i don’t know, maybe
July 24th, 2010Mommy’s Credit Cards…
July 14th, 2010We try not to discuss Tweenie’s little “problem….”
Happy Father’s Day!
June 21st, 2010
For my dad on Father’s Day. I drew the original several years ago, intending it at a Christmas gift. Put some quick colors on it to finally share. Hope all the dads out there had a good one! 
more paintings from last semester
May 31st, 2010Full size not safe for work, female nudity:
Detail:
The above painting is about 2ftX4ft.
This is on the back of the first painting from my last post. Smaller, I think it is 2ftx3ft? Need to measure!
About 4.5ft x 5ft.
This is six feet long and one foot tall, so difficult to thumbnail.
This is about 6ft x 4ft, roughly. Really big. Bigger than it looks here!
These were difficult to photograph and edit so that they looked reasonable, but these are acceptable approximations. So… anyone want to buy any large and somewhat strange paintings?
recent paintings
March 17th, 2010These are from my painting studio class. I’ve found this course a real struggle – but I think in the end, it will turn out to be a very worthwhile one.
What’s happening here? Well, I could get into a lengthy explanation about long defunct RPG characters, etc, but I think I shall spare everyone. It isn’t finished, but it got to the point where I felt finished working on it. Actually looking at the photograph is showing me exactly what needs be done, so that’s pretty cool. This isn’t a piece that I think is great but I loosened up some here in some ways, and pulled in some personal imagery.
This fella isn’t done yet, but it is getting there. I went into class today thinking I would paint over something I started for my dropped figure painting class. Unfortunately, when I got there and sized up the piece in question, I liked it too much even in it’s never-to-be-completed form to paint over it. So, I used the back of a small board I had experimented on with some iridescent acrylics (mice and cabbages, for those curious, but it wasn’t too much of a success). I picked a sketch that I particularly liked from my sketchbook with relatively similar dimensions, and off I went. Process:
[actually I love the composition of this much more, and the elephaunt's slightly more nervous expression, but I will still probably sleep easy tonight]
Ukulele, the addiction
March 6th, 2010When Rebecca starting playing ukulele, I joked that I was going to have to start playing so I could even see her and Natalie ever again. Of course I was being silly, music is awesome and by its nature meant to be shared. It’s pretty tight having minstrels walking around all the time, jamming out. Still though, I have always regretted not being more musically inclined. Eventually my envy of their fun was too much, and I got them to give me a lesson one night. I was informed that I was a machine and they were super impressed with my powers. Ha! I am no where near their skill level, but I have recently gotten to the point where I can look at the chords of a simple song and pick up my uke and play it. Maybe not well, or correctly, but it’s an exciting turning point in my learning curve. Don’t think too much about that last sentence, you may be injured.
So far, songs I can do semi-justice:
- Morrissey – Every Day is Like Sunday (this was the song I specifically requested to learn that first night… I was extremely lucky that it was an easy one, because it bolstered my confidence immediately and gave me tangible results)
- Joni Mitchell – Carey
- The Smiths – There is a Light That Never Goes Out
- Leonard Cohen – Famous Blue Raincoat
- Radiohead – Fake Plastic Trees
- Tori Amos – Frog on My Toe
The last one is a recent addition (I found the chords last night!) and suuuuuper easy. Much easier than any of her other songs I’ve found (most of which have tabs in notation I have not yet learned to interpret). Since she IS my fave artist of all time, it is a nice thing to be able to play at least ONE of her songs. My brother Forrest has been bugging me for a video since I first started talking about learning to play, so I finally caved to his demands. Don’t expect anything fancy, in fact, I mess up throughout. But it is still fun and I will be able to use it as a marker after I have improved further.
Unfortunately you cannot see my beautiful little red uke in the video. Eddy took some pictures of me practicing during our last trip to Ellijay, so when he finally relinquishes these images to me, I’ll be sure to share! I am officially addicted, and really love playing. It has become my go to activity when I’m avoiding other responsibilities. I’ve even managed to bruise my strumming finger. Eddy has sternly cautioned me that I am to rest today, with ice and Advil. We’ll see if I can sneak off for a quick fix….
How do I get you alone?
March 2nd, 2010Recently, my ravishing wife-type Rebecca decided to enter a contest sponsored by Uke Republic, a “Totally 80’s Rewind” Contest. She recorded the uke and vocals, and then set about to film a lot of wacky footage that could be used for a video. I am proud to say I helped get some of the wackiest of this footage, and indeed make a totally 80’s cameo. Much props to Alex Williams for the editing – I frankly had no idea how he was going to make something cohesive out of the massive amounts of raw footage we took.
This project was TOO much fun and I really would like to try my own hand at video editing sometime. Congratulations Rebecca! You deserve it!
takoyaki, delish.
February 20th, 2010
For Valentine’s weekend, my boyfriend Eddy and I decided to cook delicious food all weekend. He suggested takoyaki. For the wiki phobic, these are fried dumplings filled with octopus and veggies, covered in a sweet sauce. I had enjoyed this Japanese treat once before – during my one trip to Japan in 2003, at a huge flea market. It is a popular food for street vendors to sell.
Eddy actually had cooked takoyaki with friends before and knew it to be fun for the communal aspect. He purchased the special pan and researched recipes. It was a wonderful thing to make the dish together! We poured oil into each of the hollows, followed by batter, octopus bits, ginger, and scallions, and then more batter on top. I’m not usually a fan of ginger but it was perfect in this flavor combination. We unfortunately forgot the fish flakes, but had takoyaki sauce and Japanese mayonnaise (mmm, MSG!). I definitely want to make this again with friends. The amount of food is substantial and it is fun and different.
Unfortunately, I did not take pictures of the whole process, but I did take a whole lot of pictures of the octopus tentacles. These were purchased pre-steamed, and tasted wonderful by themselves. I do feel a bit of ambivalence since octopi are pretty intelligent, but they are delicious, tasty intelligence.
The rest of these pretties can be found on my flickr.
the posited question.
February 19th, 2010There is a key. The key is in a cage. The cage is hanging in a tree.
How will you get the key, and what will happen after?