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Monday, January 28, 2013

Creative Tuesday - Lighthouse


Hi all at Creative Tuesdays! Nice to be back!

It's always hard for me to calibrate everything between one year and the next, which is why I'm so pleased that this week's theme is in alignment with my current project!

This is a sketch of Viña del Mar, one of the most famous and popular balnearios in Chile. It is home to a fairly popular international Latin American music festival we all like to make fun of, a casino, and a couple of castles and lighthouses.

Yes, I used to hang out a lot there back in the day, but if I remember correctly, all people ever did was gripe about how "all those Argentines" came up over the mountains to take over all the good stuff. Ungrateful beneficiaries of a tourist economy, I say! What would Walt Disney say!?!

Anyway below the tall tree is a place called Wolff Castle with its lighthouse which is some sort of museum, and somewhere beyond that is the aformentioned Casino where, it is said, ruined gamblers would on occasion take their lives by casting themselves into the surf.

Lately I like to listen to Magical Mystery Tour whenever working (for whatever reason) so I leave everyone with this great little Busby Berkeley inspired number:
have a great week y'all!

Saturday, January 26, 2013

Sunday Sketches - Fiverr Holmes piece

Hello all at Sunday Sketches!

THis is another of the fiverr installment pieces - another piece for the Sherlock Holmes.

It's not exactly a collaboration - an author contacted me via the site fiverr to see if I would do these few illustrations for her book which I assume she's going to self-publish. I have been asked to do 5 in total, and this is the 3rd.

As can be seen here, the indefatigable friends are wandering through a cemetery, and see a mausoleum with the statue of a fellow with an outstretched arm on top.

While making this I had a chance to view a fun old movie by the Beatles - you can see the whole thing elsewhere but meanwhile, here's  a segment -


Hope all are having a great Sunday!

Friday, January 25, 2013

PPF - painting binge





Greetings PPFers!

I undertook the 4 above oil paintings within less than 48 hours. That's almost 3 times my painting level during my Epic Painting Project of last year!

They are all the ocean, as can be seen, very specifically, the same wave, as seen here (last image on page). What I was seeking was to see how the colours showed up, regarding choice. 

So the bottom one is made with only blues, the one above that adds greens, the one above that adds yellows to blues and greens, and the last one adds purple, oranges, yellow, greens and blues. This last one is probably the weakest - but that's why I do this now, so as not to get stuck with some ugly-ass thing when the time comes to do it for reals. (this is still referring to a painting commission I received almost 6 months ago... wow!)

hope all have a groovy day!

Saturday, January 19, 2013

Sunday Sketches - Fiverr, Holmes playing Violin

Hi everyone at Sunday Sketches!!

This week I wanted to share one of my Fiverr pieces. Every once in a while the gig is dormant, but every once in a while I will still get them in.

These are apparently to go towards a book about Sherlock Holmes - have already done 2 and possibly will do more.

As can be seen, this scene shows a standard view of Sherlock playing the violin while his sidekick Watson reads a paper nearby.

Speaking of which, does anyone know the relationship or deal with Watson and Holmes? How did they get to be friends? What do they do aside from solve random mysteries? What's the back story there? I have never actually read any of the books - maybe I will someday.

have a great weekend!

Friday, January 18, 2013

Firmoo: New Glasses... Free Glasses! For you and me!


Got new glasses today.


 That in itself might not be worth writing about, but I got them for free! And you can too!

 The old opinion that glasses are only necessities for people with vision problems has already gone. Glasses are increasingly becoming a fad and must-have accessories for celebs and fashionistas. Everyday we can spot millions of non prescription glasses wearers and we are constantly fascinated by many noted film stars’ signature non prescription glasses.They instantly upgrade your look of modern,sexy, vintage or geek by wearing different styles of frames.

OF course, some of us actually need the bloody things, so as to, well, see. That's where I come in on the issue. And so I was very excited when I was approached by a member of the Firmoo online glasses merchant regarding their First Pair Free Program.

I can't even begin to describe how timely this offer was for me! As a noble member of that class known as 'starving artist', even the expense of a pair of glasses is one that I will scrutinize out of existence. Thus, I had been wearing the same pair of semi-broken glasses from 6 years ago after my most recent pair went bust. All I had to do was unearth an old prescription and, presto, free glasses!

