http://search.deviantart.com/?q=by:angelfish1021&section=today deviantART RSS for by:angelfish1021 en-us Copyright 2009, deviantART.com Tue, 22 Dec 2009 03:58:10 PST deviantART.com http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss http://s.deviantart.com/minish/widgets/apple-touch-icon-precomposed.png http://angelfish1021.deviantart.com/journal/27134939/ http://angelfish1021.deviantart.com/journal/27134939/ Thu, 10 Sep 2009 15:21:57 PDT
So, I was expecting 2009 to be another epic year, much like 2008. Yeah...no. Okay, well, that's not entirely true. In February, I did get to go on vacation with my boyfriend and his family to Steamboat Springs, CO. It was a trip of firsts: it was my first venture outside of the Gulf South (I've only been to Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida before), it was the first time that I've seen real snow, it was the first time I've ever seen real mountains, and it was the first time I've ever tried snow skiing. Although it was surrounded by drama, I had an awesome time.

A week after I returned to work from my ski vacation, I received the awful news that I was being laid off. Yes, the bad economy caught us with the company that I was working for. So, I scrambled for two months trying to look for a job. The good news is that I found employment elsewhere. The bad news is that during my hiatus, my relationship with my boyfriend fell apart.

It should be no surprise that after I lost my job, my confidence took a huge hit. Instead of being the conforting, supportive man that I was hoping for, my boyfriend was seriously bothered by my dip in self-esteem. We had never had any problems before with our relationship, although we both have our own separated issues. It just so happens that his issues were...umm...rather unique. For whatever reason, the circumstances brought all of our individual problems out into the spotlight.

Eventually, I had to realize that my boyfriend was turning into an entirely different person, and that what he was going through was not just a phase. We had talked about marriage, children, and moving away to start a life together, but his issue was growing and I knew that none of the plans we had made would work because of it. As much as I didn't want our relationship to end, I had to give him an ultamatim: issue or me. He chose the issue.

I thought we would still be close friends, but instead, he has chosen to completely erase me out of his life. He won't talk to me anymore, and that includes seeing me in person, calling me on the phone and sending emails or instant messages. When I try to contact him, he just gets angry. He's even deleted and blocked me on Myspace and Facebook. It hurts like hell, and the worst part is that there's nothing I can do about it.

I've been practicing with the Wacom tablet that he gave me last Christmas, as you all can see from the last few deviations that I've posted. Unfortunately, every time I use it, I think about him.

2009 is more than half way done with, but really, it's been such a lousy year so far that best I can say is that I don't see how it can get much worse.

]]> ~angelfish1021 http://angelfish1021.deviantart.com/journal/22201129/ http://angelfish1021.deviantart.com/journal/22201129/ Thu, 25 Dec 2008 22:28:24 PST
So, I received a brand new Wacom tablet this year. I have never drawn with digital media before, but I've been playing around with my new toy all evening, and I gotta say, I'm really starting to dig it. I hope to gain more skill through practice, and maybe get some pointers from some of my artist friends here who know more about this stuff than I do.

I've posted a quick sketch that I did to show everyone what I've done with this thing so far. No, it's nothing great, but hopefully I will make progress.

]]> ~angelfish1021 http://angelfish1021.deviantart.com/journal/21564216/ http://angelfish1021.deviantart.com/journal/21564216/ Wed, 19 Nov 2008 10:40:24 PST
As most of you have probably guessed by now, I am a big fan of color. If there's anywhere where color can be found in great abundance, it's Japanese street fashion. I'm not really a huge fan of all things Japanese, such as anime and Hello Kitty, but I find the street fashions being sported in the Harajuku district fun and interesting to look at. I find the style known as decora the most appealing of all. It must take those girls FOREVER to get ready to go out.

That being said, my latest deviation is inspired by the decora style. I'm thinking about doing a full figure version, although drawing in all those colors and accessories is going to be a challenge.

...and of course, I'm going to try to not go another nine months without uploading to dA.

]]> ~angelfish1021 http://angelfish1021.deviantart.com/journal/20665250/ http://angelfish1021.deviantart.com/journal/20665250/ Thu, 25 Sep 2008 09:00:46 PDT
I'm not sure why I haven't been doing any drawing lately. My best guess is that it's a combination of life being so busy and myself being uninspired. For whatever reason, I just don't have any desire to do anything. I've gotten started on a few drawings, but they don't turn out the way I envisioned, so I scrap them. Hopefully, though, I come out of this funk and start creating and uploading stuff.

In the meantime, I'm planning a Halloween costume that's based on one of my drawings. A few years ago, a drew this portrait with the markings and colors of a queen angelfish superimposed on her face: [link]

I always thought it would be fun to try and make-up my own face to look like the drawing with a funky costume to go with it. I'm pretty sure that I won't have to worry about anyone else wearing a costume like mine.

]]> ~angelfish1021 http://angelfish1021.deviantart.com/journal/17892811/ http://angelfish1021.deviantart.com/journal/17892811/ Thu, 17 Apr 2008 08:33:50 PDT
In some ways my life is going great, yet in other areas, not so much.
On either side of the coin, I've been very busy and have been left feeling too drained to work on any drawings. I still have things that I want to do and have promised to do, but just haven't gotten around to doing them.

I know, I'm lazy.

Anyway, I've been browsing dA and it has me feeling inspired again, so hopefully in the very near future, I'll start working on all that art that I promised to myself and others.

