My Prime Suffering Years

So I got home all huff-and-puff about the weekend and wrote here. I didn't really wanna write about such negativity but I needed to let it out. I guess it was better than me losing my job... or is it?

I've been swimming in so much bad energy and I feel so tired right now. I've been trying to be all nice and happy so that good energy flows back to me, but it seemed like I just got s--- on this week. No matter what I did, I can't get a break. I do my job, I still get yelled at. I don't do my job and I get nagged about it.

I am hoping November's gonna be better for me. I am hoping I get that other job too so I can at least get some extra money.

As for painting or drawing, this should be the best time to make any artwork. BUT I AM PHYSICALLY TIRED. I am in a gotta-drag-my-butt-to-do-anything mode, but even though I am not making any art at least my head is pulsing with ideas. Gotta see the good side on this bad thing, Imma quote a line said by Steve Carell as Uncle Frank in "Little Miss Sunshine" while he was talking to his nephew:

"Anyway, [Proust] uh... he gets down to the end of his life, and he looks back and decides that all those years he suffered, Those were the best years of his life, 'cause they made him who he was. All those years he was happy? You know, total waste. Didn't learn a thing. So, if you sleep until you're 18... Ah, think of the suffering you're gonna miss. I mean high school? High school-those are your prime suffering years. You don't get better suffering than that."

I'm a teenager in high school again and this is my prime suffering years. If days like these don't give me enough of a push to pull myself out of this rut, I don't think anything would.

I want 8 minutes of my life back...

That is sooo NOT a phone. It's just someone scratching her ear or cupping her ears to hear something better.

Charlie Chaplin cell phone video: Is Charlie Chaplin time traveler real?

To read more: http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/2010/10/27/1323008/charlie-chaplin-cell-phone-video.html#ixzz13cn8TubJ

I am a genius!!! OK Maybe not...

This is probably one of the only day offs I had that I woke up extra early. I had me some coffee and watched "America's Test Kitchens" DVD that I had borrowed from the library then when my boyfriend woke up, I made us lunch (spaghetti).I finally talked him into letting me buy *cheap* bookcase (made of particle board, not real wood) to place my art supplies in.

I went to my interview today and the manager tells me she doesn't have that much hours to give so she had stopped hiring. JUST MY LUCK. She mentioned that she might be hiring closer to the holidays (I am assuming pre-Black Friday AKA day after Thanksgiving) and for after-holidays because of inventory... but even then, it's just 10-15 hrs. Fortunately, I am not one to just let her say no so I stressed that those hours are fine and even if it was seasonal or for inventory because I had worked in three major retail stores and has done inventory and stockroom duties. She looked at me like I was nuts and she asked how young I was. HAHAHA. I told her that I am turning 27 and she was still impressed. Yay me!!! Also, I spotted a box easel there for $69.99... wish me luck cause I am definitely saving up for it.

After the interview, I went to the Goodwill across the street, to see if they had anything new. I read in someone's blog where she had gotten a huge pile of  art supplies for like $10. No luck for me. I did manage to find an old picnic basket for two bucks which I am going to use to hold my acrylic paints and picked up "Five People You Meet in Heaven" by Mitch Albom (I think it was the same one I passed up last time) for a buck.

Then I headed towards Kohls to see if they still had some college dorm furnitures. They didn't. Instead, I got me a belt for $2.50 and a cap for $4.60. I had about five bucks in store credit so I pretty much got them for free ^___^ I stopped at Target but there really weren't that many deals. I saw a 4-tier bookcase for $20. It was too small for my taste. I gave up and just headed towards Big Lots.

I spotted the 5-tier cherry bookcase for $27 that they had in the ads and this nice lady named Tiffany got a box for me and even loaded it to my car. After BL, I went to the post office to pick up some boxes I am going to use for some projects.

So this is what the bookcase looks like. See the picnic basket? ^_^ And I said 5-tier bookcase, right? Note that there's 6 tiers. OOOH! Yeah I made that top one by sandwiching styrofoam between two pieces of cardboard (the boxes I picked up). I am not planning to put anything heavy on it since it's not gonna hold, just some of my blank canvasses. And did you guys see the inspiration board? Yeah, I am a genius.

Oh my poor baby!

