I like to go places.

2009-05-10T18:04:00.000-07:00

http://advocatesforpregnantwomen.org/main/publications/articles_and_reports/coercive_medicine.php

So I made some paintings.

2009-02-07T12:08:00.000-08:00

I had the house to myself for the past couple of days, so I decided to paint. This has unleashed a new wave of creativity in me, which happens to be great. I now am itching for some paint and canvas. But my mother is back, and I have nowhere to paint. :/

Also the paintings are up for the viewer's interpretation.

Yes so I am back.

2009-02-03T14:55:00.001-08:00

I went through a bit of a couple-months-long artist block but I have started drawing again! :) Anyway so here are some photographs of pages from my sketchbook because I don't have a scanner! :)

She is fascinated with her hands. Really I just wanted to draw different hand poses. Also the damn sketchbook was all tilted when I was photographing this and thus the top two drawings are a bit skewed. :/
Moping. :( I drew this to get the mopeyness out of me and maybe feel better. Did it work? A bit!

Wilfuuuul!

2008-08-05T11:33:00.000-07:00

I'm a little bored so, I nicked these photos off of Annie's facebook of Wilful Night #1 of Wilful Weekend.

The Wilful are this rad cover band that is super popular on the island (they're island lads) and that have been going for years but now are part time. But whenever they play at Watty's, the pub is so packed that there are just as many people outside as inside. Anyway. They played two gigs this past weekend, Saturday and a surprise one on Sunday. We went to both... oh man. Its always great craic. Anyways.

This picture is one of my favourites... this is Annie and Hanna-Sofia. Hanna-Sofia is the blonde one, she is Glen's girlfriend-type-thing from Sweden who came to visit for ten days. She is such a sweetheart, and she knows how to party. :D

This is Micheal, singing on the bar. :) He is the main singer of the band, and he plays guitar. He is also usually a very mellow, happy guy, thus it is pretty hard to take him seriously when he sings songs like Rage Against the Machines and Maneater. :P

This is Kalina, Annie's Swiss friend whom she grew up with in West Virginia. She is a vegan and is allergic to alcohol, so she doesn't drink anything except water, which we fondly refer to as triple vodkas to make her feel included. :D She is wearing eamon's sunglasses.

This is Ewelinka (pronounced evelina), this super-crazy polish girl who also does not drink for reasons unknown, and damnit she does NOT need to. She is often more lively and silly sober than most people are drunk, and is the life of any party. She is hilarious and wild and has a great accent. She loves her pineapple juice.

This is Glen, Melissa and I. I have no idea why I am holding that Bulmers or where I got it... I could have sworn I did not have any Bulmers that night. :/ Melissa and Glen are a hard-drinking combination. They like to headbang and jump up and down during such classics as "Highway to Hell", "I predict a riot", and "Rage against the machines".

Yep. Moral of this story? The Wilful = Excellent fun.

Tan Lines

2008-08-02T07:34:00.000-07:00

This picture doesn't show it quite as well, but check out my tan lines. It's because of how many times I have been burnt. :P But yes, the lines are pretty stark... or at least by my standards.

Don't ride that horse.

2008-07-28T07:41:00.000-07:00

This is what happens when I try to draw someone while they are using their laptop and they get up and leave. I have to fill in the blanks with things.

In other news, you all have to start listening to Old Crow Medicine Show, please. At least try it. It's lovely.

I cutted my hairs

2008-07-17T06:55:00.000-07:00

I cut my hair the other day. It god damn doesn't ever flip on both sides which drives me nuts. But yes, short hair. I have decided I like it... it is so easy to maintain and I love just running my fingers through it and how it just ends. Hurrah!

2008-07-16T07:24:00.000-07:00

The other day, while taking a walk with Annie around town, we noticed what looked like 20 or 30 birds (we think it was ravens, or small crows) perching around and on the roof of a house. It was a strange sight, and none of them were really moving much or making noise, they were just... sitting there. The next day, there were 4 crows that were out back, cawing really loudly. I thought they had come inside, so I went to see what the racket was and they allburst forth in a flurry and flew away. I researched it, because I am a tad superstitious, and crows and ravens both mean potential bloodshed and battle. Also, a bunch of crows above a house in celtic mythology is supposed to mean death or something. Anyway, I started drawing crows because they were on my mind.

This is another page of my sketchbook, I drew a ginger kid because of this friend of mine who is ginger but hates his hair (he dyed it black). I tried to explain to him that ginger hair is fecking awesome, but he would have none of it. Silly boy.

