Another July has come and gone once again - and something happened this month which wasn't something that personally happened to me, it was to a famous rockstar. Most of you reading this will know that I'm talking about what happened to Chester Bennington, the lead singer of Linkin Park - his death was tragic and shocking to hear about.
You might be wondering why I'm dwelling on the death of a celebrity, because I usually don't like to focus on the news, especially when it's about people dying, famous or not. The reason I am is because Linkin Park were one of my favourite bands as a teenager, and were one of the bands that got me into heavy rock music, along with Limp Bizkit and Slipknot. A lot of Linkin Park's music helped me get through my teenage and secondary school years, because I could relate to the lyrics and the heavy music. It's just a tragic irony that those same lyrics couldn't help the man who sang them with the passion and the fury that he had. RIP, Chester - I hope you're in a better place now.
On more personal matters, I've still had no luck on the job front, and as always I'm still looking. Helping around the house and doing the twice monthly side job has been keeping me busy though, as well as my artwork of course. I recently completed illustrating the second of the children's book series for our close friends, admittedly it took far longer than it should've because of my procrastination on it. I'll try and do better with the next book - it's just that circumstances get in the way.
A few blogs back, I mentioned how I was getting disillusioned with DeviantArt too - that's been the case again lately. I feel like there's been a lot of immature people trying to take advantage of me in order to get free art of their characters, or just posting stupid stuff on my pictures or profile just for the sake of attention. I have no time for people like that, and I'm sending out a warning now, anyone who continues to harrass me, or any of my friends that way, will receive an instant ban-hammer to the face. I'm not playing nice anymore.
On a brighter note, me and my wife have been making the most of the nice weather this month - as well as my bike rides, we took a few trips to state parks and beaches, and not surprisingly each place was canny packed. Also not surprisingly, we spent the 4th July week in Newport, the highlights of which were a play on a mini golf course with the in laws, and a sunset cruise around Narragansett Bay onboard the MV Gansett. We also went to a music gig at Mohegan Sun on the 29th, which was our first gig since the Deftones last August - the headline act this time was Kings of Leon, and they were absolutely spot on. The opening act, Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats, were canny tight too.
That's pretty much it for July. As always, I'll leave you with some artwork - this surfing scene, which was an entry for a summer themed art jam that I hosted this month. See you in August.
Showing posts with label DeviantArt. Show all posts
Showing posts with label DeviantArt. Show all posts
31/07/2017
31/03/2017
March 2017
Spring has come around again, although it hasn't really felt like it, in more ways than one.
I feel like this month's been somewhat of a low for me. Maybe it's because of the daylight savings or the late snowfall, but either way that time change always seems to do a number on the mood.
I've been feeling disillusioned with posting my art on DeviantArt lately, and while this isn't the first time it's happened, it somehow feels worse than in the past. It's moreso the wider DA community that's frustrating me, every time I open my inbox the vast majority of it is favebomb after favebomb after favebomb, or some comment that compares one of my characters to a more famous character, as if the perosn who posted that is just trying to antagonise me. There are far too many people on DA who only care about fanart or jumping on the bandwagon of what's popular, and/or want people to do free requests for them all the time, to the point of harrassment. I have no time for people like that, and I say that as someone who was like that at times in my earlier days on DA, which I deeply regret, as it probably drove a few people away. And maybe I'm sounding selfish here, but sometimes I feel like I take the time to check out people's artworks and leave feedback, and 9 times out of 10 it doesn't get reciprocated. I'm not saying people have to leave feedback, it's their choice, and I get that people are busy and/or just don't know what to say sometimes. I just like to hear what people think about my artworks, and sometimes I just feel they only acknowledge my existence when I check out their artworks and/or use it as an opportunity to big themselves up - I don't have time for those people either. At the end of the day, I believe you should make time for your fans, and I personally always try to.
All of this is part of the reason I migrated my comics to Tapastic. I admit, the revenue side of that was the other main motivator because ultimately I want to use my artwork to make a living, and I'm sure anyone who's in my position can understand that, especially if you're married and trying to pay the bills.
Like I said last month though, I still have no intention of ever leaving DA, even though I feel that my patience has been severely tested lately. I know there are people who do enjoy my artworks, and I don't want to take that away from them. You are the people who motivate me to stay on DA and keep on making my art, and I can't put into words how much I do appreciate that.
I wish I could say it gets better, and it sort of did but didn't. I had my very first job interview this month, for a warehouse/office job nearby. I felt like I said most of the right things at the interview, but unfortunately I didn't get the job, and I'm still disappointed about it - it would have been ideal hours in an ideal location and a not too terrible commute either. If anything, it was some much-needed interview practice, and the company did say they would keep my details on file, so hopefully in the future I might get another chance with them. I can't help but wonder what could've been though.
