Happy Solstice!

Also, happy The World Once Again Has Not Ended.

(or maybe it has, and we're too busy to notice)

Here is a quick sketch I did of Artemis and Apollo arm wrestling, and Artemis is of course winning because, well, Solstice.  But tomorrow Apollo will start to get his fist off the table, and in about six months it will be his twin who is on the losing end.

Bam.

I like the concept, if not the execution- I expect I'll revisit it at some point and make the anatomy a little less, "Things do not do that thing that you have drawn there thing..."

Okay "Wonderful" But Not "Pregnancy Wonderful"

Holy crap, you guys REALLY want me to be pregnant!  I've gotten more hits on my "Wonderful News" than any other post, like, ever.  (I make the jump from that to "people want pregnancy" from the private messages I've received asking about it).

 

Anyway now I feel a bit like a cad, because my wonderful news has nothing to with my reproductive capabilities.  I am not now, nor have I ever been (to the best of my knowledge) pregnant.  And seriously, if/when I do happen to conceive, I promise I will give you a totally awesome reveal, and not a smarmy little, "I know something you don't know!" post.  Scout's honor.

But back to that wonderful news.  I shall preface it with a story.

Almost three months ago I was riding my bike to work, and I took a right-hand turn.  As I did this, a van turned left onto the same street, and as it approached me I thought dreamily to myself, "Wouldn't it be nice if that van side-swiped me, so I didn't have to go to work?"

Needless to say, the van did not side-swipe me, but when I realized what I'd just thought (in all earnestness), I couldn't let it go.  In fact, I got to work and sort of broke down because I suddenly came to terms with just how incredibly miserable I was at my job.  And it was not my job, per se- I happen to love my job, and the company I work for.  But my boss had driven me to the point where I woke up every morning feeling unhappy because I had to see him, and I'd burned through all my sick days by autumn because there were some days I just couldn't face going in.  So I felt trapped and miserable and it was a dark, dark time in the life of O.

I tell you this so that you will understand why I flipped out with joy on Monday and made such a cryptic post.  Monday was a my own personal Christmas Miracle day because that was the day my boss came in (late) and stated that he was leaving the company to pursue opportunities elsewhere.  And then I helped him clean out his office and then he was gone and I never, ever have to see him again.

I felt... freed.  I felt so incredibly light, and I hadn't even realized how heavy I'd become.  My stress levels plummeted, and I've spent the past three days in a delirium of joy.  So no, I am not pregnant- but I am pretty effin' joyful nonetheless.

Brush it Off

Found an old brush pen in my bag today... it led to doodles, and made me yearn for my copic.

Guess which one I drew with my left hand...

Also I want a fountain pen, but I think it's probably too late to change my order with Santa...

More Left

Had dinner with an old friend tonight who is also an artist, and we talked about the benefits of doing left-handed drawings.  Which, of course, led to (you guessed it!) more left-handed drawings.

And, of course, more introspection on my part.

Wonderful News, Everyone!

I got some really fabulous news today...

True story.

...but I can't share it quite yet.  By the end of the week, probably.  For now all you need to know is that I am feeling approximately one jillion times lighter in spirit than I have for a very, very long time.

What the Left Hand Knows

I don't know why I feel like I'm not allowed to be sad that my grandmother is dead, but there it is.  Maybe because it's the holidays, and it's just too damned cliched to miss dead people during the holidays.  But the melancholy keeps coming up, and I keep shying away from it.  It's like my conscious, dominant brain says to my subconcious, "No, not now.  You can be sad later, when it's not so pathetic."

...but it wasn't my dominant hand I was drawing with today.

Colors Aren't So Hard

Here is some gimpy-handed coloring for your perusal:

I figure I'll get back to drawing like a reasonable person tomorrow.  We shall see.