Baron VonMonkey

11" x 14" charcoal

This one took a couple days and was good texture practice. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. The main thing for me is setting a time constraint, otherwise I want to keep working on it far past what it needs.

orchids 2

Shit. Fucking bureaucratic school system. I can't register for classes next semester because the advisers for my current major put a hold on my account. The only way I can have it removed is to make an appointment to sit down and talk to them. Nevermind that I live over an hour away. Or that my car is in the shop. Or that I'm switching majors and won't even be enrolling in their programs. Or that I have absolutely nothing to say to them except... remove my fucking hold! The worst part is that I'm just getting lazy, short responses from everyone I talk to because they're all mentally on vacation already. grrrr.

Also, why is it that people get the most ridiculous personalized license plates? Some of them are just misspelled, shortened forms of words - which I understand if the one they really wanted was taken. But then there are the completely baffling ones which probably no one understands but the owner. Take, for example, one I saw recently:

DADVJNA

Anyone? I'm gonna go with "Dad Vagina". Why? Why?

Have some orchids:

5" x 7" charcoal

Columbine

a recent drawing:

16" x 20" charcoal / paper

beach

Wow, so I haven't updated in a damn long time. So much for the 3 a week thing. Just a couple renderings as I head back to finals week.

"Venus I" graphite on paper - 7" x 7"


sketchbook sample

untitled

18" x 16"
charcoal on paper

" telescope "

18" x 24"
charcoal on paper

We haven't located ourselves yet.

I'm going to try and hit this at least three times a week. I guess what I dig about it is that with other sites that offer a blog, I feel too limited in what I say. This feels more public and raw - nothing is hidden or catering to a particular audience. I'm working on a lot right now as far as art goes. Mostly pen/cil drawings, charcoal rubouts and such. I'll try and post some soon. Also, I have a portfolio project that is stressing me out to no end. I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that I have not been watching as many movies lately. I'm out of the whole narrative writing mode. But I think I'm going to adapt John Dillinger's death into a photo-story. Should be fun.

Been listening to a lot of new music lately. I never quite know when I started listening to a certain band or when I got into a particular album, so this might help me keep track.
- Mouth of the Architect (The Ties That Bind): good, melodic Red Sparowes-esque guitar work. A little more abrasive when the vocals kick in - reminds me of Cult of Luna. I have yet to listen to the whole thing
- Jesu/Eluvium (Split): I am loving every single thing Jesu puts out. This one did not disappoint at all. It's a little less heavy on the guitar drones which I loved so much in Conqueror, but it's still an amazing exploration of harmony and beats. Eluvium also does nice ambient stuff, I hadn't heard them before.
- Isis (Panopticon): I've had this CD since it came out. But the thing about Isis I'm realizing is that it takes progressively longer and longer for me to get into each album. With the exception of Oceanic, which I loved the first time through. But Panopticon never seemed to live up to Oceanic for me until recently. It really is a fucking incredible album. Now if only In The Absence Of Truth would kick in. Sigh.
- Explosions In The Sky (The Earth Is Not A Cold Dead Place): Great release. Nice solid continuation of their pedal-pushing melodies. Still, I feel Those Who Tell The Truth... was a bolder album.

What else? Ah, go see The Darjeeling Limited. Spectacular Wes Anderson. Despite the mixed reviews, I loved it. Best line delivered at a key plot point: "Look at these assholes." Until next time...

hmm

I thought it might be high time I signed up for this.