~*~*~*~*~*~

These are the clubs that I'm in:



]]> ~angelfish1021 http://angelfish1021.deviantart.com/journal/16276824/ http://angelfish1021.deviantart.com/journal/16276824/ Sat, 05 Jan 2008 20:46:38 PST Go to your music player of choice and put it on shuffle.

Using the following questions, press play.

Use the song titles that come up to answer them.

Don't cheat.

1. How does the world see me?
"Creola", Jimmy Buffett (Hmm...hanging on on the bayou with the family, partying, eating good food...not bad.)

2. Will I have a happy life?
"Gold Digger", Kanye West (Sure I will, as long as he has money.)

3. What do people really think of me?
"She Loves You", The Beatles (Everyone thinks I am incapable of letting a guy how I really feel about him.)

4. Do people secretly lust after me?
"Clover", Sugarbomb (He just wants to make me sweat and perspire.)

5. How can I make myself happy?
"Calabria", Enur ft. Natasha (I can't understand what she's saying!!!)

6. What should I do with my life?
"Go To The Mardi Gras", Professor Longhair (It's a sign!)

7. Will I ever have children?
"Can't Fight The Moonlight", Leanne Rimes (I'll have to do some seducing first.)

8. What is some good advice for me?
"I Wanna Be Free", The Monkees (Nope, can't let anyone tie me down.)

9. What do I think my current theme song is?
"Hungry", Kosheen (Yes, YES!!!! I want more!!!!)

10. What does everyone else think my current theme song is?
"What Am I Doin' Hangin' Round?", The Monkees (This question does indeed apply to many areas of my life.)

11. What song will play at my funeral?
"Heaven", DJ Sammy (Seriously...)

12. What is my day going to be like?
"I Believe In A Thing Called Love", The Darkness (OMG!)

13. Why am I here?
"Conched", A1A Jake (God put me soley on this earth so that I can drink myself to excess.)

14. What will people remember me for?
"Blue (Da Ba Dee)", Eiffel 65 (For being a blue alien?)

15. What song will I get stuck in my head tomorrow?
"Dare", Gorillaz (It's happened before.)

16. Are there people waiting outside waiting to take me away?
"Unwritten", Natasha Bedingfield (Gee...I guess I released my inhibitions a bit too much.)

17. What will this year be all about?
"Ordinary World", Duran Duran (How depressing...)

18. If you reached the top of Mount Everest, you would scream:
"For Pete's Sake", The Monkees (Love is understanding, but I don't think I would need to climb a mountain to figure that out.)

19. The next time you stand up in front of a group of people, you'll
say:
"Here For The Party", Gretchen Wilson (Now, where's the beer?)

20. Your message to the world.
"Listen To The Music", The Doobie Brothers (It's all I'm asking.)

21. Your deepest secret.
"You Gotta Be", Des'ree (I have no secrets...I am ashamed of nothing!)

22. Your innermost desire.
"(Theme From) The Monkees", The Monkees (Hahahaha...)

23. Your oldest memory makes you think...
"Big Chief", Professor Longhair (Mardi Gras always makes for good memories.)

24. Somewhere in your wedding vows you'll include:
"This Is Your Night", Amber (Oh, baby...)

25. When you wake up in the morning you mutter?
"Fins", Jimmy Buffett (Gotta go take care of all the little sharks...)

26. Right now, your feelings are:
"Yellow Submarine", The Beatles (Man, I'm so tripped out, I have no feelings...I think I'll just babble on about how I live with a bunch a people under the ocean.)

27. The day you fall in love will be the day that:
"Cheeseburger In Paradise", Jimmy Buffett (Well, they say the fastest way to a man's heart is though his stomach, right?)

28. You scream during sex:
"Brandy (You're A Fine Girl)", Looking Glass (Huh...)

29. Your farewell message to the readers:
"Hey Jude", The Beatles (I can't think of a better band to end this with.)

I tag whoever reads this.

~*~*~*~*~*~

These are the clubs that I'm in:

http://angelfish1021.deviantart.com/journal/15818706/ Thu, 06 Dec 2007 09:16:45 PST
BAH HUMBUG!!!!

I guess maybe it's because I'm getting older, but for whatever reason, I'm just not as into the holidays as I used to be. The gift giving, the houses decorated in lights, the Christmas music, the holiday TV specials...it all just doesn't do anything for me anymore. Don't misunderstand, I still look forward to all of the above, just not as much. I suppose that, in the process of growing up, the childhood anticipation that usually came along with the season was lost somehow. Maybe it's also the recent events in my life that have eaten away at my holiday spirit. Who knows?

To end my rant on a happy note, this year is not quite as bad as years past. My guy friend that I have written about a few times before, the one who tends to be a jerk, has been surprisingly non-jerklike in the last few days, which always puts me in a brighter mood. My goal is to get him to do something Christmas-y with me, like come over for a holiday party or take me to go see Christmas in the Oaks over at City Park. Unfortunately, he has no car at the moment. The lack of transportation puts a damper on things, but hey, there's still 19 days until Christmas as I'm writing this, so the Universe still has time to make some adjustments. At least he's calling me a little more often than usual.

On to art matters...speaking of my guy friend, he may have an art project for me. His sister is redecorating her bedroom, and she may be interested in a mural. Their family is from the Bay Islands of Honduras, so she may request something tropical, which is right up my alley.

