Narnia and Paintings

Yesterday, I saw the new Narnia movie. It was very beautifully shot and very enjoyable to watch. It is actually much darker than the first movie and focuses much more on war and political intrigue. The four children have grown up a bit and each has been affected by their first trip to Narnia... Peter, the eldest, after a year, seems angry and bitter that he is now a child again, when once he was an adult and the High King of Narnia. Susan has pulled away from other people and would rather be alone. The actor who plays Prince Caspian is... well... VERY attractive and lovely to look at and he can act! Which is of course a plus. The visual effects were wonderful, the costuming and all were very real feeling (done by WETA). They showed a lot of the ruins of the previous Narnia and I wished they had perhaps... done a little flashback of some sort to remind us what it was.... like the castle the Kings and Queens had once lived in... As I haven't seen the first in a long time. But other than that, it was a good movie... 2 hours though it wasn't too bad to sit through. And of course, you have Eddie Izzard as Reepicheep, so how can you go wrong?

Its A Polar Bear!

Hey, there's another painting!  Decided to do an animal painting this time and for some reason thought a polar bear would be interesting because of the white and trying to get the subtle differences in the fur.  It wasn't easy and I realized that animals aren't easy to do with oil paints!  Still, he didn't come out too bad did he?  I like his eyes.  So yeah... still trying to keep up with the painting and get a better handle on it before starting a commission for a good friend of mine. 

Did a double header at the movies yesterday and saw "Speed Racer" and "Iron Man".  Both were fun movies to watch but weren't of the same caliber.  "Speed Racer" is a lot of fun.  Don't expect deep plots, or characters or great meaning in any of it.  Its just a fun ride with pretty colors.  Just hope you don't have an epileptic fit from the flashing lights and colors.  It did actually have a little message about corporate sponsors involved in sports and car racing in particular, but it really did keep to the basic idea of watching Speed race his little heart out because, after all, that's the only thing he knows how to do.  I did see some reviewer say it wasn't good, but really, what did you expect if you have EVER seen the original cartoon?  I mean, the kid's name is Speed... its not a nickname.... Its his actual name.  And he has a little brother named Spritle.  So just relax, go see the movie and have fun.  Go for the experience of it all.

"Iron Man" was different.  It was fun and exciting and had great visuals but it was a good movie.  The caliber of acting was also on a different level and there was some deeper story which also tied into current events without being preachy or taking any real political sides.  Robert Downey Jr. was an excellent choice to play Tony Stark, the playboy with more money than he knows what do to with.  Both Stark and Downey are talented and gifted in their fields, but both have the past life of wine women and song so to speak.  It really just came together well, with likable and interesting characters and of course, the cool costume for Iron Man.  If you have to choose between "Speed Racer" and "Iron Man", I'd definitely choose the latter.  It had a great story, great characters and was a great fun movie all around.

*Runs in.... trips*

Hey, well.... long time.  Sorry.  After the trip visiting my brother I got into a lot of different things.  One of which was playing World of Warcraft again (finally got my Night Elf Rogue to 70!).  If you've never played you don't really know how much like crack that game is.  But I did reconnect with some friends which was great.  

The visit with my brother was lovely.  It was wonderful to see the kids who are so much older and bigger now!  My ten year old niece is only a little bit shorter than me!  She just shot right up!  They all have personalities now and are really blossoming into little people.  

While I was away, I made some good decisions concerning my life and the general direction of my art and career.  One decision was to not attend Dragon*Con this year.  This was difficult, but the trip and convention is costly...  With the economy how it is, there is less of a guarantee of a successful show than previous years.  I had to weigh my current state of finances with what might happen and chose to pass on the convention for this year.  We'll see how things are next year.  I am sad not to go, but felt it was the right choice to make.  

I am oddly inspired and uninspired to paint right now.  I have ideas but it is being difficult to sit down and do them.  Some seem to be oil paints, but I'm not sure how to execute them.  I think that might be blocking me from moving forward.  

Other than that, I have to move on some decisions I made and make them happen.  I will of course, let you know how that all goes.  No, I'm not trying to be mysterious, that is just a fun byproduct :D