The Pepper Tree

 

They said this was the worst year ever and I didn't believe them. Sure everyone's hopes and dreams in the whole world were being fed through the wood chipper, but I personally was more well off. I got a little bit of time off work for a while there, which allowed me to work on art projects which was nice. And I've been making more money and working less which is great because it means more time to work on art projects. All in all its been a good (although not great) year for me working on art projects.

Certainly the evils of this year outweigh the good, but for me personally it had been a good year.

And then the neighbors across the street cut down the pepper tree. It was probably a couple hundred years old and it had been there my entire life for me. Every time I looked out the window there was an ocean of flowing green as whatever wind there was flowed through it. But some people, like Mordor Orcs, cannot abide beauty, and there is evil encamped against us. Yesterday it was there and today its just plain gone, they didn't even leave the stump. Its like if you lived in a house by the seaside and one day you woke up and found they'd just packed up the ocean and taken it away somewhere and gotten rid of it. And you'd never be able to see or hear or smell the waves coming in anymore. You'd say that was impossible but that's what happened.

So 2020 did turn out to be the worst year ever for me as well. That was December 30^th when they came in there roaring away all day with their chainsaws and chippers like the unholy nuisances they are, and here I am snagged on the tail end of it and pulled down like Gandalf by the Balrog in Mordor, the way 2019 snagged us all on the tail end of it with its bat virus from China.

That got me thinking about giant trees with regard to hopes and dreams and having everything you live for smashed or destroyed. You can't just plant a two hundred year old tree, not unless you get it from somewhere else, they really don't grow up that way from seed.

So that got me thinking about life as an artist. Like a lot of artists I can never be content unless my work becomes the art equivalent of two or three hundred year old tree – no mere sapling with two or three leaves, growing in a little pot, but a vast and spreading sea of beauty – and it saddens me inconsolably to reflect that in this cruel world I will almost certainly be cut down long before that.

Its easy to say that destroying statues is merely a left wing movement and its just liberals that are trying to destroy America so if we could win all the time everything would be fine. But it isn't just liberals who partake in unspeakable acts in the destruction of beauty. I don't know what the actual political leanings are of the neighbors across the street, but it doesn't matter. As they said that tree was “just a liability” its the sort of thing anyone might do who appreciates “the value of hard work” more than the beauty of nature.

I used to think that everyone had a natural built in appreciation of the beauty of nature, but I guess some people have it more than others and some people are just a bunch of Mordor Orcs.

That tree was like a sea of flowing green feathers, and the wind of the world flowed through it, and now I will never see it again until I am reunited with it in heaven. But the sea of life flows on and I can only give the following advice for 2021 and beyond:

Batten down the hatches, and look out for squalls!

Crumbling Overgrown Ruins

 

Things I like about crumbling overgrown ruins.

To Be Continued!

I can keep going for many many more pages, and I think I’ll do a color version at some point.

:)

Bird Berries

 Another Celtic Design! :)

November Update

Normally I do Inktober which is a drawing challenge in October and NaNoWriMo which is a writing challenge in November.  But this year I’m switching things up.  I already did a writing challenge last month so I’m doing my drawing challenge this November.

This month my goal is to do 15 fantasy sketches to illustrate some of the short stories I worked on last time.  I will try and share at least a couple with you along with a story or two.  Unfinished short stories and unfinished artwork are two things I’m very shy about sharing, but I think I better because when you see the stories along with the illustrations that go with them that will give you all a better glimpse of the kind of fantasy world I’m trying to create and the kind of stories I want to tell.

100 Short Stories Challenge - Update

 

 To summarize here is my previous post:

So I’m not doing NaNoWriMo this year because they got all BLM and I don’t want to support the destruction of statues.

But of course I still wanted to do some sort of writing challenge, so I decided to do do a short story challenge a month early in October.  So that’s what I’m doing.  I call it the 100 Short Stories Challenge, and my goal is to work on 100 short stories and that’s what I’ve been doing.  These are short stories that I’d already started and had lying around on my computer and my secondary goal is to write an additional 25,000 words.

