The theme for this project developed over a comment a single comment set in a surreal setting in a messed up time thus sparking an entire thought process and obsessive creation.
In my other life I work in the hectic world of retail as a purveyor of alcohol🍹 providing some basic pleasures or in many cases “needs” for a few to escape in these strange times. Yes selling beer, wine, 40s of vodka, rum, whisky, etc. to various clientele some of these folks are of a special nature and personality. I can say working in this environment day in day out is interesting but at time taxing over the years hence why I decided to explore different lively hood options and opportunities i.e. selling NFT art and trading in crypto for an alternative side option.
Well back to the story, as with interesting art sometimes a crazy store is behind it. The story for me begins about 9 months into the Covid19 pandemic. This was December 2020 by now much of the world is well into the second wave of Covid19 (Corona Virus) some places are under harsh lock downs I was actually one of the fortunate ones who lives in a part of the world where transmission and case count were few however still we are into about six weeks of mandatory mask mandates.
At my retail work as you can imaging being a purveyor of alcohol during December we are very busy and this year is no exception even with the mask and the constant fear of Covid19 spread. One particular day around dinner rush (after supper hour is usually our busier time of the day) this elderly man enters the scene sporting white hair a tan leather jacket and yes a red Santa hat with a big white pom pom and white fur trim. Is this man intoxicated or just special I ask myself and yes he does have a mask so you cannot see his grin even though the grin of perversion is over the rest of his face as his eyes leer towards some young women in the store. I nod my head as I typically do to patroons and he says to me in his boastful jolly tone “Merry Christmas” even though Christmas is about 6 day away yet, I say thanks in return as I tend to my cash register.
Christmas time wearing a mask selling booze in a busy retail space during a pandemic paints to me a surreal hellscape similar to Hieronymus Bosch.
Anyhow this strange jolly elderly gentlemen walks by me and this is the surreal cherry on the cake, he says to a young lady who was wearing a mask covered in shimmering glitter confetti “By the way can I say something to you” she turns around stunned “You my dear have a sexy mask”. Yes I shit you not the most surreal things of 2020 for me was this moment in time, I mean really what the hell a sexy mask. Of coarse she did a little giddy nervous laugh and made a quick exit but for me this one line summed up one of the most fucked up times in the 21st century thus far. Now you can see the path this lead me down with my digital art stills and GIF creations, let no weird situation go to waste.
Shannon Randall obtained certificate of Communication Design and Photography from the New Brunswick College of Craft and Design and likes to combined element of illustration, photography and mixed media into many works.
This series was produced with illustrations done in InkPad and layered in GIMP some of the images incorporate original digital photography. If you do wish to purchase some of my work please visit my openseas account by clicking purchase button below Openseas is a NFT site where I place my creations on auction.
Hope you enjoy this little story and my series Sexy Mask.
Cheers!
Shannon Randall
In my other life I work in the hectic world of retail as a purveyor of alcohol🍹 providing some basic pleasures or in many cases “needs” for a few to escape in these strange times. Yes selling beer, wine, 40s of vodka, rum, whisky, etc. to various clientele some of these folks are of a special nature and personality. I can say working in this environment day in day out is interesting but at time taxing over the years hence why I decided to explore different lively hood options and opportunities i.e. selling NFT art and trading in crypto for an alternative side option.
Well back to the story, as with interesting art sometimes a crazy store is behind it. The story for me begins about 9 months into the Covid19 pandemic. This was December 2020 by now much of the world is well into the second wave of Covid19 (Corona Virus) some places are under harsh lock downs I was actually one of the fortunate ones who lives in a part of the world where transmission and case count were few however still we are into about six weeks of mandatory mask mandates.
At my retail work as you can imaging being a purveyor of alcohol during December we are very busy and this year is no exception even with the mask and the constant fear of Covid19 spread. One particular day around dinner rush (after supper hour is usually our busier time of the day) this elderly man enters the scene sporting white hair a tan leather jacket and yes a red Santa hat with a big white pom pom and white fur trim. Is this man intoxicated or just special I ask myself and yes he does have a mask so you cannot see his grin even though the grin of perversion is over the rest of his face as his eyes leer towards some young women in the store. I nod my head as I typically do to patroons and he says to me in his boastful jolly tone “Merry Christmas” even though Christmas is about 6 day away yet, I say thanks in return as I tend to my cash register.
Christmas time wearing a mask selling booze in a busy retail space during a pandemic paints to me a surreal hellscape similar to Hieronymus Bosch.
Anyhow this strange jolly elderly gentlemen walks by me and this is the surreal cherry on the cake, he says to a young lady who was wearing a mask covered in shimmering glitter confetti “By the way can I say something to you” she turns around stunned “You my dear have a sexy mask”. Yes I shit you not the most surreal things of 2020 for me was this moment in time, I mean really what the hell a sexy mask. Of coarse she did a little giddy nervous laugh and made a quick exit but for me this one line summed up one of the most fucked up times in the 21st century thus far. Now you can see the path this lead me down with my digital art stills and GIF creations, let no weird situation go to waste.
Shannon Randall obtained certificate of Communication Design and Photography from the New Brunswick College of Craft and Design and likes to combined element of illustration, photography and mixed media into many works.
This series was produced with illustrations done in InkPad and layered in GIMP some of the images incorporate original digital photography. If you do wish to purchase some of my work please visit my openseas account by clicking purchase button below Openseas is a NFT site where I place my creations on auction.
Hope you enjoy this little story and my series Sexy Mask.
Cheers!
Shannon Randall
Contact
Shannon Randall
Phone: 506-449-0087
email: sdrweb@gmail.com
Phone: 506-449-0087
email: sdrweb@gmail.com