I meant my boyfriend, by the way. Hahaha. There isn't an infant in the house... although my cat is about the size of one. ^_^

Anyways work was yet again not busy. They kicked me outta there by 2:30 pm. I was given a choice to stay until 5 or to go home early and I opted early because I thought I can bring a burger home to my sick hunnybunny. I ran into Michaels to check out the sale on artist pads. I have enough sketching paper (which they had a lot of) but I am definitely running out of acrylic paper. Unfortunately, the one brand I want (Canson) wasn't on sale. What they did had no canvas-y texture to it. Another pad had half the amount of paper in the Canson pad and about twice the price (even with my coupon) so I said no way. I ended up heading towards the canvas racks and picked up 2-pack 11x14s. I usually get them at Big Lots for about $3 each but 40% of $8 for the 2-pack = $2.40 each. SCORE! Then I got myself an aluminum water-bottle for $1.50... It's sooo cute. I get free soda at work and I am hoping this water-bottle's gonna stop me from drinking soda.  I sorta made a promise to myself to go on a diet with one of my coworkers (he's staying away from carbs, I am staying away from soda ^_^) and I hope the water-bottle idea will inspire me.

After Michaels, I headed towards the library and picked up 11 books on art. I picked up books on Matisse, Pollock, Expressionism, Impressionism and Surrealism just to name a few. And DVDs too!

When I got home, my boyfriend had his burger and he tells me he has a homeowners meeting that he had forgotten to tell me *SIGH* While he ate, I read about and wrote down notes on Surrealism and its founders. Pretty neat stuff ^_^

Alternative Bagel and Schmear Breakfast

I LOOOOOOVE Bagels + Cream Cheese. Plain, not flavored cream cheese. I love the plain, poppy seed, garlic and everything bagels. ZOMG, what I would kill to have the real stuff right now. I guess my Sandwich Rounds with Neufchatel and Kona Coffee are going to have to do for my breakfast ^_^ I am bringing some frozen food to cook at work so I might get peckish anyway.

My first bagel was at Not Just Bagels when I used to live in Staten Island, NY. Oh I went there almost every damn day when I was in junior high school. I was a latchkey kid and I usually can't wait until dinner at 7 pm when my  dad gets home. My mom usually left something on the counter for me to cook later that evening though. I guess that's when I actually learned to cook (Mom refused to let me help her cook when we had a small deli back when I was young. All I did was stir pots, not really prepare the food).

It's reassuring to see that the bagel shop's still there. The staff there was unusually nice for New Yorkers. HAHAHAAA!!! Will probably go there one last time before I decide I will NEVER step foot in that God-forsaken island ever again.

Tired

I have been tired yesterday and today as well. I don't know why since I only worked until 1 pm today (too dreary today so boss-man told me to go home). I went to Michaels to see if there are anything worth buying, no luck for me. The stuff in the circulars sound awesome but nothing I wanted was on sale -_-

But I have been collecting huge Styrofoam sheets for a while now. Got most of them from work. They're all about 1.5 inches thick, some are about 2 feet by 3 feet in size while some are just under 2x2. I have been meaning to make something of this stuff. I was planning to make a small cabinet or something, but I don't know how well it would hold up!

Anyways, I chose a 2x3 and decided to make an inspiration board today.  I lightly glued cardboard (thick application of glue might make the cardboard impenetrable O_o) on one side because I imagined that styrofoam won't hold pushpins all that well on its own. Then I picked out my favorite color gift wrap and glued that on as well. I have a few bits of twine and tan/brown yarn that I am going to use to hang this... when I get to buy some Command Strips. Those things are AWESOME!
I also took some pushpins and dipped them in pink acrylic paint to match the pink dots on the giftwrapper. ZOMG this is gonna look soooo cute! Maybe I am going to make one for my bathroom (maybe for my jewelry and little knick knacks?), but I am going to have to find me some pink cloth to match the other stuff in my bathroom. Hmm... might find something at the dollar store...

Imma Need All the Luck I Can Get...

So I got out of work today and decided to pop in Big Lots. I was hoping that they'd have more canvasses but unfortunately, the fuckers decided to no longer sell single-packs. I only had enough money to buy one so I skipped on it today.
I have been meaning to go to Nippan Daido, a Japanese mini grocery, and today I went. I picked up some nori (seaweed) and Panko breading. I was quite upset when the cashier told me they won't have spring roll wrappers until next month (seriously. WTF?!?!?!) I highly doubt I will ever go there again unless I'm in serious need of sweet rice flour and have no means of begging my hunny-bunny to go with me to the Asian supermarket.