I also joined a temp agency this month, in the hope of being able to do some temp jobs in the meantime - however the agency I signed up with have so far turned out to be less than great at what they do, I contacted them every day for 2 weeks and they didn't answer once, so I've decided to try a couple of different agencies instead - I'll let you know how that goes.
I know there are some who will say that I'm crying over spilt milk, that there are far worse problems in this world than some thirtysomething British ex-pat in America complaining about his artwork and not being able to get a job. Those people are probably right. I should be thankful that I have a roof over my head, that I'm married to my soulmate, I have an artisitic ability at all, and that I have the love and support of my family. And these grievances, like most, will pass.
March hasn't been completely gloomy however - I've been continuing working on the first Fyfe & Sparkplug comic, and I've got 10 pages inked so far, at the time of writing this. Also, as mentioned above, I've been hosting my comics on Tapastic for a month now, and they're getting a lot of hits, so I just want to thank everyone who has taken the time to visit my Tapastic page and check out the comics, I really do appreciate it.
That side job at Nicole's work that I started last month has a been a bit of a learning curve. I've set up the meetings 3 times now, and it's certainly kept me on my toes. I've been told I'm doing a good job with it so far, save for some minor hiccups here and there. That's how any job goes though, it takes time to master it.
I'm also glad that the lighter, and hopefully soon, warmer days and nights are back again. It's things like that and being able to spend quality time with Nicole that make things worthwhile.
Hope I can bring you a happer blog for April - until then, I'll leave you with this group shot of my "Surf Club" comic cast, to remind you of warmer days to come.
I feel like this month's been somewhat of a low for me. Maybe it's because of the daylight savings or the late snowfall, but either way that time change always seems to do a number on the mood.
I've been feeling disillusioned with posting my art on DeviantArt lately, and while this isn't the first time it's happened, it somehow feels worse than in the past. It's moreso the wider DA community that's frustrating me, every time I open my inbox the vast majority of it is favebomb after favebomb after favebomb, or some comment that compares one of my characters to a more famous character, as if the perosn who posted that is just trying to antagonise me. There are far too many people on DA who only care about fanart or jumping on the bandwagon of what's popular, and/or want people to do free requests for them all the time, to the point of harrassment. I have no time for people like that, and I say that as someone who was like that at times in my earlier days on DA, which I deeply regret, as it probably drove a few people away. And maybe I'm sounding selfish here, but sometimes I feel like I take the time to check out people's artworks and leave feedback, and 9 times out of 10 it doesn't get reciprocated. I'm not saying people have to leave feedback, it's their choice, and I get that people are busy and/or just don't know what to say sometimes. I just like to hear what people think about my artworks, and sometimes I just feel they only acknowledge my existence when I check out their artworks and/or use it as an opportunity to big themselves up - I don't have time for those people either. At the end of the day, I believe you should make time for your fans, and I personally always try to.
All of this is part of the reason I migrated my comics to Tapastic. I admit, the revenue side of that was the other main motivator because ultimately I want to use my artwork to make a living, and I'm sure anyone who's in my position can understand that, especially if you're married and trying to pay the bills.
Like I said last month though, I still have no intention of ever leaving DA, even though I feel that my patience has been severely tested lately. I know there are people who do enjoy my artworks, and I don't want to take that away from them. You are the people who motivate me to stay on DA and keep on making my art, and I can't put into words how much I do appreciate that.
I wish I could say it gets better, and it sort of did but didn't. I had my very first job interview this month, for a warehouse/office job nearby. I felt like I said most of the right things at the interview, but unfortunately I didn't get the job, and I'm still disappointed about it - it would have been ideal hours in an ideal location and a not too terrible commute either. If anything, it was some much-needed interview practice, and the company did say they would keep my details on file, so hopefully in the future I might get another chance with them. I can't help but wonder what could've been though.
I also joined a temp agency this month, in the hope of being able to do some temp jobs in the meantime - however the agency I signed up with have so far turned out to be less than great at what they do, I contacted them every day for 2 weeks and they didn't answer once, so I've decided to try a couple of different agencies instead - I'll let you know how that goes.
I know there are some who will say that I'm crying over spilt milk, that there are far worse problems in this world than some thirtysomething British ex-pat in America complaining about his artwork and not being able to get a job. Those people are probably right. I should be thankful that I have a roof over my head, that I'm married to my soulmate, I have an artisitic ability at all, and that I have the love and support of my family. And these grievances, like most, will pass.
