This weekend wreaked havoc on my productivity.  I basically had none.  Saturday was spent doing a variety of errands and then taking in a screening of Alice In Wonderland. Fantastic! Though, I suspect people will liken it to Charlie and The Chocolate Factory, which I don’t think a lot of people got.  I also had to reformat my hard drive. Yup, good fun times!

Then Sunday, more errands  I had every intention of doing some sketching but a  headache really put me down and kicked my butt. So instead I spent  the evening lying on my couch, watching the atrocious Oscars.  They were terrible.  Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin were terrible hosts (moreso Baldwin). Just not funny.  Too bad NPH only did the opening musical number.   He would have made a fantastic Oscar host.  I really didn’t like that they eulogized the Best Actor/Actress nominees. Ugh, too much ego-stroking. Did not like.  Plus, I think they forgot Farrah Fawcett and Bea Arthur in the memorial section of the evening. Whut?!

And do not get me started on that sad Horror montage. I’m sorry, but there was nary a Romero zombie or Bruce Campbell in sight?! How do they figure that Beetlejuice and Edward Scissorhands are horrors films!?  And those Twilight films just shouldn’t even be represented at the Oscars. At all. read more »

Ha. The vampiress cracks me up. She’s so happy.  The second one is a quick Dorothy study.

I haven’t started colouring my other girls. I really should. I am interested to see what they look like as a completed series because they sure do look fun sitting on my table.  I just need to manage my time better.  Things have been oddly busy but yet, not. It’s weird. Really, I just need to do it.

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Well, it’s almost that time of year again.   2009 is drawing to a close and we are about to welcome 2010.  It’s kind of crazy to be entering a new decade. Mostly because it seems only like yesterday that I was ringing in 2000 with CJ, AvD and KS in the middle of frosty downtown Calgary.  I don’t think I even knew SMc yet! Nutty! Either way, the last 10 years have brought a lot of changes – both good and bad.  And I am very excited to see what the next 10 years will bring.

Last year, I did a review of 2008. I don’t particularly feel like reviewing 2009. Mostly because it wasn’t a very good year for me.  It just wasn’t.  And I mean, it goes beyond losing my Dad and Odin. The year had more lows than highs, so sucky.  Still, 2009 did allow for a lot of reflection that will definitely influence many of my decisions in 2010.  So, that pleases me.

My art goals for 2010 aren’t as grandiose as those I made (and didn’t accomplish) in 2009.  They are considerably smaller and more personal.   For the better, I think.

2010 Art Goals:

• Consistency: Draw/sketch something each and every day.
• A Girl A Day: Considering doing a 365 project to practice drawing my girls. This one isn’t a hard fast goal.  I am still debating it.
• Etsy: Make a commitment to get an Etsy shop off the ground by the end of this year.  This also means getting prints of my work made.
• Anatomy/Poses: Focus on human anatomy, dynamic poses and facial expressions.
• Art House Coop Self-Portrait Show: Participate, participate, participate!
• School: Take a course or two through Extended Studies at ACAD.
• Tablet:  Finally learn how to use my Wacom tablet that has been collecting dust on my desk.
• DAZ Studio: Learn to model using DAZ Studio so I can create my own references for posing, anatomy, etc.
• Photography: Take more photos sometime.
• Site Redesign: I need to redesign this site.  Again.

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Ok, so the first one? Cracks. Me. Up. Her expression is RIDICULOUS.  And this, my friends, is what happens when I dabble in changing expressions without some sort of reference.  Still, she shows promise.

The second one is cute. Kinda mod. I dig it.

Ya know, eventually, I am actually going to have to work on a complete piece or something.  But I would be lying if I said that I wasn’t enjoying these fun little sketches. Plus, I don’t think my sketchbook has seen this kind of attention in MONTHS.  

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Warning: This is a dog post.

Due to the weather, Ripley’s training hasn’t been going very well.  It’s been too cold to take her outside and practice her reactivity exercises.  In fact, S-JP and I had to cancel twice because of frigid temperatures. But yesterday, we were finally able to get a session is. And wow, what a session! So informative!