Then I went over to the Tuesday Morning to see if they have any job openings. It paid off that one of the assistant managers and I spoke the same language cause she gave me tips on how to land a part-time job there. ^_^ Not to mention that she took my business card and said she might order some frozen food from me... score baby!!!

When I got home, I logged on World of Warcraft just to say hi to some of my guys. I miss most of them a lot but hey I got more things than I can handle at the moment. I was tempted to play for a little bit, but I decided against it. I have a painting that's just asking to be finished.

WIP: "Mosaic Seahorse"

So I cooked me some Mochiko Chicken (leftovers from the ones I am gonna use to lure some more of my frozen food orders) so I won't be hungry in the middle of painting.

Anyways, I tried my luck on encaustic painting. I went outside on the patio (just so if the stupid wax spills, it won't be all over the carpet and my boyfriend won't have a fit). I placed a cupcake pan on top of candles so I can melt the crayons (derpderp moment!). The crayons barely even melted! I mean it did, but it was only like a thin layer of melted wax then the rest of the crayon was sorta floating on top of it.

Rule numero uno of painting = have enough paint on your brush. I can't even get enough wax for my brush to get soaked up! I guess I need an actual heating plate for this... now, where is that 40% coupon for Michaels again?

Anyways, I gave up on that and spent the whole day painting "Mosaic Seahorse". I think I watched a few movies (50 First Dates, Dune, Ponette [a French film], The Secret Garden) and the first disc of the 4th Season of South Park. Still, I wasn't done by 11 pm. So I called it a night. I do have work in the morning!

This is what I have so far. Not bad, in my honest opinion. The colors are inspired by a batik cloth pattern I saw in Jo Anns the other day.

Melted Crayons = WIN?

I think I was still in junior high school when I tested my luck on encaustic painting. I didn't know what it was called at the time but I melted broken crayons in an aluminum pan and used that as my painting medium. Sadly I don't think I will ever see that painting again (it was an abstract purple tree with green skies) since that was more than a decade ago.

Anyways, encaustic painting is painting with hot wax. There are kinds of wax that are meant for this kind of painting, but since I am just starting (and not to mention BROKE) I am planning to use the wax from my old crayons. I have a ziploc bag full of Crayolas and another bag of "oil pastels" (that's more crayon than pastel!) that came with my artbox ages ago. Today I picked up an 8-ct box of Crayola for 60 cents (40% off coupon) and a 64-count box for 75 cents (I bought the cheap box because it's more translucent than the Crayolas which I might need for this painting I'm about to make for a friend).


This type of painting sorta scares me though, especially since our house is carpeted and I don't want to be spilling wax all over the place. Not to mention my cat might try to eat the carpet *SIGH* I am probably gonna do this outside on our patio but unfortunately, I also don't have a heating plate so candles are going to have to make do. Hmm... I think I am going to buy one of them candle warmer things. I think they're about $5 at Michaels... /looks for more Michaels coupons.

"Where's the Beef?"

I know this article is more than two years old. but this still infuriates me: See the Art You Paid for
Let me quote parts of it:
... Do you see a bunch of folks acting like fools on the beach in their underwear or do you see art? On her website, Houston playwright Crystal Jackson wants to fight stupidization. She got a Houston arts grant for writing plays with your tax money. And I want you to listen carefully to her opening line."I'm not a queer, but I want someone to (expletive) me in the (expletive) pretty much as soon as possible," read Jonathan Glus with the Houston Arts Alliance.
... Seventy-five-hundred bucks for a series of poems on how four city art pieces look during different times of the day. He got the grant in April 2007, got four checks, the last check in June of this year. But a year and a half later after getting the first money, not a single poem has been made public, even though the artist bills include $1,000 for printing.
... One theatre group claimed they had 9,500 people at two performances at the Third Ward Multiservice Center. Just one problem. The place only holds 400 people... Maybe that's how they knew there were 750 multi-racial people in the audience. Yes they claimed that, too.
... The Arts Alliance wanted you to pay nearly $200,000 to put a colorful image on stained glass windows in the tower of the new downtown fire station. You be the art critic. What do you think it looks like? "A lot of people at first termed it a flaming chicken," said Houston Fire Department Chief Phil Boriske.

