These are growing next to the entrance to the library loading dock. I adore them.
Month: June 2016
Shelf Cloud
I just looked out the patio window and saw this monster heading right for us. Eeep!
AIEEE!
There’s a tornado warning box under all the lightning strikes, to the southwest of Bloomington. It looks like that cell is heading southeast, so it hopefully won’t affect us.
What Would Jesus Do?
“I wish the government would round them all up, put them up against a firing wall, put a firing squad in front of them, and blow their brains out,” Jimenez said during his Sunday sermon, which Verity Baptist posted on its website under the title “the Christian response to the Orlando murders.”
Remember that part in the New Testament where Jesus preached about murdering people by firing squad? Funny, neither do I. Granted, it’s been a long time since 8th grade religion class with Sister Helen, but I remember him preaching that we should love everyone like a bunch of damn hippies and we should treat everyone with the same respect we’d give the big dude himself.
I don’t care where you fall on the political spectrum (totally a lie, I do care), but if you find yourself calling for the murder of people who have never, ever, not even once in their lives, hurt you, you should take a time out to think about where you went off the rails. That is a spectacular level of ugliness being disseminated in the name of God.
Which brings me to another point. We don’t know (yet) why Omar Mateen committed mass murder. Possibly it was for a whole bunch of reasons all inextricably woven together. I can’t believe it’s an accident that he chose a gay club as his killing ground, though. And isn’t it a little ironic that we have a presidential candidate calling for a wholesale ban against Muslims entering the US, because of a few extremists who appear to harbor strikingly similar beliefs to certain Christian extremists? The problem isn’t Muslims or Christians, but hate and ignorance and the intolerance and fear they breed.
ETA: This? I believe this is what Jesus would do.
This is how a kind, thoughtful, caring person responds when others are hurt. It’s quite lovely. You should watch it. It might restore some of your faith in humanity. (Via Wonkette, where there is a transcript if you’d rather read it.)
A Test
I pasted a piece of textured kraft paper into my journal with acrylic medium. I covered that with a thin coat of Daniel Smith transparent watercolor ground. After drying 24 hours, as recommended, there were still opaque streaks. So next time, I’ll know that thin is not thin enough. Must apply even thinner!
I’m really happy with the way the finished product handles, despite the streaks. I think it will be a nice addition for collaging elements into journals that you later want to use wet media on. The ground also comes in opaque white, if you don’t want the underlying surface to show.
What Will the Men Do?
I’m not any kind of serious gamer, but I have loved Zelda since day one. And look, a new Legend of Zelda is coming out. Yay! Oh, wait. When the producer was asked whether or no we’d finally get to play as a female character, he responded with this bucket of nonsense:
“We thought about it,” Aonuma told GameSpot through a translator, “and decided that if we’re going to have a female protagonist, it’s simpler to have Princess Zelda as the main character.” But that idea was shot down because “if we have Princess Zelda as the main character who fights, then what is Link going to do?”
From: The Verge, “Nintendo offers really stupid reasons why you can’t play as a woman in The Legend of Zelda“
Seriously, dude? You can’t allow folks to play as a female character, because if you did, WHAT WOULD THE MAN DO? Jesus wept. Maybe Link could be held prisoner and Zelda rescues him? IT COULD TOTALLY HAPPEN, RIGHT? No complicated gymnastics involved. Just literally flip the script. I promise, the world will not end if a woman rescues a man.
His comments about the Triforce are even more ridiculous.
Testing
I bought this jar of transparent watercolor ground months ago, but haven’t done anything with it. I thought I’d test it today.
Applying it was simple–just like putting on a top coat of acrylic medium. There was a texture left over from the brush, though, that could be obnoxious. That should be somewhat controllable, by blotting at the end with a paper towel or a wet wipe.
And now we wait for paint to dry. It’s rainy and damp today, so it’s taking forever.
Reminders
I keep finding loose ends. Yesterday it was a collar under a pile of things on the passenger seat of my car. How on earth did it get there? This morning it was my calendar telling me to give Frances her heartworm pill.
Backup, Backup, Backup
Piglet was being hilariously obnoxious last night, singing opera and trying to catch the bug on the front door (AKA the peephole). I wanted to get it on video, but nope, my phone was full. Hmf. So now I’m sitting and waiting and waiting and waiting while all my photos and video transfer to a backup drive. Which obviously I should have done ages ago. I think I just have a 32GB phone, which is not a lot of space. I end up having to dump it every few months, and it was long overdue.
So instead of a video of my ridiculous cat, you are getting a reminder to back up your photo and video devices so you can make room on them for new stuff. (Only 23 minutes remaining!)
Tearing Things Up
M. Graham and Schmincke gouache with acrylic on 140 lb Canson cold press watercolor paper
I started this one by blocking out the negative space with acrylic. Then I used M. Graham gouache for the pear. I had everything just about how I wanted it, and was burnishing off some of the paint from the highlights. Aaaaaaand I rubbed off about a square inch of the top layer of paper. Oopsie!
I used a little bit of acrylic to glue down and cover the skinned bit. Then I went back over it with a little more gouache.
The background acrylic has a layer of Schmincke gouache over the acrylic.
red paper boat 