Exciting Xena News

Dynamite Comics has confirmed they will be producing new Xena Comics.  I'm very excited about this for more than one reason.
     First off, new Xena storylines by one of my favorite comics companies. They did some Xena as well as Xena vs. Ash (Evil Dead) back in the early 2000s, but the art was a little to T & A and the stories didn't feel authentically Xena. It was a good try though.  I really feel many of these companies are starting to catch on to what matters in a property now, so I'm very hopeful.
      I think this fandom is really going to make Xena happen. Nerdist, Huffpo, and numerous other entertainment and media outlets are reinforcing the hard work of Xenites to reunite the Warrior Princess & her Bard. A new comic series will just boost that even more.
     The recent disaster of the "Jem & the Holograms" movie is a clear signal to studios that fans no longer accept reboots or other reimaginings in name only. It must be true to the source material and the people working on it have to understand it, otherwise it will fail.  It will fail hard. Money will be lost. Let's hope both Dynamite Comics as well as NBCUniversal understand this and have been paying attention.

Painting & Fighting

I'm painting. I've been painting. It's been difficult.  I've lost much of my motor memory. I've forgotten how to see clearly. I get tired more quickly.  I'm not 25 anymore.  I'm not even 39. 
     Resistance is an interesting thing.  It takes many forms. I regret nothing though.  Getting out of the machine saved my life.  Finding my rhythm has required more patience than I had estimated.
    This is real.  I am doing art. All day if I want. It's amazing. Also, terrifying.  I was so used to being efficient & scheduled.  Art is neither.  Being professional is. Being a freelance artist requires a balance of the two.
      I'm still falling down now & then, but I'm getting back up every time.   I get scared sometimes.  Scared that I've lost some intangable thing I had before I entered the machine.  Scared that something broke inside of me. I know that just resistance lying to me.
     I've met some goals. I've had to reassess some things.  I have to keep telling myself that art is a real job.  I just have to keep moving forward.  I sleep too much. It's part of the resistance.   That and I was really, really, really tired. It's 3:38 am. I'm painting. Tomorrow I will paint again.
     Art is a real job.

Studio

Finally, the studio is a studio again.  My depression and chronic stress from the horrible job I was stuck in is in the past.  I'm a full-time artist now. 

This year has been amazing.  Things just fell together. 

I work 15 hrs at an Art Museum just to cover my benefits, but other than that, all the rest of my time is time to create.

T & I have switched some responsibilities around.  I now do all the grocery shopping.  It's been nice.  I can go during the day when the stores aren't crowded.  This has reduced T's stress as well.  No more fighting to get to and thru the store right after work.

I will start posting here more often now.

Cheers!

The Gingerbread slug

T & I made gingerbread cookies.  I made a Gingerbread Slug with the leftover dough.

Happy New Year - 2015

Well, here we are.  2015.  The year of awesome things to come.  New Star Wars film, new Avengers film, new job as a Graphic Designer, my first full year of my 40's. 

Day one is cold and overcast with a chance of ice and possibly some snow later this weekend.  

I'm happy to be sitting in a toasty warm house with someone who loves me and two warm pups.  I had a nice hot bath and a nice filling lunch.  I pre-salted the front porch and driveway,  raked up leaves around our newer little Blue Princess Holly shrubs, and built a mound of leaves just for the pups. 

T and I prepared Gingerbread dough, which is chilling right now, in order to bake cookies later tonight.

Mmmm...fresh Gingerbread.

T starts her first real teaching gig in less than two weeks.   A College instructor.  She's a badass lady. 

Xena Con, the last one EVER, is a little less than two months away.  I'm already nervous and excited. 

I got an adorable Hello Kitty card from my wonderful Japanese friend Kumi just yesterday to start the New Year off with a reminder of just how fortunate I am to have such wonderful, kind, and loving people in my life.

I hope you all have a fantastic 2015.

I can't wait to get back to the gym and really push myself there as well as pushing myself to create, draw, or paint every single day. 

This it it folks.  Let's make it count and let's keep it positive. 

Love.