went to MonsterPalooza and UP presentation by story artist Ronnie Del Carmen.

the sketch I did on site didn’t come out like I wanted it to, so I painted it again at home. The crappy version was painted over by the one below: evidence erased!

Atlantis landed at Edwards AFB this morning.  Gosh I wish I had gotten up early like usual, then I could’ve driven out there!  followed the landing online with Nasa TV instead.  Only a little sonic boom this time.  Last time the shuttle landed at Edwards was in Nov. 2008.  next time I really want to make it out there.

dusting off my paint tubes.  I bought some fruits to paint and thought I should actually paint them before they go bad.. both are 6×8

Studies from a photo and

from Graves Gladney’s illustration

been reading this book: Illustrated life

It’s fun to see other people’s sketchbook pages and reading their thoughts on sketching.  Several artists have noted that their sketchbooks are not meant to be seen by others or else they would freeze up under the pressure of creating presentable art, when it should be about being free.  I have to agree with that.  I have lots of pages that are embarassing to show. But for me it’s important that I keep drawing shitty stuff rather than a page of nice drawing.

part of the Museums of the Arroyo Day

Victorian homes from down town were moved to this location to give way for development back in the 1900s. Some sketches below of the houses and interior.

—- at Natural History Museum.  The crowd and kids were more than I can handle.  But seeing these large and beautiful insects were inspiring.  It felt a little cruel to me after a while..  pinned down and displayed and sold..

These walking sticks and huge katydids reminded me of faeries and creatures from Pans Labrynth.  Origami artist Robert Lang was there presenting the math behind folding something from 1 peice of paper.  His origami insects were on display.  Simply amazing..

check out his website

I am stuck in a creative “low”.. i can’t draw, I can’t paint, can’t read more than a page of a book, wah wah wah.  kinda like stuck in muddy water instead of being in a rapid stream.

so instead of my blog being a “sketch blog”, here are some rants and what I’ve been up to.

5/9 – Went to see the California art club show at PMCA.  But I was more impressed with the works at Michael Hollis gallery.  Really nice works from Robert Watts and John Budicin to name a few. We went there as a part of South Pasadena art festival.
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5/10 – It’s been a while since we went to a theater to watch a movie instead of a DVD at home.  startrek was definitely something that should be watched on a big screen.  I’ve never been a treckie, but really enjoyed the movie.
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5/12 – watched “space shuttle disaster” on PBS nova.  As we speak, the real astronauts are in space fixing the Hubble.  yyuep. I was suppose to be one of them.  How I ended up down on earth creating crappy art, I don’t know..
NASA Astronaut Watches New Star Trek Movie in Space

The Science of Star Trek
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5/15 -  went to Skirball to see

“ZAP! POW! BAM! The Superhero: The Golden Age of Comic Books, 1938–1950″ .  Duncan also signed up for a special screening of Solomon Kane.  I didn’t know anything about it, but it’s another creation by the conan guy Robert E Howard.
Saw this house in BeveryHills

I’ve been involved in feline rescue for a while. Sometimes it takes over my time more than it should and results in my art / work being neglected. Well, this was another such case. “Trap/Neuter/Return” is a very important most effective way to control feral colonies and hence reducing the unwanted kitten births and reduces euthanization and suffering animals. Stray cat Allience website has all the details for those interested. Anyway, I knew it is a lot of work, and I had no intension of getting involved with TNR.  but you do this kind of work and sooner or later it will come knocking on your door.  With the help of experienced fellow volunteer, I did my very first TNR.

You use an animal trap that looks like this:

The mom and dad were easy to trap.  We got them right away and went to Fix nation to get them spayed and neutered.  After the procedure, we release them back to their neighborhood.

However, the kittens were very feral. Not having human contact at all, they were very cautious and food didn’t do the trick.  It took us 2 days to trap all 5 of the litter.

There was one:

Then there were 2:

And eventual got the rest.

the kittens appeared to be about 6 weeks old and they are now in foster care.