New art for auction!
NSFW, mature female pinup

http://www.furbuy.com/auctions/1012462.html

I drew and painted her up today, taking a day off from commissions - and wow it felt good! I need to draw more stuff for myself.

Yesterday was my 28th birthday ^.^

Noriko and I went to the Oregon Zoo - I'd not been there yet, and I thought it was very pretty and a really nice zoo. Its a lot prettier and shadier than the LA zoo - also with less of a crowd... We saw a bald eagle all floofed up with feathers in its beak (you never picture them that way) it was very cute. We saw a cougar just on the other side of the glass and it lifted its head and looked at me... We saw a huge bull elephant, and all kinds of other animals. I was very happy. I took a few pictures... and we had some cookie dough flavored dippin' dots.

Then we went over to Uwajimaya and picked up stuff to make sukiyaki for dinner... which I love... and Noriko bought for me a set of Kanji flashcards, to learn the first 488 kanji that are taught to young students in japan (grades 1-3.. they have subsequent sets up to grade 9 I believe) We've been really gung ho about learning Japanese again. I'm ashamed at how much I've forgotten since studying in college, but a lot of it is coming back to me which is great. One day I hope to be fluent... but we'll need to use it a lot.

Patrick stopped by when Noriko was preparing dinner and visited for a while, and I got to talk to some old friends online (some of my first internet friends from when I was 14, who messaged to say happy birthday), and of course I got to talk to my parents and my sister.. And my friends Ami and Hida who I talk to nearly every day these days.

It was a really nice birthday and I got some really cool gifts, too. I'm like a little kid who still gets excited about birthdays ^.^... Its a little weird that I'm already 28.... but everyone else I know is getting older along with me so it doesn't feel so much as though I'm getting old.... I was talking about the concept the other day that age is just a number - but how you take care of your body and your mind can really drastically affect how long you will live, and in thinking of it that way, your 'age'.

I really need to work on the Costa Rica LJ posts, too - I took yesterday off cuz it was my birthday, but I've got so much work to keep up with that I feel I have no extra time for something like that, especially since I've been fitting daily exercise and trying to do some daily japanese lessons in, too. The thing thats slowing me down on the Costa Rica posts is choosing and adjusting photos out of the ones I took, and then remembering everything. I'll do it though, I really want to. I just want to get a lot of my work done, too.

Back from Costa Rica now =D.. It will take me a little while to get caught up on communications and everything - but I am getting right back to work now, so for those waiting for art or replies, I appreciate your patience as I get back into the swing of things.

I also took a ton of pictures in Costa Rica and I intend to write a series of livejournals documenting the experience... which was just too amazing for words (but I'll do my best!) So hopefully I'll get that started soon, too. But right now, work is on the top of my list of what to do.

Off to Costa Rica for 10 days =D Be back in September ^.^!

At last - I finished a piece of art I've had in progress all year. Its another 30"x40" oil painting, but it took a lot longer because of architecture and figures - instead of just landscape... It took about 138 hours, according to the log I kept on my calendar... which makes it the 2nd most time consuming piece of art I've done (1st was Femme Fatale).

Unfortunately, I will have to wait a few days for it to dry before I can attempt to photograph it properly. I painted the canvas edges as well as the front, so hanging it up or propping it on a canvas would cause a mess. Right now its laying on top of a very large box on the floor, and we're being careful to avoid it.

I had times while working on it - where I was just so scared to continue - because I was afraid I would mess up - and I really need to get past that whole response... because it really slows me down. I need to decide what my next big painting will be... This one was a commission, but the next one won't be - so I'm thinking a landscape based on another of my photographs but I'm not sure which one. I have a sunset piece that I ... stopped working on after I got mega-frustrated with the massive sky gradient not behaving as I wanted - but I should return to that at some point and finish it, too - or else its a bunch of wasted hours... and paint...

And then I finished another smaller commission today, so I'm feeling rather good at the moment - but I have a lot of sketches to do over the next week... before I leave for 10 days next Saturday... and it looks like we have more hot weather in the forecast for next week, too.

