July 2016

Warm weather, biking and travels were the order of the month for this July, and in all honesty I don't know where it went - life just seems to pass by much quicker in the States.

On the downside, I'm still no further forward with the social security/green card situation, and me and Nicole's lawyer just doesn't seem to be taking our case seriously - without a social security number I can't work or use Paypal and Ebay, which also means I can't do art commissions - so I really want this to be sorted, it's beyond ridiculous now. I've been living in the States for seven months now, and this really should've been sorted ages ago.

I'll say that again in a better light though - seven months living in the States. I miss my family back in the UK, even moreso since their visit in June, but I'm also still doing great despite that, and with the help and encouragement of my lovely wife, I've been trying new things - this month we both decided to start a diet, and I'm not joking when I say this is the first time I've ever tried a diet. In short, I've cut down on the sweet stuff and started eating more fruit, and it actually has made me feel better, why did I shun fruit most of my life?
On the same note, I've been continuing my bike rides to East Rock, and recently started doing a two-man bike ride each week with a recent new friend of mine - speaking of that, he and his wife (who is my wife's best friend) are trying to write a series of children's books, and they kindly asked me if I could illustrate the books for them - needless to say, I jumped at the chance, and I have been in the process of making the drawings for the first book for the last couple of months now. It's great to have the opportunity to do something like this, and I really hope it might lead somewhere - if not, it's still an experience.
On the travel front, I got to celebrate 4th July with my wife, my first time celebrating the occasion as a US resident - we spent that weekend in Rhode Island, glorious weather for it too, and we got to watch the fireworks over Newport Harbour - good times. We also went to another couple of gigs too - Hellogoodbye and Foreigner. Personally I'm not a huge fan of either band, but they both put on a good show - and any singer who can hold a high note for over a minute deserves a huge pat on the back (Foreigner's singer Kelly Hansen I'm referring to).
I'll leave you with some summery artwork, a quartet of lifeguard characters I came up with.

Till next time, and don't stay out in the sun too long.

June 2016

Well, I can say without a doubt that June was certainly not a boring month.

On the normal side of things, I've been realising that Connecticut usually gets a lot more nicer weather than the UK, and as I've mentioned before I've been taking advantage of it by bike riding, and lately I feel as if the more I ride, the more I get used to it, the more energy I have to ride up hills and whatnot - it's far better than just being stuck in the house vegetating in front of a computer screen, and it makes me feel good just to get outside and keep active.

