I watched the presidential debate. It was a shit show but these Snapchat filters made it a little better. I picked up some new colors today for the skull project and I started inking that sketch in my new black book. Double WIP'n it.
I went through my tub of old spray paint and pulled a few cans I might use on the skull. They've been sitting for years so I had to test them first. I then went to Home Depot and bought 9 different colors of Rust-oleum Painters Touch. They didn't have some of the colors I wanted, and I'm not 100% sure if I'll use all the cans I bought today, but I'll need at least 9 different colors for this project, preferably 11 or 12.
I touched up the sketch I started a couple days ago in my new sketchbook. I cleaned up and added more plants coming out of the top of the head and eye sockets. I also think I've found the right pen to ink my protester drawing. It's a Uni Pin Fine Line brush pen, and I can get the different line weights in the range I want for the piece. I've finished drawing the lines/shapes on the ceramic skull I'm painting for the upcoming 31 Skulls show, (more info TBA) and if I counted correctly, there are 61 pentagons & 58 hexagons wrapped around the skull. Tomorrow I'll start picking colors & hopefully begin painting it. I was recently asked to participate in a fun project to paint/decorate a ceramic skull that will later be sold to raise funds for the local arts non-profit, Local Color. Local Color provided the skull and a little cash for supplies plus a voucher for a free slice of pizza at Pizza Flora, a vegan/vegetarian pizza joint in downtown San Jose. I know what I wanna do and have already started working on it. It's a design I've done in the past and I'll be sharing updates on my blog and Instagram of the process.
I ripped off the cellophane wrapper, slapped on one my stickers and started sketching in my new sketchbook tonight. It's some sort of decomposing skull with plants growing out of it.
I bought a new sketchbook for this year's Inktober, which is a "challenge" to draw something new, using ink or other mediums, everyday in October. The last three years I used smaller sketchbook, to make it easier, but today I picked up a book that's about twice as big. I also bought some new pens to try out. I picked up everything at The Arsenal in San Jose's Japantown.
Here's a quick little alien monster thing I drew tonight. Inktober is a little over a week away and I need to start warming up.
I bought this book a couple months ago. I had recently learned about House Industries via designer, Aaron Draplin, and I really liked their work. I also have a tough time with lettering and I feel it's not as strong as it could be. After picking it up I only read a couple dozen pages then set it aside for weeks. Today, after feeling guilty from streaming a bunch of TV & movies and only reading comics, I picked up the book and put a nice dent in the number of pages.
Tonight I took apart the two puzzles my grandma and I worked on while she was here at the house these last few weeks. It was fun working on them for hours but it was frustrating taking them apart. (as seen in the video below) I dropped grandma off at my aunt's house this morning and we agreed to do a new puzzle together the next time she visits. ...but I roasted the fuck outta some garlic tonight! It took longer to peel 4 bulbs of garlic than it took to time bake them. I only added olive oil, salt, pepper and seasoning and it came out pretty damn good for my first time. I also baked some biscuits (from a can) and spread the garlic on there like butter. Today my grandma and I finished the 1000 piece puzzle we started a couple days ago. Afterwards, because the air quality was good, (from the wildfire smoke) I went on a 5 mile hike/walk through Alum Rock Park and just a few minutes ago I sent off the revised design for that little job I'm working on. Time for bed.
I made a little progress on this job today after receiving notes from the client. One of the changes requires a bit more tooling than I expected but I'll figure it out tomorrow before sending it off again.
My grandma and I started a new puzzle today. It's a collage of a bunch of old school games & toys. Together we did the border, minus a few pieces, before she went to bed. I took a break then came back to do a little more. The next thing I know it's been 6 hours and I've completed half, if not most, of the puzzle.
I'm still not showing the whole image but I made the requested changes and will be sending the updated version for approval later today.
I helped a coworker buddy move out of his house yesterday. His house is on the side of a hill and we had to carry a bunch of boxes from inside the house up a flight of stairs to the U-Haul on the street. I was there for 3 hours and got one hell of a workout. I slept great last night but woke up sore as hell this morning. My shoulders and arms got it the worst. I pretty much stayed in bed all day and watched the whole first season of Cobra Kai (It's fucking great!) and I worked on a graphic design job for a couple hours so the day wasn't a total waste.
I went back to the dentist this morning and got fitted with a temporary crown. After I got home, and whatever they numbed me with started wearing off, I could feel some residual pain. I don't know if it's from the cracked tooth itself or having my gums injected and molar drilled for almost 2 hours. If everything starts to feel better I'll have the permanent crown fitted in a couple weeks. If things don't get better I'm afraid I'll need to get the tooth extracted and either get an implant or a bridge. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the crown does the job.
As if 2020 wasn't gloomy enough... the sky was orange all day Wednesday, in San Jose and the bay area, from all the smoke caused by wildfires. I found a satellite image and saw there was smoke all along the coast from southern California all the way up to Oregon and making it's way over the Pacific Ocean. There was a lot of ash coming down so I stayed indoors all day with the windows closed.
I went to the dentist today. It turned out my toothache is from a cracked molar, not a lost filling, and I'll probably need another crown installed. The dentist filed down my cracked tooth, so there's less pain when I bite, to hold me off till my appointment on Thursday. I'm still taking ibuprofen for the pain and felt like shit most of the day.
I went out of town and saw my cousins and had a great time catching up but I've also been dealing with a toothache for a few days. I think a filling fell out. The pain has gotten worse so I've been popping lots of ibuprofen for a bit of relief. I'm hoping my dentist can get me in tomorrow to fix it.
As I mentioned yesterday, I’m out of town visiting family I haven’t seen since before Covid shut everything down. I’m still gonna be proactive as to not risk anyone getting sick after coming home but I needed this after 6 months of sheltering in place and not having anyone to talk to openly about everything that’s been going on.
I hung out with my buddy today who I haven't seen since March, before the shutdown. We met up at a park, stayed socially distant, drank some beers, drew in our sketchbooks and caught up after 6 months. On Sunday I'm driving up to Ukiah to visit my cousins. I don't think I've seen them since Christmas and I really miss them. It's gonna be hot as shit but we'll still have a good time, plus they have AC. I've been needing to see friends and family after sheltering in place for so long. I always feel better afterwards. I like to think of it as recharging the soul's batteries.
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Frankie Mcfly's
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