I get to do something I like and get paid for it??? *GASP!*

Other requests are coming in too. My mother's friend has asked me to do an oil painting, a seascape with a lighthouse similar to the one I've posted in my dA gallery. My grandmother's friend also wants me to do another oil painting of her son's house.

More stuff that I'm getting paid for? *GASP AGAIN!*

As for my own projects, I can't seem to sketch out anything that I'm happy with for my Jimmy Buffett book illustrations, so I'm going to walk away from it for a while. I've decided to take a different route and draw some interpretations of his song lyrics. The same goes for the Monkees fanart that I mentioned...I can't seem to draw a portrait or even a caricature that do any of them justice.

In case you haven't guessed, I've toyed with the idea of starting a club in which members are challenged to visually interpret song lyrics. Does something like that already exist on dA? It's a thought...

Finally, I have a question: Does anyone know how to make and post a tutorial? I've been promising to make a Prismacolor tutorial, but I just don't know how. Please help me!

Well, that's it and I'm done. Until next time...

~*~*~*~*~

Since my list of watchers was getting large, I'll be keeping those in a separate journal, which I will update accordingly. In the meantime...

These are the clubs that I'm in:



]]> ~angelfish1021 http://angelfish1021.deviantart.com/journal/14670557/ http://angelfish1021.deviantart.com/journal/14670557/ Mon, 17 Sep 2007 08:26:39 PDT [link] Ray Fillet finally has some representation on dA (although, to be honest, I've never bothered doing a search to see if he was already in some fan art on here.)

The illustrations from the Jimmy Buffett book "Tales From Margaritaville" will be coming soon as well. I need to go back and re-read parts of it to refresh my memory, but I love the book so much, so it's about time for me to read it again anyway.

Since the last journal, there are some other projects that I'd like to work on. For one, a brand new mersona was drawn for me by ~lunajurai as part of ~Mermafied's Personality Exchange: [link] It's mostly because I recently got my hair cut short, and I wanted to draw my new mako shark self with my new do.

Second of all, I've been hung up on "The Monkees" lately. For those who don't know, it was a TV show from the 60s that was inspired by The Beatles movies "A Hard Day's Night" and "Help". It's about the members of a struggling rock band--Mike, Micky, Peter, Davy--who find themselves in all sorts of unusual situations in the quest to land a gig and get a record contract. I wasn't around when the show originally aired, but I used to watch it when it came on Nickelodeon in the mid-80s. I've been a fan ever since. Since I've been on a fan-art kick lately, I been wanting to do something that's Monkees-themed. Of course, I've seen them drawn as anthro monkeys on here, but I want to do something different. I've thought about doing mermafied versions of them, which I'm sure no one has done yet. Any suggestions from fellow Monkees fans on what species of sea creature I should use for each of the guys?

Well, that's it and I'm done. Until next time...

~*~*~*~*~

I'd like to indroduce y'all to my friends. They're watching me...

These are the people that I know outside of DA:


A few of the crazy cool kids from ~Mermafied

http://angelfish1021.deviantart.com/journal/13900629/ Fri, 27 Jul 2007 12:14:17 PDT Mermafied which I'm sure is over-due, so my apologies go out to ~ScytheDragon. I plan on locking myself in my room with my paper, my pencils, and my research to get everything done over the weekend.

Once I get all of my commissions done, I'm going to get back to pursuing my own interests. Lately, I've been wanting to do some fan art...as if this site doesn't have enough of that already. The difference is that I want to do characters that are more obscure, lesser known. No Harry Potter, no Transformers, no Naruto...like I said, dA has enough of such things.

That being said, I have a confession to make...I was a huge fan of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles back in the day. Yes, I know, they were meant for the boys, but I didn't care. I had the t-shirts, I went and saw the movies, and I even had the action figures. As bizarre as it sounds, I played with Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael, and Michaelangelo right along with my Barbie dolls. Go figure. Anyways, I had a few of the sidekicks and villains to go along with them, and my favorite was a character named Ray Fillet. The story goes that he was a marine biologist who somehow got himself turned into a crime-fighting mutant manta ray. How could I not like this guy? With 80s cartoon characters becoming cool again, and the most recent version of the TMNT movie that came out last spring, I've been thinking that old Ray needs some representation. My toy is long lost, but I've tracked down some pics on Google to use as reference.

Also, I want to try illustrating scenes and designing characters from books that I've read. I particularly want to draw from a book by Jimmy Buffett, "Tales from Margaritaville." You don't have to be a fan of his music to like this book. Anyone with a sense of adventure and a thirst for travel will enjoy it. One character that always amuses me from this book is Romeo Flemming, the head football coach for Heat Wave, AL's local high school who has a thing for Hawaiian shirts and pet iguanas. My kind of guy. There is another scene in the book that describes a mural that is painted on the wall of Clark Gable's cattle barn which suggests his closesness to the sea. If you are completely confused by anything that's written in this paragraph, all I can say is to read the book.

Well, that's it and I'm done. Until next time...

~*~*~*~*~

I'd like to indroduce y'all to my friends. They're watching me...

