A Tale of Two Paisley Ponies....

Last weekend, I attended one of THE best concerts, I have ever been to! My husband and I braved the intense Texas heat, to attend Brad Paisley's 2011 "H20 II World Tour", in Frisco, TX!

Suffice it to say, it was fantastic! Brad never fails to put on one HELL of a show! And this year was no exception!

Possibly the best part... Brad was joined this year by, none other than Blake Shelton! I was uber excited about having the chance to see this rising star (even though, he has been in the business nearly as long as Brad has. ^.^) in concert! There aren't many country stars that I am willing to fork out money to go see... and this concert... offered two of them in one shot!

Blake was great... funny, endearing... and a hell of a performer! I will definitely be looking to attend more of his concerts in the future! And hopefully one or two more, will be on this current tour, with Brad!

Brad Paisley... is one of the few musicians out there, that has garnered my respect on several levels. Honestly... there aren't many artists out there that can be a triple threat like him: Singer, Songwriter... and one HELL of a Guitar player!

But that's not all there is to Brad... He is also quite an impressive artist in his own right!

Not only will he wow you at his concerts with his fabulous guitar picking skills... but he also treats you to his very own, hand done animations (generally set to his "instrumental" section of the play list)!

For example: Turf's Up - from the album, "Play"

Heck... almost all of his album covers... were his designs! Of particular note, the paintings he completed for his album, "American Saturday Night"....

Covers from the album, "American Saturday Night"

He is, quite simply, an all around artist! And for that... I enjoy his music all the more!

I have been attending Brad's concerts, since 2006 (when I attended my first concert... ON my birthday!!!). Not a year has gone by... that I haven't attended at least ONE of his concerts; and a few of those years, I was lucky enough to attend two!

But what does any of this have to do with the Model Horse Hobby, you might ask?

Well... not overly much... truth be told; other than the fact he inspires me as any other artist would. But, Brad Paisley: Singer, Songwriter, Guitarist, & Artist... did inspire me to create a couple of special models. And now, we come to their story. ^.^

After I attending my first Brad Paisley concert... I had a flash of insane inspiration; why not etch a Breyer model... covering it with the Paisley patterns. The same Paisley patterns, that could be found on many of Brad's guitars, equipment, attire... etc?

Little did I know, just what I was jumping into when I started this guy!

It took me nearly 2 years of solid etching (while I was sitting at work for the most part), but I finally managed to finish this guy off. I dubbed him, "Time Well Wasted", after the album Brad released a few years before, and because I was technically "wasting" time at work.

At some point after his completion, I had the crazy idea to take the model with me to one of Brad's concerts. Maybe, I thought, just maybe, I could get him autographed by Brad.

Yeah. Sadly that did not happen. My buddy and I waited till the end of the show; then we tracked down one of the show security guards, and asked them if maybe there was a chance we could sneak the model in to be signed by Brad. The guard led us over to the backstage door. Once we were there, we were stopped by another guard at the door. No one was allowed through, unless they had a Meet & Greet pass.

However, they said... if I had a "gift" for Brad, they would be glad to see that it made it to him.

After some cajoling, I was convinced to leave "Time Well Wasted" with the guard... as a gift to Brad.

Yup... that's right. I gave 2 yrs of work.... away. I'm not even 100% sure if Brad even received the model from the security guard or not. Maybe one day... I'll find out for sure!

At any rate... I mourned the loss of my Paisley etchie. So, I set to recreating him... on a different model!

Thus.... "Ticks", was born.

Named after one of Brad's songs... appropriately titled: "Ticks". In many ways, he became the newer, sleeker model. His design is more "thought out" and "composed" than "Time Well Wasted's" was... (in all honesty, looking back at pictures of "Time Well Wasted", he really was a haphazard etchie. Lots of disjointed and random paisley patterns, slapped onto him as I found designs I liked. "Ticks"... has a much more organized, and unified design).

I envisioned him as a sort of "Where's Waldo" type model... Only Waldo... was traded for a bunch of etched "ticks", to be found in and around his Paisley designs. The idea of which was, to challenge showers and judges to local the correct number of "ticks" in his design.

I wanted him to be something of a "game". ^.^

I have been working on this guy (albeit sporadically, and less lately, than in years past), for nearly 4 yrs now... and he's STILL not 100% complete. I still have plans to extend and add to his design... and until recently, I was beginning to think I might NEVER actually complete him.

That is, until this last concert.

After all of these years, taking "Ticks" to shows... having him win, and put smiles on other collector's faces (including the best one, at Breyerfest this year; when one of the judges called me up, and told me about her intense fear of ticks! ~LOL~ Boy did she "get" him!!!)... I might just find the drive to finish him off!

All thanks to the music, and artistry.... of Brad Paisley!

Maybe one day... I'll be able to pose for a photo, at Brad Paisley's side... proudly holding up my autographed pony!