March hasn't been completely gloomy however - I've been continuing working on the first Fyfe & Sparkplug comic, and I've got 10 pages inked so far, at the time of writing this. Also, as mentioned above, I've been hosting my comics on Tapastic for a month now, and they're getting a lot of hits, so I just want to thank everyone who has taken the time to visit my Tapastic page and check out the comics, I really do appreciate it.
That side job at Nicole's work that I started last month has a been a bit of a learning curve. I've set up the meetings 3 times now, and it's certainly kept me on my toes. I've been told I'm doing a good job with it so far, save for some minor hiccups here and there. That's how any job goes though, it takes time to master it.
I'm also glad that the lighter, and hopefully soon, warmer days and nights are back again. It's things like that and being able to spend quality time with Nicole that make things worthwhile.
Hope I can bring you a happer blog for April - until then, I'll leave you with this group shot of my "Surf Club" comic cast, to remind you of warmer days to come.
29/02/2016
February 2016
Well, January certainly was eventful, with it being my first full month living in the US - but this month was also very eventful, and I don't just mean because of experiencing the crazy New England weather of snow followed by pretty much everything else.
I thought things had already come full circle when I made the big move from the UK to the US, however there was one more very important part of the puzzle that needed to be put into place, and it was something that me and my fiancee Nicole had been waiting for for well over a year.
On February 20, at Branford Point - a place that holds so much memories for us both, not least because it was also the place where I proposed to Nicole back in 2014 - in front of Nicole's family and friends (plus my grandma, who was able to tune in from back in the UK, thanks to the wonders of modern technology), me and Nicole became husband and wife. I can't put into words how it felt, but every minute was special, and I am so over the moon to now be able to call that lovely American lass, who I first met in an internet group over 15 years ago, my wife. It also won't be the first time we get married, either, because this was a legal wedding (my visa required us to be married within 90 days of my move), so it was very low-key, however we plan to hold a second ceremony in the summer, with the traditional ceremony and reception - but our wedding this month was the official joining together, and in no way will we ever forget it. It was one of those moments that you just don't forget.
On another note, I got to experience one of the American traditions for the first time this month - the Super Bowl. Aye, I'm talking about the big American football final which is basically the American equivalent of the FA Cup Final back in the UK, which is famous for its half-time musical number (it was Coldplay this year, which was great since I'm a fan of their music) and the special adverts that air during the game. To be brutally honest, American football is not a sport I really have any interest in, and the whole pomp and circumstance of the game just grated on me, much like most similar events. For me, the best part about watching the Super Bowl was getting to spend time with my lovely wife and our friends, chatting the night away. Forget the game, that's what it's all about, in my opinion.
Just before I get onto my usual slice of artwork for this month, I want to give a shoutout to one of my artist friends on DeviantArt, Josh aka Jowybean - I've been following his work since 2008 and I can't put into words how amazingly talented he is, he is a master of many different art styles and frequently puts insane amounts of detail in his work too, both in his fanart and his original works - please go and check his artworks out right here: Jowybean on DeviantArt
I'll leave you with this picture I made to commemmorate my wedding to my lovely Nicole - and I should also mention that this Valentine's Day was the very first one that we got to spend together, which pretty much made it the best Valentine's Day I've ever had. Just remember that love is for every day, not just for Valentine's, and that applies even if you're single - and on that note, it's ciao for now.
P.S. I can't believe one of my favourite metal songs is 20 years old: "Roots Bloody Roots" - Sepultura
I thought things had already come full circle when I made the big move from the UK to the US, however there was one more very important part of the puzzle that needed to be put into place, and it was something that me and my fiancee Nicole had been waiting for for well over a year.
On February 20, at Branford Point - a place that holds so much memories for us both, not least because it was also the place where I proposed to Nicole back in 2014 - in front of Nicole's family and friends (plus my grandma, who was able to tune in from back in the UK, thanks to the wonders of modern technology), me and Nicole became husband and wife. I can't put into words how it felt, but every minute was special, and I am so over the moon to now be able to call that lovely American lass, who I first met in an internet group over 15 years ago, my wife. It also won't be the first time we get married, either, because this was a legal wedding (my visa required us to be married within 90 days of my move), so it was very low-key, however we plan to hold a second ceremony in the summer, with the traditional ceremony and reception - but our wedding this month was the official joining together, and in no way will we ever forget it. It was one of those moments that you just don't forget.
