More Moleskine Madness!

I do think it's about time I added more pictures of my work. After all, this is supposed to be an illustration blog. So without further Apu, here are some samples from my beloved moleskine; The good, the bad and ugly! I'd appreciate any constructive criticism (keyword: constructive).

Another scene of my mother's hometown in Italy.

These started out as Paris Rooftops but after I finished, I realized I had drawn the rest of the houses without realizing it. That's why you listen to music when you draw and not podcasts of being talking.



The above 2 came from inspiration out of a famous Picasso drawing I saw on one of the many online Picaso galleries. I forget the name of the piece but from the musical notes, you may figure out which painting it is.


Scene, abstract in every way imaginable, of my father's hometown in Italy.

just a really, really happy face. Wouldn't it be nice if everyone was in that mood every day?

Here's my sense of humour shining through!

I titled this one A Lot Of Stars

I really like this one. A cityscape done with a pen. You do realize that at times, I seem to have too much time on my hands. Well, it's for the sake of art.


And this is a variation. This time, I used a marker. I didn't have the same amount of patience as last time.




The above 2 were inspired from cartoons. The first is from the title card of a Pink Panther cartoon and the latter is from a golden age Looney Tunes I've never seen before on the 3rd Looney Tunes DVD box set (volume 4 is coming out next month! I already have it preordered). I didn't copy the same scenes from the 2 cartoons. I tried out elements. For instance, I really liked the way the black building in the second one was drawn. I invented the rest on my own.

Here are some sheep (they are not bugs!) I drew and painted (with ink and acrylic paint). The sheep were designed for my Nativity Scene in a Moleskine project.

Workout talk -kickboxing

SSSOOOOooooo, I've decided 'tis time to begin cutting. Time to trim and get rid of once and for all the unsightly fat that's rudely covering up my abs and other muscles like tricpes. I really like the various cardo drills I've been doing that some kickboxers do. So naturally, instead of walking into a Muay Thai studio, I decided to read up on it first and ordered me a copy of... wait for it... The Complete Idiot's Guide to Kickboxing!

After a lengthy search over a few days om amazon.ca, I chose to buy this book. From the reviews, it looks like to be a great introduction to the sport and it's history along with exercises and drills and punches, etc. At least this way I'll get to know a bit about what to expect (I guess. I mean it is a dummies-type book and not me talking to a kickboxer) before I walk into a dojo.

I hope I am not offending any martial artists out there. I just can't commit the time right now and I think a book could be a good first baby step. Some time ago I did walk into a combat fitness studio where they taugh tall kinds of martial arts but they closed down. I also spoke with a friend of a cousin who didn't say much.

Anyhoo, I'll post about the book and what I get out of it once it comes in. I also ordered a book called The Gloves which is about a guy's memoris of taking up amateur boxing for fitness. Since I opted for "shipper saver" or whatever it's called (I just want to save on shipping, not know their term for it!), I'll have to wait until that books comes in-- why am I even telling you this??

I'd love ot hear from any kickboxer/muay thai enthusiasts who may be reading this. Does anyone read this blog? ;)

The Nativity Scene in a Moleskine Project

As I type this, I am listening to Contact FM from France and an amazine song is on (100ème étage by Vegastar). I love listening to this station sometimes because I get to discover great music. Except, of course, they feel compelled to play hip hop. BLEAH. No offence to hip hop fans but I no like.

But I digress... This has nothing to do with the subject.

A few posts ago I mentioned that I love, love, love, love Moleskine sketchbooks. I couldn't help but buy the Japanese album to see what I can do to it to turn it into a work of art. It's a zigzag of folded pages (60) and I thought it would make a cool nativity scene for Christmas time. After Epiphany, I can fold it back and place it in storage until the next Advent! Clever and convenient!

Sooooo, today I made a web page dedicated to showing my progress! You're probably wondering (or maybe not) why I didn't just blog it here. I simply didn't want to :P

:)

Anyhoo, I have some sketches I made during the summer up at the moment. I should begin fully dedicated work to the project on November 1st (I have some things I need to get finished first). So head on over to superspud.com/nativity-moleskine. I'll post updates here, of course.

Animaniacs volume 1 DVD!

It's loooooong overdue but I finally bought the 1st of many-to-come volumes of Animaniacs! on DVD. Hefty price but well worth it. In the 90s, when it was on tv, I was such a humungo fan. I taped every episode (3 videotapes recorded in SLP mode) with the crappiest cable reception I've ever had. Now in glorious remastered DVD, it's back again. I must have watched each episode a thousand and seven times. So naturally, I got sick of it (not in the bad way) and haven't watched any until now.

It was so great to watch it again. I'd delve more about it but it's late right now and I should go to bed. I can't beleive that I forgot how cool Yakko was.

The next volume is due out in December. I think I'll wai tuntil after Boxing Day in case I get a discount of some sort.

Radio interview!

Well, I was just interviewed live on natradio.com talking about my Super Spud comics. It was my first interview ever and it was exciting. If I can, I will try to post a clip.

Natradio is an online radio station based in Toronto.