part 1 of 8

Day three of post-wisdom teeth removal and I'm hungry all the damn time. I can't wait to eat something that's actually substantial, like a burger. This dentist is amazing, I tell you; the work he did was so minimal I really only needed to take painkillers twice.
Oh, and Christmas turned out to kind of a downer as predicted, but at least there was booze.

Anddd~ so begins my actual painting of my thesis. I got gessobord that was wayyy too smooth (and sadly, 5/8 came damaged at the corners) and I noticed this when I laid down some flat colors.

My instructor suggested I buy Grumbacher painting medium #1 and mix it with a tsp of this cobalt dryer. Unfortunately I only found Copal painting medium since the other one on the shelf was #3. I only bought a small one in case it doesn't work out but this mixture is meant to speed up drying time.
I've never worked with any other painting solevent; it was always just liquin + paint. But my instructor is a professional at oil paint, and I should take her advice no?

This is how it looks. More to come of course. I'm meant to finish two more by the end of the holidays, eeek! I hate how slanted the lines are ):

Eluveitie @ Gramercy Theater 12/20/2012

Yes, I am still alive after the concert ww~ Of course this is in no way a professional report or anything. This show comes with two opening acts, Varg and Wintersun.

I wanted a new top for this show since I don't want to wear out my usual striped tank and the leopard one is too tight as it's meant to be worn for sleepwear..

Been wanting a shirt with that kind of print forever so I scooped it up, quick. The 34th St H&M has so many cute things now! Skulls, crosses, galaxy prints... and leggings with built-in mesh over star-shaped cutouts- eee! H&M's sub-brand Divided is so awesome♡

The day started out nicely. It was the calmest I've ever been on a live day. While I applied most of my makeup at home, I went to Sephora to slather on even moar makeups and to douse my face in setting spray.

I've actually never been inside Gramercy before so I was pretty certain it was a tiny venue,but once inside it was much larger than I expected. I'd come one hour before the doors so I got worried when I saw a decently lengthy line but the line had grown wayyy longer by 7PM. Even with coat check and all, I still got center third row.

First of all was Varg. I was digging the red/black corpsepaint but honestly I don't think I will be remembering their music.. or getting into it unfortunately. It seemed like many came to see Wintersun because it got I-can't-beathe/move!!-crowded and extremely hot for their whole set. The energy was just so great, it spread to me and I rocked out despite very,very squished and near-passing out. I'm definitely getting into Wintersun now, haha. I also have a pic of them performing but I'll spare you as this post already pretty long.

By Eluveitie I was center front row! Again, I am blown away by the generousness of metal fans. Eluveitie said they'd play most/all the songs off their Helvetios album and thats they did. I loved how Pade got down between the barricade and stage while playing his whistle during the encore and walked down while hands lunged at him.

SETLIST: 

Prologue
Helvetios 
Luxtos 
Home
Santonian Shores 
Scorched Earth 
Meet the Enemy 
Neverland 
A Rose for Epona 
Havoc 
The Uprising 
Hope 
The Siege 
Alesia 
Tullianum 
Uxellodunon 
Epilogue 

-EN-
Otherworld 
Everything Remains as It Never Was 
Divico 
Inis Mona 
Tegernakô

Anna was amazing while singing Scorched Earth. It was just her alone on stage and a single light was shining on her, and it was casting a shadow of her silhouette on one of the side banners. While I would have liked it if the audience stopped screaming at the top of their lungs whilst she sang, she was still phenomenal and her voice was perfect.

At some point Chrigel made a comment to say that the Canadian crowd sucked at rocking out compared to New Yorkers. He also made a funny after during A Rose for Epona, Anna threw roses into the crowd and saved the last one for Kay. The new guitarist Rafael was pretty cool too.

