Still Here, Still Fighting

... Don't worry your pretty little faces, I am still here. I have been out of town, had my life put on hold by a stomach flu, etc. I am thiiiisss close to going to my local university to get my bachelors of fine art with a concentration in graphic design, and maybe a minor in creative writing. I have been emailing and calling and emailing about financial aid, a living situation, etc. So far I have next to no answers, but I have hope! I am so so close! No, this school is not my IDEAL art school, but at this point I think being strong means taking what I can get, and if it weren't for the fact that I may have to commute an hour one way everyday at first, I would be very happy. With my health issues, I know that's gonna be tough, but I don't really know how to give up on this, so, I will keep fighting.
      I just wish I could keep up with this blog in the mean time. I am trying my best to draw in-between all this madness, but I am not producing much that's worthy to put on here, to be perfectly honest. Mostly anatomy tutorials and gesture drawings, etc.
    But if you only knew! I have classes coming up soon! Classes! As in, I will have something to work on! Something to make me feel like I am making progress! I have been kind of stuck at home with health issues for two years now, feeling like I am getting nowhere. But, this lil artist still loves her art, and she isn't beaten yet. She has this foolish tendency to be obnoxious enough to have the audacity to keep going.
     Oh, yes, I get frustrated with the seemingly impossible task of finding money and a job and a living situation, but I can't help but hope that it's all getting very close now. Something is coming. Even if it takes its time arriving, whatever it is, I will always be here, and I am always looking for a way to do what I believe I should.
    I am so excited! Wish me luck, and of course, pray for me as I pray for you. You must be the most patient followers, and I do appreciate you. Very much.

P.S.
      Oh, and I am working on a story for Mouse and Dragon, and maybe Spider (Mouse is a kind of regular on my blog, when I actually blog, for those of you who don't know. Dragon and Spider aren't so much, but I love dragons, so, there you have it.) I have always thought they needed a story, and proper names, so now I am slowly slowly fabricating a world for them. I have no idea when it will be done, but if anything, I hope to finish something that I can at least illustrate a few scenes from someday.  

P.P.S.
        For a bit of added inspiration, here is an amazing speech given by Neil Gaiman on the making of art. Especially if you are an artist of some sort, click on this link. Keep making good art, no matter what.

For Girls

I found this comment on facebook on a post about dating and the like. I don't know who the guy is, and I tried to see if I could comment and ask permission to post, but I didn't find a way. I am sure he wouldn't mind me sharing his awesome comment.
    I have to wrestle with the culture and some girl friends on this issue who JUST WON'T BELIEVE me when I say 1) for heaven's sake be single and get to know Jesus for a while and attract a real guy who knows how to LOVE, and 2) there ARE such men out there. You've got to believe me. But how on earth do you plan on attracting someone better unless you yourself become better? Until you know what true love is? Yes, girls are wonderful crown jewels of creation, they are beautiful and special, etc- but they are fallen, come from dark places, and need to grow as well. And having a boyfriend who is bad for you will not help you grow. YOU have to grow on your own. You and Jesus do that. 

Photo courtesy of Felipa-de-Noailles/deviantart.

"On a similar note, I think it is so sad that there are people out there who think Chivalry is dead. Believe me it's not dead, you're just hanging out with the wrong guys. So many girls have had to settle, instead of waiting for the right guy who sweeps them off their feet. I know it's hard to be patient and wait for the perfect guy, and I understand you may think you'll wait forever. But when I meet the girl of my dreams, I don't want her to have dated every single guy on the football team. I can't begin to tell you how attractive it is when I learn that a girl has been single for a while because they haven't found Mr. Right. And don't get me started on guys who disgrace the male population. They are everywhere, and they honestly make my blood boil. Truth is there are a lot of awesome, Holy men out there too! They aren't usually the most good looking, but when it comes to being faithful and giving of themselves, they would sacrifice their life for the girl they love. And honestly, girls have lowered their expectations, and guys have become lazy and followed suit. Call it the media, the sexual revolution, or just the society we live in. But it shouldn't be that way, and I know there are plenty of men out there who agree with me. If a guy isn't treating you right, and he's not willing to do everything in his power to change ASAP, then he never will, especially not after marriage. Ditch his sorry butt, because chances are he's keeping you from meeting Mr. Right. And if that means you have to be single for a while, then BE SINGLE! Take the time to fall in love with Jesus, the perfect example of true love. Let Him romance you first, because only then will you be able to recognize true love when you see it. Don't settle, and don't waste your time chasing after guys you wouldn't marry, no matter HOW hot they are. If everyone took the time to fall in love with God first, and to wait for the person that He has picked out especially for you, we wouldn't need divorce in this country. Let God be your matchmaker. He won't lead you wrong :)"

Chesterton on Imagination....

