Two sketches I did using the Wacom tablet of my wonderful dog Grace. The first is of her with her favorite duck toy "Jack" The next is a drawing of her going on a walk, or rather being walked by Wall.e and Hal.
Every other year I get olympic fever. Watching the opening ceremony is better than any television show season premiere or finale, sorry LOST. I just recently remembered (this morning) that the olympics were coming up in about 2 weeks! What Joy! I found these great illustrations that combine the summer olympic sports with traditional Chinese costumes, very beautiful and a little humorous. Enjoy!
While driving through my neighborhood after work, (and by driving, I mean riding the breaks down a 90degree hill) I saw something that a) made me laugh and b) made me realize my neighborhood dosn't have a homeowners association. Sure we've seen neighbors that take their work home with them. The policeman that parks the highway patrol car in the driveway, the ice cream truck driver that parallel parks in front of his casa after a long day of selling dilly bars, even the Bluth family parks its stair car outside the family (model) home. But as I turned the corner on Eureka road... there it was. A billboard on wheels.
I usually go for the Carmel Frappuchino when venturing to the BNL of coffee joints, but this afternoon I was inspired to try a new drink that has quickly become a favorite.
After seeing My Neighbor Totoro last month for the first time, I was really inspired by the great art in it, as well as the cuddly creature, Totoro! Some artists at Pixar have organized an incredible event called the Totoro Forest Project. Its an art show/ auction that will take place in September at Pixar. Proceeds will go to benefit the Sayama Forest, where director Miyazaki was inspired for the film.
A lot of you might have already seen this - but its worth a post! Sure my blog has turned into a lot of YouTube postings, but there isn't really anything too adventurous going on with me at the moment, so why dont we just watch a video of Matt dance around the world. This video is really quite interesting and becomes quite touching after a while - imagining the human spirit just letting loose and having a little dance... well here it is!
Go Here for a high quality version. (click high quality below video)
Ahem, to all 3 of you reading this blog (2 are my parents, the other... me), I want to take a stroll down memory lane, join me will you?
While on the phone with Diablo Cody prodigy Hilary Davis (who has a knee slapping blog btw), we discussed some beautiful things from the 90s: mainly Raffi and .... Highlights magazine, among others:
Fruit Stripe Gum You know, the "artificially and naturally flavored fruit chewing gum that is notorious for its strong but fleeting flavor?" The one packaged in zebra wrappers. Less we forget Yipes the zebra - who always seems to be filling his day with inline skating, hang gliding, basketball, or some extreme sport.... just wish the flavor was as intense as he was.
Next, I want to honor the man, the Legend... the reason I slept so soundly some nights. Raffi. Who would have known that:
a) he was Canadian b) he was born in Egypt
I am also elated to say that there is an official term for us children who grew up on a strict diet of Raffi...... "Beluga Grads" - yes, thats right.
I cant say much more, because his words do all the talking:
Ill be the first to admit that any form of japanese animation looked pretty lame... I never had an interest in Anime or anything remotely close. Recently, lots of people at work were buzzing about the great films of Hayao Miyazaki. I decided to educate myself and check out what all the buzz was about. Id heard a lot about the Academy Award winner Spirited Away, which after a watch was very interesting - beautiful visuals and a Narnia/ Wizard of Oz type of adventure. I also rented My Neighbor Totoro - which was just great! About a cuddly tree spirit that flies on a giant spinner; he is just too darn cute. See for yourself!
Can you believe this thing even exists? You could probably skip through TSA security with this in your pocket.
"Among the many top Swiss Army knives, the 24-tool Champion is often ranked among the most prized and efficient, but the craziest one of all has to be 2007's Swiss Army Knife XXL, left, (created by former rival Wenger, after its 2005 acquisition by Victorinox). Selected by the Guinness Book of World Records as the world's Most Multifunctional Pen Knife, the XXL includes 87 tools and 141 functions. But doesn’t it defeat the spirit of the original's weightless portability?" Jose Fermoso.
Some sketches from today's gesture drawing class - its uninstructed and the model holds the pose for around 2 minutes. This was by the end of the session, as I was speeding up - and finally included all of the limbs... it took me a while to loosen up. Im learning a ton by simple trial and error, and really trying to focus of weight distribution and movement. I love my job.