Last week I was totting up the movies I saw in 2011, and observing that while I saw several good ones, there was none that stood out as a really noteworthy best of the year.  But today I saw Hugo.  Had I seen it in 2011 when it came out, it certainly would have been the best movie I saw that year, and probably in several other years. Go see it, ( Read more... )

I read a lot more books this year than in 2010... a definite inverse corollary to writing less and seeking more escapism and/or inspiration.

Bold = recommended
* = best

( 8 Aubrey-Maturin books )

8/23 Today I aimed to finish the painting so it would be ready to show in a video interview the next day. My hand was steadier than in the previous session, but still not as steady as I would wish; touching up the gas giant rings was a challenge. I painted fine dividing lines in phthalo blue, then phthalo glazes on the back side of the ring to ( Read more... )

8/19 Well, T. loved the painting--in fact, he said he was blown away and would be willing to put it on Kickstarter as it is. I guess I shouldn't be surprised, considering how much he liked the rough pencil sketches. He asked if I could finish it by 8/24, and I said that should be doable ( Read more... )

8/18 Today would normally be a writing day, but I needed to spend all day on the painting in order to have something I was willing to show T. the next day ( Read more... )

8/17 Before putting on any wet paint, I tried sanding out the red blotch with some 400 grit sandpaper. I couldn’t remove it completely, but lightened it enough that I could cover it with gesso ( Read more... )

8/16 Second painting session: definite progress! But man, acrylics remain the very devil. Thanks to my job and recent years' exploration, I know so much more about them than I ever did before, their properties, their pigments, and yet I sometimes still feel completely at sea in rendering with them. Definitely a love-hate relationship at this ( Read more... )

A few months ago my coworker B. asked if I would like to do some promo artwork for a short indie film he is acting in. They planned a Kickstarter fundraiser, and wanted some concept art to help get people interested: "some rough sketches of some of the visuals from the film, sort of like Ralph McQuarrie’s sketches for Star Wars: simple, like the ( Read more... )

I was shocked and amazed to discover that I only saw 4 movies in a theater in 2010 (Avatar for the second time, Inception twice, and Salt). I love movies, and I love seeing them on the big screen, but apparently my viewing habits succumbed to the combo of Mary (my main movie buddy) moving out of town, and a lack of new releases that really ( Read more... )

We braved the mall madness to see Avatar today. Maybe after I've seen it a couple more times I'll be able to write a coherent review, but right now I am just blown away ( Read more... )