Men who inspire me

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about the women who inspire me. Today, I wanted to write about the men who inspire me. Men who bear their souls in their paintings, stories, music and poetry. Men who I've always admired for many years, for their talent and general being. Looking at it, I would say this is a pretty mixed bag of guys you probably wouldn't expect to read about here! None the less, here they are... ⚦

Stephen King

I'm going to start off with the author who instilled in me my love of horror. At one time in my life, my mum had every single King book there was to have, and as a little girl I would sit and marvel at the creepy blurbs and cover designs. Of course I would never actually dare to read any of them, I was too scared! 👻 But he is responsible for helping to expand my wild imagination, and my eagerness to become an author myself. His style of writing is unparalleled, and I've thoroughly enjoyed almost every thing of his that I've read. My favourites include; The Green Mile (so many tears), Pet Sematary (the one that gave me actual nightmares) and of course, 11.22.63, a monstrous 849 page book that I devoured within a week. His imagination knows no bounds. There have been many times where I have actually got so creeped out by his stories that I've had to put the book down. Not many authors can do that for me, but his writing is so deliciously dark that it can really get under my skin. He will always be someone I look up to, and one day I hope I can meet him and thank him for inspiring me, and for creating stories and characters that have stayed with me forever. 📚

Axl Rose

Arguably the most misunderstood guy on this list; Mr William Axl Rose. 

This man has been in my life ever since I was in the womb (no, seriously). I remember listening to Guns n Roses since I could barely walk, and would sing and dance to Appetite for Destruction without having a clue what any of it was all about. I would watch the VHS tape of their concert in Paris over and over again until it broke. My bedroom was plastered in Guns n Roses memorabilia, posters, bandannas, signed photographs and music sheets. I owned every single album and book there was. This guy is the reason why I love music, and I still love him so much to this day. His lyrics and poetry, his voice, his stage presence. He may be disliked by many, but no one can deny the sheer amount of talent this guy has. I was lucky enough to see him in concert back in 2006. Yes, I know, you're probably thinking well it doesn't count because it wasn't the original line up. But honestly I wasn't bothered about that. I was right at the front at MEN arena, a mere 6ft away from him and I absolutely bawled my eyes out as soon as he sat down at his piano and began to play November Rain. I remember thinking that it was the best day of my entire life (so far, I was 15 at the time 😂). His music is such a comfort to me, and has inspired me in so many ways, too many of which I don't have time to list here. He is my hero and I'm not embarrassed to say it! 🌹

Vincent Van Gogh

When I was 6, I was asked to paint my own version of Van Gogh's Sunflowers in my art class. I remember becoming obsessed with it, and to this day I still can't really explain why - especially at such a young age when one couldn't really appreciate a piece of art -(and considering my Tomagotchi was the most important thing in my life at the time).

After much nagging, my mother bought me a book filled with hundreds of his paintings. I remember constantly looking at them, flipping through the book every night before bed, and staring in awe at his Irises. I remember wishing that I could jump inside the painting and touch those cerulean blue flowers. (I now have an Irises key ring which I bought from the Van Gogh museum gift shop💙)

How and why you can fall in love with a painting is probably the most difficult thing to try and explain to someone, especially if that someone doesn't appreciate art. It wasn't until I grew up and learned more about his tragic life that I also began to appreciate him as a human being, and it made my heart ache to think about how much he suffered, particularly with his own mental health. He lived his entire life as a pauper, who was considered a 'madman' and a 'failure'. And how awful and ironic that now he is arguably one of the most well known and influential painters in the history of Western art. He's inspired my own paintings and drawings. And every time I look at his, I can't help but fall in love again and again. Looking at his paintings is like looking into his dreams. I admire him so, and thank God he was here to create such beauty for the world to see. 🌻

Kendrick Lamar

I fell in love with Lamar's Swimming Pools the very first time I heard it. The lyrics, the melody, the catchy chorus, every thing about it pulled me in. And then once I got my hands on his debut album 'good kid m.A.A.d city', I played it on repeat for about a year straight. I kinda don't know where to begin with Kendrick. To be honest, there isn't much I can say that does him any justice. He is a poet in his own right, and in my opinion a lyrical genius. His songs are full of metaphors and symbolism's, forcing you to really think about what he's saying as he reflects on his life growing up in Compton.

Instead of bragging about the usual mundane stuff that is over-saturated in hip hop, - like sex, drugs and money- he focuses on incorporating his real life stories into his music. For me, what sets him apart from the rest is that despite his world wide success, he has managed to stay incredibly unpretentious and modest, whilst staying loyal to his fans. He really is one of my favourite human beings, and I hope he will continue to make music for many years to come. ♬

Karl Pilkington

I love this man so much, that I actually have his little cartoon face tattooed on my ankle. I'm not kidding! I watched An Idiot Abroad when it first aired back in 2010. And within ten minutes of the first episode where he described the Great Wall of China as the, "Alright Wall of China", I was crying with laughter. Now, quite a lot of people I know don't even like Karl or find him funny. Well, I think they're mental. He is a fucking legend! I love every stupid thing that comes out of his mouth. He is the most sincere, dry, hilarious and ridiculous human that ever graced my TV. And I had the God given pleasure of meeting him in person at a book signing back in 2014. I was shaking with nerves the closer I got to his little bald head. But once it was my turn, I knelt down on the floor beside him, and waited for his staff to take a picture of us on my dodgy camera. For some reason, it wouldn't take, so we just sat there staring at the camera. Then he goes, "For fucks sake, I could have fucking drawn it quicker."  Cue me bursting into laughter like a dork, with an end result of me beside my hero in probably the most unflattering photo of all time.  

I'm honestly so embarrassed to share this photo of me because I look so fucking horrible, but I'm so happy that I can say that I met him. And I would love to meet him again, for much longer, because the 15 seconds we had to awkwardly pose together just wasn't enough 😂
And when I was going through a really hard time in my life, watching Karl travel the world was a great comfort to me. He cheered me up to no end, just like my stepdad, who is so eerily similar to Karl. So my little tattoo is an ode to them both. To their similar 'Northerner' wisdom and idiotic/genius philosophies on life that always have me in stitches. They even have the same little bald head 😝 I know how soppy this is all sounding now so I'm just gonna end it here with one of my favourite ever Karl moments:

                                   

More honourable mentions of men who I fucking adore and always will, but didn't have the time or patience to carry on gushing about them 😏

Kurt Cobain

Ville Valo

James Hetfield

Evan Peters
Barack Obama
Albus Dumbledore

Tom Odell
💙