curious caribou

Hello readers of my blog. I’ve been chatting with friends, family, and colleagues lately about mental health in autumn. I’ve come to the conclusion that A LOT of people I know start to feel blue during this time of year- which is funny because a lot of the same people quite enjoy autumn. Autumn is such a rich season that tickles many of the senses. You have the bright colours, the sound of crunching leaves, and the smell of decay so to speak. Its fantastic. But it also heralds the oncoming of winter.

Here in Canada the winter season gets a very mixed response from those of us who endure. We become a bit of a winter wonderland but we also lose our daylight. I swear more than half this country suffers from season depression, it’s crazy.

I’m not entirely sure what point I’m leading to right now. I suppose I just want to highlight how weird and difficult things are in my circle right now- especially in my personal life. There has been a lot of change and I’ve been dealing with challenges that are entirely new to me. However, I’m happy to say that I’ve been able to find the time for creativity and fun.

In September I decided I wanted to try painting again. The occasion was my dad’s birthday. He has always appreciated and handmade gift over something store bought and it had been AGES since I had taken a crack at painting. Due to various factors I have been burnt out of art for what feels like over 10 years. I haven’t been able to summon the necessary passion to create, and when I did try it never felt right. The year has been particularly kind to me: I am the best I’ve been mentally in 15 years. I have a newfound drive to do things for myself and to even follow through with the projects start. I have a newfound passion/interest in Indigenous art and culture. I have developed a connection with the natural world that at times is begging to be channeled through my actions. A multitude of doors have opened to me. All of these factors have come together to help me create a piece for my dad titled: “Meet me at Botany Bay.”

I started with a quick and sloppy sketch to lay down the bones. Everything is inspired by a picture I took this summer at Botany Bay, even the raven was a guest appearance when we enjoyed our sightseeing.

From here I tackled each section individually. I started with rocks in the foreground and then moved onto the rocks and trees in the background. There were a couple of things I had to redo and at times I wanted to just paint over and start again. I think walking away for the day is one of the best things I can do for my artistic process. I get a bit overwhelmed and my eyes get very tired of the same image over and over. Things start to look bland or blur together and my judgment gets a bit hazy.

Here is the finished product:

At the end of the day I am really pleased with my creation. Was my dad? I hope so. I don’t think he or my mom will ever understand what I poured into this painting. So much of my raw emotion and heart are contained here and when I see my painting I feel like it’s an extension of myself. I doubt they could ever appreciate my work like I do, just as they could never appreciate ME like I do.

My artistic journey didn’t come to a full stop after this point. I have since worked on smaller and more lighthearted projects: making collage magnets at a craft night, painting a craft pumpkin (with my favourite Tamagotchi characters) and also practicing my figure sketching. The figure sketching is really fun because I use a website (Line of Action) and set the images to a 2 minute timer. That means I get 2 minutes to try and sketch down my reference and then it swaps to the next. The time limit really helps to reduce the pressure of perfection. Instead you’re just trying your best to get the basics down before it swaps. Next time I do my figure sketching I think it would be funny to have some Mario Kart music playing in the background.

I don’t have any images of my pumpkin to insert (boo I know) But I will share some of sketches below.

Lots of fun!

As for the craft night magnets: all we did was vandalize books and magazines and modgepodge them onto magnet sheets. The results were fantastic and it’s definitely a repeat craft night idea.

I’m definitely due for another craft night! I miss my rotten soldiers.

That is the extent of my artistic updates. I think I will do another painting in the near future, but I couldn’t tell you when. As you know I also like to throw in some other hobby updates so I will move on to that now.

In the reading department I have nothing to report (yet) but I have been doing a bit of gaming this autumn. I’m actually happy to report that last night I completed the main Astrobot campaign. Astrobot is easily my game of the year and I can’t wait to talk more about it during my discord groups “Year End Awards”. I even cried a bit at the ending which I’m glad my niece didn’t see. I’m a big time crybaby when it comes to finishing media that I really enjoy: regardless if its a good or bad ending. I just cry because I’m both happy and sad that the experience is done. Can I just say that Astrobot had the cutest and most creative end credits that I have experienced in a videogame?

Moving on: I’ve started dabbling with a few new games. My longest played one so far has to be Fields of Mistria. It’s still in early access but the content thats available is massive. I would say that FoM is like someone fixed every QOL issue in Stardew Valley and then added elements of magic and gave everything an old school anime makeover. It’s been a great little adventure so far. I look forward to its 1.0 release next year 🙂

Other things I feel worth mentioning today: I’m absolutely obsessed with Vergil from DMC. DMC isn’t even a new franchise to me, and Vergil isn’t a new face or anything. I think I’m just at an age and time in my life where I can finally appreciate him. Having a fictional husband is the bee knees. There is no better feeling in life than being really into something. Along with Vergil I have also picked back up my interest in Webkinz (we are SO back baby) and a very premature interest in how I will be decorating my house for the Christmas season. Finally: my lovely niece has been doing my bidding and playing Spyro 1 for my entertainment. I may have also promised her 1k towards her college tuition but truthfully if she beats the game in full, but I would give her that money regardless of Spyro’s involvement. Don’t tell her!

There’s a lot of really good things going on in my life right now. I’m prone to fall into fits of melancholia so I want to always remind myself how fun I can make life. You truly get out what you put in, and I’m putting in the most insane (but good) vibes. Lets embrace our cringe and chaos together Dear Readers. At the end of the day we are just a bunch of nerves and a brain piloting a flesh vessel. Life is NOT that serious.

As Tigger says: TTFN!