1.28.2009

Illustration Friday Topic: Climbing


I almost illustrated Rapunzel irritated and in pain because of all the hair pulling, but I just didn't have the energy today. Maybe next time. Here is a nice traditional drawing for you all.

1.22.2009

The 15 Best Business Ideas & Sectors That Thrive In A Recession

This is a great list from The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur Blog. Link to the list is here:

http://www.toiletpaperentrepreneur.com/blog/the-best-business-ideas-sectors-that-thrive-in-a-recession

2nd Stop on the Art Tour: The Staples Center in Downtown LA

The Staples Center in Downtown Los Angeles. We are going to the Margarito vs. Moseley fight on Saturday night. It is going to be a blast! We go to many a fight throughout the year-and meet up with our many friends from maxboxing.com. Hopefully I'll get a good amount of time to sketch people and the arena, as it is our second stop. I'll do what I can and post it here, of course. Who are we going for in the fight? Here's a hint:

1.20.2009

Inauguration Coverage on ABC News

If you don't have television (like me) or are at work and can't watch television (which would be the case for me even if I had tv), you can still watch the historical Inauguration today:

http://abcnews.go.com/

and if you are having problems getting that (which it seems I am), here is the full text of President Obama's speech.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090120/ap_on_go_pr_wh/inauguration_obama_text

Text of President Barack Obama's inaugural address on Tuesday, as prepared for delivery and released by the Presidential Inaugural Committee.

OBAMA: My fellow citizens:

I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors. I thank President Bush for his service to our nation, as well as the generosity and cooperation he has shown throughout this transition.

Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath. The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace. Yet, every so often the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms. At these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because we the people have remained faithful to the ideals of our forebears, and true to our founding documents.

So it has been. So it must be with this generation of Americans.

That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood. Our nation is at war, against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred. Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age. Homes have been lost; jobs shed; businesses shuttered. Our health care is too costly; our schools fail too many; and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet.

These are the indicators of crisis, subject to data and statistics. Less measurable but no less profound is a sapping of confidence across our land — a nagging fear that America's decline is inevitable, and that the next generation must lower its sights.

Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, America — they will be met.

On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord.

On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics.

We remain a young nation, but in the words of scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.

In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of shortcuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the faint-hearted — for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame. Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things — some celebrated but more often men and women obscure in their labor, who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom.

For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and traveled across oceans in search of a new life.

For us, they toiled in sweatshops and settled the West; endured the lash of the whip and plowed the hard earth.

For us, they fought and died, in places like Concord and Gettysburg; Normandy and Khe Sahn.

Time and again these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till their hands were raw so that we might live a better life. They saw America as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions; greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction.

This is the journey we continue today. We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on Earth. Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began. Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished. But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions — that time has surely passed. Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.

For everywhere we look, there is work to be done. The state of the economy calls for action, bold and swift, and we will act — not only to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth. We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together. We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology's wonders to raise health care's quality and lower its cost. We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age. All this we can do. And all this we will do.

Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions — who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short. For they have forgotten what this country has already done; what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose, and necessity to courage.

What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them — that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply. The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works — whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified. Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end. And those of us who manage the public's dollars will be held to account — to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day — because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government.

Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force for good or ill. Its power to generate wealth and expand freedom is unmatched, but this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control — and that a nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the prosperous. The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our gross domestic product, but on the reach of our prosperity; on our ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart — not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our common good.

As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our founding fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience's sake. And so to all other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman, and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and that we are ready to lead once more.

Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with sturdy alliances and enduring convictions. They understood that our power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please. Instead, they knew that our power grows through its prudent use; our security emanates from the justness of our cause, the force of our example, the tempering qualities of humility and restraint.

We are the keepers of this legacy. Guided by these principles once more, we can meet those new threats that demand even greater effort — even greater cooperation and understanding between nations. We will begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people, and forge a hard-earned peace in Afghanistan. With old friends and former foes, we will work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat, and roll back the specter of a warming planet. We will not apologize for our way of life, nor will we waver in its defense, and for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken; you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you.

For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus — and non-believers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.

To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect. To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society's ills on the West — know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy. To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.

