Na' Vi Me as Avatar

A couple days ago I FINALLY got to see the movie "Avatar" in 3D. My 3 gal pals and I had a girl day on a Monday which is rare. Of course we had a blast and there was a lot of excitement, screaming, jumping and laughing - it was all Vicki Ross LOL!!!!!!!!!

Well when I got home and had dinner with my hubby who stayed home from work, I jumped right on my Photoshop and played with my kid pic. The image came together fast and I was delighted to get it out of my system :) Here are a couple other steps:

Of course the main character caught my attention! Injured Marine soldier, Jake Sully, is confined to a wheelchair, finds his warrior heart inside a fully functioning and capable body! I so related to him getting so out of hand excited in the lab when he woke up as an Avatar and was able to stand, walk, jump and RUN!

I also appreciated all the hard work and perfectionist level that the whole graphics department had to maintain in order to produce such a flawless animated film. I remember when the first Shrek came out and I was disappointed to detect some glitches. But I sure didn't see any of that in Avatar I'm pleased to say :)

Well I do enjoy graphic art; I love the instant gratification when I think I'm done and I can print it or publish it and send it off to the infinite cyber world. Unlike the oil portrait I'm waiting to dry a bit longer so I can get an even tone and take a photo to show you...

God must be an oil painter

"Aqua Magik" watercolor on yupo

I was so pleased to receive a call that the gallery sold my full sheet watercolor of the above painting. It's always nice when I make a sale especially a big piece! It was a much needed good news as that day we had to take my dearest Mom to emergency due to her first bout with high blood pressure. She will have to see her doctor when she returns home to California. I sure wish we didn't live so far apart.

The watercolor I sold was painted on Yupo paper. I wanted to approach my mermaid painting using a different technique for making the subject interesting to look at and fun to do. Since it was a big piece, I was able to play with some liquid mask so I could paint the piece more carefree and keep it fluid. Would I do it again? Well, I tend to see masking as more technical and not really painting, so chances are I will not use as much if I ever use it again.

I have sold a lot of mermaid paintings but they were mainly small format and no bigger than 6 inches. How impressed was I to realize a big one sold too! I was also aware that fish images are good luck so I think that gave it some mojo along with some symbols I added.

Last night our Netflix movie was "The Kite Runner". I've decided it was my #1 fave flick of my recent viewings (in fact I've even added a section on my side bar to show my top 5 recent faves). I've always been drawn to foreign films because I love not knowing getting an inkling about the plot. Also, I enjoy being exposed to different thoughts and culture. But this movie got me thinking that it was a good example of people being exactly where we need to be despite how bad or difficult the situation might seem. It reminds me of painting in oils and I'm just dabbing paints all over the place while someone who might be watching the piece in progress don't get the image at all. Oil painting has to go through ugly stage and you can't really appreciate the final piece until the very end. I guess the movie gave me hope that we just need to trust we are fine. The casting of Hassan, the good kid, was just perfect and he absolutely stole my heart!

I also saw "Mama Mia!" in fact I'm so happy I saw it with my Mom as she really enjoyed it :) The main thing I loved about it was Merryl Streep. She was on top of her game! GOSH I can't believe her energy and bottomless resources for talent!

Finally, for something erotic, I LOVED "Lust, Caution" Man oh man oh man oh man! Definitely food for the artist appetite I say!