Music

I still haven't come up with a name for this weekly feature thing.I was thinking about calling it "Sharpening my Tools" since this whole exercise is meant to resharpen my skills as I build my portfolio. However, it sounds a little lame when I say it out loud. Anyway, the theme I've chosen this week is music. I chose music because, if you know me, you know I love music. I love all kinds of music, I'm eclectic like that.

I chose to shoot these two instruments, the saxophone and acoustic guitar, because they are so versatile. They can be used in any style of music. I went with that idea because they reflect my music tastes. I hope you enjoy.

Click on the images to make them larger.



Don't forget to suggest another theme.

What's in a Name?

I need to come up with a name for this new weekly project that I'm working on. Last week I called it weekly check-up, but that was because I hadn't thought of anything yet and that made sense at the time. It's not the permanent name that I want to keep so if anyone has any suggestions, feel free to let me know.

So far the guidelines are that I pick a theme or subject or medium for the week and come up with either a piece of art or photography executing that theme. The theme can either come from suggestions or my own head. I will reveal the final piece in a blog post at the end of the week, either Friday or Saturday.

If you have a title or theme suggestion, shoot me a comment.

Weekly Check-Up 1

So...this year off I'm working on my portfolio for grad school. To help me stay on track, I made a deal with my friends to post some art work or something at the end of each week to show that I've been working on something. All of these works won't end up in my portfolio but they are helping me get back in the mix of things since it's been so long since I've used my drawing skills. This week was the first week and I probably picked a pretty hard subject to jump right back into drawing,, but it's something close to my heart, my camera. I decided to draw it because I couldn't capture in the earlier post that showed my tools. This is the beginning of my journey. I decided to show various stages of completion to show how I work.


This first image is me putting down the outline of my camera. You can see some of the construction lines that I used to guide my angles and the shape of the lens. You can also see a slight difference in the sketching style between the camera and strap. I used a looser style on the strap because it wasn't as necessary to be precise, just needed to rough in the basic shape.


In this image I'm beginning to shade and define the camera's shape and how the light plays on the surface.


It's not finished yet but this is what I have so far. I used a hatch on the strap instead of the smoother shading I used on the camera body to give the strap some texture. There's still some white spaces because I haven't decided how detailed I want to get and whether or not I want to draw in the brand name and writings on the lens. Also, I haven't quite figured out how I want to deal with the glass on the lens yet. I still need to darken the values in some places to give it a more finished look.

Practicality? ...scoff

Should you ever give up your dreams for any reason? What if it's so impractical, you can't imagine how to succeed? Should you abandon them then due to practicality? Maybe. I hope not. I once had a professor who said if your plan seems obtainable, then you're not dreaming big enough. I always try to keep that in mind when people tell me my dreams are impractical. Screw practicality.

Next Chapter

At the beginning of this month, I graduated from college, culminating my 17 year journey of education. Over the course of two days, I walked across a stage, shook hands with the dean, marched into a stadium, sat in the sweltering heat, and shortly thereafter received my degree, a BA in Philosophy.

In the weeks leading up to graduation, there was a little excitement but mostly indifference. I don't think I really had the time or energy to be excited. I finally submitted my thesis on April 6th and defended it two days later. It was about 23 pages long and it took everything I had to complete it. It's still not fully complete because I need to do a few revisions but nothing major that would hold up my grade. I passed the oral defense which was actually my senior comprehensive exam and the paper itself with an A. What a relief right, not really, no time to enjoy it because all my grades were due by April 22nd, so I had about 2 weeks to complete 7 papers and 3 exams. Although sometimes it really felt overwhelming, apparently, it wasn't too too much to handle because I finished the semester with a 4.0 and graduated college with a 3.79 cumulative. So now I have alumni status.

In the past three weeks since I left school, there's still indifference and not much excitement. My plan is to take a year off before I head to grad school for architecture. Back to architecture, how many people saw that coming. Anyway, I've been chilling in Philly trying to get used to the idea of not having to go back to school after this summer is over. Although that doesn't mean I won't be working and keeping up with my studies. I have time now to return to things I love that I couldn't do in between my reading and writing major. I've been reunited with my art supplies. I'm spending this summer and year off working on my portfolio and trying to knock the rust off my old tools. This should bring a lot of peace to my soul compared to the stress of all that writing. I'm looking forward to it.

April Beauties

This weekend, I had a blast with my friends. We're always together during the week and the weekend, but this weekend something was different. Our usual weekend routine consists of going to the mall or to the movies and follow that up with dinner out or chilling at the crib playing wii or board games. Sometimes we mix it up and go to a play or musical and really enjoy the change of scenery.

This weekend was one of those times we did a total change of scenery. For the first time in a while the weather was beautiful and really accommodating to enjoying the outdoors. It definitely made lose focus whenever I was indoors, hindering my work efforts. So instead of being cramped up inside, we went outside Friday thru Sunday and enjoyed the weather.

We went to see the Cherry Blossoms a few times, we walked around Georgetown, and we sat outside on the restaurants' terraces and had go food and conversation. (We played laser tag and went to the movies too, but that doesn't count because it was inside.)

My friends are the greatest, this weekend wouldn't have been the same without them. Here are some April beauties we captured together.

Beautiful Tulips


Beautiful Butterfly and Blossoms


Beautiful Friends

Wanderlust

My wanderlust is beginning to get the best of me. Everyday I dream about being somewhere else, traveling the world and documenting it with my pen and trusty camera. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel I'm in now; however, I'm stuck in traffic and time is moving ever so slowly. I can't help but wonder, "Will I ever get out?" I see those emergency exit doors every ten feet offering me a chance to escape and begin my travels now, skipping this impeding traffic. I could hop out and abandon my vehicle, but what's the point when I'm so close to the exit? I might as well suck it up, scoot along, and continue to daydream about my destination after I exit this tunnel.