To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds. And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to suffering outside our borders; nor can we consume the world's resources without regard to effect. For the world has changed, and we must change with it.

As we consider the road that unfolds before us, we remember with humble gratitude those brave Americans who, at this very hour, patrol far-off deserts and distant mountains. They have something to tell us today, just as the fallen heroes who lie in Arlington whisper through the ages. We honor them not only because they are guardians of our liberty, but because they embody the spirit of service; a willingness to find meaning in something greater than themselves. And yet, at this moment — a moment that will define a generation — it is precisely this spirit that must inhabit us all.

For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies. It is the kindness to take in a stranger when the levees break, the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job which sees us through our darkest hours. It is the firefighter's courage to storm a stairway filled with smoke, but also a parent's willingness to nurture a child, that finally decides our fate.

Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends — hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism — these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history. What is demanded then is a return to these truths. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility — a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task.

This is the price and the promise of citizenship.

This is the source of our confidence — the knowledge that God calls on us to shape an uncertain destiny.

This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed — why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent mall, and why a man whose father less than sixty years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath.

So let us mark this day with remembrance, of who we are and how far we have traveled. In the year of America's birth, in the coldest of months, a small band of patriots huddled by dying campfires on the shores of an icy river. The capital was abandoned. The enemy was advancing. The snow was stained with blood. At a moment when the outcome of our revolution was most in doubt, the father of our nation ordered these words be read to the people:

"Let it be told to the future world ... that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive...that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet (it)."

America, in the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words. With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come. Let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations.

1.19.2009

ART TOUR CAMARILLO! 01.18.09

OK-like I said earlier about our first stop, good gage for where we are right now, and where we need to go. Here's what we came up with. We'll start with Carlos. He was definitely looking for quality and not quantity. He worked on a tree in Dizdar Park, in Camarillo.


Below is the actual texture of the tree, which we'll use for reference at some point. It was very hard and rough-not something I'd like to fall into!Now onto my sketches. These were done very quickly, in between buying fruits and veggies at the Farmer's Market.

The singer, who was very good btw. He was singing a lot of Johnny Cash, and well, and I liked him a lot.
Some weird onion squash type vegetables that I thought looked interesting...These buckets were next too some delicious apples that we bought. I wish I had these at home. they were very iconic of the market to me.

We took my son to get a haircut at Hank's Barber Shop. He loves getting his hair cut, so he sat still like a perfect angel, falling asleep.
More haircut sketches. Carlos got his haircut at the same time, though I made him look a little weird. It's been a while since I did any drawings of him so cut me some slack!


Next ones are my sketches from Dizdar Park. Below is a sketch I did of St. Mary Magdalene's. This chapel belonged to the original Camarillo Family who used to own this land. This is my favorite sketch from Saturday. This was my view from the picnic table at Dizdar Park.


And I had to draw that same tree that Carlos was drawing, from a distance, and he's the little red smudge at the bottom left.

Some photos:


This just looked very Americana to me, with the mountains, the flag, and the vintage worn Liquor sign. This was across the street from Dizdar Park.

That's it for the first stop! Please stay tuned for next week! We'll be in Downtown LA for the Margarito vs Moseley Fight. Not sure how much time we'll actually have to sketch, but I am bringing my sketch book, and we will probably hit a bar before the fight. And there are always interesting things to draw in Downtown Los Angeles.

N

Happy Martin Luther King Day



The Great Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream"

(from http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/mlkihaveadream.htm)

I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.

Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity.

But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languished in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. And so we've come here today to dramatize a shameful condition.

In a sense we've come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the "unalienable Rights" of "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note, insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked "insufficient funds."

But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. And so, we've come to cash this check, a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice.

We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of Now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children.

It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment. This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning. And those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. And there will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.

But there is something that I must say to my people, who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice: In the process of gaining our rightful place, we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again, we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force.

The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny. And they have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom.

We cannot walk alone.

And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead.

We cannot turn back.

There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, "When will you be satisfied?" We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality. We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. We cannot be satisfied as long as the negro's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their self-hood and robbed of their dignity by signs stating: "For Whites Only." We cannot be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until "justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream."¹

I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells. And some of you have come from areas where your quest -- quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive. Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to South Carolina, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed.

