Abbreviate this

You might want a pair of sunglasses for this one.

Day 171: Crayon Hill 2

At night before bed, I like to do a crossword puzzle to unwind. Wow, that totally sounds like a statement a librarian would make in a dating service video. “I also enjoy a nice glass of wine, watching Jeopardy, and knitting costumes for my 7 cats.”

No offense, librarians of the world. Minus the cats, I’m right there with you. What frustrates me about crossword puzzles are when they use names- because if I don’t know who the premiere Vaudevillian ventriloquist of the 1910’s was, there’s no way for me to magically figure it out later when I fill in a couple of letters- and when they use random-ass abbreviations that I’ve never seen.

I will use every inch of that 10 cent paper palette, gosh darn it!

And then I thought about how abbreviations in general are usually pretty annoying. Any time you use one, you’re assuming that everyone who reads it in your email/text/memo is going to know what you mean. Granted, there are some abbreviations that most people know- btw, brb, diy… but is it really so difficult just to spell out the words? Language is a big deal. It took centuries of refinement and ingenuity and blatantly stealing cognates from other cultures. Must we reduce it to a few cryptic letters? It’s as if people who use abbreviations think they’re part of some secret cool kids club with their own code. Pshaw! Even the word abbreviation has an abbreviation. Sheesh.

So, some people get carried away with abbreviating. It’s not my bag. But sometimes I can get kind of carried away with other things. Like color. It’s not as if I sit down with the intent to make my very own amazing Technicolor dreamcoat,  nor do I just shut my eyes and reach in to my grab bag of paints and go with whatever I pull out. I will admit, however, that the end result does sometimes look like a box of crayons exploded in my studio. Hence, mini cityscape #2 on another 5×7 canvas for today’s art. Yes, it’s a little bright- but I like that. Hope you do too!

Today's painting, the Electric KoolAid Acid City! 😉

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