Now for the less normal side of things - on June 9, my brother Chris, my mam and my grandma made the 3000+ miles trip across the Atlantic to visit me and my wife Nicole in the US - this was not my brother's first US visit, but it was very special for my mam and grandma as this was their very first time setting foot on American soil. Words can't describe how over the moon I was to see them all again after almost 6 months apart. As with anyone visiting the US for the first time, it took my family a little time to get used to all the cultural and physical differences, but they adjusted canny quickly. 
Myself and Nicole made sure that they made the most of their time here, taking them to as many places as we could, and where better to start off with than the Big Apple? Aye, it was an English family in New York, and my family got to see it in style with an open top bus tour around many of New York's famous sights including the Empire State Building, Battery Park and One World Trade. Following that we set foot in the famous Times Square and had dinner at the Hard Rock Café, needless to say my mam and grandma were a little taken aback by just how busy New York can be - but one quick subway ride later and they also got to see how more peaceful it could be too, in Central Park, despite my grandma's unwanted encounter with a stray rat! It was all an experience though, and they were all glad that they got to see one of the most famous cities in the world.
The following day was more chilled out, showing my family around the block of flats where me and Nicole live, and we did a lot of catching up too. One sleep later, and then it was the main event, the main reason my family flew over - me and Nicole's wedding ceremony, or part two of our wedding. (For those who don't know: we were officially married in February, but because of my move there wasn't time to plan a proper ceremony, hence the separate ceremony)
I spent the morning chilling with my family before putting on my tux and getting ready to go to the ceremony, two of my good friends Shane (who I asked to be one of my groomsmen) and Paula drove over from Long Island to attend the ceremony, they got to meet my family, and Shane was kind enough to drive us all to the wedding venue, and despite some hiccups with the directions on my part, we got there in the end.
The wedding ceremony was held at Lighthouse Park in New Haven, inside a building right next to the beach - we had originally planned to hold the ceremony outside on the beach, however because of high winds we had to move inside, but that didn't make it any less special. Everything just came together - Nicole's family, the staff, the caterers, the photobooth people, the photographers and the DJ all did an amazing job - but most of all, our families and friends were there to see me and Nicole cement our marriage. It was one of those moments that you just have no words for, and it was certainly a moment and a day that none of us will ever forget.
After a relaxing wedding night in a hotel room going over all the wedding photos, we were on the trail again, this time taking my family to our go-to holiday place, Newport in Rhode Island for a couple of days, where we took a trolley tour around the city, showing my family the old-style streets, the scenic Narragansett Bay, the famous mansions and the beautiful Ocean Avenue. There was one moment while driving around we ended up at a nature reserve, and right in front of us was one of the most beautiful sunsets any of us had ever seen - if one moment made the whole trip, then that was it.
I was dreading the inevitable goodbye - but we still made the most of that day too, showing my family around me and Nicole's favourite local places, namely East Rock, Stony Creek, and of course Branford Point. Eventually we had to make that long drive to JFK Airport in New York, where we made sure that my family got checked into their hotel (they had an early morning flight). Their journey home wasn't quite plain sailing - the hotel wasn't the greatest, and they ended up having to sleep in the terminal at Heathrow Airport overnight, because their flight out of JFK was delayed, and they missed their connecting flight to Newcastle  - but thankfully they made it back safely. Saying goodbye to them was just as hard as it was back in December, and it will never get any easier - but I was also just beyond grateful that they were able to make the journey to the US and to see me and Nicole get married, and I know that they were glad to have made the trip too.
There were a couple of other firsts this month too, as Nicole brought me to two popular events around her hometown of Branford - the Branford Festival, which is a series of events including live bands, fairground rides and various stalls held on the town green; plus the Branford Fireworks, which is basically the Connecticut equivalent of the Bonfire Night fireworks back in the UK - the fireworks were set off from Branford Point, with some of our friends me and Nicole got to see the whole display from the shore opposite, and it was very enjoyable.

So that was my June, and without a doubt it's month that will hopefully stay in memory until the end - moments like that, you just can't put a price on.
I'll be generous this time and leave you with not one, but two artworks from this month - a tennis-themed comic (it's Wimbledon month), plus a little something I made to mark the wedding ceremony.

Until next time.

May 2016

Five months into 2016, and also five months living in the US, and the weather has certainly gotten a lot hotter in this past month, it's felt more like summer than spring most of the time. I've been making the most of the weather with getting out bike riding, mostly to and from East Rock - getting there is tiring, but seeing the view from the top on a sunny day is always worth it.
That's not to say I haven't been doing any of my responsibilties around the house, something I've had to adjust to since me and my lovely Nicole tied the knot - I might not yet have a job but I do try to keep active, whether it's helping around the house, doing something creative, or going out and about as I just mentioned. I'm not the type who just sleeps all day and does nothing, and I never want to be that way.
The wedding ceremony is creeping up, it's less than 2 weeks away as I type this - I'm ready for the stress of the planning and the anticipation of it to be over, but at the same time I also can't wait to see my family again when they fly over for it, as I've said many times now, and of course both me and Nicole are looking forward to the ceremony and reception, it will all be worth it when we can stand on that beach with our family and friends looking on as we pledge our vows to each other.
On a more louder note, me and Nicole had a "rock and roll weekend" from the 20th to the 22nd May, we went to not one but two music gigs, both at the Foxwoods Casino in Mashantucket - the first was an 80s rock covers band called Aquanett, they were really impressive; the second was 3 Doors Down, a rock band very famous in the US, they were solid and put on a really good show - both bands were a hit.
On the artwork front, I recently brought my "Snow Sam" comic series to an end - that isn't the only comic series I have decided to pull the plug on, sort of. After 10 years I have decided not to make any more short "A Monster Thing" comics, but don't panic, as I will be continuing the main story comics. My reasons? I just don't have any ideas for short comics anymore, plus as I've also already mentioned, I don't have as much time to work on artworks as I used to, and that time will get even less once I get more established in the US, so some things have to give I'm afraid - but the comics are on my DeviantArt page if you want to check them out, and if you already have, then I hope you enjoyed reading them.