Don't get me wrong, I am all for Fine Arts, Music and Performing Arts. But this is too f***ing ridiculous! Nudity IS an art-form but Jesus H. Christ, I don't want anybody getting free money over something that's inappropriate. They get grants for stupid concepts (Hmm, maybe I should design a stained glass with the image of a person getting stabbed for the Medical Centers? Note the sarcasm!). Not only that, some of them are cheating the system. Not only are they taking money from OUR taxes, they are taking it from people who ACTUALLY CREATE ART.

I am pro-euthanization of these a$$holes. Anybody with me?

Deals and Steals!

I finally downloaded Rocky Horror Picture Show and I am watching it as I write. This s*** is weeeeird. Too damn weird for my taste. I honestly don't have a clue what's going on and sad to say, I haven't a clue why people dress up and act like the characters in this musical. Anyways, I am watching it in hopes I can brace myself for Rocky Horror GLEE Show tomorrow (/gleek). Not that I am gonna be able to watch it as it airs. Gotta go to my nephew's football game. Go Patriots!!!

So I finally got the courage to go to Goodwill. It wasn't as bad as some people make it sound. The one I went to wasn't trashy, hell it was even cleaner than Marshalls! It smelled a little funny (more like dried paint and not really the musky smell that other people described it to be.)
GW had waaay more clothes than I imagined. Probably not a bad thing. Everything else in there is pretty bleh. I checked the book aisle. I had wanted to pick up "The Five People You Meet in Heaven" by Mitch Albom since it was only a dollar. Unfortunately some pages were torn out of (seriously? Who the hell defaces books like that!). So no book for me.

After I had gone to GW, I went to Joann's because I am about to run out of white acrylic paint. I was hoping I could get a bigger canister of it, but I picked up an ivory one, plus a few more colors that I was either running out of or some that I need for my next project... A seahorse or a mermaid or a starfish in the middle of aqua/purple batik waters. And guess what? The paint was only 50 cents each. Oh yeah!!!

Anyways, I snagged a set of picture frames at Goodwill for $3.99 and for a dollar I got a ceramic pitcher looking thing. I will update this entry when I take a picture of it.  I am planning to make origami flowers and I needed somewhere to put them. I originally was looking at a vase and I found one... but it looked yellowish, like someone had used it as an ashtray. EWWW!!!
Anyways, I didn't like how the frames were all white not to mention they already have white mats. So I painted the frames glossy black. I'll post the after pictures tomorrow after the paint has dried. The paint was streaking a bit (SHOOT ME!) but I refuse to buy aerosol paint for just one project. So "hand-painted" is going to have to do ^_^ It's not like anyone but me is going to look at the frames.

Cheap or Free Art Supplies... Possible? I THINK YES!!!

I got home last night tired from work, then headed to Dollar Tree for disposable gloves and a pan for when I do some encaustic painting. And then I ran around Michaels looking around the big store for a T-shirt shadow box so I can exchange the broken one I got the day before. I resisted the urge to buy a two-pack of 20x24 canvases for $8.99 and I would lie if I said I wasn't crying on the inside because of it.

Distraught over passing over the sale, I gathered all my paint, my brushes, tarp (so I won't be spilling paint all over the patio floor) and twine/yarn. I know the panels don't cost that much but even after I already opened my 16x20's and laid out where I wanted the lengths of the yarn to go, I didn't have the cajones to start my painting. Call me cheap but I didn't want to waste a panel over a trial and error experiment. So I used a sheet of my acrylic pad and taped it to a board using the blue painter's tape in the picture). The base turned out alright except for the area where I can still see the paper. Simple problem I can fix easily but using more paint next time or maybe a preliminary coat of paint. Then I started with the lines. At first, I thought the strings I used were too messy (which is fine since I was wearing gloves anyway!) but it's not creating the lines I wanted them to. But I didn't mind the lines by the time the paint dried. It's starting to grow on me now. I think I might try the same technique with twine, just to see how porous it is and if it would hold while it is soaking in paint.

Considering any kind of "art" hobby can be expensive, I decided to look online for ways to get art materials for free... or at least cheap. I made multiple google searches on the words cheap/free, crafts, art, materials, supplies, etc. 

My boyfriend is the one who got me looking for free stuff. It's not that I spend our money on just my art stuff (since I only use a portion of my tip money from work for my art supplies) but hey, if I can get it for free, why not?!?!? Last night, he was also screaming "OOH LOOK! Free Origami Paper at FreakyFreddies! Go get it!"

