I quit smoking weed two weeks ago — which means 90% of what I see on instagram has become videos from stoners talking about how great smoking is. Thanks, algorithm!

Weeknotes #2

Updating to the latest version of Kirby caused one of the plugins I use to help create custom post types to fail — rendering me entirely unable to create a new post as long as the plugin was installed. That was a fun little head-scratcher, …

Going to the movies on Christmas Day is something of a tradition in my family. I couldn’t be with them this year, but my partner and I stuck to the tradition and went to see Avatar: The Way of Water tonight. The movie is pretty, obviously, and it’s perfectly fine, as movies go, but we absolutely need to stop pretending like 3+ hours is an acceptable runtime for a movie.

A black and white oil painting of a girl wearing a pearl necklace lifting a bowl up to her head

Painted Dec 19, 2022. 8x10 oil on primed paper.

I'm still trying out different approaches for these sketchbook pieces — this one started with a grid drawing, then I basically painted from darkest to lightest. Working in just black and white helps me focus on value, which can be difficult for me. I did run into some trouble with overworking, especially around the eyes, and kept ending up with too much paint in areas that needed to be adjusted further, but I think I got close enough in the end.

Meant to be travelling in a couple of days, but still waiting to make sure the flight isn’t cancelled due to weather. This is not a fun waiting game.

Snow covers the ground leading up to the edge of a sea wall, and benches along the path. The ocean beyond is dark and the sky is grey, making the entire image seem to be monochromatic

A view from my morning walk with Zeus. I don’t like this weather, but it can make for a decent photograph, I suppose.

A black and white oil painting of a hand reaching out over a landscape of rolling hills

Oil, 8x10

I wasn't sure if I was going to end up going over this with a coloured glaze but in the end I think the grayscale works. I wanted to capture the way the light is sort of dancing across the fingers. Happy with this one!

Grabbing the handle of a saucepan, barehanded, when it’s fresh out of a 400 degree oven, will hurt. A lot. For hours. Ask me how I know!