These are the people that I know outside of DA:


A few of the crazy cool kids from ~Mermafied
http://angelfish1021.deviantart.com/journal/12954236/ Fri, 18 May 2007 12:03:30 PDT
Wyland
I've always admired the way in which he portrays the underwater world. His work has an ethereal quality that suits its subject matter perfectly. I had the opportunity to see his work in person at one of his galleries in Destin, FL, which was a real treat.
Wyland's official website: [link]

Josh Agle (aka Shag)
His work always makes me smile. It's so fun and retro. If you're into the tiki scene, you will most likely enjoy this artist.
Shag's official website: [link]

Guy Harvey
He's as much a marine biologist as he is an artist. His renderings of marine life, particularly saltwater game, show them as the natural athletes that they truly are.
Guy Harvey's official website: [link]

Lisa Remeny
This South Florida artist is known for her paintings of tropical scenery and flora.
Lisa Remeny's official website: [link]

Dorian Cleavenger
He's probably one of the most amazing fantasy artists that I've come across in a long time. His work is certainly not for the conservative, but if you're okay with nudity, among other things, then you'll enjoy his work.
Dorian Cleavenger's official website: [link]

Pamelina H.
She's another great fantasy artist that I've discovered recently. Her series of mermaids based on birthstone gems are a lot of fun.
Pamelina H.'s official website: [link]

Goin' Coastal (formerly Caribbean Soul)
I still have yet to find out who the artist(s) is behind these illustrations. Most of them are inspired by the songs of Jimmy Buffett, who is my all-time favorite singer. Yeah, that's right...I'm a parrothead!
Goin' Coastal's official website: [link]

Lynn Fecteau
She's another South Florida artist that I've recently discovered. Her tropical seascapes are different in that they are painted as if the viewer is gazing at the ocean through windows and doorways, adding a sense of depth.
Lynn Fecteau's official website: [link]

Patrick Chevailler
All of his marine paintings, both under the surface and above it, are great. What caught my attention was his fish portraits. The details are amazing; it looks as if he painted each fish scale for scale.
Patrick Chevailler's official website: [link]

Jason Mathias
He's the next generation of marine artists. The work is very similar to that of Guy Harvey.
Jason Mathias' official website: [link]

Well, I hope that gives you guys a little insight into what inspires me. Until next time...

~*~*~*~*~

I'd like to indroduce y'all to my friends. They're watching me...

These are the people that I know outside of DA:
~angelfish1021 http://angelfish1021.deviantart.com/journal/12669004/ http://angelfish1021.deviantart.com/journal/12669004/ Fri, 20 Apr 2007 14:56:37 PDT
As far as my art goes, I've been getting some recognition at work. I work for an indoor tanning company--no relation to art whatsoever. In fact, my skin is way too sensitive for tanning of any kind, but it's a locally-based company, and the pay's not bad either. Anyway, a few of my co-workers have noticed the doodles that I leave all over my notepads and such, and they have taken quite an interest. One of my supervisors has even mentioned putting my art in a company-sponsored auction, which is very exciting. I've also gotten back to making new drawings and posting them on here. Hopefully, I'll be posting more stuff before the weekend is over.

On the romantic front, most of you would probably be less than thrilled to hear that me and my guy friend have made up. I know that I'm probably setting myself up for more drama, but I can't help it. The sources that told me about the other girl aren't really the most realiable sources. It's not that I don't believe that my guy is capable of cheating, but a rumor doesn't necessarily equal truth. He's working offshore right now, and he's always promised that once he starts working, he'll then take me out to dinner and to the movies, and whatever else I want to do. In other words, he'll be able to afford to treat me like a real girlfriend. He will be returning in two weeks, so I'm eagerly awaiting to see what's going to happen.

~*~*~*~*~

I'd like to indroduce y'all to my friends. They're watching me...

These are the people that I know outside of DA:


A few of the crazy cool kids from ~Mermafied



My buddies from ~BioMarina:
http://angelfish1021.deviantart.com/journal/12454832/ Wed, 04 Apr 2007 09:26:00 PDT
My guy, who wasn't really commited enough to be refered to as a "boyfriend" in the first place, just dumped me for something that I didn't even do. It turns out that it was a story that he invented to get rid of me so that he could pursue another girl that he had been more interested in this whole time.

It all makes sense: he never took me out, he barely ever called me, and would disappear for days and even weeks at a time. All this time, his talk of marriage, children, and being soulmates made me think that I was his priority, even when his actions didn't match his words. The truth was that I just a side project while someone else was the main event. He was asking HER out, calling HER several times everyday, basically treating her the way I wanted him to treat me.

He played me for a fool for an entire year!!!!

On top of all this, I'm still not getting acknowledged for the drawings that I'm doing for people out of the sheer kindness of my heart, and, honestly, with all the crap that I'm dealing with right now, I don't really feel like drawing much of anything.

~*~*~*~*~

I'd like to indroduce y'all to my friends. They're watching me...

These are the people that I know outside of DA:


A few of the crazy cool kids from ~Mermafied



My buddies from ~BioMarina


A fellow Parrothead from the ~parrotheads club:


More really cool peeps that I've met here on DA:
http://angelfish1021.deviantart.com/journal/12001691/ Wed, 28 Feb 2007 14:32:43 PST
I would of course like to concentrate my energy on the undersea characters that I've already created. I feel as though I haven't developed them enough. The problem is that my time has been occupied by a portrait series that I've been doing for my friends since last summer.