I didn't think they would play Everything Remains as It Never Was but they DID and did I go crazy at that point. It's technically my first song I heard from them. While I would love it also if they played Grey Sublime Archon or Quoth the Raven, this was still a pretty good show. Chrigel made the audience sing to Inis Mona which was super-fun for everyone.

I got two tops this time... I was only planning to get the Eluveitie one only but the Wintersun top with the image off their new album, Time I was so beautiful I had to get it. I'm so weak. ;A;

Of course I got my usual post-live 清涼剤 drink and before the show, Pret. This seems to be a live-day routine I almost follow religiously. The bonus of the day would be the こんぺいとう ofc.

glub glub

Still not out of the Sea of Finals yet but I'm paddling to shore. Christmas is around the corner but for some reason I really am not feeling any Christmas spirit, when I have been for the past couple years. It's not any depressive mood but more like a lack of motivation for anything, even eating and sleeping. It's similar to not getting that seasonal depression because I'm just too busy to realize time passing.
 I very much would like to decorate the apartment Christmas-y but it's more important I buy shit for me first there's no room for a tree and my mom is likely to whine that I'm wasting my time doing that. But I'll see what I can do anyways.

BUT to the point of this post, I drew something. For those who don't know, I love playing Poupee-Girl and every December, stockings are for sale on the shop. I really loved the design for this year's; it looked very forest-like yet kept the sparkles and glitz of the holiday.

 Just look at that!!

Unfortunately you only get accessories from the stockings but I drew a full outfit with the theme because I liked it enough. As usual, click for full-size and if that doesn't work, open a new tab.

It's pretty lolita-ish, with the full dress, rocking horse shoes and frilly blouse but I figured why not. It's been a while since I drew such oufits. I wanted to draw this before I opened the stockings too. They ended up being disappointing but they were cheap, so it's cool.

My last class is on Tuesday if I remember correctly. Best of all, no more 9AM and 6-10PM classes~(ﾉﾟοﾟ)ﾉ

What Christmas?

Haaaaahh~!!!!

Happy belated turkey day! Hopefully everyone's gotten past the "itis" part and can get up from the sofa without struggling lol XD

Anyways, I went to the Museum of Natural History to do a Anatomy assignment I missed since I was just too sick to go the day of. The assignment was to just draw 3 skeletons of human or animals. And that's what I did.

I also caved in all touristy-like and bought a necklace from the museum's gift shop.

I like how the orb even has a slight iridescence to it. It looks un-touristy on it's own, and I consider $7 a bargain since this would probably cost $40+ at AG or some other alternative boutique.(｀∀´)

And while we're on the subject of museums, this weekend I went to the Met to do a hurricane Sandy makeup assignment and I had to see the Warhol exhibit. I get the message; that American culture adores commercialized art, but modern/pop art is still not my favorite.
The last room was lovely though, called "Silver Clouds" and it's basically a room with large silver balloons that are blown down to the floor by fans. And the room had Velvet Underground soundtrack! While I love interactive pieces like this one, I hate how it automatically shoots down IQ levels of some people, who think it's okay to PUNCH and bust holes into the balloons and keep doing it despite angry shouting from security.

After all that, I wandered to the Wrightsman Gallery for some late 18th Century French goodies.

 While they're only reproductions of hotels of that time and not Versailles, it'll do.

Not gonna lie, I'm so looking forward to winter break. I'm attending an Eluveitie show, which I'm excite for since they seriously rocked it for Children Of Bodom earlier this year. Then there's Christmas, outings of sorts, sleeping/eating, and of course... my thesis to be worked on. (＞д＜)

thesis sketches

Here they are! They're still in the works since I want them to be really awesome which is why not all eight of them aren't posted at the moment.

 

 

+ a bonus!

I wanted to see if I could paint Antoinette in the style of her time. She needs to be much more pale I think.

So as you can see I've been pretty productive as of late, or at least more productive than I usually am. I originally planned to go horseback-riding this Thanksgiving but parks are still dealing with downed trees so this year's turkey day will be spent hunkering down and art-ing. I've got lots more other goodies coming.