On another note, I got to experience one of the American traditions for the first time this month - the Super Bowl. Aye, I'm talking about the big American football final which is basically the American equivalent of the FA Cup Final back in the UK, which is famous for its half-time musical number (it was Coldplay this year, which was great since I'm a fan of their music) and the special adverts that air during the game. To be brutally honest, American football is not a sport I really have any interest in, and the whole pomp and circumstance of the game just grated on me, much like most similar events. For me, the best part about watching the Super Bowl was getting to spend time with my lovely wife and our friends, chatting the night away. Forget the game, that's what it's all about, in my opinion.
Just before I get onto my usual slice of artwork for this month, I want to give a shoutout to one of my artist friends on DeviantArt, Josh aka Jowybean - I've been following his work since 2008 and I can't put into words how amazingly talented he is, he is a master of many different art styles and frequently puts insane amounts of detail in his work too, both in his fanart and his original works - please go and check his artworks out right here: Jowybean on DeviantArt
I'll leave you with this picture I made to commemmorate my wedding to my lovely Nicole - and I should also mention that this Valentine's Day was the very first one that we got to spend together, which pretty much made it the best Valentine's Day I've ever had. Just remember that love is for every day, not just for Valentine's, and that applies even if you're single - and on that note, it's ciao for now.
P.S. I can't believe one of my favourite metal songs is 20 years old: "Roots Bloody Roots" - Sepultura
31/01/2016
January 2016
It's safe to say that I never thought I'd be celebrating my 30th birthday living in a different country - but that's exactly what happened this month.
January '16 has been a time of major adjustment - I would say I'm pretty much used to being Stateside now, mine and Nicole's flat feels like home now. I would say the only part of living in the US that I'm still getting to grips with is the getting around, most of my travel has been Nicole driving me places, I've barely dared to venture out on my own. The cold weather hasn't really helped either, especially the winter storm Jonas that hit in the middle of this month - me and Nicole had a very memorable trip to Rhode Island to escape the worst of it (we ended up spending an extra night there because of car trouble).
So I'm sure some of you are wondering, "how does it feel to be 30?" I can say that it feels pretty much the same as my 20s so far. Some say that turning 30 is when the rot sets in, but others say that life begins at 30 - I would say that it's different for everyone.
It was a little strange not getting to celebrate my birthday with taking on my brother in a bowling match, but I was still able to wish him well via Skype - I also ended up getting a couple of half-unexpeected birthday presents from Nicole and her family, for the first time in years I have a bike of my own once again, and also I got a top-of-the-range Canon camera, so expect to see a lot of photography.
Me and Nicole also celebrated the occasion with a trip to Rhode Island and to Foxwoods Casino, where we had that game of slightly-sloshed birthday bowling - it was a blast, and I can't thank Nicole and her family enough for everything.
Keeping with the birthday theme, on the art front I hosted an art jam on DeviantArt - I was born in the 80s, so it was only fitting to host a jam themed around everything from that crazy decade, "Back To The 80s". I have very vague memories of living in the 80s as I was only a baby at the time, but I do remember some of the music, and 1980s music is something I enjoy listening to as well.
Unrelated to the jam, I've also been experimenting a little with my artwork - I recently purchased some Copic markers, and while they're expensive, they're really high quality, the ink doesn't bleed through the paper, and it also enables me to make pictures at much higher resolution. I'm hoping making my drawings this way will also reduce the amount of time I spend working on a drawing, while still keeping it high quality.
That was my January, and quite a way to start the new year it was - and by the time of the next blog, I'll be a married man, all being well.
I'll leave you with some artwork as always, one of my own entries to the 80s art jam, my homage to the classic animation "The Snowman".
In fact, I'll leave some music this time, too - one of my favourite songs from the 80s, and also the song that was the UK no. 1 when I was born : "West End Girls" by the Pet Shop Boys.
January '16 has been a time of major adjustment - I would say I'm pretty much used to being Stateside now, mine and Nicole's flat feels like home now. I would say the only part of living in the US that I'm still getting to grips with is the getting around, most of my travel has been Nicole driving me places, I've barely dared to venture out on my own. The cold weather hasn't really helped either, especially the winter storm Jonas that hit in the middle of this month - me and Nicole had a very memorable trip to Rhode Island to escape the worst of it (we ended up spending an extra night there because of car trouble).
So I'm sure some of you are wondering, "how does it feel to be 30?" I can say that it feels pretty much the same as my 20s so far. Some say that turning 30 is when the rot sets in, but others say that life begins at 30 - I would say that it's different for everyone.
It was a little strange not getting to celebrate my birthday with taking on my brother in a bowling match, but I was still able to wish him well via Skype - I also ended up getting a couple of half-unexpeected birthday presents from Nicole and her family, for the first time in years I have a bike of my own once again, and also I got a top-of-the-range Canon camera, so expect to see a lot of photography.