2008-07-13T06:35:00.000-07:00

Today is wholly uninspiring. It is that restless sort of 'it-is-about-to-rain-but-it-is-not-raining-yet' sort of stage, which only antagonizes my own inner restlessness. I need to get off the island... I'm going crazy. Luckily, I am going to Galway on Tuesday, I am going to get my hair cut (it is a scruffy, ragged mess at the moment) and buy things and generally be off the island. That will be good, it will keep me going for another two weeks.

Now, don't get me wrong, I love it here, its just sometimes you need to escape, especially when you do the same thing every day. I work every day. Granted, it is not a hard job at all at all. But, there is nothing to really break up the week, which drives me bonkers. So yes, Galway should be good.

In the meantime, here is a doodle that evolved when I was playing around with pens and coloured pencils.

I drew the dress first and then drew the person, which is why the dancing girl looks a bit wonky.

A shocking realization.

2008-07-06T07:55:00.000-07:00

I think it is pretty self-explanatory.

Sunsets

2008-07-06T07:48:00.000-07:00

We have the best sunsets at Mainistir. Seriously. The skies here are just so fascinating.

2008-07-04T12:10:00.000-07:00

The other day, Annie, her friend Beccy and I frolicked on the beach in Kilronan. The sand was awesome, you just sunk right in and there seemed to be water in it... we spent a good 20 minutes being thoroughly amused, stomping around in the sand, and making footprints, and afterwards we skipped through the waves, me getting my pants wet up to my mid-thigh, and generally having some good old fashioned beach fun.

There needs to be more good old fashioned beach fun in the future... I have never lived by the ocean before, and can count on one hand the occasions I have been to the beach. There is something so very summery and carefree about it.

When I get home I just know I am going to be pining for the ocean...

Some drawing, I'll bet.

2008-07-02T14:08:00.000-07:00

My lymph nodes are swollen, and I am sick. Therefore I am abstaining from going out tonight, so maybe I will actually get sleep. What a concept.

Here are some more photos of drawings out of my sketchbook.

I drew this random 3-4 page thing in my sketchbook about a princess who was waiting on someone to save her even though nobody was coming. I know, so cliche, right. But I felt like drawing it, so hey. This is the only non-craptacular page, when she leaves her tower, and looks into the sun. It's actually a legitimate drawing, too, rather than my crowded sketchbook pages that are often just a bunch of things smooshed onto a page. I dislike her right hand immensely, but I am okay with the rest of it.

This came out of my head one night in Galway. O__o Don't ask, I have noo idea.

Canada Day

2008-07-02T06:09:00.000-07:00

Oh, Canada... The party started at 3:30 in the afternoon when terry, the one in the hat, brought a big bottle of ceasers for us to drink... it's a canadian drink, did you know? Anyways, we partied all night, went to a bunch of pubs, and generally spread the canadian love. Good times!
This is Annie, Mandy and I. Annie and Mandy are both Americans... but we converted them, and for the day they were honourary canadians! :D

Comics

2008-06-30T05:42:00.000-07:00

I remember Beccy once suggesting I draw comics while I am in Ireland, and lo and behold, that is what I have been doing!

I totally stole Kate Beaton's idea of making comics about one talking to a younger version of oneself and this is what I got. I just did it to illustrate just how judgemental I was as a child... I would have totally disapproved of my life now. I had fun with the poses. :D

This is a comic borne of frusteration over stupid hostel people. It's more or less true, only less stabbing and more closing a door in someone's face.

Some drawrings.

2008-06-28T08:16:00.000-07:00

I am bored and so you will now have to put up with some more of my sketches. Haha!

This is the chair that was in my living room in Galway. :)

This is a pen drawing of my shoes, no pencil!? SO EXCITING. What else can I post, lets see........

This is a random sketch in PENCIL CRAYONS of the view from the front of the hostel, which has been titled "The forever unfinished sketch" because I will probably never get around to finishing it.

Yep.

2008-06-27T12:26:00.000-07:00

So, a while back Beccy posted a meme about drawing oneself as a teenager, which I found interesting. As I am 19, I decided to draw me as a 15 year old in all my braces, acne, and flat-chested glory.

Squid Boy

2008-06-26T13:58:00.000-07:00

Augh I am soo bored... today has been so generic. I have become accustomed to that whole 'every day is an adventure' concept, but today hasn't exactly been an adventure... its been boring.

Haha, listen to me complaining about having a boring day while I'm living on the Aran Islands... woe is me, right.

Anyways, due to this boredom, I am posting more stuff that I have pictures of.

