April 2018

The old saying goes that "April showers bring May flowers" - there were definitely a lot of showers this month, but that warmer weather has finally started to show up. I was wondering if we were even going to have a Spring this year.
Somehow I feel that above saying is true for how things are with me right now, namely in terms of my job. Like I said last month, who doesn't complain about their job? I just find myself wishing I was spending my time doing what I enjoy, and I find myself wondering if I will ever get to that point in life. Maybe this is my mid-life crisis happening, I don't know.
My frustrations with online social media are still very much a problem too. I still feel like I'm getting  a lot of unwanted attention, and that I get little reward for putting 100% effort into my artworks. Sometimes I wonder why I even bother, why I stress myself out so much trying to make quality comics and cartoons when all everybody seems to be interested in is the latest trend or the latest fetish. Am I wasting my artwork and time on people who couldn't care less when I should be using it to make a career that I enjoy? I have seriously considered just giving up on it all.
That's why I have to remember all the good people, fellow artists I've met through doing this, and their words of support. They give me the moitvation to keep at it, to keep doing what I love. I try my best to give some of that back too.
All of that doesn't seem important when you know a loved one is sick, however - unfortunately, Luna had to be taken to the vet again this month after she suffered a seizure. The cause was low blood sugar, which she is now on meds for, and probably will be for the rest of her life. However since then, despite her blood sugar still being under a safe level, she's recovered very well, being much more active than before, very similar to how Apollo got back to his old self after his scare back in January. Hopefully both ferrets still have a lot of time left for them.
On a brighter note, the warmer weather has been a much needed boost for me. I've been getting out for walks and bike rides, as well as taking trips with my wife when we're able to. Admittedly when it's nice out it also makes it harder for me to want to stay inside and work on arts, but honestly I would rather be outside enjoying the sun, while I have the chance.
April was also a special month for my wife - on the 23rd, she hit the big 3-0 (she doesn't look it!), and we marked it with a get-together at the in-laws' for some cake and presents. We're also hoping to have a quick getaway at the start of May as a late birthday treat too.
On the art front, I finally resumed Fyfe & Sparkplug comic #2 after fleshing out those character designs, trying to press on with that now. On that same token, with April being the month of St George's Day, I couldn't pass up another pic of Fyfe & Sparkplug giving St George a good roasting.

Hopefully those May flowers will be blooming by the time next month comes around.

P.S. We unfortunately had to have our squirrel housemate removed from our AC, because of needing to use the AC and there being a potential fire hazard. It also turns out that the squirrel gave birth to a baby, who was also living in the nest. Really didn't want to have to drive them out, but it was better for everyone's safety.

April 2017

I don't think I have a huge amount to say about this month to be honest - it's been more or less the same as March was.

The job situation is still the same - still looking, and I'm still doing the side job twice a month (although this month it was three times). Admittedly it's been a bit stressful, and on one of the days I felt like everything that could go wrong went wrong, some of which was out of my hands, some of which was me not handling stuff as good as I should've. Days like that are what make me nervous about having a regular job, and I really hope I can get past that someday. However, it is still a job, and at the end of the day it's experience, and it gets me out of the house.

I've also been wondering if some of what I said in my last blog post might've turned some people away from my artwork, and if they have, then I'm sorry that it made you feel that way. I still stand by what I said however, and with that said I'm still going to carry on making my artworks regardless. As the saying goes, to each their own.

I mentioned getting out of the house before, and with the weather becoming warmer and drier, I've started my bike rides again, and a few months of not bike riding certainly does make a big difference, but as exhausting as it can be, it's always good to just get out there and ride like the wind. It's also strange looking back to a year ago, when I was very reluctant to venture out onto the Connecticut roads by myself for the first time. Now it's just second nature.

On the artwork front, I can't say I've really been motivated to do much digital artwork lately, and that's because I've been working on the first Fyfe & Sparkplug comic. The inking phase is nearing completion, so hopefully soon I'll be able to move onto the colouring phase. I'm still trying to figure out how to go about releasing it - upload it to Tapas, or publish it in book form, or even both? I still have a while to go before I reach that stage though.

This month was also a very special someone's birthday - April 23rd was my lovely wife's birthday, and we celebrated it with a weekend away in guess where, Rhode Island. There were casinos, hotel pools, a restaurant meal, some shopping, and watching the sunset over the Atlantic. Did I mention lots of together time too? (There's your mushy moment for this month.)

I can't end this blog without mentioning Easter - hope you had a good one if you celebrated it. And as always, I'll leave you with some artwork - my wife's birthday falls on the same day as St. George's Day, and I couldn't resist making a scene with a certain knight and a certain dragon duo.

There was one last thing that i forgot to mention last month - me and my wife are finally going on our honeymoon. We would've gone last year, but for circumstances - and as for where we're going, I'll leave that until the comes. (Hint: we've been there once before, and no, it's not Rhode Island.)

You'll get to hear all about it in a month's time - peace out.

