So...
Here again, another long and lonely night.
Marnie is asleep, and I'm trying to be productive, but not much has happened on this blank piece of paper except for the odd circle here and there... Who am I kidding? I been surfing porn for the last half hour hahaha!

Not much has happened since I last updated really... Just average stuff, nothing life changing or you would've heard about it already.
I could probably count things that I've achieved or done on 1 hand. Maybe 2 if I really think.
Anyhoo, here goes:

1. Finished Batman:Arkham Asylum. In 3 days. Found all the Riddler's challenges and everything. No cheats. 84% complete though. I suck at freeform fighting combos.

2. Finished Ghostbusters. Took abit longer, I think like, 5 days? Great game. I wanna see a movie now. A NEW movie.

3. Finished drawing up my tattoo. It's gonna go on my left arm starting from my shoulder down to maybe below my elbow. Fucking lovely.

4. Applied for a new job. Thanks Ryan! No reply yet though. Still haven't done up a new portfolio for 2009 yet. fingers crossed anyway.

5. Seriously thought about getting a Tattoo Apprenticeship. The guy doing my tattoo recommended it. Might even help me find one. Methinks I'm to old to work for free for 2 or more years though, I gots rent to pay, and my mouth to feed.

wow, 2nd hand....

6. My best friend got engaged. I'm the best man. Makes me think its about time I take my 9 year relationship seriously and propose to my girlfiend. We're practically married anyways.

7. My best friend's brother got engaged. Him and his fiance have been going out for 9 years. Now it's really time to take my 9 year relationship seriously and propose to my girlfiend.

8. My search for a job as an illustrator is getting a bit desperate. I am starting to lose hope. Bumped into a few old mates who've all said to me 'Don't give up mate, keep trying, God gave you a talent.' To me, talent don't mean shit if people won't hire you. It then becomes a curse because you end up old, bitter and somewhat deluded. 'yeah, I can get a job drawing pictures.' obviously not, 'cos I'm still working my shit job, slowly dying inside.

9. I built a new studio. From scratch. This includes the extension of my desk, a nice set of shelves, and drawing table with built in light box. cost me around $700 to build. timber is expensive, perspex too, plus I bought some power tools. Needed a project to keep myself busy, my girlfriend says it would been cheaper to buy new furniture. I told her that BUYING new furniture is not as rewarding as MAKING new furniture. she then rolled her eyes. Jesus was a carpenter.

10. Bought my dad a whipper-snipper for Father's Day. dickhead almost killed himself trying to get it started. It's supposed to be easy-start. haha. Me and dad don't really talk much. I'm a failure and he is a loser.

huzzah!! on to the feet...

11. ummmm... scraped the barrel already, can't think of aything else.. thats done then!

Anyways, hope my somewhat uneventful life made you feel a little better about yourself, if only for a moment...If it didn't, then your life is probably much sadder and more uneventful than mine, you poor miserable bastard.

So yeah, been awhile but not too long I hope, slowly getting back on track, working on a new portfolio that I plan on submitting to everyone I can think of. Hopefully by the new year I'll be working in some kind of illustration job, I'm seriously not fussy, it's just about time I got a real job instead of slinging 900+ coffees a day for cranky passengers who could either have SARS or swine flu and would love nothing more than to inflict their holiday woes on me. Boo frickity hoo, you're going on holidays and your flight has been delayed for 2 hours. I've considered going postal so many times but due to lack of energy and my somewhat apathetic nature my customers are saved...for another day. BWAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAAHAH !!!

Anyhoo, enough rambling. Here's what has happened since I last updated.

- I finished Fallout 3.

- I aced Freak on a Leash in Guitar Hero World Tour on Expert. On drums.(seriously wasn't that hard)

- I turned 27.(my childhood keeps getting buried deeper and deeper with each passing day)

- I put on Lay-By a new 52" LED Samsung TV(only $5000 more to go!! hahaha)

- I discovered you can rent movies on iTunes, and I finally watched the Big Lebowski, The Thing and Monty Python and the Holy Grail. haha coconuts.

- I sat on my iPod Nano and smashed the stupid screen with my fat arse but got it replaced with an iTouch on my birthday which I will probably also smash with my fat arse.

- After 10 years of being on a Learners driving license, I finally decided to go for my Provisionals with only a month to spare before my L's expire, making my hours go from 50hrs minimum driving experience to 120. Screw that, I've done 29 in 2 and a half weeks and I only got 9 days to get another 21. My girlfriend has been ever so inspiring with her negative comments.

- I've spent almost $3000 on driving lessons when it should be going towards my new TV, the NEC LCD monitor I want or maybe even an engagement ring for my girlfriend/wife-to-be. Did I mention we've been together for 9 years? Scratch that, I need a new computer. haha

Welll.... this list could probably go on and on, but I gotta stop myself, these are pretty fun to write, I'm glad I didn't go all emo on this one, those kind of journal entries shit me. Take some Panadol, emos!

Also, still considering weather to go to Supanova this year or not....I probably won't. I like being a comic nerd wthout flaunting it - 'cos seriously there's nothing to be proud about really. I don't have any comic portfolio to show to any artists there anyways.

Time for another update, but I gotta say though, not much has been happening.

I had the same ol' epiphany today, didn't get the job I was going for, feeling somewhat melancholy if not enlightened.

My work I guess wasn't realistic enough, and I've spent the last few days working on realism and getting nowhere which is really depressing but I've realised yet again I feel crap 'cos I'm trying to pretty much fit a round peg in a square hole.

Being the age I am now (26 turning 27), I'm a bit more set in my ways and I keep having to remind myself that instead of changing to new styles I should just try to incorporate other styles into my 'own' style. It's a lot less tolling on my brain and I can still crank out semi-decent stuff while I experiment.

Anyways, pretty much the most important lesson I've learnt in all my years of drawing is:

It's alot easier to be yourself and amble along than trying to be someone else and fail.

or

It's easier to sell yourself when you know what you are selling.

or

Don't tell people you know Zac Efron when you don't.

Just a quick update - part of my new 'ro-active' attitude. haha

Been busy lately, but more work related than art related, which kinda sucks but still managing to get some work done. I don't know how much more of making coffee I can take, I've been doing barista work for over 8 years now so I can most likely get a cafe job anywhere but who wants to make coffee for the rest of their lives? plus its bad for your kidneys.

Anyways, things are kinda cruising by at a steady pace, doors are still closing but windows are opening, I'm hoping to find a decent job soon before I stab out my eyes with a teaspoon.

So...

I went to the NIN concert in sydney the other night.

It.
Was.
Awesome.

Some real inspirational stuff, made me think of my approach to my illustrations and sketches and how great things can be made from simple stuff.

Has anyone heard Ghosts I-IV??

I was a bit apprehensive about it at first but that thing is pretty much the audio equivalent of a sketchbook.

Get some Trent Reznor into ya. You know you wants to.

Anyways, got me thinking... I started a kindof textural phase while I was at Enmore College that kinda stemmed from listening to a lot of NIN and stumbling upon brit concept artist Lee Carter's work. I was liking where it was going but I stopped. I think I had a bit of trouble making it my own but I really enjoyed the work that came out of it. Some of it may be in the gallery, I do remember it looking kinda shit, but it had potential. Anyways, I am hoping to incorporate in some form into future works, currently working on random stuff now.

I wanna feel like a polished, well thought out sketchbook.