Closet smartphone app urges

I don't deny that I want an iPhone for the incentive of... Instagram. While this photo-editing app can be at times unfair for those who spend a lifetime perfecting photography, the results from Instagram are just too irresistible for me. (><) Just look at that heart-shaped bokeh! lkdjlas
Can't see myself getting an iPhone for real though, even it's just generally a lot more useful than my basic phone where I can't even access my school's website.

I logged into Photobucket the other day to upload some pictures but now I see that the photo-editing options produced some Instagram pretty desirable results.

 I like pretty pictures, yeah.

I won't do the instagram-esque thing in every picture I post from now on but it's just so fun to do. :)

Edited my layout again. It's cute with pink I must say but I will change it eventually to something that is more like my personality~

a rough week for many

If I really knew how scary it could be to have been hit by a car...

I still would have been hit by a car.

The collision with me and a white car on Halloween was kind of unavoidable since things can happen no matter how careful you are. But I'm okay, seriously! I only have some bruises on my arm and leg. I was too worried about if I still had all my body parts intact to worry about getting that bastard's information down, even though he did step out to see if I was alright. I feel like I can laugh about the incident since I'm lucky nothing worse happened.

And because I lost power on Halloween no thanks to the monstrosity that is hurricane Sandy, my belated Halloween illustration:

You should be able to view the fullsize on clicking the image, so do that and check out them details.

Right now, my biggest worry is how I'll return to school next week. Power should be restored to lower Manhattan on Saturday (and to SVA's campus) but there is no way I can get out of Brooklyn easily for a very long time. I could take the shuttle...but wait for hours for the bus and to fight with the many others also needing to get to the city? All of options are not very good.):
In all honesty, I can be very prideful about my home that is New York City and to see it so paralyzed and helpless after a storm really does make me anxious and worried.

I hope those who've lost everything can get back on their feet soon, even when the events were so tragic and happened so fast. <3

I'm sick and should be in bed

I see what you did thar, Blogspot;; sneaky you switchin' to the new layout while I was away~

Well, Happy October peeps! I don't know why I still bother to update since myself and everyone else is quite busy at this time of the year... school and holidays are approaching faster than one thinks. And my Halloween costume this year will be the most last-minute thing ever, oh dear. ):

Anyways I thought I'd tell you about that thesis I mentioned earlier... Well I decided to do my thesis on no other than Marie Antoinette for Kings & Queens. MA is an actual historical queen (So Tom of the Illustration Dept can't argue with that) and she was considered Queen of Fashion at her time, so if that's not a win-win situation, I don't know what that is! I'm really into my subject and I plan to do this in oil paint. My Pictorial Problems(thesis) instructors are adorable and helpful, and has a style I can relate to.
It's going to be so much work to prepare a minimum of 8 finishes by the end of April but I totes want my thesis in the show. So yeah. Werrrrkk~

And I thought I'd throw in a little something... my swamp creature lady.

I have an obsession working on gray surfaces now; working on midtones is a completely different experience than working on white. Gray is most helpful for coloring, I think.

Le Two/ZERO + Fashion Night Out '12

I think two weeks is a good time to post again.

First things off, my birthday that symbolizes me leaving my teen-hood. I celebrated it a day earlier since I had school on my actual birthday.

I had tea with my sister, and that would be my birthday swag. I counted in Angela's gift.

My actual birthday was no less than awful, to be honest lol.. =/

Two days later on Sept 6 was Fashion Night Out. I kept missing it the previous years but not this time!! No stupid late-ass Thursday class was going to hold me back, oh no.

 I was going to write more but I'm back to that "too lazy/tired/anxious because I should doing my other asspiles of homework that I didn't do yet" kick. D: So yeah. No more updates from me for a very long time I guess.

You can also tell by the fact I've said "ass" more than twice in one post that school has a unhealthily negative impact on my mood....