So, um, this is Squid boy, who came from the depths of god-knows-where. He has troubles drinking tea. Its drawn in charcoal. He was an angry child.

Charactery sketches

2008-06-26T04:20:00.000-07:00

More sketches!? These are all of non-original characters, so like, characters from books that I absolutely needed to draw.

I read Animal Farm by George Orwell, which was excellent (although not as good as 1984). My doodles of Boxer, Napoleon, and the sheep aren't worth putting up, but I liked my drawings of Squealer because I managed to put on paper exactly what I had in my head. Hurrah!

When I read Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman (which, by the way, was excellent. Neil Gaiman is my hero. <3) I fell in love with the characters of Mr. Croup and Mr. Vandemar. I loved their relationship with each other, the dynamic between them, and their sadistic nature. They may be my favourite characters in literature, maybe.

This is a scene in the book when Mr. Croup is pissed off at his boss for wanting the two of them to be 'scarecrows' instead of 'assassins', and Mr. Vandemar has got his hand stuck to the wall with knife.

I guess I lied.

2008-06-25T08:45:00.000-07:00

So, I guess I lied, maybe I will post my art here, I can take pictures and stuff, right? This entire blog was spawned out of boredom because so often I have to sit in the office and wait for the phone to ring, but sometimes I have nothing else to do. And its been rainy so I haven;t been outside so much. Today I am going outside after I am off. ANYWAYS. here are some sketches from my sketchbook for you to enjoy if you want:

So I was sitting in reception with my sketchbook and picked up a magazine and randomly started sketching one of the models and this is what came of it.

This is my second attempt at drawing fashion models. I am a little annoyed with the coat... shiny leather is my newest arch-nemesis. I am actually still finishing the photo, I have gloves and pants drawn now too.

Anyways, this is what I do with my spare time... drawing. I've started drawing all over the booking book too... I hope Joel doesn't notice.

I have nothing to do, so look at these photos of my friends.

2008-06-24T13:02:00.000-07:00

I have nothing to do really, because I am supposed to be answering phones but they are not ringing. So anyways, these are the crazy peeps I hang out with on an almost daily basis. (These pictures were taken by Annie, by the way, not me.)

This first photo is a picture of me, Mandy, and Mandy's german friend. Mandy is the one who I am talking about. She stayed at our hostel and was on the islands for two weeks, went back to dublin, and now is back for an undefined period of time. She is very high-energy, from America (but her mother is from Cork), and generally awesome to be around.

These two fools are Padraig (pronounced 'Porrick'... rhymes with 'Yorrick') and Tom. Annie and I met Padraig at Watty's, and when I went away for the week, he and Tom (from Dublin) became Annie's substitute drinking buddies and kind of stuck around. The dynamic of their friendship is hilarious. They once performed the song 'You're the one that I want' from Grease, with dancing. Padraig was Sandy.

This photo is of me and Annie, my co-worker, and roommate for about 5 days. Annie is from the states and plays a mean fiddle. She also knows the Ditty Bops, which makes her awesome. She knows a lot of good music, actually. She is almost always happy, and if not happy, she still manages to retain a sort of cheeriness about her. If you looked up adorable in the dictionary, you probably would not see a picture of her, but I think they should put one in anyway because she is a pretty accurate description of 'adorable'.

Glen also works and lives at Mainistir, but for some reason I have no photos of him. He is awesome, though, and as Melissa put it, whenever he is around there is sure to be a party. He is very, very Kiwi, and is super-proud of it. Do not mention any love of Australians around him. He loves blondes, especially scandanavians, specifically swedes.

Bonfire Night

2008-06-24T08:32:00.001-07:00

General drunken debauchery plus gigantic mega-bonfires? YES.

Bonfire night was last night, and it was totally grand. Basically, its a west-coast-of-Ireland tradition to commemorate the birth of St. John by burning things in massive amounts. The islanders use this as a method of getting rid of old furniture, clothes, and other such garbage, as we are not allowed mega-super-ginormous bonfires on any other night. The heat was so strong from the fire it cancelled out the rain that was hitting us. (I was dry on one side and cold and wet on the other.)

2008-06-23T13:10:00.000-07:00

So I changed my mind, I can use this to post photos for the meantime. This is I in front of Slieve League Cliffs. I wish there was some reference in this picture to get an idea of how tall they are... let's see. If there was a person standing on the peak up there, you probably wouldn't be able to tell in this picture, they'd be too small. Yeah.

So, very pretty cliffs. :D

Yep

2008-06-23T13:07:00.000-07:00

I will probably use this after Ireland/Europe... I'll scan all my sketches or something. I wanted an art blog too...