pussy

Well...yeah. Turns out that I did not, in fact, react well to my artistic outing at work. I've never been lightning quick at the whole art thing, but the experience at work has made guitar my idle time avenue of choice. I'm coming around slowly, but for now, I can't say that drawing makes me happy anymore. I've pussed out, mostly.

I have, though, given in to the whole Facebook thing and have been uploading new artwork there every once in a blue moon.

For now, though, I am enjoying the netbook I got for Christmas. Since it is not buff enough to be a gaming machine, I have finally gotten the typewriter I wanted since I was little. I'm working on some short stories and taking baby steps at it. Also, I'm enjoying new and old music and trying my best to enjoy the time I have left before heading back to some sort of schooling come September. Hopefully, my ongoing efforts to secure a new job would have paid off by then.

Lastly, I know this blog receives a comically low visit rate and it may very well go the way of the dinosaur sometime. If anybody gives a shit enough to follow whatever art/writing I'll be doing (eventually/in the future), feel free to add me on Facebook if you have an account. I'm not sure if I relaxed my visibility options there, but if I can't be found by email search, leave a comment here and I'll look for you.

island style

You know, with all this talk of vision 2020 and the associated/increased living pressure it can be very easy to forget that I live on a beautiful island. And island life is nice.

For instance, we don't have perfectly sunny days - we have beach weather. You can't help but think that the only thing that can make the perfect mix of dry weather, heat and breeze would make for a great day at the beach.

Such was the case yesterday. Headed up to Maracas beach and enjoyed the change of pace. I love the winding drive to get there, and the view from the lookouts on the way are exceptional. This is the stuff that tourists pay a lot of money to fly in and appreciate and all we have to do is fully or partially gas up the car and head out.

Someone cue the Baywatch theme here.

Here's the very much related first drawing of the year.

another one gone

In less than three hours it shall be January 1, 2010. It's strange when I think about it like this: today makes it ten years since a lot of people, myself included, hoped against the Y2K bug boogeyman.

A lot of stuff has happened, changed, since then. Hell, a lot of things have changed since the last entry. This has been a pretty minging year art-wise, but the disappointment has been balanced by my progress with guitar playing. As the new year looms, I hope that the portable convenience of the netbook I got for Christmas provides an incentive to begin writing again, as well as focuses my net goof off time so that when I sit behind the PC to get work done,I actually get work done.

Anyway, today's been a good day because I managed to start and complete a year-end image. It's a personal accomplishment since the whole use it or lose it theory definitely applies to creative work and I felt very rusty when I started working on the piece.

Anyway, here's to hoping that whatever you want for yourself in 2010 comes true. Whether you want to be happier, healthier, more outgoing, lose your addiction(s) or just plain get off your ass and DO something...I hope you're successful at it.

Happy new year!

10 years older than me

Ups and downs.
I've had a difficult time drawing for some time now. It's less of a slump and more of a block. Some weeks ago, I conceded defeat on the "work work" project and had to get back to my job's primary focus. Although I had a great time in researching the subject and stepping out of my comfort zone in order to cater to a particular target audience, I understand even further, now, why artists and illustrators seem so damn frustrated. Stereotypes really do exist for a reason.

Anyway, I felt I needed some time away from drawing after that failure. In the meantime, I've been spending more time on guitar practice, and gaming. The original plan was to play through the Crash Bandicoot PS1 trilogy but since the lack of a convenient saving option wasn't implemented until the sequel, I've skipped onto Crash Bandicoot 2. I feel 11 years younger already.

So anyway, here's a late timed piece. It was fun, was done in an uncharacteristically short time. I'd like to do others, seeing how I got a massive nostalgia attack during the process.



Can I do it? Wouldn't hold my breath, but I'll see.

the Ventures live! 1966

I'm sorry, Joey Rivers. I bought your guitar method book when I gave guitar playing a first go in 1999 and while I have it to this day, I still cannot play Yellow Bird. This has a lot to do with the rock n' roll devil that's been living in my head since my brother and I first spun Bad Company's Feel Like Makin' Love single on my dad's record player when we were kids.