After seeing my entry for the Mermafied Personality Exchange II ([link]), my friends asked me to create mersonas for them. It was a lot of fun at first, and as word spread about my little project, lots of requests started to come in. A lot of people posted scans of their portraits on their internet profiles and one girl even purchased the original. The majority, however, didn't even bother to tell me thank you.

Obviously, if I'm not going to be paid or even thanked for the favors that I'm doing, I'm not going to be in any kind of hurry to finish the portraits that I have left to do. Also, most of requests have been for mermaids, and like I said before, I'm starting to get bored with the subject matter. It sucks because I love mermaids and I love to draw them. I feel that I need to take a break and do something else. I'm sure a lot of people would like to see me branch out into other areas anyway.

If I'm not gonna draw any mermaids for a while, then what will I draw? Lately, when I have a little down time at work, I've found myself doodling fairies based on insects (ladybug, bee, butterfly, etc.) I've also dabbled in nagas before, and I'd like to do another when I get the time. As for non-fantasy work, I'd like to brush-up on my human figure and portrait skills. I'd also like to stay under the sea and do some underwater seascapes and drawings of marine creatures...non-mermafied creatures, that is.

On the personal front:

I have an awesome new job as a front desk receptionist! Although it's not an art-related gig, the money is pretty good. As for my guy...my status with him changes on a daily basis. He was doing really well for a long while, then his bad habits got the best of him, and the result was messy. Let's just say that Valentine's Day was a dud. Despite it all, I forgave him once again and we're starting over...again (hence the hopeless emoticon at the top.)

Anyway, that's it and I'm done. Until next time...

~*~*~*~*~

I'd like to indroduce y'all to my friends:

http://angelfish1021.deviantart.com/journal/11703045/ Mon, 05 Feb 2007 20:22:10 PST
~*~*~*~*~

I'd like to indroduce y'all to my friends:

http://angelfish1021.deviantart.com/journal/11110088/ Mon, 18 Dec 2006 20:32:19 PST
...but even that is about to be fixed!

Yay again!

Oh...but the Saints lost...bah.

...but they still get to go to the play-offs!

Once again...yay!


~*~*~*~*~

I'd like to indroduce y'all to my friends:

~angelfish1021 http://angelfish1021.deviantart.com/journal/11093508/ http://angelfish1021.deviantart.com/journal/11093508/ Sun, 17 Dec 2006 11:08:24 PST
Bah.

Of course, if that's the only thing that I have to worry about today, then that's alright. It's just that they're really good drawings and I wanted everyone to see them. Oh well...

~*~*~*~*~

I'd like to indroduce y'all to my friends:

~angelfish1021 http://angelfish1021.deviantart.com/journal/10403533/ http://angelfish1021.deviantart.com/journal/10403533/ Sun, 15 Oct 2006 16:39:09 PDT
So far, I've gotten a lot of good feedback on my art from the online community. Even when the opinions are not so good, I use it to help myself improve. Most importantly, I'm constantly drawing new pics to post and send to friends for holidays and such, and the more I draw, the more I improve. I've even done some special drawings for my online buddies to post on their own sites. Lately, though, I've noticed that some people are somehow finding my work at random and using it on their sites without my permission or knowledge.

In the last month, I have come across three people on Myspace using my work as their default pics. While the appreciation is flattering, it still bothers me that they're using my drawings at random. I realize that, with the internet being as vast as it is, it's impossible sometimes to track down who the artist is. So, whenever I find someone using my work, I usually write to them and ask them very nicely to give me credit on their page. Everyone so far has been really cool about it, some even posting my URL.

Several people have suggested that I put a watermark on my work, but unfortunately I don't have the proper programs on my computer to do it. Even if I did, I'm sure there's someone out there who can figure out how to remove it with Photoshop. Others have said that when posting my work on Photobucket that I should avoid putting a title on the pic so that they're not searchable, but even a five-year-old knows that all you have to do is right click on a pic to find out where the image came from.

All in all, I'm trying not to let the situation get to me. As long as people give me credit on their page, I'm fine with them using my work. I figure that the more people have my work on their page, the more exposure I get, and there's nothing wrong with that.

Before I wrap this entry up, I'd like to update y'all on what's been going on since the last journal. It looked like my boyfriend was going to be downgraded to ex-boyfriend status after the disastrous ending of our last date. Surprisingly, this is not the case. He has since apologized for his actions and now things are going smoothly between us. As for the screwy children's book author...well, that deal is pretty much washed up. There's really nothing more to say about it.

Okay, I'm done...ta ta for now!

~*~*~*~*~

I'd like to indroduce y'all to my friends:

http://angelfish1021.deviantart.com/journal/10137558/ Wed, 20 Sep 2006 21:48:15 PDT
The author called me a week later and informed me that the publisher wanted the original drawings. Since I live two hours away, and I work during the week, it was difficult setting up a day for us to meet. In the meantime, I did research on the internet to come up with a price.

After about a month or so, my cousin himself calls me, sounding very upset, and tells me to get in touch with his wife. I thought that it was odd for him to call me, since it's not his project, but I called his wife and was unable to reach her. For the following two months, I tried to both call her and send her e-mails, but it was nearly impossible to reach her. She finally wrote back about two weeks ago asking me to come up with a price so that she could have a check ready for when we met.

I finally came up with a price of $900, which came out to about $33 per drawing. I didn't want to charge too much, but I also didn't want to short-change myself. Of course, if the author had decided that the price was too expensive, I would have been more than willing to reach a compromise with her.