The most important thing to come out of yesterday’s session is that we figured out that Ripley isn’t traditionally reactive.  In other words, her over-excitement has nothing to do with fear or aggression (which would have been a bigger challenge to “fix”). She’s just a one excited girl.   As it turns out, Ripley reacts to everything the same way.  She doesn’t give the classical reactive body language – hackles raised, stiff tail, big eyes.  Instead, she gives the reaction of a dog that just wants to play with EVERYTHING.  Her tail is often loose and swaying (even when she is barking her fool-head off) and she gets into puppy play position (on her front paws with her butt in the air) more often than not. And she comes down from a freak out very quickly.  Yay.

These are things that I never really noticed because I was too worried about her getting set off and how I would handle the behaviour.  Ugh. All I heard was the barking and whining and yelping.  I needed to start paying attention to Ripley instead of scanning the area for potential things to set her off. Learning that was worth the price alone!

Needless to say, S-JP is very, very pleased by this realization (and so am I).   It means that we need to work on Ripley’s impulse control and a lot of her behaviour is likely puppy-related. But we need to nip it in the bud before it becomes dog-related.  I also need to work on my own issues of remaining calm when she does go wild.  I guess when S-JP was on her leash, she didn’t react as big or as long as she does when I am. Some homework for me!

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A couple more girls. Nothing special. Though, I have come to realize that I need a bit of assistance in two key areas – hair and expressions. I’m so used to drawing boring portrait expressions that I get a bit lost if I am trying to capture anything else. The expressions are pretty vacant and uninteresting. So to remedy this, I ordered myself a bit of an early Xmas gift, Facial Expressions: A Visual Reference for Artists by Mark Simon. From what I read, its a pretty decent reference guide – since I am apparently too lazy to use a mirror like a really-real artist would do. It is currently in Mississauga and will be here by next week. Woot!

As for the hair, the problem isn’t actually drawing hair, it’s illustrating hair. Well, illustrating hair from my imagination., to be precise. I need some good references,. I will have to rely on the internets for some help in that area since most (if not all) of the books I have found seem to be directed at manga artists. Or I just need to find a good hairstyle site. Or something. Hurm. I should don my research hat, I suppose.

Beyond the usual artistic musings, the Burlesquercise Gala on Friday night was a HOOT. I had a really good time. It was fun to see what the courses would be like. There were women of all ages, shapes and sizes. They were so confident and sexy. It was awesome. I am going to sign up for a class in the new year. Definitely. It will be an awesome time. CJ will dig it too. Too bad SMc isn’t around. I think she would LOVE it. There would be so much giggling!

Now, I am just trying to get through the next three days, then I will be on a much deserved vacation until the new year. Can. Not. Wait.

This afternoon, I had a bit of a epiphany about my current peer group (or lack thereof).  In recent days, I had been bemoaning the fact that I had no friends to W. Ok, while I know this isn’t true at all, I do have friends. I was just being a touch melodramatic (Who me? Shut it.) The truth is that I have been coming to terms with the fact that my peer group is significantly smaller than it used to.

I have never been a person who had copious amounts of friends. I am not a social butterfly.   At all. In fact, I pride myself on my Quality-Over-Quantity approach to interpersonal relationships. And admittedly, I can sometimes be a difficult person to be friends with.  Still, in spite of this, I still had a gaggle of folks that were My People.  It is this gaggle that has diminished greatly in the last couple years. Recently, its made me take a pause.

Now for the most part, the root cause of the reduction is life changes.  Most of my people have fled Calgary.  It is really difficult to maintain a similar level of involvement in someone’s life when you are hundreds of kilometres away. Still, I did attempt for their lives (and my life) to remain relevant and involved. But it’s hard.  Especially when it comes to two of them. Somedays I wish neither of them left Calgary for their particular New-Home-Cities-Of-Choice, but truthfully, I only have those thoughts when I am feeling my loneliest and my lowest.  On any given day, I know that both of them are living fantastic new lives and I would be a huge a-hole if I was nothing but happy and supportive of them because they are two of the MOST wonderful people on this planet.  Period.

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