Change is a-comin'

Good lord...it's been a while.

But don't fret! This only means that there is new stuff in the works...New content, new look, but...same blogger unfortunately. Or fortunately, for the 5 of you that check in on this space (thank you by the way). Anyway, there are a couple of things just around the corner but I had to do a check-in to show that I'm still alive and wanting to post. I've been working out what I want to do. You've gotta admit, all of this has been pretty random so far. Entertaining...but random. Look forward to something that's a bit tightened up. Stay tuned!

Laziness...

What a life.

Can't sleep, and oh yeah...Happy New Year.

Why am I still up at 4:00 am?! Just can't sleep. Work is going to be a loooong one today I'll tell you that. At any rate, I just realized that this is officially the first entry I'm writing in the new year! Cheers to you all! I'm looking forward to a lot, but mostly I'm just looking forward to life. Damn I mean, if I get to see the end of the year I'd say it was a good one. I have to admit, I've never really been a "new year's resolution-y" kind of person. Not that I'm opposed to change or self-improvement, and I'm not saying that I don't have any goals, but I pretty much make them up and adjust as I go along - and depending on the situation...not necessarily because the next year arrives. Honestly, things are pretty calm right now. And that can be either a good thing or a bad thing, haha. Too soon to tell though...

As far as the painting from the last post, it's still not at a point yet where I feel like sharing the progress BUT I will as soon as I feel that it's done. Now that I've become preoccupied again, it might be a little difficult to try to make time for painting...but it will get done though. Until then, here's a little something that I completed as a class assignment: A photo correction exercise, but man this one was a doozy. We had several pictures to choose from, and my dumbass decided to pick a really hard one to challenge myself. It took a couple of hours, but it was a labor of love. I believe it turned out great in the end - not perfect, but definitely good. The hardest part was removing all the grainy dots, and repairing the torn piece at the bottom right of the original image. You have to make it believable and natural! Good lord...Well hopefully with more practice, I'll be airbrushing the Kardashians' cellulite and Alicia Keys' acne before I know it.

A little artwork housekeeping

A study from a combo of live model and photograph

Can't have a site talking about a paintbrush and not have any art! Well...I guess I could, the whole idea of a purple paintbrush was just a metaphor anyway so I really don't HAVE to talk about art. But I will. And I am. So I'll show a bit of mine. Now that I have a bit of free time, I'm going to use some of it to finally finish a couple of paintings that I started over the summer. I want to finish them before I move on to anything else. My queue is so backed up, haha. And I want to move on to some newer stuff fast so...aye yi yi, here goes. The struggle to fight how easily distracted I get.

Alright, I got this idea from talking with a friend of mine. So I'm going to show this painting while I'm in the process of working on it, that way I have a little extra mental accountability to get myself through it. At this point I'm nervous about going back into it, but I'm really tired of looking at it being unfinished. Who likes the feeling of unfinished business? Besides, I think this piece will be something that I can really use once it's done. I think I was able to get a good start on it, the stage it's in now is after about 9 hours of work total...so that would make it about 1 regular workday of painting. I still have a ways to go though. Well, hopefully I'll be able to give an update before the end of the week. Stay tuned!

Black Swan: Two Beaks Up

Natalie Portman as the titular Black Swan

I'm sure you've heard all the buzz surrounding this movie for months now. It just opened nationwide over the weekend after spending a couple of weeks in limited release. I saw it 2 weeks ago because I was pressed. So for those of you that have been wanting to see it and haven't yet, and for those that have seen it and want to compare opinions, hopefully my thoughts will help either side. Well, I gotta say...I loved it. I would see it again actually. If you're not into the "arthouse" type of film, then maybe it might not be for you. There are elements thrown in there that may be too farfetched for someone who takes movies too seriously. A quick synopsis: Nina (Natalie Portman) is a technically brilliant dancer who gets the much coveted part as the Swan Queen in her ballet company's production of Swan Lake. However, she struggles with the charisma that she needs to pull off the other half of the role as the sexy and mysterious Black Swan. Enter Lily (Mila Kunis). A natural talent who excels in the areas that Nina lacks, but isn't as technically sound. Nina's obsession with perfection takes a turn when she becomes obsessed with Lily. Competition, janked up ballerina feet, and breakdowns ensue.

I'm coming from the mindset of a person who wants to be entertained, but not insulted by a film. I don't know a whole lot about ballet, or cinematography, or direction or anything like that so I can't speak to any technical aspects of the film or the dancing. And who cares?

Did it look cool? Hell yes. Every visual element seemed intentional and worked with the feel of the movie.

Was the acting great? Definitely. Natalie Portman nailed this role. I wouldn't be surprised if/when she starts winning awards. Mila Kunis was great, and was able to pull off sexy without that "cute" undertone that she seems to carry in most of the other roles I've seen her in. The woman that played Nina's mom was a little bit Mommie Dearest which added a creepy tone to the mother/daughter dynamic. It really worked.

Did the plot make sense? Yes, but you have to resist the urge to compare it to movies that probably do "psycho-thriller" much better than this film. Some things about the movie may seem ridiculous if you think about it, but just go with it. Ride it out. You really don't have to go too deep or get too intellectual with this one. It was mostly believable to me. Anything that can successfully combine ballet, dopplegangers, and sexuality in one movie deserves SOME sort of award. If they somehow threw a kraken in there I would rate it the best movie of the year. As usual, I found myself laughing at parts that probably weren't supposed to be funny. At this point I'm not sure if it's the scripts, the acting or just me. Anyway...The only thing that sort of bothered me about the movie was the suggestion that the only way Nina could "loosen up" and be "find herself" was by masturbating and experimenting with drugs/alcohol. Huh!? That was an after-school special that I missed. Whatever happened to "learning to laugh at yourself"? Or going to a comedy night? Or maybe, I don't know, try a new haircolor? But I suppose if she did all that then the movie would be hella boring. Imagine that montage. Or at the very least, there'd be no room to fit in Natalie/Mila lezzy action. Oh, but I digress...

Was there nudity? Nah, but there is a LOT of sexuality drizzled in it. Mostly girl-on-girl (shocker!). **Kanye shrug** Meh, I'll take it. It wasn't gratuitous, I mean, there was definitely a point to it. It's just that I have to wonder if THAT is really the reason why there is so much hype surrounding the movie...

Overall, I think that this is a film that people are either really going to love or really going to hate. I can't see there being an in-between, but I definitely think that it's worth checking out. If you're not a ballet buff, you can still appreciate the training that the actors went through to become believable dancers. If you're a film buff, but not uptight, you'll probably enjoy the stuff that counts...the acting, the visuals, and the story. Probably one of the most memorable moments for me (without spoiling too much) is the bathroom scene when Nina discovers a hangnail. I still cringe when I think about it.