You sit in the quad, and think, "Oh my God! I am totally gonna go far!"

Quad Couple preview
Originally uploaded by tallychyck

No innuendo intended :P

New painting, "Quad Couple" up on Flickr and available for purchase on E-Bay.

And now, now that you're gone, I will go on really believing

UP was delightful. I saw it this morning with my friend Kayla, since, apparently, children's movies don't have midnight premiers. :P Between us, we have enough enthusiasm for Pixar to form our own fan club. We both squealed at the film's clever humor, fast pace, and fun designs. And I may or may not have cried. T-twice... There was an old man watching with his wife a couple of rows behind us who sobbed several times. I thought it was sweet. I feel like Pixar doesn't try to trick audiences into emotional responses; everything feels necessary to the film and natural in its context. Definitely a must-see! I don't consider it Pixar's best movie, but that's only because they have set the bar so high. It's kind of a given at this point that the animation will be impeccable and innovative. On the negative side, though, I would have liked another half hour of movie, and perhaps a second human living in the S.A. jungle to bump into. And what the heck was up with mentioning a cool labyrinth and then never seeing it?!
I loved the characters, the idea of the floating house, and several of the issues about growing old addressed in the movie. I didn't even care that there wasn't a main female character for most of the movie--it was so well rounded that I didn't notice any absence. And okay, I absolutely adore Russel. Cutest human character they've ever made.

And apparently there's a Toy Story 3 coming out next summer?!!!!


Gave myself a little grammar refresher on 'lie' and 'lay', which I mix up all the time...http://wvde.state.wv.us/tt/2002/grammartips/grammartip0014.html

Underneath the swirling skies for all to see

I'z paintin.

One day I'll come back if the door's still open

Adorable!


I finally filled my spring wardrobe holes (sandals, shorts, a summer dress, and a summer jacket). My mom was really kind and gave me the same budget that she gave my brothers (even though I should be able to afford my own clothes at this age...not having an income hurts!). I found some really cute clothes I'll post pictures of it I can muster the energy. :) Forever 21, you are still my crack.

How was your Memorial Day weekend? Mine was great -- I went to central Oregon with my family and had a flashback Nourigat family vacation a la 1995. We swam, fished, rode bikes, visited family, sunbathed, hot tubbed under the stars, and had a few lazy, outdoorsy days together. I had to stay in the notorious 'Spider Room', which my brother Nick and I trade off on each vacation. It has never reclaimed its former glory since one winter vacation, when we arrived at the house to find that a spider had hatched its eggs in the room since our last trip. There were fast, black spiders everywhere. Ick! Though I'm pretty sure there was only one in the room this weekend, I had the unfortunate experience of it dropping from the ceiling onto my shoulder. x___x Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah! Damn Spider Room...

I am still working hard on school and art. I have less than 2 weeks of school remaining, then final tests, putting me home mid-June. With only 13 credits, this term has been a guilty pleasure. I enjoy all of my classes, and have no excuse to not do my homework. I'm 'that nerd' in my Japanese lit class this term. Seriously. Last week, while our teacher was talking to someone else, a classmate turned to me and a few neighbors and laughed sarcastically, "I love this class. No, really, this is my favorite class." In my head, I was like, "I...I actually look forward to this class all week..." xD Wednesdays are hard because I know I have 6 days left until it meets again!

On the art front, I have a long to-do list of maintenance on existing projects and a (possibly longer?) list of new projects. I have a couple of minicomics I'd like to do for the Portland Zine Symposium in July, an anthology story, a fun/experimental project, and possibly another story for freelance (which will take precedence if it materializes). There's my watercolor project and my thesis comic for next year, too. Time passes so quickly -- I really have to jump on these things before I find myself with a full summer schedule! Oddly, I think that these last school weeks might be more relaxed than my summer will be. :P Must draw while I still have access to nice scanners and printers!!!

Another big thing still on my mind is summer work. There is yardwork, paperwork, and house fixup for my generous dad, and there may still be hope for a 9-5 job, but I would love to make a profit from art this summer. We'll have to see whether or not I can a) make enough good new stuff and b) find a market for it.

Get it on! Get it on! Get it on! Nothing to fear

It was SO HOT in Eugene this weekend!! I was sticking to my desk so badly, I had to give in to the impulse to go for a walk by the Willamette and laze around on the lawn with a book. It's great to need sunglasses and shorts again.

If I have learned one thing about myself as an artist this year, it's that I thrive on deadlines. Creativity honestly comes easiest when I know exactly how much time I have, and it looks challenging. To tap into that drive for my summer projects, I've calculated approximately how many units of work each project requires (about an hour each...units of work could be "scan a page" or 2 units of work for "pencil a page"), and the total for all projects. Then, I can divide the units of work remaining by the days remaining and set a daily goal to get everything done. A little OCD, but excellent for my motivation. I love the feeling of racing or 'beating' a daily goal. Right now, the daily goal is 4 units of work, so I inked one page (2 units) and penciled one (2 units). Now I'm going to smack that daily goal down with another ink! >:D

I've been job-searching more fervently as we reach the one-month-till-summer mark. I applied for 2 receptionist jobs this weekend, and have considered a wide variety of other jobs while cruising Craigslist. Dental hygienist, waiter, bartender, graphic artist, painter...ice cream truck driver??

Yup. I could be that creeper handing you or your kid a choco-taco this summer. :P


I don't really mind what I do, but I'd like to know what I'm doing before too long!

Nick's Birthday_color

Nick's Birthday_color
Originally uploaded by tallychyck

Finished watercolor image:

If you didn't notice boy you meant everything

Nick's Birthday_ink
Originally uploaded by tallychyck

I've been playing around with brush inking this month, and have decided on a new project to help me learn: I'm going to attempt to recreate 5-20 of my favorite old photos with waterproof ink and brushes, and then watercolor them. Ideally, this will help me learn 4 things I could use practice on (anatomy, environments, brush inking, and watercolor), and be a very fun time, too! Who doesn't love reliving happy old moments?

This recreation is from a photo of my little brother Nick's 10th birthday, with my little little brother Neil making a great face (Are they not adorable??):


Oh hey, third benefit I just thought of: I'll be ahead on Christmas presents!! xD;