Thursday, October 10, 2019

Pencil #1:

When I first sat down to brainstorm about what I was going to do, art wise, in October, I already knew I wasn’t going to participate in Inktober. I wanted to work in pencil instead of ink, and I wanted to get them done before October. And that’s what I ultimately decided on. Note: I’m not posting these in order, so I know the dates on the pictures aren't in chronological order.



The first drawing I worked on is called Halloween in a Bottle for $5.99. The idea behind it is along the lines of being able to buy a little bit of Halloween that’s, of course, in a bottle. You can see some of the early sketches I did for it. There are some pretty big difference between where the idea began, and where it ended up. Originally, there was supposed to be a bow, but then I scrapped that idea in favor of the box. And the box went from being simple and clear to decorative.

What are you working on this October?


Wednesday, October 9, 2019

Review: Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman

38886181. sy475 Title: Neverwhere
Series: n/a
Author: Neil Gaiman
Source/Format: Borrowed from the library; hardcover
More Details: Fantasy
Publisher/Publication Date: BBC Books; September 16, 1996

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Synopsis from Goodreads...
Under the streets of London there's a place most people could never even dream of. A city of monsters and saints, murderers and angels, knights in armour and pale girls in black velvet. This is the city of the people who have fallen between the cracks. Richard Mayhew, a young businessman, is going to find out more than enough about this other London. A single act of kindness catapults him out of his workday existence and into a world that is at once eerily familiar and utterly bizarre. And a strange destiny awaits him down here, beneath his native city: Neverwhere....
Neverwhere is one of those books I kept saying I was going to read, but I never got around to it until now. The story was an excellent blend of a time period thoroughly entrenched in a modern time and fantasy elements. It was urban, gritty, and magical all at the same time. And it reminded me a little of Narnia and Alice in Wonderland. Although, it wasn’t a world at the back of a wardrobe, or an odd place following its own rules—or lack of rules—found at the bottom of a hole. No, Neverwhere was set in a place that was closer than anyone would have expected. It was another London, or as it was called in the story, London Below. There was so much I enjoyed about Neverwhere. I guess it was just my kind of story.

Richard Mayhew was a protagonist who, at first, lived a safe and comfortable life. He was a young businessman, and he was in a stable relationship with Jessica, his fiancée. That all changed when he met Door by chance one day. As the synopsis states “there are people who fall through the cracks,” and Richard does indeed become one of them. And when his good deed backfired on him, it was interesting how he handled himself now that his life was irrevocably changed for the worse. I liked the characters in Neverwhere. I don’t want to say too much about the secondary characters, but I have to at least mention Door. Door was a delightful character, and my only regret is that the rest of her family didn’t have a chance to appear on page. Door’s specific ability—a trait known to her family—was one of my favorite aspects about her character.

London Below was such a fascinating place to read about. Like Wonderland, London Below was a mysterious place that followed its own rules. There was a way of life down there, an order to things. So all manner of people and animals and monsters and angels—places seemingly outside of time or reality—existed right below the streets of London. I’m not going to lie, it was kind of awesome.

The story was great and atmospheric. There was action, and there was always a sense of danger to the situations the characters ended up in and the places they went. There was an element of cat-and-mouse to the story: a chase that spanned from the beginning to the end. Speaking of the end, it was open-ended in a way, but I was still satisfied with the conclusion of the story.

So far, Neverwhere is one of the best books I’ve read so far this year. And here I thought Coraline would be hard to beat as my favorite book by Gaiman, but I was wrong.

Monday, October 7, 2019

Music Monday (92): Tove Lo

   Rules:
  • Music Monday is a weekly meme hosted by Lauren Stoolfire at Always Me that asks you to share one or two songs that you've recently enjoyed. For the rules, visit the page HERE 
Breana: I’m currently listening to Tove Lo’s new album, Sunshine Kitty. It was one of my most anticipated albums of 2019, and it didn't disappoint. One of my favorite songs from it is Are U Gonna Tell Her? featuring MC Zaac.



Friday, October 4, 2019

Sunshine Kitty by Tove Lo

Sunshine Kitty, Tove Lo’s fourth studio album, was released on September 20th. Out of everything I was looking forward to this year, it was my most anticipated album release of 2019 and the one I had the highest expectations for. I mean, the lead singles, Glad He’s Gone and Bad As The Boys, were excellent hints at what to expect from the rest of the album. In that regard, Sunshine Kitty delivered. I loved it. I liked every track from the album, which is a thing I rarely get to say, but in this case it’s true. What I liked most about Sunshine Kitty was the difference in the tone and sound of the music from earlier releases, like Lady Wood (2016) and Blue Lips (2017). However the same quality as the previous albums was also present here. It was electropop through and through, and it was undoubtedly an album by Tove Lo. There were also a number of songs with features on this album with artist like ALMA, Jax Jones, MC Zaac, Kylie Minogue, and Doja Cat. They were all excellent choices, and their collaborations were some of my top favorite songs from Sunshine Kitty—such as Equally Lost featuring Doja Cat, Bad As The Boys featuring ALMA, and Are U Gonna Tell Her? featuring MC Zaac. From start to finish, Sunshine Kitty was great. It was a solid album. And I’m looking forward to Tove Lo’s next project.

Have you listened to music by Tove Lo? Are you planning to listen to Sunshine Kitty?

Wednesday, October 2, 2019

Quarterly Recap: July-September

Well, it's time for another Quarterly Recap. The year is definitely flying by, and it feels like it hasn’t been that long since I last sat down to compile a list of links for a Quarterly Recap. However, October is here, and I finally have a legitimate excuse to rewatch all of my favorite Halloween themed movies. It's also been hot lately, and I have my fingers crossed that cooler weather is on the way.
July Reviews:
  • n/a

August Reviews:

September Reviews:
Other July Posts:

Other August Posts:

Other September Posts:
Looking ahead, I have some Halloween themed art posts that’ll be up on the blog later in the month. I also have a post about Tove Lo’s new album, Sunshine Kitty. It’ll be on the blog this Friday. As far as books, I had a couple of reviews ready since August, which kept the blog active during September. So I had time to pick up a couple of spooky/horror novels in preparation for October—books like Dead Voices by Katherine Arden (sequel to Small Spaces) and the Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman. The reviews for them will be on the blog later in the month.

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