So I did what I was told (just so he'd shut up hahaha!) and look at the other free stuff there. Soon I was directed to Everything in Papercrafting website. There I signed up for 50 free origami papers. And I absolutely adore origami. I've been folding paper since I was in third grade when a Korean exchange student first gave me a paper crane. My mom bought me a few booklets (that I still have!) too. I also made a huge modular star similar to this one on the left for my Art teacher. I wonder if she still has it...

I already go to the post office for the boxes (not just for mailing!) if I ever needed cardboard. As for strings and ribbon scraps I might need, I've been advised to go to tailors. For wood, I think I am going to ask my workplace about the slots of wood we had just lying around the floor of our shed taking up space.

As for cheap materials, I have resorted to going to the local Dollar Tree and King Dollar. I usually get canisters of dry spice (why pay $3 on spices that taste just the same as the $1 canisters that are twice as big?) there, or baby wipes to clean my hands with in between drawing with pastels. I also found a $1 bag of 100ct. disposable gloves which I am going to need soon for when I get back to my "String" Projects. It's a steal since my boss told me that the 500 ct we have at work cost about 6 dollars or so.

I have always been a fan of Dollar Store Crafts and I am not ashamed to admit that I got a LOT of great ideas from browsing this website. I am about to nick the idea for their DVD or Book Organizer... unless I get an actual bookshelf for cheap instead... which lead me to...

One blog suggested I comb through the aisles of Goodwill. There is one near me and I was planning to drop off some old clothes I don't wear anymore anyway. Also, this Kitchen Caddy idea seems awesome! I guess Imma fight people for picture frames and canvases when I visit that place.

I wish I could remember some of the free stuff sites I went to. There were some giving away paper and paint samples. I'll get back to this when I get my samples in the mail.

An unintended Michael's Run

So at work today, I was listening in on my manager talking to the boss (btw the boss is her dad) on the phone and they were talking about how we haven't really sold any T-shirts for our restaurant since they posted a print of the shirts (instead of just hanging the damn shirts). She suggested we buy shadowboxes to put the shirts in and from what I can tell from her facial expressions her dad was screaming about how expensive those things are. That's when I butted in and said, "I can get them for $5 from Michaels!"

At the end of my shift, my manager lent me $20 to spend at Michaels (I told her I didn't have cash and I never bring my card). So I got two T-Shirt Display Frames. They were already on sale so I couldn't use my 40% off coupon (today was the last day -_-). But the $7.99 3-pack 16x20 Artist Panel came out to be $4.79 plus taxes. Not bad!


Then I got home and made some spring rolls. I had to roll 4 lbs of meat and about 3 cups of other ingredients plus the spices into little spring rolls. Let's just say it took me more than 2 hours to go through the whole damn thing. Then I stuck them in the freezer when I was done. THEN, I went and made Gumbo for my boyfriend's dinner.  I ate early because I didn't want to eat when he got home (he gets home late -_-) so I just surfed the internet. I bookmarked most of the pages I wanted to look at in the future. I'm too sleepy to really care so I'll blog about it tomorrow.

Such Ballsy Days as These...

Yesterday, I had a long day at work and a massive argument with a coworker (which ended with me in tears). I was tired cranky and still fuming when I got home last night so I chilled in front of the computer and just looked at inspirations online. When I got sick of looking around for stuff, I started on "First Steps". This is what I started with:

It didn't look too bad, but I don't think I like the Bienfang Raritan Drawing Pad all that much. The Rembrandt Pastels doesn't seem to want to stick to the damn paper. Probably my fault. I knew it was too smooth, but hey, that's just me trying to be adventurous.Maybe this picture was meant to be acrylic or watercolor instead of pastel. I don't know. I will try to finish this some other day though.

I woke up with a REALLY bad headache (which took 2 aspirins and an Excedrin migraine to get rid of) and we went to run errands. When the day was almost over, we headed to Viet Hoa, this massive Asian supermarket on steroids. I rarely go there (it's in a crazy part of town, not to mention I get lost in that area) so when I proposed we go today and my boyfriend said yes, I was like YAAAAAY!