Me and Nicole also celebrated the occasion with a trip to Rhode Island and to Foxwoods Casino, where we had that game of slightly-sloshed birthday bowling - it was a blast, and I can't thank Nicole and her family enough for everything.
Keeping with the birthday theme, on the art front I hosted an art jam on DeviantArt - I was born in the 80s, so it was only fitting to host a jam themed around everything from that crazy decade, "Back To The 80s". I have very vague memories of living in the 80s as I was only a baby at the time, but I do remember some of the music, and 1980s music is something I enjoy listening to as well.
Unrelated to the jam, I've also been experimenting a little with my artwork - I recently purchased some Copic markers, and while they're expensive, they're really high quality, the ink doesn't bleed through the paper, and it also enables me to make pictures at much higher resolution. I'm hoping making my drawings this way will also reduce the amount of time I spend working on a drawing, while still keeping it high quality.
That was my January, and quite a way to start the new year it was - and by the time of the next blog, I'll be a married man, all being well.
I'll leave you with some artwork as always, one of my own entries to the 80s art jam, my homage to the classic animation "The Snowman".
In fact, I'll leave some music this time, too - one of my favourite songs from the 80s, and also the song that was the UK no. 1 when I was born : "West End Girls" by the Pet Shop Boys.
30/09/2015
September 2015
I have an announcement to make before I carry on with this blog - I've decided that from now on, my video blogs on YouTube will be private, and only viewable to my friends, and while I will not be making this text blog private, I will be more careful as to what I post in it. My reason for this is because I don't think displaying my personal life for the world to see is appropriate, because at the end of the day I don't know just who's watching my videos or viewing this blog. This is really how it should've been from the start, but of course I didn't know any better. Thanks for understanding.
I had a feeling that September would be an eventful month, and it certainly was - on the downbeat side of things, the lack of job situation remains the same, and I've also found myself becoming less motivated to do artwork. This is something I mentioned a few blogs back, and I think the main reason for it is everything going on in my life at this moment in time, but also because of the also previously mentioned gripes with DeviantArt - honestly, going there and just seeing pages of fanart, fanart, fetish art, fanart is enough to wonder what the point is anymore. There is no way I will ever leave DA though, I've been there too long and made too many friends through it for that to happen. At the end of the day, we all have our opinions and a choice to either acknowledge all the fanart etc, or to simply ignore it and carry on doing what you do. I know which option I'm choosing.
On the plus side of things, the change of season from Summer to Autumn isn't the only thing that's been happening this month. On the 8th, I took a 2 day trip down to London, my second visit there, met up with my good friend Mike (aka Dracorum-Order) and saw the city's sights and sounds, revisiting places we'd seen before and exploring new ones too. The trip was both for fun and business however, as I was also down there to have my medical checkup as part of the application for my US visa. It went very well indeed, and I very much enjoyed visiting London once again.
But wait, there's more - the London doctors wanted some extra information from me, which I had to get from my local doctors, and it ended up taking a week and a half longer than I'd have liked, but the US Embassy now has my documentation, and they will be contacting me within the next month and a half to schedule a visa interview, so it's all happening - exciting times.
My videos from the London trip are right here - and I'll leave you with this bit of cosmic artwork - my alien characters feeling right at home in Tomorrowland.
I had a feeling that September would be an eventful month, and it certainly was - on the downbeat side of things, the lack of job situation remains the same, and I've also found myself becoming less motivated to do artwork. This is something I mentioned a few blogs back, and I think the main reason for it is everything going on in my life at this moment in time, but also because of the also previously mentioned gripes with DeviantArt - honestly, going there and just seeing pages of fanart, fanart, fetish art, fanart is enough to wonder what the point is anymore. There is no way I will ever leave DA though, I've been there too long and made too many friends through it for that to happen. At the end of the day, we all have our opinions and a choice to either acknowledge all the fanart etc, or to simply ignore it and carry on doing what you do. I know which option I'm choosing.
On the plus side of things, the change of season from Summer to Autumn isn't the only thing that's been happening this month. On the 8th, I took a 2 day trip down to London, my second visit there, met up with my good friend Mike (aka Dracorum-Order) and saw the city's sights and sounds, revisiting places we'd seen before and exploring new ones too. The trip was both for fun and business however, as I was also down there to have my medical checkup as part of the application for my US visa. It went very well indeed, and I very much enjoyed visiting London once again.