Tagged by Sekhmet ...

8 true things about me...

1. I'm a nervous driver. I drive below the speed limit, most of the time, and I feel much safer in the slow lane than anywhere else. I really don't like driving places without a GPS, and I suck at parallel parking. But I have never been in a major accident, so I think I'm doing something right by being cautious.

2. Even though I'm a nervous driver, I love cars. I used to go to car shows with my dad, and I loved the European sports cars. My dream car growing up was a Porsche 911 turbo - I wanted a dark blue one with white racing stripes and white leather interior. Now I am just happy with a practical car... but I still ogle flashy sportscars that pass by.

3. My first job was when I was 15... I worked for a clothing company, and originally I was just there to rearrange their file cabinets, but they saw me drawing on my lunch break and asked me to join their art department to create a portfolio to pitch to WB to try to get a license to print scooby doo on their clothing - which I did, and we achieved. That same summer I got one of my coworkers interested in Tenchi Muyo.

4. My first convention was Anime Expo 1997. And my mom took me. She was weirded out by the fannish crowd - I remember her saying "Its like a bunch of 30 year old Star Trek fans." haha. I had a really great time though, and bought too much stuff.

5. Before my freshman year in highschool, when I became obsessed with Sailor Moon, I never drew humans at all (I drew animals all the time though). My first attempts at drawing the Sailor Senshi, therefore, were quite hilarious. So I can thank anime for my starting down the road of drawing humanoids.

6. I have petted a wild baby grey whale. Yes, it was awesome. There is a lagoon in Mexico where grey whales go to mate and raise their babies, and they are very friendly there for some reason. My grandmother took me to see them, because when I was very little I composed a song on the piano about whales, and she always wanted to take me to see the whales because of that.

7. The more actual experience with art I get, the more insecure I become. I have to actually work at having enough self-confidence to get some pieces done, because I'm just so afraid I won't like them when they are done, and neither will anyone else. Sometimes I'm worried to upload pieces I worked very hard on.

8. I would love to have access to an olympic or half-olympic pool so I could swim laps freestyle, uninterrupted. I used to swim competitively - and my favorite event was the 500 free. My best time was seven minutes, 11 seconds. (500 free is 20 laps in a half-olympic pool).

1. What time did you get up this morning?
noon..

2. How do you like your steak?
Medium (with pink)

3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema?
Up

4. What is your favorite TV show?
Battlestar Galactica

5. If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be?
I'd like to have multiple houses so I could move about - but if I had enough money I could travel a lot to visit people and not have to worry about money, I'd say Japan.

6. What did you have for breakfast?
Nothing yet

7. What is your favorite cuisine?
Japanese

8. What foods do you dislike?
Spicy food, mayonnaise, american cheese, meat with bones in it(without bones is fine), and some other stuff I can't think of now

9. Favorite place to eat?
If I could choose only one place to eat right now, it would be Lawry's - but I have many favorite restaurants.

10. Favorite dressing?
Ceasar

11.What kind of vehicle(s) do you drive?
White 2003 Acura TL type S (named Angel)

12. What are your favorite clothes?
My black suit. I would like to own more suits.

13. Where would you visit if you had the chance?
Japan, Okinawa, Germany, China, Egypt, Kenya, Australia, and pretty much anywhere thats not currently war-torn. I love to travel.

14. Cup 1/2 empty or 1/2 full?
Generally half full.

15. Where would you want to retire?
I can't see myself retiring from creating art, but I can realistically see myself here in Oregon or back in Southern California.

16. Favorite time of day?
I've always been a fan of early evening.

17. Where were you born?
Tarzana California

18. What is your favorite sport to watch?
Gymnastics, martial arts or figure skating

19. Who do you think will not tag you back?
I'm not tagging anybody so this should not be an issue.

20. Person you expect to tag you back first?
See above. If anyone does this, I guess its just because they want to.

21. Who are you most curious about their responses to this?
I'm not sure.

22. Bird watcher?
I sometimes watch birds, because I find it fascinating that they coexist with humans so naturally in urban environments, but if you mean do I actually know what birds they are (apart from obvious ones like pigeons and quail) and keep track of which I see, then no.

