Apartment Walkthrough

New Sneakers

Spilled Ink

Stoat and Cat

Two paintings that I completed this weekend. Stoat was the first, and looks unintentionally like a certain Mustelidae sidekick. Cat started out as a wolf, but you know how things are. Both are creepy.
Stoat is 8" x 10" on a clear-gessoed linen canvas. Cat is 5" x 7" on primed masonite. Both are using fluid acrylics and have a satin finish. Fancy.
I'm fonder of Cat than of Stoat, but mum's the word.

Second Orc Mini

This is my second miniature painted.
I was going for a bit of a brighter palette with this guy - I ran into a few issues early on, and so I feel that the application of paint isn't as nice with this one. I'm pretty pleased with the colours, even if they are a bit cartoony.
I also used an iridescent medium to do metallics on this figure.

Orc Mini

I've spent most of the weekend finishing a couple of miniatures. We've got Dungeons and Dragons today, and I'm really excited to put these guys into play.
The first posted here is the first figure I've painted - finally with static grass and some touched up colours to make him a little more snappy. The colours are a little more blue than true, but you can get the idea.



The figures are by Reaper Miniatures - part of a three pack of Orc Warriors
I've been using heavy bodied acrylics, thinned with a matte medium, combined with acrylic ink washes. Although I'm not unhappy with the results, I'm curious to try out maybe a fluid acrylic. A few of my colours are pretty old and crumby so I think the next paint I buy will be a bit more tailored to model painting/glazing.
I've applied a matte acrylic topcoat and some static grass.
Second Mini posted soon.

Starbuck Vs. Paperbag

Christmas

Christmas was lovely.
We were alone in the city, so it was very quiet and laid back.
We didn't have a spot in the apartment for the tree ( a twenty dollar Army and Navy special) so we used the kitchen table.
The weather here was terrible, incredibly snowy - which, on it's own, isn't so bad. It's the fact that transit grinds to a halt and taxi's aren't equipped with snow tires . . . no one knows how to drive in slippery conditions.

A Novel Completed

Kind of, anyways.
It was incredibly rewarding to take part in NaNoWriMo, and I look forward to having a go at it again next year, lessons learned tucked confidently in the crook of my elbow.
The first draft is finished. There is some serious work to be done: twisting the story line around to make sense, characters cut/added/switched around, rubbish to be chopped out, and a title to be found; but in the meantime it's nice to not have to look at the beast.
Familiarity breeds contempt.
I am, however, really looking forward to starting some new stories. I've got lots of ideas, both for novels and short stories, and am very excited for a break in my social-events calendar so that I can make the most of them.
Speaking of which, I'm preferably a solitary animal. To my happy surprise slash utter dismay, I've got a lot going on this month including, recently, some social event to attend every night for over a week. This never happens, and it would appear that I lack the stamina for it. Trying to juggle Christmas shopping, sorting out personal paperwork, and every day life things around all of these festivities is really taking it's toll on my mental state. I need some alone time.
My hair is still purple and still at my shoulder blades, despite longing to get it cut and dyed back. There just isn't the time lately, and it's bloody frustrating.

So I'm writing a novel. . .

And my hair is purple. But more importantly, I'm writing a novel.
November is National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo as it is affectionatly called. Basically it's a challenge where many many people slave away for 30 days to pump out a 50,000 word draft. Pretty nutty stuff. This breaks down to 1600 words a day, every day. Having heard about it previously but too late to actually partake, I decided to tackle it this year. My novel is about zombies. Yep, zombies.
After a weekend of sketchy beginnings and today's long hard day at work, I only have 3700+. It’s a little depressing, falling behind on my daily quota so early on in the game, but I’m betting I’ll be able to get a bunch done on the weekends, when I don’t have to be talking to people/fully clothed/focusing on anything other than writing. There will be peaceful times with many words.