Totally Tubular TWOsday!!

Well I'm in a giddy mood, if you can't tell by the title of this post...first I want to send a HUGE interwebbish THANK YOU to everyone who's been reading my blog posts. Thank you so, so much!! When I started blogging I thought, "This is silly, no one cares what I have to say and no one is going to even realize my blog exists," but according to my view counts, you do! And I promise (I really do) that I'm going to upload some new artwork to my Portfolio and I'm going to get the Etsy shop up and running (give me one more week, I promise!) And please feel free to share my blog on your blog, Facebook, Twitter, website, etc. Thanks again!! :)

Alright, so what else is motivating and inspiring me this week? I've got two things for you: MOVIES!! (Ok, yeah, I realize that's only one topic and technically there's a billion more than just two movies in existence, but I've become very inspired by two movies that I've recently seen):

1) The Hobbit (© 2012, New Line Cinema, Metro-Goldwyn-Meyer, et al).

Peter Jackson has really outdone himself; this movie is so visually stunning...if you were to pause it at any given moment, it would look like a publicity still. I love the color palette, the lighting, the soundtrack, the action, the ability to adapt a movie so closely to the original book...it's just amazing! I've seen it twice now, and I'm completely blown away by it.  If you haven't seen "The Hobbit" yet, what on earth are you waiting for? Go see it...now...I highly recommend it! (Side note: now I want a hedgehog named Sebastian, he's so adorable! And I've even been called a hobbit--due to my big feet and short stature). Not only am I inspired by every aspect of this film, but now I'm motivated to create some colorful sketches. If you've noticed, my previous freehand sketches have been, well, for lack of a better term, gray. So expect to see some colorful drawings in my Freehand Friday post later this week.

2) Movie 43 (© 2013, Relativity Media, Virgin Produced, GreeneStreet Films, et al). 

Holy Lord! Talk about non-stop, inappropriate, completely politically UNcorrect, adult humor...I loved it!! This movie has to be my favorite of 2013; and yes, it's still only January. If you don't know anything about this movie, let me give you a little synopsis: So this all-star cast movie opens with Dennis Quaid's character trying to pitch a script to Greg Kinnear's character. The script Quaid's trying to sell is made up of several shorts dealing with some of the most raunchy and comedic topics thrown together in one hour and thirty-seven minutes...and it works!! If you're easily offended, you might be wound a little too tight, and you might want to steer clear of this movie. But if you have a sense of humor, you'll enjoy it...I highly recommend this one!

Now, for my bout of inspiration from Movie 43: I've worked in retail for the past 13 years (both full-time and part-time; morning, evening, and double shifts). I've dealt with all kinds of forms of crazy, funny, weird, and awkward situations, not just from customers, but from fellow staff as well. Last night, I went to see Movie 43 with a friend that I've worked many a-year in retail with (about 7 or 8 years total) and as soon as the movie was over, I brought up how I should make a movie based on my retail experience, showing little clips of "incidents" that have happened in the last 13 years. My friend and I spent about forty minutes sharing hilarious stories from the store. After nearly sending myself into an asthma attack and dying of laughter, I thought, "Huh...wouldn't it be funny if I wrote all these stories down and put them into a book or script format?" So now I'm motivated to do just that...who knows, maybe somebody will make "my life in retail" into a movie one day...well, I can dream, can't I? (Once I get some of these stories written down, I might even share some on here for your reading enjoyment...and yes, it's retail, so it's definitely funny and wildly inappropriate in most cases. Best thing about these stories, I couldn't make them up if I tried!)

Finally FREEHAND Friday!!

It's finally Friday! It's snowing...and I'm stuck at work...*sigh*...but I've been productive! With sketching, that is! I promised two freehand sketches for you today and I'm about to share them with you. I used graphite pencils for both drawings and I wanted to concentrate on shadows. The first sketch is a man's face and the second is a Lab:

Neither drawing is exactly finished, obviously, but I felt happy enough with their progress to share them. I got the inspiration for the first drawing from how I've been feeling the last couple of weeks, especially the last few days, but it'll pass at least, I hope so. And the dog was just too adorable not to draw. Enjoy! More posts next week!!

It's a new TWOsday!