April 2016

I must sound like a broken record when I keep saying how fast time seems to go these days, but it's true - I can't believe that it's been 4 months since I made my move Stateside, and already two months since and me and my wife Nicole tied the knot.
On that same note, it's now less then 2 months until our big ceremony in June, and while we're looking forward to it, it's also been a headache trying to plan it, even moreso for Nicole, and as anyone who's ever planned a wedding will know, it's not easy, but I've reassured her, reassured us both that it'll all come right. I'm also still hoping that my family can make it over despite the hurdles of passport applications and booking flights.
This month's seen some warmer weather, which gave me the push to finally venture out for a few bike rides, which not only gave me some much-needed exercise and fresh air, but also helped me get used to some of the local area. All of my rides were to a local landmark called East Rock, a small mountain that overlooks the city of New Haven, and while the walk uphill to the summit is exhausting, it's always worth it for the view of New Haven and the surrounding area from the top, and on a clear day you can even see Long Island in the distance - it's pretty much my "to-go" place now, much like Deerness Valley Way was back in the UK. (Still miss that place.)
On the music front, I bought a much-anticipated album that came out this month, "Gore" by one of my favourite bands, Deftones, and I was not disappointed - if you haven't heard them before, their music is best described as "heavy yet beautiful". They're playing at Mohegan Sun in August, and me and Nicole decided to book tickets to go and see them - can't wait.
Speaking of gigs, we finally got the chance to go to a gig together for the very first time (also my first American gig) - it just so happened that on 3 April, the 80s rock band The Cult were playing at Foxwoods Casino, and it was absolutely free, so we jumped at the chance. I'd only heard one Cult song before the gig ("She Sells Sanctuary"), so I wasn't sure what to expect, but they put on a great, solid show, and the venue was canny packed too. There was one funny moment during the show when The Cult's guitarist called out the security for being too rough with the crowds - needless to say he got a lot of cheers from the crowd. Both me and Nicole enjoyed the gig, we would definitely go see The Cult again.
We also had an interesting bit of travel on April 18 - the school where Nicole works asked her to represent them at an event held at a school down in the town of Mount Laurel in New Jersey (it would be my second trip to NJ, first visit was to Atlantic City back in 2011), and she asked me to accompany her, along with her parents. It was a very eventful 5 hour drive down to NJ, with some direction confusion and lots of sights of the "Garden State", but we got there in the end. We were put up in a really cool business-style hotel, and while I wasn't able to attend the event myself, I was able to keep myself occupied with planespotting (our hotel was close to Philadelphia Airport, so plenty of incoming air traffic). Nicole also found the event really interesting, which was great.
The following day we got to do a little more exploring, I briefly checked out the town of Moorestown with Nicole's parents, before we all got together and stopped at a picturesque park in Mount Laurel. After that, we headed back to Connecticut, with the drive being far less stressful this time round - on the way we stopped off to check out the Palisades Mall in New York State, a pretty cool place that reminded me a lot of the Metro Centre back in the UK - it's probably the only shopping centre that has an indoor rope course, a ferris wheel and a carousel. All in all, it was a pretty eventful trip.
There was more travel near the end of this month, and for a very special reason - April 23 was my wife's birthday, and I treated her to a new dress, a hand-drawn card, a pair of animal brooches and a copy of The Cult's greatest hits CD, in honour of our first gig together. To mark the occasion we travelled to the town of Mystic, a place we've been to many times, and visited the Mystic Seaport for the first time, a maritime museum themed as a harbour town from the old days, with old-skool shops and an impressive selection of boats on display, some of which we could walk onboard - it was very reminiscent of Beamish Museum, with its old-world look and feel. The highlights for me were getting the chance to build my own boat in a small workshop, and exploring the "Charles W. Morgan" whaling ship. Definitely a great place to visit overall.
We also stayed the night in a Holiday Inn, and I kid you not, our room included a jacuzzi, and we certainly made the most of it. It ended up being quite a late night too, as we paid another visit to Foxwoods Casino, where we stumbled across a live band playing covers of 80s rock, and they absolutely killed it. Nicole is a huge fan of 80s rock, it's almost as if they knew it was her birthday. It was a great weekend, simply put.

Ending with some artwork, as always - here's a sloth to brighten up your day.

April 2015

I can safely say that this April was far better than last month -
I think I needed this month to happen after all of what happened in March.

