Sketchbook

I am bound and determined to fill up this sketchbook. Good, bad or indifferent.

I'm going to finish if it kills me (time will tell about that....lol.)

It has no theme, or style or any unifying premise other than I'M GOING TO FILL EVERY DAMN PAGE! (although I’m not holding myself to two page spreads or filling the facing pages…..I have to cut myself some slack here….)

So, to that end, I’m using it for exercises from some of the online classes I’ve taken.

In this example it was offered that the blank page might be too intimidating as a whole, to combat that, try breaking it into ‘doable’ boxes and fill each box with an unrelated sketch.

I’m not sure if it was helpful or if it put MORE pressure on me. Now I had to come up with EIGHT ideas instead of just one! 

Ah, living the artist’s life!

Thoughts on a Thursday

The World is Spinning Out of Control

I’m not talking about politics, or Trump, or his cronies, or his cabinet…..oh wait, that’s the same thing….

Nor am I talking about the uptick in violence and intolerance on the streets or the gun problem or healthcare or global warming….

No. I’m talking about television!

Not the content…although that could be an endless rant unto itself…..no I’m talking about program times.

I live an orderly life. A place for everything and everything in its place. The same goes for TV shows. A start time and an end time.  Starting and ending either on the hour or half hour. Nice and tidy.

Now suddenly they start and end at odd moments….three minutes past the hour…..four minutes after the half hour…..what is going on here?????

I totally get the movie networks doing this. A movie has a running time and without commercials to fill in the gaps they start and end when they start and end.

BUT Network television HAS commercials. And TV shows contracted to run on Network television have strict running times to allow for said commercials and to fit into the schedule in nice, neat time slots.

Whose idea was it to change this? And to what purpose?

In order to see the ending of one show it means I miss the beginning of another on a different station (or I switch channels to see the beginning on the next program thereby sacrificing the ending of the previous one.)

Do they think I’m going to alter my viewing habits and stay on their channel just because they’ve made me miss the beginning or ending or a show I chose to watch on another channel?

Are they math impaired and can’t figure out how to time the commercials to stay within the limited time slot?

Or are they just arbitrarily trying to piss me off?

Whatever the reason, this madness must stop! 

Wordless Wednesday

Practice, Practice, Practice…..

So after taking my first class at Sketchbook Skool (it KILLS me to type that, lol) I joined their Facebook group.

I love seeing all the different styles people have. I saw one piece done by a fellow ‘Klassmate’ Kazuyoshi Morita and thought I’d try his style to fill up the empty space on my page of practice lettering.

This is the first spontaneous page that I’ve done in this sketchbook that I really like.

I’m even satisfied with the lettering…..

I guess practice does.....at least improve one's attempts.....lol.

Punny Monday

Knowledge knows a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.

(footnote:I'm running out of good puns so I've decided to switch to PARAPROSDOKIANS.

PARAPROSDOKIANS (Winston Churchill loved them) are figures of speech in which the latter part of a sentence or phrase is surprising or unexpected; frequently humorous.)

Academic Question (or, Whadya’ Do Today?)

How long (and how many people) does it take to transfer data from one device to another?

ALL FRIGGIN’ DAY, that’s how long!

Periodically I back up my computer to an external hard drive. It does it automatically for most things but not for my art. So once in a while I do a manual back up.

BUT….I have never backed up Tabley. And lately he’s been having ‘hiccups’ so I thought it prudent to back up my folders.

While I was at it I thought I might as well back up the house renovation pictures from my phone because, for once in my life, I’ve actually remembered to take ‘before’ pics.

I thought I’d knock it out in about an hour……after all; it’s just a matter of copy & paste for the most part, right?

Silly me.

First you have to get your computer to recognize your device. Seems easy enough, plug in the USB cord and there ya' go! Easy peasy……except…….my PC didn’t recognize my phone….or Tabley.

And then, of course, you must take time to ‘discuss’ with Husband all the possibilities of WHY the PC doesn’t recognize either of them.

Fast forward to six o’clock in the evening…..still in PJ’s…..and finish backing up all data!

Don’t ask me how I did it….I have no idea how…I’ve been into folders and files I never knew existed and next time I need to do this I’m as screwed as I was this time.

But it’s DONE!

Except it’s left me with the sinking feeling that technology is moving faster than I am…..and I don't like that.

(using old art because I'm too tired to illustrate....)

Thoughts on a Thursday

At what point in one's life do we realize we now know more dead people than live ones?

Wordless Wednesday

Sketchbook Skool

Well, I finally broke down and signed up for a ‘klass’ at Sketchbook Skool.  (It took me awhile to get past the creative way they spell it….I know, my problem, but it’s one of my pet peeves…..)

Plus, it was on sale and that always helps make up my mind. Who can resist a bargain, right!?

Anyway, I signed up for Creative Lettering with Andre Joseph.

I struggle with lettering on my journal pages and where I might like to incorporate writing into some of my other art I just leave it out entirely. This seemed like a perfect way to improve my handwriting and get some advice and ideas.

And I learned stuff!

I got a renewed appreciation for what lettering can add to a page and learned some tips and tricks.

So far I’m just copying Andrea but…… when I wake up in the morning with new ideas running around in my head I call it a success! 

Andrea calls these 'visual puns'. I'm a sucker for a pun.  

I LOVE the idea of a 'seeable' pun! 

Punny Monday

We never really grow up; we only learn how to act in public.

(footnote:I'm running out of good puns so I've decided to switch to PARAPROSDOKIANS.

PARAPROSDOKIANS (Winston Churchill loved them) are figures of speech in which the latter part of a sentence or phrase is surprising or unexpected; frequently humorous.)