Welcome back to my poorly attended blog. I've been sick for the past week and a half, so I haven't posted a new blog in two weeks...yeah, I have some work to do to successfully maintain a blog, I suppose. Well, thanks to a few days off from work, a Z-pack, and being uber lazy, I'm back on my feet and blogging. Since it's a Tuesday, let me get to sharing with you two things motivating me:

1) I'm still on a New York high from my four-day trip up there for the New Year, so I'm still majorly inspired by the images of New York. In my last post, I showed a few pictures of NYC from my iPhone; however, now I've got some pictures to share from my SONY Cybershot digital camera.

 

The above shots are of a sculpture of praying hands made from 9/11 debris inside St. Paul's Church, the Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center, a view of lower Manhattan from the Empire State Building's Observatory Deck, a view of the ground 86 stories up on the Empire State Building, and a view of Central Park. I can't express how much I love the city of New York, especially Manhattan. One day, I will call this place home...one day...

2) For my second bout of motivation, I'm posting some links for videos that have been artistically inspiring me with their lyrics, sound, and the imagery of the videos...so yes, if you're wondering, that means there will be new artwork for me to share with you on Friday (and guess what? Since I haven't uploaded a new sketch for almost three weeks, I'm posting three new freehand sketches on Friday!) Now I leave you with these awesomely inspiring videos:

 

New TWOsday!

As I'm sure you can tell, oh wait, you didn't notice my absence from the blogging world? Shame! I took a bit of a vacay last week to enjoy the start of the new year in New York City! I meant to put up new posts last Tuesday and Friday, but in the "City That Never Sleeps," it was hard to find the time. Plus, last Friday my mother had surgery and my car's battery died in Maryland! It was a hectic week, but now my car's running again and my mother's doing quite well (thanks for the prayers from everyone who knew about my mother's surgery!!) Needless to say, going to New York again made me realize how much I love that city...if there were any conceivable possibility that I could, I would move up there in a heartbeat...literally! And you'd have to be a pretty dull person not to find some kind of inspiration in the Big Apple. Some people aren't "city folks," of course, and some can't relax in a city that's always "on," but there's truly something for everyone in New York. My home state's mascot is "Virginia is for Lovers," but New York has everything...no, I mean EVERYTHING!!! You like history or architecture? NYC's got some amazing historical and modern architecture and the history is everywhere. You want a quiet place to get away and relax? Um...Central Park or libraries galore! Animals? Central Park Zoo, Bronx Zoo, etc... Fame? Broadway! Fine dining, worldly eats, or just a quick and cheap bite? Look no further than every block! New York has the best mix of everything! I really can't even begin to explain how wonderful NYC is in just the written word... *begins jumping up and down with arms flailing wildly about, screaming, "I LOVE NEW YORK!!!!"* ...ahem... *looks around, notices terrified looks from everyone; quietly winces with embarrassment and sits back down.* Now, where was I? Ah yes, inspiration!

1) I snapped the above pictures at the Staten Island Ferry terminal on Staten Island, standing in front of the Empire State Building, and looking at some mugs in a Starbucks on West St. There's definitely one thing that stands out in NYC: the perspective. From the sheer massive height of the buildings to the unique designs in stores, I found myself taking a lot of "perspective shots" in the city. Instead of just taking the standard forward-facing photos, I was inspired by the natural and architectural design of New York, so I tried to capture the movement, lines, and balance of the items I was photographing. 

2) Second bit of inspiration, and maybe more so motivation, came from standing for five and a half hours at 53rd St. and 7th Ave. on New Year's Eve night. While I usually try to make and adhere to the typical New Year's resolutions: lose weight, get in shape, budget, save money, become a better person, etc....something about just being in NYC on New Year's made it seem like anything was possible; so this year, my resolution and goal is to make becoming a New Yorker possible. Now, like I said before, I'd move up there in the blink of an eye if that were at all possible, but once the "vacation high" wears off, reality sets in. I'm still in a lease on a house through August, I've drained my bank account to have an awesome four days in NYC, and while spontaneity is good at times, I'm a planner. I want to make sure I'm fully prepared and ready, especially since I've never lived outside the state of Virginia--let alone central Virginia. I need to do my research, budget accordingly, and make sure I'm completely able and ready to relocate...so, it'll take a while; it may not even be this year that I can become a little worm in a big apple *pause for laughter at my oh-so-witty "punniness"* but it will happen. It will indeed happen! I am motivated! Go 2013!!!