Monthly Archive for June, 2012

Painting: A little further along.

Published on June 28, 2012 in painting. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , .

So my dear giraffe is a little further along, and I think she’s coming on nicely.

Needless to say though, the fear is starting to set in. You see, every time I do a painting, it is pretty much the same. I love the underpainting, then hate several of the in-between stages when things look as if they’ve been poorly cut and pasted together like a three year old with a magazine and a pair of dull safety scissors. Then it starts coming together again, and I like what I see. I go, ‘Ohh, this is starting to look good!’ and I can finally start seeing what I’ve been trying to achieve. That is an awesome time. A brilliant time. A whimsical, magical, fantastical time.

Until I have to pick up the paintbrush again.

Until I stop procrastinating and stop thinking, ‘Maybe I should just leave it there… it’s good enough, right?’

Because that is when the real nerves kick in. And that is where I am at. Well… I’m actually already a little bit into that stage, but we’ll ignore that. Wish me luck, because the next time I post a picture of this darling lady, she will hopefully be done. Phew!

Sanu in SL: Pool Floaties.

Published on June 16, 2012 in Sketch. 0 Comments

As I’ve mentioned before, I’ve recently returned to Australia from living and working in Japan. Now Australia and Japan, they have opposite season cycles – so having returned in April after a rather cold Winter, I was immediately thrust into Autumn again. Alas, just a few days of Spring in Japan (and a late Spring, at that), then straight into impending coolness. Now that we’re in June, of course, it is starting to get a little bit chilly… though admittedly not as cold as it was getting in Tokyo while I was there.

Second Life, as it were, tends to run according to the season cycles of the Northern hemisphere. While you can certainly wear woolen clothing and set up a roaring fire there at any time of year, I always notice some great themed events and products to match the outside world as the seasons roll around. It makes sense! Our Second Lives seem to reflect the first in at least some small ways, so grabbing a pool floatie in Second Life when you can’t make it to the pool in the real world is just another fun way to celebrate Summer.

I gotta tell you though… for all the Summery products I am seeing around right now, I don’t feel any warmer here at home. Brrrr!

Teleport to Sanu to grab a pool floatie, when you have the chance. Oh, and take a peek in the Lucky Chair, too! There’s something new in there as well!

Painting: A little something in progress

Published on June 1, 2012 in painting. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , .

This is a little something I’m working on at the moment. I’m happy with how it is progressing, but it still has a bit of work left to go!

I’ve only been home a bit over a month now, having returned from living and working in Tokyo, Japan. It was definitely a different experience from living at home, especially when it came to my capacity to create. While sketches and drawings were easy enough to do, I lacked a good workspace to paint in, and I must admit to missing my computer at home quite a bit. While the laptop did work well for simple things, actually working on anything graphics-intensive was a little difficult… which is why I didn’t produce much in Second Life while I was over there.

Good thing I’m home now, huh?

There is a lot I already miss about Japan. How couldn’t there be? Convenient and delicious food, fantastic fashion, a public transport system that is second to none… it was awesome. There’s nothing quite like waking up in the morning and deciding, ‘You know what? I think I’ll pop on down to Harajuku today and do some window-shopping before I head to work.’ It is an incredible place to live and work in, and I was blessed with a fantastic company to work for and people to work with. But I’ll tell you a little secret: I’m glad to be home again too!

Oh the land of meat pies… the land of sausage-rolls, decent sausages and houses that have more than a couple of rooms. I have my studio back, and for that I am grateful. So what better way to make use of it than by getting some painting done? Admittedly, one would think that my first decent painting after getting back would be of something related to Japan, or to Tokyo, but this one has a theme that is a little bit more offbeat. I hope it turns out well!