Earlier today, I got yet another phone call from her husband. He told me that they've decided to not use my drawings and to go with another illustrator. It took too long for me to get the drawings to them, and the publishing company was getting impatient. The book was supposed to be published a year ago, he said, and I was holding them back. I quickly pointed out that I had only known about the book for the last five months and that I had been unable to get in touch with the author to set up meeting. I'm now thinking that she didn't return my phone calls because another artist was already working for her and she didn't have the guts to let me know. Furthermore, she once again had her husband call me instead of calling me herself. The whole situation is very strange indeed.

It makes me sick to think that I did all that work for nothing. When the book comes out, someone else's drawing with be in there and their name will be on the front cover with the author's. This was supposed to be my big break, but now it's gone.

All of this news comes just a few days after my boyfriend has proven himself to be a hopeless @$$hole. He and his family are from Honduras, and they were all going dancing to celebrate Honduran independence day. I danced with his cousins and with other men at the club, but my own boyfriend never once asked me to dance. What's worse is that he was mad that I was dancing with the others. I told him that I didn't go out to sit and watch him play pool; I was going to dance and have a good time, and if he wasn't going to ask me, then I was going to dance with someone who would.

He was also upset because I told him that my family wanted me to be home by a certain time, claiming that I was acting like a child instead of the woman that he expects me to be. He complained about it the whole night, and eventually asked his mother to take me home. Keep in mind that this was at 4:00am, which is late enough for me. We went outside and I tried to talk to him, telling him that I loved him but that I also didn't want to disrespect my family, but he refused to listen and literally pushed me away from him before storming back into the club.

What's odd is that his family is really nice and seemed to approve of me. I was surpised when his mother took my side in our arguement and said that he has no right to criticize me for living with my parents because he still lives with her. His cousin even called me to make sure I got home okay. He showed more concern than my boyfriend himself. Needless to say, I haven't heard from him since, and I doubt that I will. To think that earlier that night he was talking of marriage really blows my mind.

Basically, my mood right now can be summed up like this:



~*~*~*~*~

I'd like to indroduce y'all to my friends:

~angelfish1021 http://angelfish1021.deviantart.com/journal/9310566/ http://angelfish1021.deviantart.com/journal/9310566/ Thu, 03 Aug 2006 12:17:35 PDT Instead of being worried about the quantity of stuff that I've done, I should be more concerned with the quality of my work. I've looked at some other galleries on here, and I've noticed that there are a lot of people who have been on DA for years, yet they don't have as many deviations. I've also noticed that these same people have done some amazing work that makes me feel inadequate. Like I said, it's all about the quality and not the quantity. So, therefore, I'm thinking about "cleaning up the house" a little bit. I may delete some of my pics, or a least move them to scraps. There's a lot of work in there that I'm not so proud of anymore, which hopefully is a sign that I'm getting better. I still like the ideas, but I think some of these drawings could be better, so I may go back and do new versions. For now, it's a matter of deciding which pics I want to get rid of.

In my last two journal entries, I mentioned a guy friend of mine that I like and who maybe liked me back. At first, he wasn't treating me so great and gave me the impression that he was leading me on. I decided to test him, so I dealt out the "hard to get" card. He started to come around eventually, discovering that an amazing device known as a telephone can be used to get in touch with people. Not only was he calling me more often, but he was also started talking to me through my instant messenger. Finally, he started asking me out, and not just once in a blue moon, but on a regular basis. I'm not the type to jump to conclusions, but I think that I may be able to refer to this guy as my boyfriend.

I'd like to indroduce y'all to my friends:

<... ]]> ~angelfish1021 http://angelfish1021.deviantart.com/journal/9050139/ http://angelfish1021.deviantart.com/journal/9050139/ Mon, 12 Jun 2006 18:54:35 PDT
~Guys~

In my last journal, I mentioned a certain guy that I like who wasn't really treating me all that great. Okay, well, I say "mention", but it was more like a rant. The good news is that we're back on good terms again. That's the way things are between us; one minute it's one, the next minute it's off. About a week after he stood me up, I happened to run into him at a dive bar that I like to frequent with my friends from work. He apologized for what he had done and we did a lot of talking, as well as other things. A week later, I encountered him again at the bar, but this time I knew he was going to be there. He called me before I went and I told him to meet me there. Basically, it was a repeat of the week before. So, things are okay for now, but I'm still cautious.

~Books~

I just finished my illustrations for my cousin's wife's children's book. I've sent to her and she absolutely loved them. She's in the process of sending them to the publisher, and hopefully soon after that, the book will come out. Hopefully, the publisher will like my work and refer me to other authors.

~Art~

Now that my illustrations are done, I can do some fun stuff for DA. I'm planning on doing a series of fishes that don't exist but should. Confused? Basically, I'm going to be drawing realistic looking fishes, probably based on tropical saltwater angelfishes, and adding my own colors and patterns. Also, I'll be doing lots of the usual mermaids and such.

Well, that's all for now. Ciao!

