Category: Miscellaneous

I Painted a Landscape!

April 25, 2021

KLS’s work sent us a canvas and paints. It was to be used in conjunction with an online relaxation event but we were unable to attend due to another obligation. Regardless, I wasn’t going to let that canvas go to waste.

I decided to paint an Australian landscape! Lots of orange and yellow and red then, with a bright blue sky? Let’s see…

I’m not sure what kinds of paints these were, but they had strong fumes so weren’t watercolour. I’m an impatient artist so I applied them alla prima; if they mixed I fixed it as I went along.

I worked quickly, layering on colour after colour trying to reproduce the hues of my homeland. The brushes were flimsy and fell apart as I used them, and I became slightly high on the paint fumes.

I had trouble with the setting sun due to how I was applying the paints. But there’s no mistakes in art, so I forged on. I would revisit this part of the painting many times before it was complete…

The shrubbery was compromised by my brushes. Even the most talented artist in the world would have struggled here. I did my best.

And then, after about an hour of intense work, I was complete. Here’s the finished work compared to the reference image I had used:

You can’t see in the photo but the gray is slightly metallic and reflective. It lends the darker sky in the top right an ethereal quality. Also I’m particularly proud of my detail on Uluru:

This masterpiece is not for sale, and is indeed already proudly displayed alongside another of my pieces. It lets guests know they are walking into a talented home:

Ten Places I’d Like To Visit

April 9, 2021

Adam had a great idea for a blog post: both of us listing (in 50 words or less) ten places we’d love to visit. This post contains mine; read his list here.

The Bay Of Fundy in the southeastern corner of Canada is known for delicious seafood and some of the biggest tidal surges in the world. We were going to go last year before covid changed our plans, and once the borders reopen it’s high on our agenda.

There’s many good reasons to visit New Zealand, but ever since I saw them on TV as a child I’ve wanted to visit Waitomo Glowworm Caves. Imagine an ‘underground’ boat trip lit only by worms! That’s magic 🙂

The Isle Of Wight off the south coast of England has the worlds largest wild kangaroo population outside of Australia. It’s also a popular tourist destination with sunny beaches, tourist activities and natural beauty aplenty. I’ll go one day for sure.

Selecting a single destination in Switzerland was difficult but in the itinerary I made for our intended trip Zermatt was the destination I was most looking forward to. The reasons for canceling that trip seem silly now post-covid so maybe I’ll visit one day after all?

Arashiyama Bamboo Grove in Kyoto barely needs an explanation. Of everything on this list, this may be the first one I visit.

Speaking of Japan, I’ve always wanted to visit Okinawa! I hardly need to explain my love of Japan, and I think of this as ‘Japan’s Hawaii’ so naturally I’d love to see it for myself.

I’ve always been interested in the Mediterranean Riviera and while France is an obvious destination I’ve already been there so the picturesque Portofino is a natural alternative. I’ve made so many jigsaws of this place, and I’ve always wondered what it would be like to visit…

Gundam Factory is a brand new (in 2020) attraction in Yokohama Japan that I absolutely positively will visit. I guarantee you’ll read about it on this very blog when I do 🙂

Tasmania has always held a strange fascination to me, and ever since Bernard offered to chauffeur me around in a rented luxury car Hobart has jumped to the top of my ‘Oz capital to visit next’ list! I bet I’ll get sick on the ferry though…

We’ve been to the northernmost point of England, and ever since I’ve wanted to hit the southernmost point – Lands End – as well. It’s a tourist trap for sure, but they also have the southernmost post office on England so I can buy postcards and send them from right there!

And there you have it: ten locations, at least 8 of which I hope to visit within the next five years. Which ones sound most interesting to you?

Let’s Go Sith!

April 5, 2021

I made this:

It’s one of many new mosaic kits that LEGO has released. You can assemble one of three images, and I chose Darth Maul.

The instructions say to assemble the mosaic separately as nine tiled pieces with 256 studs apiece, but since this would require having all 12 colours going simultaneously I instead chose to do it by colour.

This way I saw it slowly come together as I worked, and I think I felt this method is much quicker than what the instructions suggest.

To be honest it wasn’t exactly fun, especially when I got to black. I had to place 877 of these identical black studs one at a time! My fingertips were aching when I was done!

All told it took a few hours over two days. Given the tedium of assembly and the (presumed) greater tedium of dismantling it I very much doubt I’ll ever make the other two designs!

It’s bigger and heavier than I expected (but does come with brackets for wall mounting) but looks good from a distance. It would have looked better using the smaller flat pieces rather than studs, but I can see why they avoided that since it would have made disassembly extremely difficult.

Overall it’s more of a curiosity that a success. I don’t think I’ll be buying any more of these, but it does make me more interested in designing a mosaic of my own…

Robot Claw