Let us not wallow in the valley of despair, I say to you today, my friends.

And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today!

I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of "interposition" and "nullification" -- one day right there in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.

I have a dream today!

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight; "and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together."2

This is our hope, and this is the faith that I go back to the South with.

With this faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith, we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith, we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.

And this will be the day -- this will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with new meaning:

My country 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing.

Land where my fathers died, land of the Pilgrim's pride,

From every mountainside, let freedom ring!

And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true.

And so let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire.

Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York.

Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania.

Let freedom ring from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado.

Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California.

But not only that:

Let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia.

Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee.

Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi.

From every mountainside, let freedom ring.

And when this happens, when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual:

Free at last! Free at last!

Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!3

Art Tour, Original Fakes and Hoaxes

So the first stop to the art tour went relatively well. I think the best part about it is that we are now able to gage ourselves realistically and to try harder next time. I will post sketches from Saturday tonight. We both felt a bit rusty, and the artwork definitely shows it, but we can only go up from here, and it really wasn't a bad first stop. With focusing a good amount of time every weekend at the very least, I am quite confident that the level of skill and creativity will indeed go up in quality as well as in quantity. I am VERY excited about that!

How did a very famous and successful Indian artist feel when he discovered that many of his paintings being unveiled for a new show were fakes? Pretty darn peeved. So peeved that he made them shut it down. How did this happen? Apparently, the fakes were from family members and fake paintings of originals are quite common. Read more about this craziness HERE.

For a whole website of FAMOUS HOAXES, click HERE. There are amazing hoaxes, and quite entertaining ones from 0-1700 and beyond. I am probably going to take at least the whole week and go through all of them. I love the Cottingley Fairy hoax and many of Benjamin Franklin's literary hoax satires. Enjoy!

N

1.16.2009

Illustration Friday Topic: Pale

I don't know her story, maybe you can come up with a good one. This drawing started off as a version of Snow White, but then I didn't feel like making her hair black or her lips blood red. I think I was channeling my inspiration from some of Jasmine Becket-Griffith's recent color schemes. I really like the soft ethereal effect on this. I think I may use it again.

Also, if you are an Illustrator from Illustration Friday, please view the post before this--we are starting a personal art tour this year, and I really respect all the Illustrators on the site, and would love your input on our idea.

HAPPY FRIDAY EVERYONE!

N

The Beenznrice Art Tour: First Stop--Camarillo

What is the Beenznrice Art Tour you say? With a fair amount of traveling done last year (well, more than previous years, hopefully it's an ongoing trend), I noticed that we did have much to show for it, art-wise, even photo-wise. I thought, well that's a shame, considering that we are illustrators and that art should be right at the forefront, but truth be told, last year was more about the 9-5 keeping the money flow steady and even, which is fine for a while, but we are ready to reach new heights in our passions and career. We are starting a tour, inspired by music tours, or rock tours, all across the country, where they go and perform, essentially perfecting their craft. I thought, well why can't we have the same mentality? When we travel, honestly, it's usually because there's a boxing match, or a band's playing or we're taking a family trip, etc. I started asking myself, what would happen if we started taking trips (this is not a family trip btw, that is too hectic for what we are trying to do) specifically to create art? The places that we would be traveling to would have been specifically chosen to inspire and have great landscapes, or historical still lifes, etc. An example that's been frustrating me lately is that we take a good amount of trips to Vegas to go see fights (go Pacquiao!) and I've always wanted to visit Calico, the old mining ghostown in Yermo, CA. The bad thing is, whenever we get to that point, we are too tired from partying the weekend before! I want to have sketches of a famed ghost town when we come back and not just a headache from dehydration and sleep deprivation.