23. Are you a morning person or a night person?
Night person

24. Do you have any pets?
I don't have any now, but I want a corgi and some puffers.

25. Any new and exciting news you’d like to share?
We're going to see Billy Joel and Elton John in concert in November - which is exciting for me =)

26. What did you want to be when you were little?
How little? I wanted to be a firefighter, then a singer, then a mommy, then a shamu trainer at sea world, then a newspaper comic cartoonist, then an animator (spanning from 4 years old until 14 years old)

27. What is your best childhood memory?
I have a lot of good childhood memories. But the best aspect of my childhood was my sister.

28. Are you a cat or dog person?
both

29. Are you married?
Yes

30. Always wear your seat belt?
Yes

31. Been in a car accident?
Yes but only small ones.

32. Any pet peeves?
Some... I guess one is internet fads that wont die such as the 'badger badger' thing or the caramel dance that I see nearly every day because people still use it for icons everywhere... or 'all your base are belong to us'.. pretty much stuff I never found cute or funny and I don't need to keep seeing/hearing it

33. Favorite Pizza Toppings?
pepperoni and black olives

34. Favorite flower?
casablanca lily

35. Favorite ice cream?
green tea

36. Favorite fast food restaurant?
taco bell

37. How many times did you fail your driver’s test?
once... I left the parking brake up >.>

38. From whom did you get your last email?
a prospective commissioner

39. Which store would you choose to max out your credit card?
I wouldn't ever do that in a million years... @.@ I can't think of any store I'd spend that much money at.

40. Do anything spontaneous lately?
Nope, completely boring.

41. Like your job?
Most of the time...

42. Broccoli?
Not my favorite vegetable, but I enjoy it.

43. What was your favorite vacation?
Going to Vegas with Noriko in 2004 and getting married

44. Last person you went out to dinner with?
To a restaurant? I guess then it would be with Noriko, Tani, Nightfox and BBF to Steel city diner at Anthrocon.

45. What are you listening to right now?
The subtle droning of the fan as it tries to produce a breeze in this 87 degree weather.

46. What is your favorite color?
blue

47. How many tattoos do you have?
zero

48. Lefty or righty?
righty

49. Favorite thing to do with friends?
learn new things about them

50. Hopeful for the future?
always!

Since just before Anthrocon, Noriko and I started exercising daily again. We have a gym here in our apartment complex that has a stationary bike, an elliptical, a treadmill, and some weights machines, and in the hotter months of the year seems to be mostly empty. (Most everybody is in the pool)...

We're interested in endurance/stamina/heart rate training, moreso than strength - so I walk, or jog, or do the elliptical each morning and burn somewhere between 80-175 calories a day. Its not the best, but its a start. As a result i've had more energy throughout the day than normal (I haven't needed PG Tips tea to wake me up).

In addition to this, after Anthrocon we bought a VitaMix blender - they had a special at Costco, and we'd been thinking about one for years - Noriko's mom had an old one from the 70s and Noriko was very excited about the idea of making homemade smoothies, ice creams, soups, etc. I must admit I'm very impressed by the sheer blending power of the thing, and the fact that we can buy some fresh produce and Noriko can make all kinds of stuff with it, and not have to heat up the house by turning on the stove or the oven. In this heat, its a complete blessing. Its also made our diets exponentially healthier, since most of what we've been eating the last 2 weeks has involved fresh fruits and vegetables, and not much else.

Last night, though, I decided I was in the mood for a pizza - one of the 'bake it yourself' fresh refrigerated pizzas down at the WinCo which is open 24 hours. Pepperoni, black olive and pork sausage on pan crust. Very delicious. Anyways so we head out at 2 am after I have been working on my oil painting for a while, and pick one up. Normally, I would eat 2 slices of pizza, as well as something else like pasta with tomato sauce or something... and a drink. But after a slice and a half of pizza, my stomach hurt quite badly - its gotten so used to healthy food that the pizza was so painful ^.^,, I finished the 2 slices because I really wanted to, and then had to lay on the couch unmoving for a while LOL. Next time I will have only one slice and probably be quite full. Its just amazing how quickly the body can get used to a certain diet.