Yayoi Kusama and adventures!

I haven't had that much fun like I did yesterday in quite a while. I finally got to meet again with the awesome Angela, whom I've not seen for way too long. o(^▽^)o

We went to see Yayoi Kusama's exhibit at the Whitney museum. To our surprise because I'm SVA student, I count as a cooperate member or something like that... So I was allowed free tickets for myself and a guest.

Angela also gave me a little gift while we were on queue. Thank you again!!

As for the exhibit itself, it was... not what I expected to be honest. Not really big on modern art (so what the hell I know) and vaguely knowing Kusama's style is advant garde, I thought I'd be seeing bright, popping colors and bold pieces but pretty much turned out to be a 180 degrees on that. A lot of the things on display were dark and sometimes uncomfortably eerie. I did like her journals though, as well as her phallic furnitures. I think the last room in the exhibit was the freaky one; the room was full of large canvases in bright color but with ominous eyes drawn in black on them. Reminded me of this scene in this recently released horror game, Anna. ヽ((◎д◎　))ゝ
While I'm sure this is not all of Kusama's work I would have liked to see more of her other works. Her "Fireflies on Water" was also at the Whitney but the showing at for it was at 6PM, which was too late for our curfews DX

Anyways we wanted to do happy stuffs after such an experience so we went to have foods at this awesome noodle place in St. Marks, we fooled around in Sunrise Mart and then finally fooled around in Forbidden Planet to get our nerd on.

We passed by a cool car on the way to the station.

We both got some sort of 豚汁 at the restaurant. Super tasty omg

It was super nice but we really didn't want to stop hanging out （/TДT)/  Girl, we gotta hang out again soon! <3

two skeches

Earlier this month I had jury duty. I was lucky and wasn't even called for any trail when I went so now I'm awaiting the check for having done my part. (*゜▽゜ノノ゛☆

I was prepared for the tedium and brought some drawing tools.

And that's all~ Going to go and prepare dinner now or something ww

ただいま～

It's been a bit so I thought I update. Getting internet at the apartment was surprisingly much easier than getting internet back at old house during that time it went ka-poot. That time, 6+ was spent on the phone screaming at idiotic tech-support. A conversation with the manager was demanded in order anything to get anywhere.

Anyways I have some pictures of the apartment which is still so very messy so don't mind said mess in the pictures ^^;;

Marcel prefers an unmade bed; for propping up on the blanket folds/wrinkles.

I think I need a legit garbage can.

There you have it! I've been working on some artwork but it's stressful now because I don't know where everything is exactly... I was in such a rush to pack (had less than a week or so) that I think I very well threw out sketchbooks by mistake and other unfortunate things D:

School starts less in a month!! orz Speaking of school, I finally got the theme of the junior-year thesis project. The theme is "Kings & Queens". I'm a bit disappoint it has to be based on real people, meaning this project calls for a biographic approach, but I suppose it's the only way one can do concrete research. I have a few people in mind I want to do but the problem is their titles go along the lines of prince, princess, godmother...
But there's still plenty of time to think so no need for panic now. ┐(￣ヘ￣）┌

Since it's getting quiet~

There's been a massive change in plans due to what's going on at home and honestly, it's making me anxious out of my nerves. It's like moving out with very little time to prepare but not really. I'm not ready to live in a dark cardboard box with a single florescent light and... gasp! Sharing a room with someone else!! /cries
But yeah. I'm just nervous as I'm a super-late sleeper (make any attempt to sleep earlier than 2AM, and my body retaliates by making sure I don't sleep a wink for the next 24 hours) and these people, well... I also always work late into the night so I have no idea how that will turn out.

So yeah, that's pretty much why it's getting/going to be quiet around these parts for a bit.