So really, who wants to play a light island standard after all that?

Anyway, here's some vintage rockin' by the way of The Ventures. Of this concert setlist, I am currently learning how to play Apache and Wipeout.

edison & dina

Alright, it's done!


Oh no, no. That's not it. Perhaps a backstory is in order.

This is a relatively old drawing, done sometime around this time last year. I was in the mood of finishing a short story meant to introduce Edison to myself and get a good feel for the character as well as his girlfriend Dina, a supporting character. In the story he and Dina were watching a video given to Dina by a film student, a regular at her workplace (Joie De Cafe, a hip coffeehouse and fmarty-pantf gathering spot).

While Dina's trying to understand the random avant-garde imagery flashing across the TV screen, Edison is torn between being bored senseless and mocking what he sees as an attempt by a film geek to put the moves on his girlfriend. His ringing doorbell provides him an opportunity to get away for a moment. Some other supporting characters are introduced and a revelation is made about Edison. That's all I can share of that for now.

But looking at the drawing itself, I felt as if it was time the technique refinements and experiments conducted during my work project were put to work.



I think it worked quite well. Now on to the next project.

pruthviraj patil is o.k. by me

So I took a break from finishing up the current colour job this weekend, but while I was working on it, was reminded of the ideas behind the piece. So...

Who's enjoying the vampire fad in pop culture these days? Besides True Blood on HBO, I can say with all certainty that I wish the fad would go away as quickly as it came. Vampires romancing teenaged girls is a concept as appealing as the middle aged dudes that hang around high schools for poon because they're completely unappealing to people in their age demographic. Unless Rocco and Kelly reunite for a vampire themed skin flick, I'll wait every "summer" season to catch True Blood.

What's wrong with werewolves? Werewolves ain't bad. They're tragic creatures of the night that are too busy woe is me-ing over their nocturnal snacking habits to woo jailbait with twat pout photos on their facebook. We need more werewolves, and if I'm able to stick to a train of thought long enough, I'll fucking make it happen!



Pruthviraj Patil is a boy from India with a rare condition that makes hair grow all over his body. Even though he wishes to be cured, his gentlemanly smile is an inspiration to us all.

extremes

Two ladies that have made me shut up and listen repeatedly.

Jesy Fortino a.k.a Tiny Vipers. My wife takes hints very well since I have gotten Tiny Vipers albums for the past two birthdays. Despite the growth in her playing abilities between albums, Tiny Vipers is very simple music. Not Tila Tequila simple, mind you, but it evokes the saying still waters run deep and possesses strong dreamlike qualities.



Marnie Stern



This video came through in my BlankTV subscription at YouTube and after numerous views all I can manage is "Whoa". There's s decent amount of Marnie videos on YouTube so if you're like me and dig offbeat stuff, you should give Marnie a try.

So there's two extremes. One is a minimalist and the other taps the hell out of a fretboard. Check them out.

rainy day

It's a heavily overcast day with every chance of rain. The rainy season hasn't been all that bad, but apparently someone felt the need to remind us that we are in the rainy season.



Slight landslide on Lady Young Road this morning, but the firemen had the cleanup pretty much taken care of by the time I passed the site. Traffic was merged into one lane, which explained the sudden pile up after we passed the Lady Young lookout. I just hope there's not an encore when it's time to head back home later.

Rain I mind, but not the overcast weather. It's making Dntel's Dumb Luck even more enjoyable.

alas

Alright, heres's one of the things I've been working on while working on a few simultaneous projects. Another one shall be due shortly and another's lying on the kitchen/ding table, waiting to be scanned and processed.



I'm very happy with how the current piece is coming along. I am applying all the techniques I amassed during my work assignment and while time is my usual drawback on these things, I feel as if I have finally sccored that cliche, the next level.

You'll see soon enough.