The main reason it was better was because my time on a certain scheme finally ended on the 15th, I'd been on it since the middle of October, with a break in between for my Christmas trip to the US, and I am honestly just glad that it's over and done with. As it stands I'm now back to simply looking for a job, the cycle has pretty much started over, so I guess that's all I can do for the time being. 
I've found that since I finished I've been feeling a lot better mood-wise - when I was on my work placement I was feeling very stressed and downbeat because I felt like I was doing a lot for very little, and it was also having an effect on how I interacted with friends online and in person, but since it ended it hasn't been so bad - and again, I apologise to any of my online or offline friends who I might've upset because of that.
Another part of what's helped my mood was the middle part of this month, some glorious weather arrived in my neck of the woods for a week or so, which meant I was able to get out walking to my favourite place to walk, the Deerness Valley Way, as well as one trip to the beach at Tynemouth. I really want to be able to see as much of those places as I can before the inevitable.
Speaking of the inevitable, me and Nicole have had some great news on that front - the immigration process is now under way, the payment has been made, so that means all we can do now is wait for them to contact us with the next step, which will involve me having to go for a medical check-up, and travelling down to London for an interview at the US Embassy, along with anything else that might crop up that we don't know about. Obviously, I'll keep you posted on how that goes.
Last but not least, this month had one clear highlight, and this was something that had been planned for a couple of months (why I didn't mention it, I have no idea) - on the 18th, I travelled down to York in North Yorkshire to meet up with not one, but four friends from DeviantArt, two of whom I'd met previously (Granitoons and Dracorum-Order), and two I was meeting for the first time (TopperHay and LaptopGeek). It was also my first time visiting York, so it was like killing two birds with one stone, as the saying goes.
York was a very interesting city, very similar to Durham with its oldy-worldly architecture, and it was very busy too with buskers, markets, performers and stag/hen parties (Hey, it was a Saturday.) We had a couple of meals at a traditional English pub and a wine/cheese bar; checked out a bric-a-brac shop packed with lots of assorted furniture, toys and treasures from the past; walked along York's distinctive city walls; paid a visit to York's most famous landmark York Minster, and most importantly of all, we had some quality drawing time. Three of us also brought some mascots for the occasion as well (LaptopGeek's Humphrey the train, Dracorum-Order's dragonvelope, and my own character Flyer of course). Aside from a momentary blip later on in the day, it was for the absolute most part a fun time had by all, I only wish we could rewind and do it all over again. If you'd like to see what we got up to, you can watch my video of the whole thing right here.
As always, I'll leave you with a bit of artwork from this month - a little cartoon/real-life crossover I put together, inspired by a place in York (I'm sure you can guess why.) Hopefully there'll be no Mayday calls in May.
 

April 2014

No fooling about this April, I can tell you now. Two important things have happened this month, one very much more exciting than the other. I'll get the less exciting stuff out of the way first.
I mentioned in my last blog that I'd gotten a job interview at a shop in Barnard Castle - I'll cut to the chase, I didn't get the job. It was probably just as well that I didn't, because the commute would've made it financially unviable, and they also didn't mention what the hours would be. Still, at least it was some interview experience, which I need badly considering interviews are a rarity for me. The jobsearch continues.

Now for the exciting part - I also mentioned in my last blog that I would be flying to the US for the fifth time to see my lovely Nicole. As I type this, I'm there, on the second week of my two week trip, and it's been great to be back, seeing the sights and getting to spend lots of time with Nicole and her family and friends. The best part was that I was more or less Nicole's main birthday present (how cheesy does that sound? XD), as her birthday was on April 23, and it was great that we got to spend it together. We were also in Newport, Rhode Island for that, where we explored the town, visited some of Newport's famous mansions, walked on the beach and also checked out the International Tennis Hall of Fame, all good times.
I also visited Long Island once again and met up with long-time DA friends Shane and Paula for the third time, took a nice hike in the Rocky Point Pine Barrens and also got together to make some collab drawings, which was just as fun as the previous times.
Despite the weather not being on my side for this trip, I have thoroughly enjoyed it so far, and things between myself and Nicole are as strong as ever. Going back home is going to royally suck, like it always does, but hopefully it won't be much longer before we see each other again.

As always, I'll leave you with some artwork, a somewhat belated Easter greeting.

Spring at last

Well, it took a while to get here, but Spring has finally arrived, the weather's gotten that little bit warmer, and it's generally feeling a lot less Winter-like. Even the annoying April showers are a welcome relief compared to the endless deluge of snow in February and March.

Things on the jobsearch front aren't warmer though, in fact they're the same as always. I'll do what I keep doing though, and keep looking.
I can't seem to go through a month without some sort of problem with the house - this time some heavy winds decided it would be fun to try and rip the faring off the top of my bay window, half of it came undone - however as I type this it's being fixed.
On a much more sombre note, I'm sure most people will have heard about the events that took place at the Boston Marathon. I just can't begin to fathom what could've driven two people to try and inflict death and destruction on others. It's events like this that really make me wonder what this world's coming to.

Onto a brighter note now. My fears about all things finance-wise beyond this month proved to be unfounded. I'll just say that some things didn't go up by as much as I thought they would. Of course, this time next year that might be a different story, but that's a bridge to cross when the time comes.
There was a very significant date for me this month, April 23, for two reasons - it was my lovely Nicole's 25th birthday, and it also marked 2 months until I fly back to the US for 6 weeks to see her. It's getting closer, and it's now more or less at the point where I can say it's weeks away rather than months. I just can't wait for it.

As always, to finish off, some artwork:

 My entry for FAC-AgentC's "Wacky Races Revisited", Bob & Flyer with their Dune Bug.

  

That's that for April. Hope you all had a good Easter.