Found on this website.

"...the first fact is that the most simple people have the most subtle ideas. Everybody ought to know that, for everybody has been a child. Ignorant as a child is, he knows more than he can say and feels not only atmospheres but fine shades. And in this matter there are several fine shades. Nobody understands it who has not had what can only be called the ache of the artist to find some sense and some story in the beautiful things he sees; his hunger for secrets and his anger at any tower or tree escaping with its tale untold. He feels that nothing is perfect unless it is personal. Without that the blind unconscious beauty of the world stands in its garden like a headless statue. One need only be a very minor poet to have wrestled with the tower or the tree until it spoke like a titan or a dryad. It is often said that pagan mythology was a personification of the powers of nature. The phrase is true in a sense, but it is very unsatisfactory; because it implies that the forces are abstractions and the personification is artificial. Myths are not allegories. Natural powers are not in this case abstractions. It is not as if there were a God of Gravitation. There may be a genius of the waterfall; but not of mere falling, even less than of mere water. The impersonation is not of something impersonal. The point is that the personality perfects the water with significance. Father Christmas is not an allegory of snow and holly; he is not merely the stuff called snow afterwards artificially given a human form, like a snow man. He is something that gives a new meaning to the white world and the evergreens, so that snow itself seems to be warm rather than cold. The test therefore is purely imaginative. But imaginative does not mean imaginary. It does not follow that it is all what the moderns call subjective, when they mean false. Every true artist does feel, consciously or unconsciously, that he is touching transcendental truths; that his images are shadows of things seen through the veil. In other words, the natural mystic does know that there is something there; something behind the clouds or within the trees; but he believes that the pursuit of beauty is the way to find it; that imagination is a sort of incantation that can call it up."
          - G.K. Chesterton, Everlasting Man

Have I Mentioned....

... That I love this man? I couldn't agree more.

I love how he uses The Birth of Venus. I myself have struggled with the nude form and the possibility that I might tempt viewers to lust by drawing/painting it- puritanism is a sneaky thing unfortunately. Once it gets it tentacles in you it can be hard to remove. It's one of those things that is like a tree root- nearly impossible to completely pull out. I have fought and read and prayed and fought and read and prayed. But finally, one day in Florence Italy, God struck a deadly blow, and I feel like own little Puritan Tree is dying of some disease. Funny, there are so many ways that beauty wounds and kills, but that is another topic.
    Anyway, that blow was this:

Botticelli's Birth of Venus

I never really cared for this painting before. But that was quickly remedied. In my semester abroad, I saw many lovely things- but some particularly struck me, and literally hurt me and left me breathless. This was one of them.
    That blow, and this one:

Michelangelo's David. Also in Florence.

I didn't get to sit and draw from The Birth of Venus. There were too many people in front of it! (Grrr!!!) But I did get to sit and draw The David for about 20 minutes. I will never forget those 20 minutes. Ever.

Mary and art and nudity will never be the same. Thank God.

I Have Been Busy Drawing Noses, Working on Commissions......

.... and reading Catholic blogs (a new favorite activity). 

And here is one.

Ugh, my very NAME is MARY and I love the feast of Our Lady of Sorrows and BOTH this year AND last year I MISSED it. I know Our Lady forgives me, and she is probably laughing at my distress now- but it does make me a bit frustrated. Anyway, I have linked to the BadCatholic blog before, and I think you should read the article linked above. Besides, he picked two VERY lovely paintings for the post (all things lead to art/the pictures!.... and Chesterton, Aquinas, Jane Austen, Tolkien, the Passion and Resurrection, and coffee.)

I am also reading The Hunger Games series. It's not bad, but it could be a lot better- I just find the dumbed down YA style and the ever going love triangle annoying. Ugh, I usually can hardly abide love triangles!

I have been working on my anatomy lessons as well. I will share some of them with you, because I think they are cool looking, even if with a touch of creepy- which only makes them cooler in the end.

Did you know your mouth had that many muscles? Fascinating.

The nose.

The Eye! Ugly thing ain't it?

    I also have a lovely friend who commissioned yet another artwork from me. I  have people asking for art fairly often, and this young lady gets me to do stuff for her more than anyone (which, regrettably, still isn't much)! I must love her. 

   Her commission will have one of these:

And one of these (yay!):

   I think that is quite enough links and photos and update for now. Keep a special friend in your prayers. God bless!

This Brings Me Much Joy....

.... and I hope it does for you as well. Absolutely fetching! Beautifully prepossessing! Aesthetically winsome! (ok, enough vocabulary practice.)

Click here! Click here!

Click on "archives" and enjoy. Thanks Emily.