Tribute to a can of One Shot

[Ken McTague]

I was working on a mural and thought.....What a life these paints have had. I must have had 12 canss open and was blending colors. A few cans were half gone and skinned over a few times , with me a while and have seen alot, a few colors were brand new cans, makes you wonder what a can thinks? what does it say at the end of a day? does it look at paint job and say "wow, I did that!" I wonder....

... aah a brand new can, the lid goes 'pop' as you lift it off and the paint looks so happy sitting there not a drop on the rim the edge of the lid is clean as a whistle, completely undisturbed... then the old popsicle stick goes in 'splat' paint on the rim, all down the side, its a disaster! a stirring frenzy insues, then the paint recovers, "its ok at least he didnt mix us with... oh noooo!" the brush with the yellow paint comes down and plops right down into the process blue leaving a little green drizzle on top "aaaah!.... it ok, its o-k we will be fine"
the brush goes to the pallette... "hey, being green is not so bad... wait wheres he going?!?
no not the white!!!! NOT THE WHITE!! the now kelley green brush plops down it to the pristine, pure, virgin white... "AAAARRGGHH!!! I dont know if she will recover, shes got green all over the top, looks like a emerald oil slick! then the popsicle stick goes in again, a qucik stir and ... "whew, she looks good, she is still white as snow, no damage. but wait! what is he doing with that popsicle stick? it has yellow all over it! looks like hes going back at the white!!! oooh! just then the yellow gets knocked over, dumping much of it on the workbench... let us stop for a moment of rememberance....

"he was a good can, he will be truly missed, we gather here today to pay respects to chrome yellow, he meant so much to us all, he was known to help any can when they needed him, Red, just last week he was working with you to make a beautiful orange... and imatation gold, he was always there when you needed better coverage, and green when you need to add some brightness, he was there... and blue, you where there with him in his final moments, working together with white on a teal project. rest in peace old chrome boy" the lids go back on the cans and thet get packed away back in the cabinet, until the next time they are called on to make art or letters or just a stripe..when one of them will have to put their life on the line again just like old yeller did today.

[John Lennig]

Ken, I enjoyed your "Life of One-Shot musings... and I Believe that it leads us to acknowledge that..There's more than one way to skin a can.

Yours in Paint, I am,

John Lennig