Sometimes the war within requires me to confront my opinion on whether or not I want to make content to share, for the purpose of sharing. Something scheduled. 

I've gotten into watching Amagansett press videos and his sons vids. Is it the worst thing in the world to have a spotlight in the public eye or am I selling out? I haven't decided. It might be fun to be a brand. Maybe not. 

Anyway,  some recent progress on the next book in the imagination and daydream series. I think it's time to start a new chapter . We press on boys .

I'm trying to be more conscious of my decision making. At the heart of it, I'm a post minimalist that loves being an impressionist. So I care about showcasing the process and I love capturing the essence of the thing. I have to actively not produce messier work but something more sophisticated and drawn out. In layman's terms, I need to slow down and take my time and not let the stream of conscious win. This is what I'm trying to do here with the last 3 books on the series. I have more control when I plan which makes for easier final work.

 

A few things that give me some comfort. I've been watching Lana solo life reels, she's a 20 something that has no friends and lives alone. She had bought these wine glasses and puts her diet cokes in them. I never drink soda but tonight I indulged with my breaded chicken . It definitely makes you feel a bit more sophisticated drinking from them lol. I'll stick to sparkling water from now on though. 

Also my two new jellycats arrived for my coffee bar. My mom got me a large coffee cup and I picked up a macaroon and an espresso shot. Really cute 😍 

 

A few shots using some 90s polaroid presets in lightroom. I havent been feeling up to drawing lately. And Im unsure if I ever will again. Im still creative, but because of all the emotional damage done to me the past 3-4 years, I just have no desire to invest in it anymore. The constant lows and highs have been a bit too much and maybe I suffer from Anhedonia, maybe its permanent loss but the mountain is too high to climb now and my resiliancy has faded. Maybe switching over to photography will be good for my soul

 I finally made it down to North Park Theaters 14th annual Ghibli chalk contest. Its been a few years, battling my own demons and life's toss ups that I havent had the desire to participate. Proud of finishing this one.

I had made a quick concept sketch of what I wanted to do, wanted to keep it simple and only a few colors to save money/time. It gets very hot, and in the past ive spent the full 2 days working on a piece. Blending hurts your hands, and there's always a risk of bad weather passing through. One year they did a DBZ/Ghibli mashup and I chose to draw Haku alsongside Shenron/Shenlong. It ended up raining overnight and I couldnt get back to it, but a local photographer had gotten some nice photos the previous day.

I placed 2nd for a Kiki's delivery service homage to the bread sign outside the bakery one year, and the first year I ever did it, I was living in my hometown 4 hours away and drove to participate. I ended up drawing Ponyo's mom, Granmamare and it was my first time experiencing the heat.

Anyway, here are the shots of the finished piece. I chatted with the guy who runs it, Chris, who ive known for a long time. I bought him a milkshake from Churn down the street and we talked about the upcoming Odyssey movie and I might have a board game night buddy now for Gather and Game downtown. Will I go see ODyssey? Probably. Will I like it? Thats debatable.

 

Breakfast with walden

 I think that words like pictures are an expression of artistic thought. 

 Reading is inheritenly good for the soul , it's fuel for the creative drive. Like my separation from social media and an expectation to keep up with the digital joneses,  I have been having my meals away from my pc, away from phone and all things that keep me a buzz ( I know I took the picture....I digress). 

 I hopped back into the illustrated Walden. Part memoir , part philosophical musings,  it's a fantastic reminder to gain a sense of self reliance and to live simply. Ive written down some of my favorite phrases and quotes and use it as a bookmark. I highly recommend this book to those who have lost a sense of their footing. This is a great early morning inspirational read and I like to indulge myself after a workout or walk around my neighborhood. Fresh air and a fresh mind.

Trying to be better everyday,  as futile as that may be. Perception over reality 🙃

 

I should have some new art soon! I was on my way to pickup some art supplies for my late dogs memorial painting and then we had a severe thunderstorm. I decided to just wait it out and enjoy the storm!

 Havent updated since april 11th, holy smokes. 

Life has been good and busy! I dont have any new art to showcase as anything Im doing now is NDA. But I should be bringing on a new client shortly and I have 3 new books with my old client to wrap up.

I did, however, check out a local Japanese import market - Makoto. Theyre really close and Ive been wanting to go for ages just never had the time. It was a GORGEOUS day so I finally headed over. TONS of blind boxes, food, snacks, skin care, etc. I picked up some koala cream filled snacks, finally played a gachapon(Green ball) and got a pink fennec fox. I got Calcifer from the chibi blind box, one of my favorite characters. The Card captor sakura outfit stand figure was actually super cool and I used to watch that show as a kid, some of my early art was influenced by it. I ended up getting Sakura's school outfit. A recent Miffy fan, I got a Boris the bear keychain, some really cute office post it notes, pens and some nail art stickers that Im going to have put on the next time I get my nails did.

The packaging, real cute! I even added in my Rishi sweet matcha box because thats going in the sketchbook too. First time trying it!

The haul

The cute

I posted the boxes/tags because Im going to be adding these to my sketchbook. I love the artwork that some packaging has and I really want to save it in my sketchbook so I can look back on it and appreciate it again. I think mod podge is going to be the way to go!

 A very small update on the Mapcrunch Gamzigrad study, mostly on the left hand side. I didnt have a lot of time to commit to it, Ive got book boards in production, color rough mockups and final file formatting!

 Im hoping my production pipeline slows down at least mid may so I can participate in Mermay. I took the first half of this year off to focus solely on well being and art, and Ill be damned if I miss another Mermay!

Also also, Kaori pic never posted. Here she is, blue tortie <3 

 I figured I'd like to study film grabs , value and do some digital plein air paintings. This has more work on it, but I sent this over to me earlier and never updated. 

It was suggested to use mapcrunch. It gives you a random location in the world and I was very fortunate to get this shot here. Love the natural color palette, so much life ! 

Also , a snap of my bunny Kaori having breakfast . A natural composition and geometric lighting ✨️ 

 

Played around with some filters/textures in photoshop, nothing too crazy here. Just experimentation.

Also, I did craft up a little character for the Neopet, Stephan. I havent been able to find a good trade for him and I had an 8 bit lying around so he's now Stephan the bit with his crystal pal, Crysti (To be designed soon!)

 I put in an application for a character designer on feature for Dreamworks. Fingers crossed, I think Ive got some stuff that they would like. Hey Dreamworks, if youre checking this out, I think you'll like my stuff! 

Sketched out my Neopet, Mycinae this morning. Sometimes I just like to do a quick warmup before sitting down for the bigger projects.

I absolutely still play Neopets, and lately I have been enjoying getting to 120% and achieveing skill points in the Spyro reignited trilogy. One down three to go!

Ive had neo since I was like 13 and my account is extremely old so Im of course not giving it up. Im riding it til the wheels fall off. I probably should do more for these guys and draw them, Im more active now with the festival of neggs event they have but we'll see how long I stay.

My sister plays as well!

 Quick update before bed - played around to get a 80s Japanese anime watercolor look