<p><center><h2>As long as I'm posting about monster art...</h2></center></p>
<p><center>https://steemitimages.com/DQmRDdVYM3KFsdTQUXed3g4nkdVyKc8MeB8EAtLwNT6NfdC/Monster.png</center></p><br>
<p><center><h3>Here is a beast I did for my crossfit gym.</h3></center></p>
<p><center>https://steemitimages.com/DQmZKMdzKgj8wkk9bAAkTwWKpfTt6mR3egCFupj9w6MmYuW/Xfit-mural-Vance-and-me-800px.png<br><em>That's me and the gym owner.</em></center></p>
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<p>The short story is that the owner decided to revamp the gym - repaint, lay down new mats on the ground, put in Olympic lifting floors, set up a beer and liquor bar... typical crossfit stuff.</p>
<p>He wanted some of those flashy and supposedly inspirational phrases that every gym has, and I said I'd work on something that would blow him away.<br><em> (I say 'supposedly inspirational' because when I'm busting ass, the last things I want to look at are cheery, pump-you-up quotes that try to make you think that pushing your body to the point of puking and passing out is a good thing. I actually just want to tear them to shreds and then burn the building down.)</em></p>
<p>https://steemitimages.com/DQmW8oyteZ9cTiYDxdyLR4sWLsx4p3d2KXk4MJ3butrE84W/Logo-Line-Break.png</p>
<p><h2><center>Anyway...</center></h2></p>
<p><div class="pull-right">https://steemitimages.com/DQmXmUAHJEL4nr1GTtautBN3otdHCMpAgrz5pqFnFf7usFR/Xfit-Mural-Trace-hips-800px.png</div></p>
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<p>The gym was closed a full seven days for the remodel and I was there each one of those days either tracing or painting.</p>
<p>I built it up in Adobe Illustrator and had it printed on two gigantic pieces of paper. I taped graphite paper to the back of those and started tracing each and every single letter.</p>
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<p><center>My handwriting is terrible, so I couldn't trust myself to freehand all the different fonts I used.</center></p>
<p>https://steemitimages.com/DQmX6KX3mVuK6Ewo37D1xuuC2SB27CrmPJCtiDCqSNfbGC2/Double-830px.png</p>
<p><center>After it was all penciled out, I tried to paint it in with a tiny brush,<br> but that would have taken <em>years.</em><br><br><h4>So I used Sharpie acrylic paint pens, which worked fabulously.</h4></center></p>
<p>https://steemitimages.com/DQmRBz7C7Bq8BQ54CgME44ziHoprZ8gjsFNbGAuPHqrAihU/Double-2.png</p>
<p><center>All the gym members' names are in red at the top. <br>And honestly, that took longer than anything else. But everyone was really excited to see their names up there, so it was worth it.</center></p>
<p>https://steemitimages.com/DQmQQiXabeAQogcYWKFScd8b8wp7xAiGF2PAj3eq9ni2FkA/Xfit-Mural-Trace-left-plate-close-800px.png</p>
<p>https://steemitimages.com/DQmW8oyteZ9cTiYDxdyLR4sWLsx4p3d2KXk4MJ3butrE84W/Logo-Line-Break.png</p>
<p><center><h4>About one month after completing this, our gym closed down.</h4>
<em>(Why? <a href="https://steemit.com/humor/@lenadr/roger-rabbit-philosophy-of-life">Because it's funny.</a>)</em></center></p>
<p><center>For all I know, this was painted over and no trace of it exists.<br>
But I think of Buddhist monks who spend countless hours creating gorgeous mandalas out of colored sand - detailed, intricate works of art - 
<br><br>- and then sweep them away soon after they're complete.</center></p>
<p><center><h4>It's not about the creation itself, but the process of creating that's so important. <br>I actually enjoyed all the time I spent on this and was proud to have done it<br> for myself and my friends.</h4></center></p>
<p>https://steemitimages.com/DQmW8oyteZ9cTiYDxdyLR4sWLsx4p3d2KXk4MJ3butrE84W/Logo-Line-Break.png</p>
<p><center><h2>Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed it!<br> Please upvote, resteem, and follow for <br>more artwork to come.</h2></center></p>
<p><center>https://steemitimages.com/DQmRQTK2CxqNKYb3tjm4PTvWYdmdZr3TfWpQLABkbhhX2jB/Circle-Grunge-Flash.gif</center></p>
<p><a href="https://www.teachyourmonstertoread.com/about-the-game">Source for the adorable monster photo</a></p>