The Neighbor Cat

He's a creeper, see?

Charbonne On The Needles

The Cozy V-Neck Sweater from Fitted Knits. Or rather it will be. Really nice to knit, though there is a bit more ribbing than I enjoy. I'm using a bag of Shetland Chunky left over from when Lewiscraft closed. A little worried about the yarn not holding up over time after all this ribbing, but I can't justify not using it for something.


I also took a nice picture of John's hat. I think I may use this when I post the pattern. I just need some photos with him in it and I'm set.

Fajoey

My third painting in Vancouver.

This is a portrait done from a photograph of a maintenance man that I met in Jamaica. He was very kind, and took care of the convent that I was at during my stay.


I still don't know to this day if "Fajoey" was his name; his accent was very thick and I had a hard time understanding him sometimes.

It's acrylic on canvas, measuring 11" by 14". It took me close to 6 hours to complete. The edges are painted black.

I'm not totally happy with the background - I find it a little too dark. I'm still learning this stuff though, so I can't have regrets about it. I'm sure someone somewhere likes it.

So Here's What I've Been Up To. . .

I've got it in my head that I can sell my paintings for a living, and will be giving it my best shot this summer.

The first painting that I finished here is on a warped canvas, so I can't sell it. This pains me slightly but I love it and want it for our apartment so. . . I can cope with the warped stretcher bars.
It measures 16" by 20" and is in acrylics. It took me about 20 hours to paint and I was very happy to see it finished.



Next I finished a smaller landscape of a military base that I visited in Jamaica. I've found a lot of photos of Jamaica (this being one of the less desireable ones) that I would love to paint. I'm going to be popping out today to get some larger canvases to do so. Everything that I've been reading strongly suggests having works of all sizes and a fair range in price so as to appeal to a wider audience. This makes a lot of sense to me.
This one is 8" by 10" and is also acrylic. This little guy only took about 5 hours, but I'm also not happy with a lot of it. The power lines, for example, are crap. There comes a point where you have to call something finished though, I suppose.


I'm loving using my studio-easel. It's really helping to ease any neck strain that I would normally have after 5 + hours of painting. It's a little clunky in our tiny apartment, but I'll have even more room when the weather gets really nice and our patio is set up - I'll be able to paint outside.

Vancouver in May

Here I am.
The first weekend here was wonderfully whirlwind - My arrival Friday morning was reasonably smooth - Pique travelled fantastically and we had lots of leg room on the plane. The weather was great and there were no small children in my immediate proximity. I couldn't sleep.
I was happy to see the spring trees in all their blossomy-glory. John was all smiles. We got a cab and had a bit of a time getting my over-sized luggage in a little hatchback, but were on our way soon enough.
That night we went to a going-away party for my friend Kasey, who is, typically, moving across the country to where I just left. We seem to do this frequently, and may never live in the same province at the same time again. We have the worst timing in the world. We encountered Toad, dancing ambiguously in the corner of the room. We also met and were cornered by the most boring man in the world, which admittedly made the night more memorable. It was potentially one of the most surreal nights of my life: On the way from the sky train to the party John was waved down by some young men through the window of the Spaghetti Factory. They were very convincing, but John is certain he has never known them in his life. After the party there were numerous sky train happenings. First we get on and manage to sit directly in front of a homeless man who then poops himself and starts mumbling gibberish and waving his arms about agressively. We were out of there and into another car at the next station. Next two burly gangsters try to sell us pot/other. They stood at our sides, unravelling a large handkerchief from a pocket. Begin advertising shpeal. They were clearly not talking to each other, loudly proclaiming, to us albeit indirectly, as to how great their copious amounts of illegals were. John and I nervously switched cars again.
The night continued on as such and we were grateful to be home and safe.
Saturday was a Brawl tourny, which I lost but had great fun at. John did well but was eliminated second tier. Sunday was lunch with John's cousins. We went to Granville Island and had a great brunch. I bought some stuff at Opus. All was right in the world.
I painted every day last week. I'm going to be trying to sell these things and make money at it. Wish me luck, as I'll need it. So far my plan to paint for at least 5 hours each day is going beautifully. I've got a big ol' easel now and everything. It's taller than me and pretty.
Mario Kart Wii is loads of fun. Get it if you don't have it already. Seriously. Fun.
I am going into withdrawal. I need yarn. Last night I knit a strip of redheart *shudder shudder* on 5 mms. I threw in a few stitch patterns. It's butt-ugly but. . . oh man. . . did it ever feel good. Our Greyhound shipment came in so I should be up to my eyes in yarn in the next day or so. Thank FSM.
More later. Lots more.

John Sketch

This was a 35 minutes sketch of John using a Prismacolour pencil crayon. He sits very still when he plays Rez.

John Sets Up My New Easel

John set up the easel for me. It's very tall and pretty.