So this is what we are proposing, and we will be posting our travels and sketches, paintings, photos from them. We will be touring the state of California this year (and hopefully some other states, Vegas will definitely be one of them), with the goal of art and honing our craft in mind. First stop, and actually any weekend we are unable to go very far, it will be local, this weekend, is Camarillo! Because of course, the best place to start is where you are. I've already done some sketches last year at the Adolfo Camarillo Ranch House, and I kind of stopped because of the cold weather and other factors, but I'm starting up again. Here is a sketch I did behind my day job, just another corporate business park on Flynn Rd. Quite a nice pathway though:


And tomorrow, we are going to the Farmer's Market, where I'll be taking reference photos and getting some sketching done. The Camarillo Farmer's Market is probably one of the best ones I've been to; because the farms are all in Camarillo (and some in nearby places like Somis and Oxnard), the produce is so fresh and fairly inexpensive. You can also find some specialty produce like Blood Oranges and Japanese cucumbers, for cheaper than you'd find at the grocery store, and much tastier. It's a great place to sketch and just to visit if you ever get the time.
The information for the Camarillo Farmer's Market can be found here: www.camarillohospice.org/farmersmarket.html

More posts of sketches and photos from our first stop on the tour!

Naomi

1.15.2009

Illustration Friday Topic: Contained


Okay so this is more like a brain fart sketch version of the beginning stages to an illustration. I've been having this idea of showing everything that's going on in my head when it comes to creativity, art, and emotion, but that's a lot, and I'm having a bit of trouble trying to bring it into visual form. Kinda like the movie The Cell, but mine will be way less creepy and sinister and more magical and sparkly. Well, this is a start. Thoughts? Ideas?

Oh and we are going on an "art tour" soon...more on that tomorrow...

1.14.2009

Great quote for our art resolutions this year.

“If you bring forth what is within you, what you bring forth will save you. If you do not bring forth what is within you, what you do not bring forth will destroy you." —Gospel of Thomas, 70

SO WE ARE BRINGING IT!!!

Inspiration


I want to start bringing my sketchbook everywhere I go again and actually drawing something from everywhere I am---like I used to. Boredom was my glory time, and it still should be. I just randomly looked up good places to draw and I got this blog, artist Nick Abadzis, which was exactly what I needed to both see and read. Enjoy!

www.firstsecondbooks.com/authors/nickAbadzisBlog01.html

1.09.2009

Art Resolutions

I have plenty of personal New Years' Resolutions on my separate livejournal blog HERE at nvaldivia.livejournal.com but for Beenznrice and our New Years' Art Resolutions, here are the beginnings of them, as I like to allow my resolutions to evolve---positively not negatively! try to have no backslidin' here!!!

We are starting an "art school" structure at home, and will be giving ourselves "assignments/homework" full with deadlines and critiques. I will post weekly schedules here if you'd like to follow along. I'll also be posting good work that comes from this and anything that we're proud of here!

Everyday I will be doing at least 1 thing to move our business forward. For the last few nights, I have been addressing all those postcards that I ordered a long time ago to send to potential clients. Another thing I really need to do that falls in this category is create a postcard that I can send to potential clients every 6 months. I need to be consistent and make people remember BEENZNRICE!

I personally am going to start bringing a sketch book with me EVERYWHERE I go and sketching at least one thing per different place I am at during the day. We'll see if I can motivate Carlos to do the same.

Mixing art time with family time. Because our kids are also inherent artists, it will be easy and a great way to bond with them. Plus, they'll be way ahead of everybody in their art classes in the future!

So far those are the main resolutions. I have plenty of goals as well, but I will post those later...

N

1.08.2009

Neon Green is the New Pink! Illustration Friday Topic: Resolve



I was reading a somewhat ridiculous article about how the color pink is oppressing our otherwise intelligent young girls in today's society. It started off with an interesting fact:

How different it was in the early 1900s, when blue was for girls and pink for boys.

Women's Journal explained it thus: "That pink being a more decided and stronger colour, is more suitable for the boy, while blue, which is more delicate and dainty, is prettier for the girl."

DressMaker magazine agreed. "The preferred colour to dress young boys in is pink. Blue is reserved for girls as it is considered paler, and the more dainty of the two colours, and pink is thought to be stronger (akin to red)."

The entire article is here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/7817496.stm

As someone with a daughter who once wore nothing but pink, who now in her preteen years refuses to wear anything but jeans, camoflouge, black, and brown, I kept thinking while reading this article, "oh c'mon big deal." So, I RESOLVED the issue for my Illustration Friday topic and decided, let's just keep going with the whole "Princess" aesthetic, but let's just change the color. NEON GREEN IS THE NEW PINK for little girls!!!

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