His name was Rocko

I was on a roll with being better with more frequent updates but then you know, life happened. Also I really need to stop being lame and get a better camera and then not be lame about taking photos with the better camera. Maybe a New Years resolution? Anyway, one of the things that tied me up was this guy. A painting commission of a dearly beloved pet. I really hope I did him justice. I drawn tons of dogs an animals but haven't really painted them before. At least a finished one anyway. And that background.. yeah. Sigh. Not 100% thrilled but it needed to be done with in time for Christmas.

And here's the really rough initial sketch.

Coming up next time, a peak into my new crazy crafting life, and more sketches of pretty ladies. Or something Adventure Time related.

Internet Ladies I adore

I decided I should keep my skills sharp by doing quick, rough practice portraits on some ladies I admire. I started off with the hilarious and talented Kate Beaton of "Hark A Vagrant" It's been a minute and I started off feeling a little rusty and I hope that if Kate ever saw it, she wouldn't mind how this turned out (I was working from a blurry youtube video :/) Anyway "Hark A Vagrant" is a fantastic, funny comic I highly recommend. Especially if you're a big history and literature nerd. And you'll learn a thing or two about Canada! (It's Neat!)

Ok the second lady I decided to draw was Katie of the blog "Skunkboy Creatures". She's also talented, crafty, quirky and adorable! I love her DIY and outfit posts. So if you're into girly crafty things, I also recommend her blog.

Los Meurtos and their Antiques

Last week was Dia De Los Muertos. I did mine and the fellas face paint. Trying to get over feeling dumb for posting so many photos of myself for, you know, "the world" lately. Then we went to one of my favorite local antique stores (I love living within walking distance to several antique and consignment shops). I scored a super sweet paint by numbers piece, Mr. Man got a vintage Darth Vader and his TIE Fighter and then I decided to document some "artifacts" of hilariously awful Italian stereotypes. What the hell man..

A day late and a tunic short

Hooray for Halloween! I simultaneously love an am annoyed with this holiday. I love dressing up and going out but I hate stressing out over my cobbled together costumes (not of the bagged variety) and what to do that weekend/day. I promise I'll get back to posting sketches and paintings soon now that things should be getting less hectic *fingers crossed*. My costume for this year was a Star Wars Imperial Officer. Not quit 501st quality (as I can't sew, and I would need to buy better boots, belt, etc) but I think it turned out well for Halloween. I was inspired by my friend Joanna and this post she linked to with details of construction: Naval Imperial Officer Costume

Also this weekend was the 2nd Annual Bad Dads Art Show (a tribute to the films of Wes Anderson). I missed last years and I really wanted to go. Also I found out that if you went in costume as a Wes Anderson character you would get a free mini print of the show poster. So of course I pulled out my costume from last year (Which really isn't that much different from how I dress normally, just with blonde hair and thicker eyeliner). Sadly I didn't get any photos while we were there (it was packed) but some people took photos of me so maybe they'll surface somewhere. The fellow and I bought two prints inspired by "The Fantastic Mr. Fox" . I wish I could be asked to be a part of fun shows like this. I really need to get off my ass and research shows that accept submissions, be more prolific, and somehow find the "right person to know". Ugh. I hate networking.

Ok that was fun here's a few more Halloweeny photos!

I never said this was going to be all cute and rainbows

I saw Drive a while ago. It was entertaining and well lit and directed. I really applaud excellent lighting in movies, because I think it hard to do well and when its done well its beautiful. Ideally I would like to mimic well done lighting in more paintings but you know, time, energy, patience and all that. Anyhoo, I decided to draw this scene for whatever reason, and now i'm sharing it with "the world"

When I draw Ryan Gosling, I make sure to make him not cute.

Cute cuddly things.

More photos from random bay area adventures. A couple staring one F13

I love him, but I'm not sure if I could handle a world with two of him *smiley face*

And check out my super sweet 1983 original burger king Return of the Jedi Ewok cup! I know you're jelly.

Baby ewoks in the hizouse.

Postcards!

About two weeks ago we happened to end up in a really great junk shop in Berkeley after hunting for antique finds. I cant remember the name of the shop now, but it was a tiny little place and they had boxes of fantastic old, mostly blank postcards. I decided to grab a bunch to send to friends and family since have still been unable to visit *grumble* but it works out fine since living here is kind of like being on really great stay-cation. Anyhoo, here are some scans of some of them, and some doodles I did on the back of them so this blog can still be about my art stuffs.

How cute is the girl on the trolly? And how about that pan am bag (mediocre network series non-withstanding)?

Fall! and Photos!

Has it really been over a month since I last posted? Sadly yes. but I think to help improve post frequency I'm going to do a little experiment here and start posting some of my photos and random stuff that makes me smile. I'm still art-ing (and I've even picked up several new hobbies..) and I'll definitely be continuing to show that stuff here too but in the mean time.. First I painted my nail all Kate Spade-y with a touch of Geninne's inspired art on my thumb

Then the other day I noticed this. You can tell its a girl car because of the eyelashes

And its fall in the bay area. You know what that means?! SPIDERS. EVERYWHERE.

That is over my front door frame. There are so many cobwebs that appear we dont really need to decorate for Halloween...

Things in my apartment that make me happy

So what are some of the things I do when I'm not arting? I'm concocting crazy plans and ideas to improve the aesthetic value of the first real place I've lived in on my own. Slow to start (since I kind of had to figure out what kind of design style I had a taste for..) and then you know, taking breaks here and there. Mostly for my wallet but also for my (and not to mention my boyfriends) sanity.

Also, our place was kind of ehh.. so regretfully I didn't take many before or process shots as I wanted to get everything done and over with. I found a few before/process picks, and an old photo I took of myself in the bathroom last year (yeah yeah I know, it was for an art reference if it makes it any better)

Oh yeah, this was the original paint job we moved into. This wasn't done by us. I really wanted to punch whoever painted this place before us.

Before:

herp derp. At least you can kind of see the sad, awful color cream walls and the old shower curtain. It was a'ite.

Ok now for the glorious after! Peppered with things that make me smile!
After:

Oh yeah, that's a brand "new" fancy medicine cabinet that I found from local "industrial thrift store" (?) Urban Ore. If you live in the bay area, its definitely worth checking out. Especially if you're into remodeling your place on the cheap and diy. Be warned, its dusty and smells a bit of cat pee.

The end! Yay! In case you haven't figured it out by now I'm basically a large woman-child. I'm sure as I get older my place will become less whimsical and more classical but being a big kid is still fun.




And thus concludes the mini tour of my place, which I think will always be a work in progress, weather I stay here another year or move somewhere else. Hope you enjoyed!