Although I try to be a fairly serious researcher most of the time, around Christmas the sightings slow down and — for the sake of a holiday card design — my creature thoughts turn fanciful.
This year my inspiration came from the chorus of a 1969 Tommy James and the Shondells song, Crystal Blue Persuasion. The chorus words, “There’ll be peace and good, and brotherhood,” were sticking with me like an earworm, so I decided to pass them on. Here is the resulting artwork, starring my two fave cryptids.
copyright 2010 Linda S. Godfrey
In case you are too young to know the song, check out the video on YouTube
I did have one second thought about featuring the song. Many tunes of the late 60s had something — ok, a lot — to do with altered states of mind and to be honest, I had no idea whether this one did or not and I didn’t want to be pushing LSD on my Christmas card. I was pleasantly surprised when I found the answer in this interview with Tommy James at SongFacts http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=1884
It turned out to be appropriate, indeed. The funny thing is that my creature-mapping indicates more and more that most Bigfoot and Dogman sightings occur in specific, separate territories within given hotspot habitats, which should make them rather bitter enemies. But in the spirit of the season, I prefer to think of them in temporary truce mode. It works better for a card than trying to portray a crypto-turf war, anyway. Sets a better example for humans, too.
Season’s blessings!
ps: and I am adding more as time goes on. If anyone has a request I’ll try and fill it.
Linda,
I hadn’t originally included this particular song by Tommy James and the Shondells in my “Good Old Songs” folder in my SkyDrive (although “Hanky Panky” WAS there). But it’s there now (thanks for the reminder) along with a couple hundred others you might recall.
You and your friends, fiends, and hairy beasties of a more mellow persuasion are, as always, free to download the ones you want.
http://tinyurl.com/2wbav2v
Seasonal Greetings, Al~ you outdid yourself again! 🙂
I absolutely LURVE Crystal Blue Persuasion. I remember EXACTLY where I was when I first fell in love with the song. In the back of my Mom and Dad’s 64 Chevy Impala, in the parking lot at Harrah’s casino, North Shore Lake Tahoe, with my sketch book, colored pencils, and 3 new issues of some teen horror mystery of the day, I had picked up at the local 5 and dime. I was 13 and didn’t have to stay at the Recreation Center (Kids Center) for the first time ~I was truly in my element up there in the higher altitudes, and Life was good. 🙂