Lovely Dining With You

Early in 2014 my friend Matt decided to move to Tampa. In the months that followed we would make plans to meet. We would normally catch up over lunch and I always took photos. 

Thrilled at Einstein Bagels.

Trying to find peace at Bikkuri Sushi.

Avoiding the paparazzi at Tijuana Flats.

Trapped in my apartment.

Trying to enjoy a hamburger at Checkers somewhere in Seffner after coming to rescue me from the highway after one of my tires exploded. 

Remarkably, after all this, he still agrees to meet up with me.

The Bet

Back in high school I took an art class with a friend who was a very devoted fan of anime. I love the human form. I was always interested in people and how to capture everything from their powerful movements to subtle gestures. I would argue with my friend that although most anime was very detailed it often lacked the intricacies of anatomy. 

My friend was offended at my statement. "Yeah, well I bet you couldn't even draw anime" 

"Are you serious?" I boasted "Of course I can!" 

I borrowed one of his manga comic books called Oh My Goddess! and set to work. 

Within a few days I produced this illustration featuring five of the main characters from the story. Two of the characters feet remain unfinished to this day. However, when I showed the drawing to my friend his jaw hit the floor.

"You're right" he conceded "You can draw it extremely well."

So far this remains my one and only attempt at drawing anime.

This self-induced project born out of a bet helped me realized that I could create anything with pencil and paper.

Skull Study

Recently I had gone through some of my old drawings and I found this: 

A study of a skull that I had done in college. It reminded me of how much I loved my drawing classes. The funny thing is that I have drawn that skeleton so many times I was sure I would be sick of it. But the truth is that I can only see it as a thing of beauty. The roundness of the cranium, the angles of the jaw, the way the cheek bone sticks out to define the face - it is structure and definition at its finest. 

Cloudy

"What a lovely day; there isn't even a cloud in the sky". 

What makes a cloudless day so perfect? 

That pleasant blue hue that hangs over us every day is a back drop for those ever changing clouds. 

The atmosphere is huge but the clouds are what gives it dimension. We would lose our grasp of how expansive our sky truly is without clouds. When you look at those gorgeous cumulonimbus clouds that look like giant piles of fluffy mashed potatoes you can see the way the sunlight and shadows gives it  such depth and texture. Like if you could somehow get close enough to touch it would be the most luxurious thing to grace your fingertips. Or the cirrus clouds at the very edges of the atmosphere. So far away and so delicate it is almost a wonder that they hold any shape at all. 

And then you have my favorite type of sky: a mixture of many forms. enormous fluffy clouds layered in front of swirling levels of altocumulus and cirrostratus. Then, looming off to the side is dark, all consuming rain cloud unleashing all of its water over some distant patch of land. All are moving at different rates depending on the wind and what place in the sky they hold. Some existing peacefully, others about to collide. From one perspective the clouds could look like an inviting day-dream; a weightless playground. Then you could turn your gaze upon a cloud that feels like the devil himself could be just on the other side and he is about to bring hell with him. 

The most beautiful days can be cloudy. You can be standing in one spot and see everything the weather has to offer. You can be grounded to this earth while a sky filled with clouds dances for you. 

Grounded: The Art of Looking Down (Part 8)

I was waiting to meet my friend Meghan outside of a Tijuana Flats for Taco Tuesday. I liked the way the rapidly diminishing sunlight was grazing the hoods of the park cars and bouncing off the gravel in the parking lot.

My bright pink sandals against the Tetris styled Publix bathroom tile floor. 

Standing in a park pavilion in downtown St.Petersburg. Those beautiful magenta petals had recently fallen off of the trees that surrounded the park. 

I was on my way to DRIP when I got caught in the rain. I took shelter at a nearby Bahama Breeze restaurant and enjoyed what little cover their awning provided.

Surprise Trip to the Beach

My boyfriend suggested we make the drive to the beach after I picked him up from work one evening. I was skeptical about the time frame but I liked the idea of adventure. We changed clothes and made our way down to Cocoa Beach. The weather had begun to get stormy but it made for some beautiful photos. 

To my right the fading sunlight lit up these plumes in the clouds. 

To my left the clouds turned fluorescent and seemed to mirror the waves as they rolled up to the shore.

A close up shot of this beautifully rosy sky. 

My boyfriend basking the the simultaneously calm and stormy nature of the beach. 

Vibrant Rainbow

I stepped outside my apartment to grab the laundry on a rainy evening and ended capturing a stunning rainbow. It was a perfect double rainbow that was facing the sun at dusk. The beautiful evening sky after the rain set the scene for a dramatic, almost glowing rainbow. The rapid sinking of the sun created an intense changing of colors in a matter of moments. All pictures below were taken over the course of approximately seven minutes. 

 Hands down, the most striking rainbow I have ever seen.