Quiet

Dear reader,

For the past month I've come to be aware of somethings. One of which is how open I am about everything. It's kind if dawned on me, why? Not everyone needs to know everything and what's the point of throwing all my info out there for everyone to see. Maybe its a transitioning from extro to introvert, I don't know. 

Anyways, I'll still continue to blog and be open if asked anything personal but as far as just throwing stuff out there, I think I'm going to switch it up for awhile. I'll keep to myself a little more, I'll play my cards close, guard my thoughts,  be more of an observant instead of a participator and I guess just see what happens from there. 

Its not like I'm entirely switching who I am but just wanting to keep to myself a little more. I am only human however so I may be very open from time to time but for now I'll just go with the flow. 

6/9 5 Gratefuls

5 things that I'm grateful for this past week.

1. Talking. I know this sounds like something silly to be grateful for but its true! Sometimes talking just helps. Whether its about a problem, trying to work out a solution or sharing something amazing that happened. Having someone to talk to is great!
2. My date night with my wife. I had good food, a Wolverine burger at Red Robin!, we watched a great movie, Iron Man 3, and had plenty to talk about. It was a nice refreshing break from the week 
3. My artistic ability. I don't like to brag or boast or even claim that I'm artistic in any fashion but I'm glad I have the ability to draw. Lately I've been carrying around a small sketchbook and just jotting down notes and doing quick doodles whenever I can. It's very therapeutic to just work something out or to just let go and simply play with pencil and paper.
4. My sister. She always helps out when she can and even when its not needed she helps anyway. My wife and I owe a lot to her and she is way more appreciated than we can ever show her. 
5. My friend, Sabz. I had a really crappy day earlier this week. She might not have made it complete better but she reached out in such a way that it helped make a huge impact. She showed love and caring when I needed it. Others did as well and not to downplay them at all but what she did to put a smile on my face left me totally speechless. 

Weekly Illustration Challenges

I am a huge fan of an illustrator named Pascal Campion. He is amazing and is based semi locally in the Bay Area. Everyday Pascal posts a "sketch" of a random scene in life. The amazing thing about it is his  sketches are full blown illustration, that capture the moment he wants so perfectly. The viewer can see one of his illos and immediately be reminded of a moment that, that might have happened in their own life. His compositions are phenomenal and his palette of colours is brilliant. Check out his work here:

Pascal's Daily Sketch Blog

A few months ago I introduced his work to a dear friend of mine. She was blown away and immediately subscribed to his email list to get receive his daily sketches. She was as captured by his art as much as I am. I've been excited to send someone I know an occasional text saying "did you see PC today?".

So in a way to make sure that I do a little more illustration practice, to maybe add more pieces to my portfolio, and from being inspired by Pascal,  I asked my friend if every week she could come up with a  theme for me. On Monday mornings for the past three weeks she's giving me a theme and I've sketched out some rough ideas and then coloured them. The 1st two were done in a few hours and not really completed but that's ok. I wanted to just have fun with these and I figured I could always go back and refine them later on. I'll post the 1st two here and I'll post the third in a separate blog entry.

Week1: a night under the stars

Week2: a storm in the meadow

My friend has been amused at what I create based on her themes. I really like this partnership that we've created and can't wait to continue to draw up more of these little moments. 

change.

I noticed during a conversation with a friend today that I found myself complaining. It got me to thinking, when the hell did I become so negative and such a complainer?? I NEVER used to be like that. I used to be so positive and have a positive outlook at life.

I'd like to think that I'm not negative just a Realist. I know everything isn't always going to be ok. I know good things happen to good people and positive things happen to positive people, but I also know bad things happen despite how much hope and positivity there is. I just try to keep it real and not have my head in the clouds. A life philosophy of mine has always been "hope for the best but expect the worse". That seems to cover the positivity and still keep it real in case things go wrong.

However somewhere along the way I've started teetering on the edge of realism and negativity. I don't like. Other people don't like that. No one likes being around a person that's so negative. I want to try and find a way to change my attitude back to teetering between positive and realism.