I decided to take another crack at the 365 Project. I did a form of it once in 2007. That time around it was all self portrait which…got really old fast. The new project just requires I take a photo everyday, and I find that the photos are much more interesting once I’m not the subject of every one.

The The Guild was hilarious, geeky, and quirky. Felicia Day is completely adorable and quirky and I fully see the appeal of her after watching the her internet series. She didn’t make as much of an impression on me in Dr. Horrible’s Sing-a-long Blog, though I enjoyed the musical overall.

Dear Zachary was completely opposite, and I’m still recovering from the emotional blow left on my psyche by that movie. And I knew about heartwrenching subject matter going in, having remained unspoiled of the gut-punching twist near the end.

And then there is Penelope, which I finished viewing only a few minutes ago. The movie garnered mix removed, but overall the consensus is on the positive side. I, however, LOVED IT! For some reason, I have a ridiculous, seemingly unfounded affection for James McAvoy, even though I’ve only seen him in one other movie before this one. The practically flawless American accent he put on for his role in Penelope did nothing to dissuade my opinion.

Or it could just be his eyes and touseled dark hair:

tbc.

It doesn’t snow here very often, the last time being 1996. Even then, it was the wet, sleet/slushy kind, not the white fluffy stuff we got this past Friday.

I saw a photograph on my tumblr dashboard of the lower half of a girl standing on a rock in the middle of a stream. I liked the concept and decided to use it as basis for a new piece.

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It seems I’ve reached a crossroads conundrum in my artistic endeavors. Being presented recently with a new design opportunity has caused me to reevaluate what it is that I want to do with my talents.

I went to college and pursued Visual Arts because that’s where my passion lies (apparently). I got a degree in Graphic Design so I could get a job (ha!). I minored in Photography because, well, the art curriculum of the college required that I have a minor concentration. But I’ve grown to enjoy that art form as well.

At the end of the day, though, I create things because I can and I enjoy the challenge that comes with the visual problem solving and coming out with a creative and aesthetically pleasing solution. When I see the effect my work has on people, how they enjoy and appreciate it . . . well, that gives me the drive to create more.

This new design venture, though, has me diving back into the world of design. It’s a little scary, slightly overwhelming. After a while, those feeling will pass, and I just have to dive in and see where my skills take me.

Art is never finished, only abandoned.
—Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519)

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Just purchased Corinne Bailey Rae’s new album, The Sea. It is amazing, bittersweet and all around awesome. I also purchased OK Go’s Of the Blue Colour of the Sky. It’s nice and funky. They’ve progressed in their sound, but it’s still distinctive, so it plays like a natural evolution.

Teaser:

The Big Bang Theory . Sheldon/Penny . pen & ink/photoshop cs2

I drew this pretty fast on half a sheet of 8.5″x11″ acid-free card stock. The speed in which I created this piece is probably most evident in the tray and plates of food. I applied the inks directly over the pencil lines

I’ve drawn Sheldon Cooper so much that I can sketch him out with very little reference. That was fun. I still have trouble getting Penny to look like herself. It is usually only after I’ve scanned the image and have been able to look at it for a few days that I can pinpoint what is wrong with it. In this case, it seems like I’ll need to tweak Penny’s top lip and move her eye to the right ever-so-slightly.

I’ve been wanting to illustrate this for a while, about five months, actually, since reading a certain story. It was this image and another that involved Warren presenting Layla with a potted plant as a peace offering. I’m really glad I took the time to draw the ivy. It was a nice challenge.

So, I turn around and go back home, thinking I can take my sister’s care instead. I get in and start pulling out of the driveway. I shifted into drive and found that the steering wheel was virtually unresponsive. I go back in the house and ask my sister about it, and she tells me (mumbling from under a mound of covers) that maybe it needs more steering wheel fluid, and at my protestations, of course she doesn’t have any available.

So after briefly weighing my options, I decide to just drive my car to get the tire changed. But, guess what? The battery has suddenly died. *head desk*

So, In this instance, it would be great if I knew how to change a tire and jump off a car. :/

I present my first drawing of the new decade. I had planned to do some new art over the holiday to eventually sell as prints. Last weekend I visited my sister in Pensacola, and I didn’t have time and lacked the inspiration to get any art done. Another holiday weekend with four consecutive days off came around, and I was beginning to think that I would not be able to get my muse to cooperate and come up with some original art. (Seriously, the amount of fan art I did last year was almost embarrassing, yet good practice overall.) So, I decided to look at some art I have saved on my computer for reference. I had not looked at it in ages, but it did the trick. The art that I found particularly inspiring was by loish.

I have been wanting to get some solid drawings done of characters from my novel, but every time I tried things just didn’t flow and I could not get the character to come out how I pictured in my head, or make the person’s features look consistent with previous drawings. It was quite frustrating.

[Evan just hopped up on the arm of this chair and sort of demanded that I pet him.]

Anyway, I got the drawing done in a few hours last night and I’m quite happy with the result. I had not drawn anything for about a month. I barely too any photos, either, but that’s another story.

E’lari & Aliyah . pencil

I had so much fun with their outfits. I’m glad now to have a more concrete idea of what their clothing will look like. Before, I had draw E’lari’s clothes a more flowing and less tailored and structured. However, her body got lost in all the folds before, so I like the idea of the corset type top with a colorful, patterned sash around the midsection.

I shall try to get this colored by next week and possibly draw more characters from my novel.

Yeah. It was rough.

Last night I set up a store front on Etsy (artgyrlshop.etsy.com) to sell off some of the fan art that I did this past summer. I put up four pieces initially and one has already sold, so that is very encouraging. The funny thing is that it costs money to make money, initially, at least. Once I made the sale, the reality of shipping the item in a timely matter quickly set in. I had planned on mailing it off today, but, because of the weather and the fragile quality of the paper, I did not want to risk taking it outdoors, exposing it to humidity that could cause the paper to curl and wrinkle.

I did go to Alabama Art Supply and purchase some clear plastic sleeves at 35 cents a piece—I bought 10.  So, the art is all sealed up and waiting to be mailed. Now is the task of getting a study cardboard envelope in which to mail it. I don’t have any lying around, unfortunately. Still, I consider all this as a business investment. That feels so weird to say, but it means that I’m getting serious about my craft and publicizing the services I have to offer.

I’ve been thinking about this seriously for the past few weeks, and I will be creating some art pieces specifically for cards and prints. My mother gave me some encouragement when I spoke with her today about my plans. She was helpful in pointing out that I already had a few old graphics that I could easily put on notecards. Hopefully I can start producing these in the next week.

It’s good to get these things sorted out as the new year approaches.

You may also notice some slight changes to the layout of the blog. The new header is the most obvious thing. The old one has been up for about a year now, so I figured it was due for a change. After fighting with WordPress for the better part of 2 hours I finally got the upgrade installed and every thing working properly. There were several moments when I came a hair’s breadth away from taking my frustrations out on my poor MacBook *pets*, but I’m glad it didn’t come to that.

…and then there’s that novel that needs to be finished.