But wait, there's more - the London doctors wanted some extra information from me, which I had to get from my local doctors, and it ended up taking a week and a half longer than I'd have liked, but the US Embassy now has my documentation, and they will be contacting me within the next month and a half to schedule a visa interview, so it's all happening - exciting times.
My videos from the London trip are right here - and I'll leave you with this bit of cosmic artwork - my alien characters feeling right at home in Tomorrowland.
31/08/2015
August 2015
I must be really starting to sound like a broken record now...but this month, like every other month, has been up and down, but in a way it feels like this month has been more so then normal.
Bad stuff out of the way first - I'm not going to disclose the details on here for the whole world to see, but my brother was hit with a very big setback this month, as in a financial setback - however he is taking steps to try and fix it. I'm mentioning this because as I've said before, I don't want my brother to be up the creek without a paddle once I eventually make my move to the US. Proof that money does not, never has, and never will bring happiness.
I've also felt like lately that my stress levels have been rocketing - stupid DeviantArt related crap, the whole immigration saga, plus the pressure of trying to find a job and my social anxiety have all been factors. And as a result of this I've severed ties with someone who was a friend, and I'm not gonna name any names, but while I could've handled the situation better, they could have too. I do not have any time for people who are quite happy to unapologetically and publicly humiliate me, even after I apologised for my part - real friends do not do that to each other, and that's all I have to say on that.
There has been a lot of good stuff this month too, and that includes some good news on the immigration front - I applied for and recieved one of the documents I need for both the medical and visa interview, my police certificate, so that's a step forward at least. Also, I've contacted the US Embassy regarding the status of my case, so I'm waiting to hear back about that.
I also got to witness a brief display of a phenomenon that only occurs once a year, though this was the first time I'd ever gotten to see it - the Perseids, a cluster of shooting stars. I only saw two of them, they were lightning fast but a great sight to see.
This summer, I've been making sure to try and get away on trips as much as possible. and with this being possibly my last summer living in the UK,it's been more important than ever, everything has felt very final really, and that's been the case for this whole year, not just this month. In addition to my regular day trips out to the coast at Tynemouth, I also decided it was about time I revisited a place I'd been meaning to get back to for a while, the Isle of Wight on the south coast of the UK. I first visited the island back in July 2009, and needless to say it was awesome to be back there again, getting to see all the sights I enjoyed the first time as well as checking out some places that I didn't get the chance to see back then also - it was a long journey there and back, but it was absolutely worth it.
I'll leave you with a high-flying comic to see out this summer - it feels like the sun is going down on a lot of things for me, and not just this summer. I hope I'll have some better news for you all come the end of September.
Click the links below to read/watch/see my Isle of Wight trip:
Isle of Wight blog
Isle of Wight photos
Isle of Wight videos
Bad stuff out of the way first - I'm not going to disclose the details on here for the whole world to see, but my brother was hit with a very big setback this month, as in a financial setback - however he is taking steps to try and fix it. I'm mentioning this because as I've said before, I don't want my brother to be up the creek without a paddle once I eventually make my move to the US. Proof that money does not, never has, and never will bring happiness.
I've also felt like lately that my stress levels have been rocketing - stupid DeviantArt related crap, the whole immigration saga, plus the pressure of trying to find a job and my social anxiety have all been factors. And as a result of this I've severed ties with someone who was a friend, and I'm not gonna name any names, but while I could've handled the situation better, they could have too. I do not have any time for people who are quite happy to unapologetically and publicly humiliate me, even after I apologised for my part - real friends do not do that to each other, and that's all I have to say on that.
There has been a lot of good stuff this month too, and that includes some good news on the immigration front - I applied for and recieved one of the documents I need for both the medical and visa interview, my police certificate, so that's a step forward at least. Also, I've contacted the US Embassy regarding the status of my case, so I'm waiting to hear back about that.
I also got to witness a brief display of a phenomenon that only occurs once a year, though this was the first time I'd ever gotten to see it - the Perseids, a cluster of shooting stars. I only saw two of them, they were lightning fast but a great sight to see.
This summer, I've been making sure to try and get away on trips as much as possible. and with this being possibly my last summer living in the UK,it's been more important than ever, everything has felt very final really, and that's been the case for this whole year, not just this month. In addition to my regular day trips out to the coast at Tynemouth, I also decided it was about time I revisited a place I'd been meaning to get back to for a while, the Isle of Wight on the south coast of the UK. I first visited the island back in July 2009, and needless to say it was awesome to be back there again, getting to see all the sights I enjoyed the first time as well as checking out some places that I didn't get the chance to see back then also - it was a long journey there and back, but it was absolutely worth it.