Finally, let me fangirl a little.ヽ(；▽；)ノ

A bit ago, I went to see The Amazing Spiderman with my sister and friend Zoe. And my opinion of it? AMAZING, DUH. Unlike the previous Spiderman movies, Peter Parker wasn't the stupidly exaggerated cry-baby nerd that got kicked around and bawwwed about it. This Peter Parker was a lot funnier and realistic: sarcastic, witty and had the right amount of social akwardness while not always getting a wedgie pulled on him by bullies. It's also really nice to not have a damsel in distress ruining everything for once. While the Lizard's design is a lot different from the comic (and a lot of people seemed to be complaining about it), I still find it cool nevertheless.

Plus....

Andrew Garfield is so cute! ldkjflaskjflsdk Zoe said he has quite a bottom... and I agree.

I really want to see the Dark Knight Rises soon. Spiderman and Batman are my favorites; the best of two great worlds~ ヽ(*⌒∇⌒*)ﾉ 

Been wanting to post this

Everyone draws on themselves an on each other when they're kids which is real fun and cute. When you're older and you have drawings all over you, people would assume you had a rough night! :P I kid, I kid. But I started the whole drawing-on-my-hand fun back in summer of 2010, when I felt like drawing tattoo-esque designs.

Came up with this one because I was in the mood for rock. And because I was listening to Allergic to You by Trashlight Vision. Even though the design on my hand is a more of a classical rock theme and the song is punk rock, I think the black, red, blue color schemes works for both. Plus... I went to a show not too long ago... I walked home that night carrying drumstick I snatched and I was approached quite a number of times with questions such as "Are you a drummer? I'm trying to set up my own band..." and "You're in a band?" Fun, fun, hahaha~

I have more designs but they still more or less revolved around the rock theme; being album covers and such. So I drew something different, to spice things up.


~~~~~~


I couldn't decide whether I wanted a Madonna or something Alphose Mucha-like so I tried to mix both. Before I started drawing the sketch, I drew a line down the center of my hand so I wouldn't end up with a lopsided mess like the one up there!

I really like the combination of Blue, red and gold so Renaissance-like things always catch my eye. I definitely think this one was the best I did of all of them.

 I also wanted to show you my manicure I got that same day. (*゜▽゜ノノ゛☆ The purple is actually more vibrant irl though.



 ~~~~~~

It was hot the day I made this one. I think being a mermaid in this kind of weather would be fortunate~

Unfortunately I crapped up on her arms ): I really should have gone and used a reference picture... Oh well!

 Of course, I'm not doing any more of this for a while because it's obviously not good for the skin to absorb so many chemicals lol.

Hmmm.. and I think that's all for now.

I sure miss the internet

The internet went out in my house for two days and I feel like I'm going nuts! Especially when there's a quest on Pigglife to be did.. ;A;  I'm updating outside of home atm.

Today we're going to try something a little different, as well as introduce a new tag for posts like these. Whenever I come up with it, that is...

Anyways, last Tuesday I went to Ikea with my mum. I've been wanting to go for some time and it was nice to finally get to go. No furniture was bought as things are a bit messy at home but we did make most of the one of the better things had to offer... Food of course!! o(^▽^)o

 

The iconic Swedish meal. I absolutely loved the Elderflower drink, sweet with a bit of fruitness!

We planned to come back later for coffee/dessert but we ran out of time. So we bought some home.

But in all seriousness, I really did want to get some things for my room... Lately I've been quite fond of the decorating style "shabby chic." If you know me, I'm a huge fan of items with an aged or vintage appearance. I knew there was a style of decorating where you put such items in the room but I had noooo idea what its actual name was until recently.
You can watch a few vids on YT or Google for pics but you'll get the idea: Mostly white and things such as glass bottles, simple linens/cottons and handmade items are encouraged.☆彡

シャビーシック by antumnos featuring Steve Madden ankle booties

Anyways, I decided I'd use good ol' Polyvore to make an interior set of what I'd like my room to look like... if I had an unlimited budget that is. You see I need to add black somewhere.. And there's actually nothing up there relating to Ikea, lol! ( ´艸｀)

I had a Polyvore account I made in during my junior year of highschool when I struggled with Photoshop, but how we grow and change! When I was making this I kept wishing I could add adjustments and had the layer menu open! And yes, this is my new Polyvore account. I would use my old one but there's too many things there relating to Ｖ系 and it just feels better to start anew. I still want to change my username on the new account though ww

I decided that I am God.

