and brought me back to life.
On breaks, me and the guys would sit outside against
the wall, drinking soda, talking about the garbage we had
to deal with, our aspirations and hopes. Then go back to
our respective projects at 2 or 3am till sun-up.

Funny, I remember a Older Teen with his Asian girlfriend,
I believe he was Japanese (American), he had long hair
and he'd actually walk the streets with his Back-pack and
a Real "Katana"! I mean, he was literally a wondering
"Ronin" :rofl:.

I got alot of compliments from my fellow Painters, and it
gave me a moments feeling of accomplishment.

I always saw Ranma as me (without the "change" that is)
and Akane as my feisty and independent Gal (in which she
did a great impression of the English version :rofl: )
And poor Rioga/"P-Chan" broken hearted, that was the
present "Me", seeing or hearing about Rachel dating guys :(

I wish I took better Photos of it, we had only a medium
Ladder to stand on top of, but the Pics aren't bad.
I was working on a Macross Mural with Hikaru Ichijyo,
Lisa Hayase and Lynn Minmay (the "Triangle") with
"Ricks Valkyrie" Fighter, but there was soo much crap
going on in the store, my head, my life that I was drained.
Depression started seeping in, but I had to get out of
there and get back up on my feet. I did get out but fell
into another hole with 2 people I stayed with in Canoga
Park. It took a few months to escape the Valley and go
back to my beloved Santa Monica.

The Store and Mall are long gone (Good Riddenz!), with
forgotten memories. But I have pictures of a moment
when disillusions of grandeur were my only hope, and got
me through another day :)

I dedicate this to Rachel, her Husband and her Son :).
And to those fellow artists that I worked with and put up
with the bullshit. I REALLY hope all of them are successful
and had much less disappointment than I have had in my
life. Though, I am always optimistic what lies around the
corner (still). . .
:gallery:

. . . now if only I could find a REAL "Shampoo"!
Asia Carrera . . . hmmmm . . .
Image size
1706x5400px 4.35 MB
© 2010 - 2024 mavartworx
Comments2
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BennyBedlam's avatar
Didn't that store have a large mural of EVA unit 1 from evangelion at some point? I have some vague memory of going to that store once with Rebecca several years ago, at a time when I was in an incredibly deep depression of my own.
Perhaps some places in this world are just geographical magnets for sadness and suffering.
Like Riverside California, or the port authority terminal in new york.

I'm convinced that the parking complex under the Redondo beach pier is haunted by the ghosts of teenagers from the early eighties, glue-sniffing punks.
I slept in Haight Ashbury park one night in San Francisco and all through the night I could see the ghosts of dead hippies crawling through the bushes. Years later I went to a LegendaryPinkDots show in SF and I dropped a bunch of acid and I was hanging out with Edward, the lead singer, after the show. I was still frying really hard and somebody made a casual mention of Haight Ashbury park and Edward turned to me, gave me this really scary stare and said: "Haight Ashbury park is haunted, you can see the ghosts at night... but then you already knew that Alex, didn't you?"