Xyrichtys

I got a new watercolor sketchbook, and to initiate it I decided to paint my old standby: the betta fish.

This is Xyrichtys, who lives in a bowl on my desk and has kept me company through many an all-nighter.



He was named by my good friends Nikki and Natalie, who gifted him to me after the betta I bought for my birthday passed away, tragically, a mere three days after his purchase. Ric, however, I've kept alive for nearly ten months. He's a survivor.

Did you know? I love painting fish.I was excited to get a betta so I could paint him from life. An idea that works much better in theory than practice, I've found. Every time I'm think, "Hey Ric, I'm going to paint your picture!" He's like, "Umm, no thanks," and swims behind his decorative greek columns. And then I use the internet.

Harry Potter vs. The World

Can you guess which graphic novels I've been reading this week? In combination with which audiobooks?

The inevitable result:



I owe a lot to Harry Potter. He's one of the reasons I wanted to draw... And most particularly illustrate. Because when I finished reading I didn't want that world to end.

So I drew.

I drew a lot of Harry Potter.

However, I find that when I draw any HP these days, I fall back into old habits. So I decided to shamelessly steal from do an emulation of Bryan Lee O'Malley's work, which I really love. So there you go.

Happy Fanart Friday.

The Pen Evangelist

A week or so ago I stopped into an art store in Salt Lake on my way to the bus. Just to browse for a few minutes, because you know there's really nothing more exciting than art supplies. As I was testing out the different pens, this man came up to me and asked conspiratorially, "are you looking for a GREAT pen?"

My response: "YES!" (really, who isn't looking for that mythical instrument, that magical pen through which flows not ink, but talent and creativity?)

He then went on to extol the wonders of this pen, with a passion and reverence one might reserve for matters of salvation. When it was determined that the store did not carry the Pilot V Razor Point Extra Fine, he told me he had one out in his car if I wanted to come get it. Which I politely declined as I had to catch the bus in a few minutes, and, well, in case he wasn't just a guy with an extreme passion for pens.

But, as I was checking out (my now much more inferior seeming writing utensil), he ran back in, waving the pen in the air and then putting it into my hand. And then, he was gone, leaving me in possession of the holy grail.

And, while every drawing still doesn't fall golden onto the page, it has made me want to sketch a lot more. So in that sense, I guess it is rather magical.





(A note from the future: See those little dates at the bottom of the last two pages? I've recently been really good at remembering to date all my pages... however for the entire month of July I have incorrectly believed that July was the sixth month. *facepalm*)