I'll leave you with a high-flying comic to see out this summer - it feels like the sun is going down on a lot of things for me, and not just this summer. I hope I'll have some better news for you all come the end of September.
Click the links below to read/watch/see my Isle of Wight trip:
Isle of Wight blog
Isle of Wight photos
Isle of Wight videos
31/07/2015
July 2015
I know I probably sound like a broken record when saying this, but July was definitely a month of two halves, but at the same time very eventful - I just wish I could say that it was all good things.
So that means there's a lot of bad things to get out of the way first - and this is something that's really been going on for a long time now, and I might've mentioned this already, so I apologise if I'm repeating myself.
I feel that there's a time when everyone gets older and "wakes up and smells the coffee", as the saying goes; a time when you begin to realise how absolutely screwed up this world really is. I'm talking about the bad news, politicians doing all they can to keep the rich richer and the poor poorer, terrorists blowing everything to kingdom come, another person getting stabbed in the street...you know what I mean. I hate it, I hate thinking about it, and I try to avoid is as much as I can, by not watching the telly, not reading the papers, and not checking the sites online, but one way or another I end up hearing about it. As a result, every now and again I'm made all to aware of all that's wrong in the world, and it gets too much for me to handle - but I also have to remember, that not everything that is reported in the news is fact, because it's all manipulated by the media into generating views/readers/numbers, etc. You know what I mean, you know the score.
Lately I've also been becoming very disillusioned with DeviantArt - on both an artistic and a social level. I'm fed up of seeing nothing put MLP, FNAF, anime and Sonic recolours as the popular stuff there, and original artworks and artists getting pushed to one side. Doesn't anyone give a crap about originality anymore? The same question could go to musicians and film studios, but I digress.
I've also just felt disconnected from my friends on DA - like we have nothing to say or talk about. In other words, my social anxiety's just worse than ever. It's why I've decided to stop doing livestreams every week, and just do them every now and again, because the truth is, the last few times I've done a livestream I feel like I'm spectating my own livestream, like I'm not even part of it. It's partly my fault and other people's fault, too - I wish I was better at engaging people and keeping up a conversation instead of being shy and anxious, but I will be more likely to do that if those people meet me halfway. Maybe they don't mean to give me the impression that they're avoiding me, maybe they're just as shy and anxious - but behind a screen, how do you know that for sure? I might be coming across as an attention-seeker with this, maybe I am, I don't know, but I don't intend that. I don't want to be the centre of attention, but I also don't want to feel left out. It's a conflict of interest and emotions, and it just makes me want to explode, to be honest.
On the same note, I'm also sick and tired of getting people on DA who only watch me or interact with me because they want something - only wanting to see certain types of art from me, wanting to do an art trade where they put nowhere near as much effort into their half of the trade as I do mine, etc.
In short: DA is supposed to be creative and enjoyable - and lately I'm not getting that.
To cap all of this bad stuff off, there's been a setback with my immigration to the US - me and Nicole were told that I could be moving there in August. Not anymore. Basically, it's going to take longer for the US Embassy to give me an interview date than previously thought, it's only the instructions on what I need to do that will be coming in August, not the interview date. It's now looking more likely that I will be having the visa interview in either October or November, which is later than we previously thought. Not gonna lie, both me and Nicole are frustrated about it, because it means more time apart - but on the flipside, it gives us more time to prepare for the interview, and it gives me more time with my family, which is good, and it softens the blow quite a bit. And there's that old saying, "everything happens for a reason" - maybe this is how it's meant to happen.
There has been light in this month too, though - on July 10th, me and my brother revisited a place from our childhood, the seaside town of Scarborough in North Yorkshire - and it was almost like 15 years hadn't passed. We had an absolute blast seeing the sights and reminiscing about our childhood memories, and you can read all about it right here.
Scarborough wasn't the only highlight of this month, either - the end of the month saw me and my brother also making another visit to the Sunderland Airshow. It was my fifth time there and ten years since my first visit, it was just as popular and packed as it was back then, and the aircraft displays as ever were nothing short of impressive - it never ceases to amaze me just how the pilots of those aircraft are able to pull off such technical and daredevil moves. The displays included the all-prop Blades aerobatic team; the Black Cats helicopter duo; two parachute drops from the Tigers Freefall Team and the RAF Falcons; the very loud Eurofighter Typhoon; the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight featuring the Spitfire and Hurricane; an air and ground attack demo by a pair of Hawk T2s, and of course the always awesome Red Arrows. Who knows if I'll ever get to go to that airshow again, given the circumstances, but never say never.
I hope I can give you a more positive blog next month - I'll leave you with some Shark Week-inspired artwork to brighten things up.