Or 雨女. I swear, man.

I can not leave the house for weeks, and the weather is all bright and shiny with unicorns.

And when I finally DO step out, just to pick up something from the store, or to run any sort of errand?

RAINRAINRAINRAINRAINRAINRAINRAINRAINRAINRAINRAINRAINRAINRAINRAIN

"This is your local Weather Channel reporting. Since Jennifer is staying inside all month due to sickness, housecleaning or just being a hermit, expect sunny skies and rainbows~"  

There are some days when I'm the 晴れ女 though.

Sketches: Savage Beauty exhibiton

Hello ladies and jellyspoons! I was going through some folders in my computer and I came across some pictures of my sketches I did at the Alexander McQueen exhibition "Savage Beauty" at the Metropolitan Museum of Art last year. I would provide picture-pictures but I wanted to respect the no-photography policy of the exhibition, even if I did see many others sneaking pictures with their iPhones.
The MET wasn't kidding when they said that Savage Beauty was one of the most visited exhibitions in all of MET history; the line was extremely lengthy and spilled into other exhibitions on the same floor. It's also very hard to draw when tons of other people are bumping into you nonstop.(＞＜;) It's like drawing in a moshpit.

I did get one!! picture. Hohoho 

I would think many people associate McQueen with Lady Gaga, as she wore many of his designs for music videos and ceremonies. I love both, but I felt like that saying "That's so Lady Gaga!!!" at the exhibition is a bit much. While I probably would not have come across McQueen if it weren't for Gaga, I feel that McQueen's work invokes a deep and rich backstory that casual Gaga fans may miss. In brief, both are amazing, but McQueen's creations outshines Gaga in its own way.

 But before I yap more, I present the pictures!

First two introduction dresses and The Romantic Mind

The Romantic Gothic

Cabinet of Curiosities and Romantic Nationalism

Highland Rape, Kate Moss Hologram and Romantic Exoticism

Beginning of Romantic Primitism

I think my favorite parts of the exhibition were Romantic Nationalism and The Cabinet of Curiosities. Of course every single part of this exhibition was phenomenal, to the pieces themselves, to the appropriate soundtrack and lighting in every room, to the careful and thoughtful manner the pieces were displayed. The themes that McQueen presents in his work, naturalism and primitism, life and death, dark and light, are things I personally love and find in my favorite kind of artwork. McQueen revealed that he was willing to go beyond and above, choosing to make dresses out of shells, animal hair, glass and more. I like a designer if they make beautiful clothes, but I truly respect the designer if he/she can think outside of the box, and think of unconventional ways of construction to make something truly fantastic. That's what I felt like what exactly McQueen did.

I did pull off a video from Youtube for more viewing pleasure!


I went home and did some homework, and I think the Fall/Winter 2008 collection is my favorite of the things he's created.

I love the monotone androgynous frilled suits with tartan-like print, every little crystal detail in the dresses and headpieces and dresses fit for a queen in luxurious colors of red/blue/gold.  

At my first few days attending SVA, I got lost trying to find the train station  managed to stumble across the NY McQueen store. I approached the store with my too large portfolio bag in hand and the doorman opened the door for me. I saw a couple inside shopping; and the lady really seemed intent on walking out with purchased goods, and I felt so derp being a broke freshman college student in a store where nothing was under $500, ahaha XD
But in short, McQueen may no longer be with us physically, but he remains a dear icon to the fashion world and that will never change.