We pretty much spent $30 on foods, not too bad in my opinion. Most of them are ingredients for Lumpia, the Filipino version of spring rolls. Wrappers, baby carrots (oh they are soo sweet an yummy!!!). Then I picked up some fish and lobster balls (saying this makes me laugh EVERY time, I can't help myself!!!) and Mochiko (sweet rice flour) which I am going to use for Mochi Balls and Mochiko Chicken some day...

I wasn't going to go and watch a movie with our friend, Steve, tonight but I don't see him often enough and well I figured I REALLY needed a laugh. I don't usually go for MTV Movies but Jackass 3D... is a different kind of artform... in stupidity-form mostly but it was so dang funny. I think I lost about a good third of my IQ, but it was worth it. I needed a stress-reliever after such a long day.

The Gold Medallion

I've had this pad of 5x7 Oil and Acrylic Canvas Paper for the longest time and I had wanted to use it. I am still in the *string*-high but I have a horrible headache so I decided to make a simple yet unique looking gold medallion necklace with a silver background. (I'll post it when I get a chance!) I highly doubt this is even considered real art, but oh well, I thought it turned out okay.

Reminiscing

So I hated grade school. Sure I got good grades and my teachers loved me... but it's those spoiled little brats I had for classmates made me want to "REDRUM! REDRUM!". Even if I was paid to go to a reunion, I probably wouldn't go in fear that I might bring a gun and shoot some of them point-blank.

On better note... I remember one of my art classes (I think it was in 4th grade) where we were given bits of string and a tub of paint. We were supposed to stick the strings in paint and place them on the paper and cover it with another piece of paper, weight that paper with a book and pull the string. That was the idea behind this latest mess (yeah, my boyfriend gave me the weirdest look when he saw my paint covered hands and I attempted to give him a hug).

So this is "Pulling Strings", after all the strings (of yarn) I pulled to achieve this picture.

I think I am going to make a few more mini-versions of this today. I really do feel like crap but I don't want to just sit my butt in front of the TV... at least I can do something while I'm watching.

Finished: Midsummer Night's Dream

I hate allergies. I hate pollen... and I hate whatever else gives me a headache the second I wake up in the morning. But that didn't stop me from finishing what I started last night. ^_^
So I did a draw-over on the earlier version of MND and used Rembrandts instead of my Artist's Loft pastels. The AL pastels just weren't vibrant enough for me. Finished Product:

Will use the AL pastels again though, but maybe for landscape drawing or something that doesn't require that much dark detailing.

As I am writing this, I am recovering from food coma after coming back from eating at Marini's Empanada House. That was some goooood eating!!! I got the combo meal with Ham and Cheese Empanada, curly fries and Dulche de Leche Empanada for dessert (ZOMG sugar-rush!). Wish they had some yellow cheese in with the ham (like cheddar or a sweeter cheese like American maybe?) but then again, yellow cheese don't really fry all that well. I speak from experience.

Anyways, I saw some good artwork on their walls. I assume some of them are made just for the restaurant by regulars. Some are prints of Picasso's work (whose work I haven't really looked at before) which I thought were pretty odd-looking. But there are a few blank spots that are just asking to have paintings on them. Might have to go back there more times and when (*if*) I get to be good at what I can do, I can ask them if I can post my artwork on their walls.

Midsummer Night's Dream

I started on my "Midsummer Night's Dream" portrait today and experimented with a new set of pastels. I wanted to practice with soft pastels without using up all my good stuff (AKA my Rembrandts). So I bought a Artist's Loft Soft Pastels for $3 (after coupon ^_^). 
There was minimal binding agent for the pastels and it's very powdery. I sorta liked it cause it made blending a LOT easier. Downside? The colors aren't as rich and dark and buttery looking as the Rembrandts. Oh well, I did say I am just using the cheap ones to practice on, right?

My Artbox gets a Makeover

I redid the lining of my artbox a week or so ago and this is what it looked like:

And when I was done today, it looked like this:

I am quite proud of it. I made the inside box myself and lined it with an aqua/light pink adhesive lining from the dollar store. I achieved the *hollowed out* compartment feel by slicing a large paper towel roll horizontally and placing convex, side to side from another. Then I lined them with faux suede lining. As for the drawers, I just added some compartment and lined those with the same lining I used for the upper box.

I think I might move my oil pastels with the pencils and place my soft pastels in the uppers instead... if only I can find them... (*SIGH*)

New Old Artbox

I made some pretty awesome tempura shrimp last night, my boyfriend was so full he passed out an hour after we ate. HAHAHAA! After watching a couple of episodes of Boston Legal, I decided to suck it up and start on refinishing my artbox.

