Summer 2016

Summer 2016 was half spent wandering, reading, doing art and typical aimless search for something to do. Not that I was not busy with work, it's just that my weekend schedule was not fixed and so random until mid-August. Last half of this year's Summer was spent studying for an examination which put my aimlessness to a temporal end. 

The exams ended and the results are awaited, I am not back with aimlessness because something came up to keep my weekends alive. I am attending free basic Nihonggo lessons (again). More of that, I know my Nihonggo skills are way better than Beginner's level but I need practice that's why I signed up for this free lesson. Why not? I have nothing to lose anyway, and badly need of some distraction. At the moment, I am waiting for my artistic mojo to kick in. Ever since I took a break from it, I was hoping that my hands couldn't wait to sketch but so far, the hands aren't ready yet. I am hoping that it will come back to keep me occupied in Winter.

The selfie is in keeping with the theme. I bought a camera phone clip lens because GoPro is too expensive for me, LOL! This cheap clip lens will serve just fine while documenting my whereabouts, plus it appears to make my round face smaller compared to normal phone selfie.

In terms of the arts, my best gouache painting to date was this of Tormund Giantsbane. For those who are not familiar of him, Tormund is a supporting character of Game of Thrones series. He was introduced around Season 3 or 4 and got more famous among fans in Season 6, partly due to his attraction towards Brienne of Tarth. 

I chose him as my subject because of his looks and character. Jon Snow is too famous as a subject. I could not imagine the many artworks based on him or Kit Harrington (the actor who played him). 

This is actually my second gouache painting. My first was a blue-eyed, raven haired Natalie Portman. I can say my gouache attempts are passable in terms of wanting a career as a tacky cinema poster illustrator (imagine 90s Seiko starlets in tacky tarpaulin posters plastered all over downtown Colon Street, Cebu City). Too bad the demand has long gone. So, again, the need to practice to achieve a level higher than a tacky poster illustrator/painter.

So I got bored with gouache and decided to go back with pencil sketch to master on facial details. 
This sketch was based on Gal Gadot. I know, no one will ever guess it right.
I need to practice more. Watch out World.

I was able to read four books which was a feat for me at my age. If not for the idle time and the lack of inspiration to make art, reading books would never get any of my attention.
Books I've read were: Me Before You by Jojo Moyes (inset photo), The Girl on The Train by Paula Hawkins, When Marnie Was There by Joan G. Robinson and a classic, The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling. The first one being my favorite because it made me cry and again, good books about life and love never fail to make me ponder on for days. I love that at the end, Will's will was respected by his family and Louisa, although painful for them. If I were Louisa, I will probably be persistent to beg Will to give life a chance, live more years with me and focus on our love. But at the same time, one cannot blame Will for hating his life after the accident considering he used to live an amazing life, alongside good fortune and looks.

Lastly, something to remind me.

Also, I really need more improvement in handling stressful situations. I have allowed work to get in the way of my head; thereby, making me irritable and crabby. I seem to have forgotten how to balance work and life wherein, at my age and experience, I should have (at least) mastered the basics by now.