Avocados…
I was making dinner this evening and realized that this avocado was one of the most beautiful things I’d seen in a long time. 🙂
I was making dinner this evening and realized that this avocado was one of the most beautiful things I’d seen in a long time. 🙂
Well, this weekend is shaping up to be rather nice. I’m not really doing anything particularly crazy, but I think that’s okay after such a busy past week of interviewing and preparations for interviewing. Last night, I did some cleaning (since Nate is not here, as usual) and then painted the new piece you see above.
Tonight, Mike came over and watched Wizard People, Dear Readers (his first time) and The Devil’s Backbone. Dusty was right, I did prefer the latter to Pan’s Labyrinth, but only by a little. We also drank a copious amount of Pinot Noir and had some extra spicetastic food from the Bellefonte Wok. Then I drove him back to State College where we had a late night coffee and chat with his friend, Drew.
Overall, a pretty good weekend as far as my weekends go.
It’s finally finished! I seriously can’t believe how freaking long the knitting actually took (like, three months) but I’m pretty thrilled with the result. I’m especially glad I stole those buttons from the Philadelphia Museum…because who doesn’t need a griffin on their scarf?
This new image is a variant of a painting idea I have running through my brain…figured I’d use the computer to do up a quick draft. I was going for a slightly South Asian feel with the colours and the exotic wood panels. I think the palette could be considered Tibetan, too but that would throw us geographically out of whack. Anyway, here it is:
You may download it directly (1440 x 900 resolution) or check it out on my portfolio, as always.
I went to see Sean Lennon last night at the newly (finally, expensively) renovated State Theatre. He was opened for by some guy named Charles Ramsey who was mediocre and an AMAZING English singer by the name of Kamila Thompson. She doesn’t have an album finished just yet, but you can listen to the tracks in her setlist on her MySpace. She may even add you as a friend. Listen to “Cars” first becuase it’s my favourite…and all the rest are good to, so choose a second track to sample on your own. Imagine her chugging wine from a plastic cup, slurring in her high London accent and being snarky. I’ll wait.
Right…on to the main show. Sean Lennon is kinda like watching Suri Cruise front a band in 20 years…except his parents were actually cool. Or like watching Shiloh Pitt perform…except Sean’s parents weren’t actors. Really, there is no comparison because he’s a pop culture demigod. On top of that, he sounds great live. I’ve been listening to his album, Friendly Fire for the last few days and I’m happy to report that he’s not a studio-only kind of artist. “Dead Meat” and “Parachute” both sounded just as polished live as on the recordings. And the sound: his dad. Basically, he is John Lennon if he would have been alive for the last twenty five years and making music in the same vein as Double Fantasy. What’s even more amazing was that – with the help of clothing, posturing and stage dressing – the late 70s/early 80s reel-to-reel vibe translated into the performance. To completely smother this cake in delicious, delicious icing, Yuka (Freakin’) Honda of Cibo Matto fame was ON KEYBOARDS. *dies as confetti*
I do have to deduct half a point for his occasional meanderings into guitar solos that require amounts of pot adequate for arrest as a dealer. In fairness, I’m sure he’s still contact-stoned from when his dad was alive…
I never paint self portraits, so this is entirely new for me. In fact, the figure started out life in my head as a 1950s French model with a long cigarette. However, I saw myself staring out of the emotion I was trying to convey so I guessed it would be easiest to just put me in the piece. My inspiration: those great 50s-60s advertisements done in watercolor. Usually they were for something mundane, but always beautiful and fluid.
Well, for year two in a row, I put some art on display at Webster’s Bookstore & Café in State College. As you can tell by the girl in the foreground, the inhabitants of the sitting area were totally thrilled to see me coming with a hammer in hand. Perhaps their coffee soothed the pain of my bothering them enough for at least one to bother looking?
Wait! What’s this:
Anyway, they’ll be up all month long (until 9 December) so please feel free to make a visit if you are in town.
So, I decided yesterday to paint. Since it is frigid outside, I also decided to make a nice cup of espresso for myself…which turned into two. As did my painting. 😛
I originally intended to only paint this one since I’ve been carrying its theme in my head for a few weeks:
However, while working on it, I realized that there were a lot of abstract shapes and forms in my head that needed their own space to play, so I made this, too:
I’ll leave you to decide if my caffeine intake produced anything other than a full scale crash later.
I don’t usually name these, so that’s a rarity right there. I think it kinda speaks for itself, though the style is unusual. I’d say most of my inspiration came from a show about Pompei, if that makes any sense.
I got bored after my night of being frustrated with freelance yesterday and decided to paint. While Depeche Mode and Feist poured over me – and the rain came down in hurricane fashion outside – I crafted this. I guess my mind was on the way leaves look from below on a sunny day.
This is perhaps the most concise summation of how I feel that I’ve ever found outside of my head:
“Thanks.” She sighs, does a wrinkle-and-freckle check, the way Anna-Louise does, too, right out of the starting gate in the morning. I have this feeling watching Jasmine – that as you grow older, it becomes harder to feel 100 percent happy; you learn all the things that can go wrong; you become superstitious about tempting fate, about bringing disaster upon your life by accidentally feeling too good one day.”
Shampoo Planet, pp. 131
There is probably nothing more luxurious (and decadent?) about reading for an hour in a cast iron bath tub. Just lying there, completely lost in a world of your own imagining, listening to music and watching candles flicker on porcelain and chrome. A great morning.
And now, with my belly full of Hannah’s pineapple & pine nut dessert, I’m going to make my way to a more reclined position.