PS: Click the links below to check out the action from the Sunderland Airshow:
Sunderland Airshow 2015: Part 1
Sunderland Airshow 2015: Part 2
So that means there's a lot of bad things to get out of the way first - and this is something that's really been going on for a long time now, and I might've mentioned this already, so I apologise if I'm repeating myself.
I feel that there's a time when everyone gets older and "wakes up and smells the coffee", as the saying goes; a time when you begin to realise how absolutely screwed up this world really is. I'm talking about the bad news, politicians doing all they can to keep the rich richer and the poor poorer, terrorists blowing everything to kingdom come, another person getting stabbed in the street...you know what I mean. I hate it, I hate thinking about it, and I try to avoid is as much as I can, by not watching the telly, not reading the papers, and not checking the sites online, but one way or another I end up hearing about it. As a result, every now and again I'm made all to aware of all that's wrong in the world, and it gets too much for me to handle - but I also have to remember, that not everything that is reported in the news is fact, because it's all manipulated by the media into generating views/readers/numbers, etc. You know what I mean, you know the score.
Lately I've also been becoming very disillusioned with DeviantArt - on both an artistic and a social level. I'm fed up of seeing nothing put MLP, FNAF, anime and Sonic recolours as the popular stuff there, and original artworks and artists getting pushed to one side. Doesn't anyone give a crap about originality anymore? The same question could go to musicians and film studios, but I digress.
I've also just felt disconnected from my friends on DA - like we have nothing to say or talk about. In other words, my social anxiety's just worse than ever. It's why I've decided to stop doing livestreams every week, and just do them every now and again, because the truth is, the last few times I've done a livestream I feel like I'm spectating my own livestream, like I'm not even part of it. It's partly my fault and other people's fault, too - I wish I was better at engaging people and keeping up a conversation instead of being shy and anxious, but I will be more likely to do that if those people meet me halfway. Maybe they don't mean to give me the impression that they're avoiding me, maybe they're just as shy and anxious - but behind a screen, how do you know that for sure? I might be coming across as an attention-seeker with this, maybe I am, I don't know, but I don't intend that. I don't want to be the centre of attention, but I also don't want to feel left out. It's a conflict of interest and emotions, and it just makes me want to explode, to be honest.
On the same note, I'm also sick and tired of getting people on DA who only watch me or interact with me because they want something - only wanting to see certain types of art from me, wanting to do an art trade where they put nowhere near as much effort into their half of the trade as I do mine, etc.
In short: DA is supposed to be creative and enjoyable - and lately I'm not getting that.
To cap all of this bad stuff off, there's been a setback with my immigration to the US - me and Nicole were told that I could be moving there in August. Not anymore. Basically, it's going to take longer for the US Embassy to give me an interview date than previously thought, it's only the instructions on what I need to do that will be coming in August, not the interview date. It's now looking more likely that I will be having the visa interview in either October or November, which is later than we previously thought. Not gonna lie, both me and Nicole are frustrated about it, because it means more time apart - but on the flipside, it gives us more time to prepare for the interview, and it gives me more time with my family, which is good, and it softens the blow quite a bit. And there's that old saying, "everything happens for a reason" - maybe this is how it's meant to happen.
There has been light in this month too, though - on July 10th, me and my brother revisited a place from our childhood, the seaside town of Scarborough in North Yorkshire - and it was almost like 15 years hadn't passed. We had an absolute blast seeing the sights and reminiscing about our childhood memories, and you can read all about it right here.
Scarborough wasn't the only highlight of this month, either - the end of the month saw me and my brother also making another visit to the Sunderland Airshow. It was my fifth time there and ten years since my first visit, it was just as popular and packed as it was back then, and the aircraft displays as ever were nothing short of impressive - it never ceases to amaze me just how the pilots of those aircraft are able to pull off such technical and daredevil moves. The displays included the all-prop Blades aerobatic team; the Black Cats helicopter duo; two parachute drops from the Tigers Freefall Team and the RAF Falcons; the very loud Eurofighter Typhoon; the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight featuring the Spitfire and Hurricane; an air and ground attack demo by a pair of Hawk T2s, and of course the always awesome Red Arrows. Who knows if I'll ever get to go to that airshow again, given the circumstances, but never say never.
I hope I can give you a more positive blog next month - I'll leave you with some Shark Week-inspired artwork to brighten things up.
PS: Click the links below to check out the action from the Sunderland Airshow:
Sunderland Airshow 2015: Part 1
Sunderland Airshow 2015: Part 2
30/04/2015
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.
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.
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