dec082009 Deviant Art, of which I am a member, holds a whole bunch of contests that I normally have little interest in and don't bother entering. When I ran across the Wacom Bring Your Vision to Life contest, though, I was intrigued, because: A) The prizes were cool, and (more importantly) B) I found the subject to be of particular interest. Below is the statement submitted to Deviant Art with the piece:

So the Wacom contest really inspired me to look at my "dreams" in a few different ways. There are the aspirations-- things that I feel would bring me happiness and a sense of fulfillment if accomplished within my life.

Those are, however, defined within the construct of time-- limitation on our abilities to succeed in these endeavors-- whether they be societal limitations (i.e. which careers are valued; finding a compatible spouse...), or biological (i.e. the ability to conceive a child; health issues as your body ages...), etc.

Regardless, time (i.e. Saturn) consumes all these goals with the eventuality of death, which is directly chained to the construct of religion and otherworldliness within the same plane as our collected aspirations.

My ultimate dream would thus be an ability to transcend happiness and satisfaction based purely on physical accomplishments, and find a peace of oneness with my surroundings, and thus, myself. So that, regardless of specific pursuits, I can find joy within life in and of itself, with a greater understanding of the universe I belong to, and thus, a greater acceptance of the many aspects of it which are out of our collective control.

sep052009 So a friend approached me to work on a cover-up tattoo design, which would incorporate a Guardian Angel in some way. More so out of obligation-- but slightly because I didn't mind the subject matter-- I decided to go ahead and put together a few concepts for him.

Additionally, while sketching out the tattoos, I ran across the project that I had started on in May of last year (see about 5 posts down), which was going to create a large collage of classic movie sketches, set against a backdrop of the lit Hollywood sign. It never quite came to fruition, as it was going to be quite the undertaking. The first sketch I made was the Gone With the Wind one I posted then. From there I made about five or six more-- none of which I was ever completely thrilled with-- except the one of Marlon Brando's Don Corleone: The Godfather.

aug112009 So it only took eight months, but I finally have my design portfolio up and running. Other than that, I have done nothing of any artistic value whatsoever. I worked on a 60 page personal print project for quite a while, and also helped my friend get his site up: Dodgers Rumors. But other than that, I've been completely unproductive. Having wrapped up a couple unfinished projects now, I hope to add something of interest here soon.

feb072009 So sometime in late January, I noticed a posting on an art blog about the New Yorker's annual contest, to redesign their original 1925 cover of Eustace Tilley, a character developed for the magazine. I didn't win anything- but no biggie. I whipped this out within a couple days.

I've also been spending quite a bit of time trying to get my design portfolio up and online. I'm almost there. In addition, I just recently finished completely updating my Flickr account, which I'm going to use to showcase any photography from now on. It's way easier than the process I used to go through to upload photos.