I'll leave you with this fiery looking scene - all the best till next month, and I think I can hear wedding bells in the air...
 

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.

March 2016

I hope everyone had a good Easter, whether eggs were involved or not. Mine involved quite a lot of them, plus flying a kite at the beach and spending quality time with my wife and her family, so I definitely had a good one.

Spring has arrived, and getting used to losing an hour's sleep with daylight saving time wasn't the only thing I've had to get used to this past month, as this was my first full month living the married life, yet with moving to the US and living with Nicole for two months prior, it already felt like I was living the married life, just without the ring on my finger. It's been good so far, to say the least, and even though I still get moments where I think about my family and my old life back in the UK, I don't regret making the move.
There's always a downside though - because of a bit of miscoummnication and red tape, I have still been unable to apply for a job in the US, because I need a social security number to do so, and that could take another couple of months to obtain. A couple of jobs came up in the last month that involved artwork, so I'm a bit disappointed that I wasn't able to apply for them, but hopefully once I have what I need Ill be able to look for similar jobs, there definitely seems to be a bigger calling for art-related jobs Stateside.
I say married life has been good so far, though it hasn't been without any hiccups, and most of them have been from planning for the June wedding ceremony, the majority of it is on Nicole, and anyone who's ever planned a wedding can probably imagine how stressful it can be. I do my bit to help, though sometimes I feel like it's not enough - but hopefully it'll be alright on the night though, as the saying goes.

On March 12, me and Nicole took our monthly trip to Newport in Rhode Island, and it just happened to be Newport's annual St. Patrick's Day Parade that day, it was the very first time I'd ever been to a St. Patrick's Day parade, and it was a blast, with people lining the streets dressed in green to cheer on the very colourful and creative parade floats, dancers and marching bands, they really put a lot of effort into it. Back in the UK, St. Patrick's Day doesn't get nearly as much of a celebration, and I was surprised to learn that apparently even the Irish don't make as big a deal out of the day as the Americans do - but then again, as I've learned, the Americans usually make a big deal out of just about everything.
I also had some terrific news this month - not only is my brother flying over for the wedding ceremony in June, but my grandma and my mam have also decided to fly over with him. It's proving a bit stressful though as my mam needs a passport, but it would mean the world to both me and Nicole if they could pull this off. The last time I saw my family in person was the day before I made my move, and I really want to see them again.

Went to see the latest animated film that everyone's talking about, Disney's Zootopia - two thumbs up, great characters and a very deep message. If this had been 20 years ago, that message probably would've gone right over my 10 year old self's head.

On the artwork front, this month I decided after 11 years to end one of my comic series, Snow Sam the walking talking snowman. I just felt that I was running out of gags and that his comics had run their course, plus with my move, getting married and eventually getting a job I'm gonna have less time to be able to do artwork, so something had to get the chop I'm afraid. However for those of you who have read my Snow Sam comics, I hope you enjoyed them over the years, and don't fear, I will still be drawing the character, and I'm not saying no to giving him any one-shot comics or cameo appearances in the future.

I'll leave you with Snow Sam's final comic - Easter and St Patrick's greetings to you all.

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

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.