I'd like to indroduce y'all to my friends:

~angelfish1021 http://angelfish1021.deviantart.com/journal/8887213/ http://angelfish1021.deviantart.com/journal/8887213/ Fri, 26 May 2006 20:10:53 PDT
Personal stuff:
Y'all might be wondering about that "Played by a player!" thing that I wrote. Well, let me just say that there's this guy that I know, and he led me to believe that he liked me. I allowed myself to develop feelings for this guy. I gave him my phone number when he asked me for it, and at first, he called me fairly regularly. I thought to myself, "Maybe he really is sincere about this." Why would I doubt it? He has a tendancy to flirt with every girl that crosses his path. Being the forgiving person that I am, I chose to ignore this, and went out on a date with him anyway. We were supposed to hang out many times prior to that date, but he always bailed out on me and gave me a lame excuse for it, like "Uh...I fell asleep." He always tells me he's thinking about me, or that he absolutely has to see me, but he stands me up, time and time again. In fact, he just stood me up AGAIN today! His actions are simply not matching his words. Whether he's with another girl or out drinking isn't really an issue. The issue is that he didn't do something that he promised he would do, and it's starting to get old. Honestly, I don't know why I didn't stop associating with this guy a long time ago. I need to get over him, but it's hard to get over someone that you've shared a kiss with. Oh, well...

Art stuff:
Well, I've two big projects coming up. As of right now, I'm running low on my Prismacolors, which will be fixed shortly. I definitely don't want to miss any deadlines!

First on the agenda is some children's book illustrations that I've been comissioned to do. The author is ready to sign a contract for her first story, but she told me that she's not signing anything until my drawings are finished. So, needless to say, that is what I will be working on for now.

~Mermafied is having another exchange. This time, we have to turn our characters into human versions of themselves. Once again, I have the honor of working with one of ~zepheenia's characters, the deadly but beautiful sea snake mermaid Toxin.

Alright, so that's all for now. Like I said, I'm trying out this new subscription stuff. I don't normally blab about the mundane goings-on in my life on DA, but I had to write about something. Toodles!

I'd like to indroduce y'all to my friends:

http://angelfish1021.deviantart.com/journal/8752589/ Wed, 24 May 2006 22:43:03 PDT
*May 21, 2006
Well, the entire zodiac is finished! The remaining six have been uploaded in the gallery for all to see. Overall, I am fairly happy with how the series turned out. If I had to pick my favorites, I would have to go with the animals: Aries, Leo, Capricorn, Cancer, etc. I'm also happy with Aquarius and I'm, of course, a little partial to Libra. So, go check 'em out, and let me know what y'all think.

~~~~~~~~

I'd like to indroduce y'all to my friends:

http://angelfish1021.deviantart.com/journal/8535197/ Thu, 20 Apr 2006 19:12:19 PDT
Rules:The first person that starts the game or whatever starts the topic. 6 weird habits/secrets/things and then the tagged people have to write a journal entry about 6 weird habits/secrets/things.
And then the tagged person must choose six more people to be tagged and tell them to write 6 weird habits/secrets/things in their journal. And you must write them a comment in their deviantart user page saying they've been tagged and get them to read yours.

1. I'm directly related to a U.S. President, Benjamin Harrison. I know he's not one of the more well known Presidents, but he still counts.

2. I'm part Lebanese. There are a few celebrities who are also Lebanese, including Casey Kasem (the voice of Shaggy from "Scooby Doo" and the former DJ for the Weekly Top 40), Jamie Farr (the cross dresser from "M*A*S*H"), and Shakira.

3. I have a pet turtle named Amadeus, as in Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

4. I'm deathly afraid of cockroaches. It's so bad that I'm even afraid of the fake rubber roaches. It figures that I live in South Louisiana, where the roaches are almost big enough to beat up small dogs.

5. I can't stand it when I'm eating a plate of food and one item is touching another. For example, if my green beans somehow end up in my mashed potatoes, I get really irritated.

6. I'm a diehard Parrothead! Jimmy Buffett is my musical hero! I have just about all of his albums and I'm a frequent shopper at the Margaritaville Store in the French Quarter.

Well, that was fun!

The following people can consider themselves tagged:

*frozengymnast
~enniroc
~jkbunny
~socalchika00
~Rurikokun
~faeriefaeria

~~~~~~~~

I'd like to indroduce y'all to my friends:

http://angelfish1021.deviantart.com/journal/8463677/ Thu, 13 Apr 2006 21:27:32 PDT
About an hour later, my Dad came in, and saw that I was drawing. I told him that he could look at the rest of my stuff, which was stacked up in a drawer in the corner of the room. He pulled out the heap of papers and leafed through them. "Well, we know you can draw mermaids.", he said as he flipped through the dozen or so variations of fish people, "Don't you think it's about time that you drew something else?" I told him that he was right, I should totally move on to different subject matter. He then asked me was I was drawing at the moment. I hesitated before I said, "Umm...another mermaid."


When I was in college, my art professors would tell me about this all the time. Everything I do is beach related or fish related or tropical in nature. They wanted me to do something else, something with meaning. "Meaning"? I'm sorry if my art doesn't make commentary on the current state of affairs. That might be what other people like to do, but not me. I see art as more of an escape, as a way of taking a break from day to day life. It's kind of like the difference between a dramatic film and a comedy. I don't want to go to the movies and leave depressed or angry. I want to walk out of the theater feeling uplifted and refreshed. I just want to go laugh out loud with my friends or cuddle up with my honey and munch on popcorn.