At first it's just this ugly artbox with no compartments but I made a couple of dividers out of cardboard and cut-out large toilet paper rolls (for months now, I had taken a lot home from my workplace since we use paper towels like there's no tomorrow!). It's not quite finished yet because I have yet to decide what to do with the smaller drawers. Prolly more dividers but short/taller to fit my pencils (since it's the drawers are so shallow and can't really fit anything else but pencils!)

I saw a similiar artbox at Michaels for 29.99 the other day and it was just a box with maybe 6-10 compartments more suited for a painter, not really for me. The one I have now so far has about 14 on the top part alone. I am going to work on the drawers when I get home from work today though.

On GLEE's "Grilled Cheesus"

My boyfriend and I was watching Glee on DVD last night and thank God I got the Glee: The Complete First Season (7 Discs)+ Bonus disc - Only at Target for my boyfriend's birthday (and YES, he asked for it). Anyways, I popped in the Extras DVD and watched a panel interview of the cast. Now, I already knew that Chris Colfer was not only given a part, but that the producers liked him so much during their interview that they made a part just for him. During the interview, one of the guys told Chris that he had a feeling Chris had been in a production of the Sound of Music. And Chris did, as Kurt, one of the  "incorrigible" sons of Captain Von Trapp.


Anyways, his character is named after that Von Trapp but I didn't know the origin of his last name! I didn't know about Hummel figurines so I decided to look it up. I laughed when I spotted the pink cheeks of the figurines. Yeah Chris does have resemblance to the the Hummel figurines.

Anyways, this is what I read:
Sister Maria Innocentia Hummel's works were discovered by Franz Goebel after a small publisher began printing her artwork as postcards. Goebel started production of the figurines under the authorization of the convent of Siessen. Although sister Hummel died in 1946 from tuberculosis, Goebel carried her legacy of her design.
The first Hummel figurines were sold in 1935. The figurines are all based on the drawings and paintings of children by sister Hummel. Though much of the art was done in the 1930s, the newer figurines have adopted a more contemporary appearance.

Hopefully, when I've become a better more skilled artist I hope to paint me something that resembles one of these cuties.

Finally!!!

So this is Buick Master Six, according to my coworker that is. Finished it earlier today.

It is 9x11, made with Rembrandt soft pastels. This is my first attempt on using soft pastels ^_^ I wish my printer/scanner worked. The camera flash made it lighter on the upper part of the picture. If I hadn't used the flash though, it'd have looked yellow.

Grilled Cheesus

I missed watching Glee last night (Oh, BTW, did I mention I am a total Gleek?) but I downloaded it via EZTV last night before I went to bed (I had a VERY long day). I watched it within minutes of waking up, I didn't even wait for my coffee to brew. I just parked my butt in front of my computer and watched episode three, "Grilled Cheesus"

Well, it's Glee and for it not to be odd is like Ellen Degeneres telling me she's straight. I don't want to give away the story line but the Glee Club goes spiritual/religious on us and well, this is the episode that makes me want to watch Glee more (the previous two of this season didn't impress me at all). Anyways, the episode had these flashback moments and I went to search who was the actor that played the young version of one of the glee clubbers. Google led me to a link that said:
*ACTOR*, 13, will appear on "Glee" on Tuesday as a young *GLEE CLUBBER* in a series of vignettes flashing back..." (I *asterisked* the parts I didnt want to give away ^_^)

I've heard the term vignette before but I never really thought about it. I thought it was just a certain way you draw or sketch. I didn't know it can be used to describe flashbacks or even used in photography/film..

VROOM VROOM

I have finally got off my lazy butt and put new lining for my wooden artbox. It's huge, heavy and pretty clunky and uses up more space than it's supposed to, but it does keep my pencils and pastels organized. I prefer it over the Snapware they used to be in.
I started on the preliminary sketch for my "Brown Stallion" (since it's a sketch, there's no real color just yet. I just prefer to draw/paint horses as brown). I also started my *car* drawing today. I haven't thought of a name for that yet though since my knowledge about cars is restricted with that they mostly have four wheels and go vroom vroom. I have yet to decide whether to use acrylic paint or pastel. I think I might go with oil pastel but I might test my luck with the soft pastels. Choices, choices...