This was a real first for me. For the first time in 20 years, I picked up a paint brush that wasn’t for trim or a wall. I painted a little in my youth but never anything more than your typical ten-year-old.

In my post about Red Bubble, I mentioned the important of thoughtful gifts. And this month, one of my dearest and best friends had a birthday. He is incredibly difficult to shop for though, so I have to get creative. Really creative.

This painting first premiered in Psych’s This Episode Sucks, and my pal immediately texted me about it immediately. In fact, a couple of people did, and you have to admit, it’s pretty friggin’ cool.

The problem is you can’t buy the painting. I’ve read through dozens of forums and posts searching for the artist and/or painting, but turned up empty handed. The problem-solver in me thought, “Psh. If I can’t find it, I’ll just paint it.” And that’s exactly what I did.

The flowers were not a problem for me, but I knew the Uzi would be, so my amazing RevPub partner penciled the Uzi on the canvas. From there, I printed a picture of the original and used it to paint my version. It’s not an exact match, which is a good thing, but I think it came out well. This project also inspired me to paint regularly because it was fun, relaxing, and something different. I can’t draw or visualize things, but I look forward to painting more penciled drawings!

It just proves that you should never be afraid to try something new. You never know what talents lit inside you or what new hobbies you’ll find!

*If anyone knows the original artist’s name, feel free to leave it in the comments section.