Firmoo is an online glasses company, where you can fill in the details of your prescription (if you have one) and get a brand new pair of glasses in the mail. Anyone who wears glasses knows that a decent pair, once you include the prescription cost, can run up above $100. Not so with the various existing online merchants, where, if you already have a prescription, you can get a decent pair for $20. Firmoo is no exception. One can find a very serviceable and fun pair of glasses for what amounts to chump change!

Their selection is quite vast, and I really like the intuitive, easy way the frames are organized - by size, shape, and materials. Also, a little photo uploader exists which allows one to 'try before you try', so as to make sure that the frames look good on your face.

Now a little something from their mission statement:


"Our Aim - Vision & Fashion the Frugal Way
  • Vision - An ideal pair of prescription glasses as a half medical tool to correct vision should be made up of a quality frame and lenses with accurate prescription. We promise all our eyeglasses frames are of high quality. Besides, all eyewear provided by us goes through strict inspection by our experienced opticians before shipping to ensure the accuracy of lens prescription. That's why we keep the lowest return and exchange rate among all online optical stores worldwide.
  • Fashion - We offer classic and fashion glasses frames for you to choose from. All of these frames which are quite popular in the world are elaborately picked by our staff from thousands of frames in the market.
  • Frugal way - Our prescription eyeglasses are inexpensive even though with high quality, therefore, everyone can afford it.


Any hot glasses/sunglasses/goggles frames you want can be found on Firmoo, and all are available for both prescription lenses and non-prescription lenses. Are you desperate to have a new look? Now here is the chance, Firmoo has launched a First Pair Free Program to people  worldwide. You will absolutely fall in love with the excellent quality, affordable prices, fashionable designs, fast delivery and the good service after trying them with paying shipping only! You even can get a refund/exchange if you are not satisfied with them. It's totally Risk free, so why not have a try? 


Click here (http://www.firmoo.com/free-glasses.html) to get your free glasses now!"

I have had mine for about a week, and I am very pleased with them! The link for the pair I got was here. Yes - a $40 pair of glasses for free! I always had wanted to get a pair of somewhat larger and rounder ones, but I had never dared. I got stuck in the tiny-glasses rut a while ago, and had not been presented with the opportunity to try something radically new, and at no cost!

I love the way I can see very easily from every angle (instead of only having vision concentrated in the very front of my face like with the smaller glasses). I like how they look, too, which is a double plus! They are fun and look like I want them too.

The quality seems good.  I'm not a huge connoiseur of glasses mechanics, but these seem well-made. I have in the past put on glasses that feel like they are made out of paper, or that will begin sliding off your face after just a few days. Not so these!


Though I can't guarantee they're klutz-proof, I can see they will last a very long time, with a reasonable caring attitude towards them.

I have purchased online glasses through other merchants, and sadly have found them somewhat lacking in this department. These, however, seem solid & safe.

When I first put them on, I find that I'm having a bit of trouble with the prescription part in the left eye - it doesn't feel quite right- but I attribute that to the fact that I was wearing very old glasses for a good 12 months, in addition to having used a converted contact lenses prescription to get these. So, word to the wise -- if you do this, please make sure you have a 100% correct prescription!

So, go on then! If you really need a new pair, or if you've always wanted a snazzy pair of faux glasses or sunglasses just for the heck of it, now's your chance! For only shipping cost you will be well on your way to a new look. Remember, the  First Pair is Free.

Thursday, January 10, 2013

PFF - Updates on previous piece

Hi all at paint party friday!

Here it is, then, the 2nd Friday in January. Hope the new year is being great for everyone!

Just wished to do a quick update on the woodpieces I posted last week. Our process here is that I do the drawings (as shown last week) and that Jim does all the colouring/painting - and that's what you see here.

Can't wait to start on my painting project for reals! Feels like I've been working on these wooden relics and set aside painting for a while.

some very exciting news for anyone who likes to work with illustrator/photoshop, or would like to but hasn't been able to afford it:

Adobe is giving away free downloads of the entire Creative Suite, version CS2.

Amazing but true! Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign, all for absolutely free. It's an old version, but it's one I still have on another machine (a mac) which I purchased in 2005 for like $700 (and that was the student version, LOL). I was excited to find this link through a friend who hangs out in Linked In forums. Now I have the creative suite on my PC as well as my Mac :D

I downloaded it - the Photoshop seems absolutely fine, the Illustrator makes my screen look odd but otherwise seems to work. Would be interested in knowing if others do download it, and what their experiences are.

No idea how long Adobe will feel generous for, but here's the link: http://www.adobe.com/downloads/cs2_downloads/index.html

have a great week and thanks for stopping by!