Now that I look through my DA gallery, I notice a pattern. Mermaids, fish, pirates, beaches...AHHHH! Must do something else! But what? Those are all the things that I love, and that I'm good at. Of course, the only way that I'll ever expand my horizons is to venture into new territory. So, what do you guys think? Do y'all think that I should do something else, or just stick with what I enjoy and do best?

~~~~~~~~

I'd like to indroduce y'all to my friends:

~angelfish1021 http://angelfish1021.deviantart.com/journal/8265361/ http://angelfish1021.deviantart.com/journal/8265361/ Sat, 25 Mar 2006 13:13:23 PST
On the first day of class, the teacher briefly went over what we would be doing. She mentioned that we would be drawing nude figures-both male and female. I thought to myself, Hmm...well, I guess we're all adults here. I've never seen a man in his birthday suit before, but I'm mature enough. I can handle it.

Two days later, the class met again with our supplies in tow, ready to get to work. We were setting up our sketch pads and lining up our charcoals and erasers when a 20-something year old guy walked in with a robe on. The teacher introduced him as our model for the day. He was a pretty good-looking guy and I thought, Oh my...this is gonna be interesting.

Once we were all ready to go, the model walked up onto a platform in the corner of the studio around which our easels were arranged. The teacher gave him the go-ahead, and he took off his robe, under which there was...well, NOTHING! I told myself silently not to blush or stare, but then again, I had to stare because I had to draw the guy. How can you draw something if you don't look at it?

I had to get over my shock quickly, because we launched straight into our drawing exercises. The teacher walked around the studio the whole time, looking at our work, and she stopped by me and scrutinized my drawing. She pointed at it and said "Draw EVERYTHING that you see!" Heh...I guess she noticed that I was trying to avoid drawing the you-know-what. After 45 minutes, it was time to take a break. As the class walked around to stretch their legs and talk, the model plopped down on the platform, still naked, and started talking with some of the students. The teacher noticed and said, "Umm...you can put your robe back on."

Once our break was over, we got back to our drawing exercises. As I worked on my drawing, I would look up to study the model's pose. His eyes met mine a few times, which was weird. It's a little creepy when you're fully clothed and there's a naked guy staring at you, especially when he's good-looking.

That particular model posed for us during many more classes after that. Even after the semester was over, he was still the prefered model amongst the girls...geez, do I really have to say why?

~~~~~~~~

I'd like to indroduce y'all to my friends:

~angelfish1021 http://angelfish1021.deviantart.com/journal/8162562/ http://angelfish1021.deviantart.com/journal/8162562/ Wed, 15 Mar 2006 18:54:37 PST

Actually, people have pointed this out to me before. It's very rare that I do a drawing of a male figure. I'm not sure why that is. I guess females are simply more fun to draw. You can do a lot more embelishments and fun details. Honestly, do you think a drawing like "Man in Pink" would work? No, I didn't think so. I should also mention that, being a female myself, I know what a female body looks like. I don't need a model to pose for me; I can just stand in front of a mirror.

Don't misunderstand me. I'm not a lesbian or anything like that. I just simply prefer to draw female figures. Of course, that doesn't mean that I never draw dudes. When I was taking my figure drawing class in college, most of our models were guys (that experience is another journal entry unto itself .) I'm also really happy with the work that I did in that class.

I guess now that I've noticed this, I'll have to do something with a dude in it...just to prove that I can do it!

~~~~~~~~

I'd like to indroduce y'all to my friends:



This is the club that I'm in:

]]> ~angelfish1021 http://angelfish1021.deviantart.com/journal/8087606/ http://angelfish1021.deviantart.com/journal/8087606/ Mon, 06 Mar 2006 19:25:41 PST
When it came time to critique my painting, I explained my work while the professor and the rest of the class listened intently. Once I had finished talking, an intense silence followed as everyone studied my work and thought about what I had said. The usual criticism then came forth, which was to be expected, since it had been a while since I had done an oil painting. The colors were off, the composition was wrong, the details weren't fine enough... Whatever, I can handle criticism. Afterall, how can you improve when you don't know what you're doing wrong?

After my fellow classmates had spoken, my professor said something that shocked me. The one thing that she didn't like the most about the painting was that I had signed it. I found this odd because every art teacher that I've had stressed that I sign my work, so people know that it is mine. This was the first time that someone tried to discourage me from signing. What shocked me even more was that the rest of the class agreed with her. It ruins the picture, it's distracting, it's unnecessary... Needless to say, the rest of my work for that class went unsigned.

So, does anyone else have something to say about this? What do you guys think? To sign or not to sign, that is the question. ]]> ~angelfish1021 http://angelfish1021.deviantart.com/journal/8021515/ http://angelfish1021.deviantart.com/journal/8021515/ Mon, 27 Feb 2006 19:02:00 PST
I'm so glad that I found this site! Imagine that: a place where I can post my artwork and talk about it with other artists and art lovers. Brilliant! Why is it that I didn't get into this a long time ago? Oh, well...I'm here now.

I've been doing some browsing and I'm really surprised at how many talented people are out there. There are fourteen year olds out there (well, at least they say they're fourteen ) that are really turning out some awesome stuff. I couldn't pull of stuff that good when I was that age! I'm starting to feel a little inadequate here.

Well, hopefully I can get a little inspiration from the work that I'm seeing on here. I'm still trying to figure out things on this site, but I think I'm learning everything pretty quickly. All I can say is check my site often, because I'll be adding pics to my gallery quite often! ]]> ~angelfish1021