In other news, I'm cracking down on my oil painting and slowing all other projects until it is complete... which will back up my commission queue for a while, but this oil painting has been in progress since December and I really need to get it done.

We got back from the con 2 nights ago, but I took a day to just relax and decompress... And today I'm pretty much back to work. I'll begin painting after I finish writing a quick journal about the convention =)

It was an excellent con. I'm happy with table sales, and art show sales. I didn't sell everything in the art show, but I set my min. bid prices at what I would be happy to sell them at if only one bid is made... I came home with seven of the 21 pieces in the show, so to me it was a definite success =).

Much more importantly, I got to see lots of people who I hardly ever get to see... and although I didn't spend nearly as much social time as I would have liked to with them, I did get some very precious time having dinners and drinks and chats with good friends, and I also got to meet and speak to several people for the first time.

The Sofawolf party Saturday night was a particular highlight for me, Tani and Nightfox were wonderful hosts as always and I tried my first ever mojito - and it was delicious! The Jagermeister was also a special treat =D. And it was really great to be able to chat with AuraDeva and Shinigamigirl, who I had met before but never had a chance to sit down and chat with... on all kinds of topics, but also including art =). And I also got to meet Frisket for the first time, and watched her sketch, which was very neat.

It was a pleasure to see Carole Curtis again - and to laugh and joke with Waarhorse about his 'not cute' badge menagerie, and to chat with Edward Hyena (though I wish we'd had a chance to go out to dinner), and to see Vernon Otter thursday night for sandwiches, and to chat with GreenReaper in the zoo, and so many other people and memories that I wish I just had more time to hang out with everybody and chat and relax.. I didn't get to spend *enough* time with anybody, but cons keep me so busy with artwork that it just can't be helped...

The flights to and from Pittsburgh were pretty much okay - nothing bad happened, but the flights were very full so there was no room to move around and I did get unusually claustrophobic on one of the flights on the way back... And the hotel was good - we stayed in the Westin, and I looove their showerheads. Showering there is like showering in a hot rainforest downpour. The bed was nice, too, and we had a good view. Being on the 20th floor was also not bad, because that high up, its easy to catch an elevator most of the time.

I did like the new Hall B - The extra table space (8 feet instead of 6) was probably more than I needed, but it was great, I had plenty of room for everything, and then some. The wide aisles and room behind the tables was great, too. The art show was huge as well - and I saw a whole bunch of really awesome art... Noriko and I got a chance to look through the show on Friday night - My favorite pieces were a print that Loba North/Northwolf had of a running white non-anthro horse with some birds flying beside it, and a piece by Tani of a female clouded leopard in the mature section... But there were a LOT of pieces that were just really incredible and beautiful and it was a pleasure to get to see peoples originals up close.

There is more, I'm sure, that I am leaving out - unfortunately... but thank you again to everyone who came by to say hello, or spend time with me and Noriko, and help make my experience at the con as good as it was =)

Well, we are leaving for AC in 2 days, but its more like one and a night - because we leave so early in the morning.... Tomorrow I will probably be packing most of the day ^.^....

And its interesting because this weekend in portland we are hitting very high temperatures (at least the hottest so far this year - 90s) And so we will miss most of that which is good ^.^.

This is our first AC in 2 years - and we're in a new larger dealers room - which ought to be interesting... I've got all my art matted, my prints arranged, my artshow paperwork filled out, pretty much everything is done but the packing and doublechecking how many business cards I have left. I'm really looking forward to seeing friends - and I wonder if the chinese restaurant that plays the country music is still there - I liked that place ^.^.

As far as pre-con anxiety dreams, they haven't been that bad this time around - in fact, though I know I had at least one, I can't even remember it now. I'm a little anxious, but I'm really looking forward to it all this year =). Ooo... I wonder if I'll get to see any fireworks this year =D!