So that’s why I’ve been kind of absent and haven’t finished or posted much artwork lately.

Also I think coming up with and working on some kind of short story challenge is a great idea, whatever time of year you do it, because it can be a great way to help finish those loose short stories that you have lying around or to start new and better ones.

Aand here is the update:

I did work on all 100 of those short stories, so I achieved that goal!  Yay!

With my word count goal I only wrote 19840 words (not counting what I’d already written before),  leaving me 5160 words short.  Oh well.

Anyway I’m calling it done.  And of course I will continue working on the stories, just not as a monthly challenge.

I’m starting to really like monthly challenges, I’m finding them a great way to stay motivated and get more work done.

Aaand since I did my totes not NaNoWriMo challenge in October I’m going do do my totes not Inktober in November so stay tuned for that!

Just because 2020 is a dumpster fire doesn’t mean I can’t work on art!

Some sort of life update

 

So I’m not doing NaNoWriMo this year because they got all BLM and I don’t want to support the destruction of statues.

But of course I still wanted to do some sort of writing challenge, so I decided to do do a short story challenge a month early in October.  So that’s what I’m doing.  I call it the 100 Short Stories Challenge, and my goal is to work on 100 short stories and that’s what I’ve been doing.  These are short stories that I’d already started and had lying around on my computer and my secondary goal is to write an additional 25,000 words.

So that’s why I’ve been kind of absent and haven’t finished or posted much artwork lately.

Also I think coming up with and working on some kind of short story challenge is a great idea, whatever time of year you do it, because it can be a great way to help finish those loose short stories that you have lying around or to start new and better ones.

Mermaid on an Underwater Floating Island

Mermaid on an Underwater Floating Island

I think it came out pretty well.

Weeping Angel

So this is something different for me.  Instead of just an outline I actually shaded it.  Of course I wanted to do this study of a weeping angel statue because a weeping angel statue is a main character in a book I'm working on.  This one is based on a photograph on Wikimedia Commons which you can view here by pasting it into your browser: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:WeepingAngel.jpg

Because Blogger had an update and the links don't work anymore.  Anyway I hope you like it.

Floating Islands

Another watercolor, this one is 9" x 12", and I think the larger size works better.  I did the original lineart back in October of 2019!

Floating Island Fairy

I got a fancy new printer so I can print my lineart on watercolor paper now, and it has a bigger scanner too.  This is super duper for doing watercolor illustrations, which is what I want to do for the stories I'm working on.  Now that I can just print out another one if I goof up I have a lot less hesitation about coloring everything in.  So you can expect to see more watercolors from me in the future.

Also I might not put up as much of the uncolored lineart from here on out, except for coloring pages.  I used to always share my outline drawings, partly because I had no idea if or when I would ever color them, but now I think I might as well mostly just put up the finished paintings.  I'm tired of putting up both, and I think it looks better with just the color ones, and anyway I don't like being so redundant with my creative output.  I'm sorry if you prefer to always see the lineart as well, I'm not intending to make people unhappy.

The printer is an Epson Workforce WF-7610.  I got it off of Walmart.  Here's a very useful youtube video by a gal that talks about this kind of printer with regards to printing on watercolor paper:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QSlewmCiHRY

This was what put me on to getting this particular kind of printer.  The fairy painting above was printed on 7"x10" 98 lb. Canson mix media paper, which is kind of thin but I think its ok.  Some people use this printer to print on thicker paper but I don't know if I'll do that because it isn't rated for anything thicker than cardstock and envelopes.  I also bought a pad of the same paper in 9"x12" which I think will be a good size to work in.

Vandalism Is Bad For Art

Its still bad!  I mentioned back in August 2017 when the black live matter looters were vandalizing statues and monuments and that was on the news that I thought vandalism was bad for art, and I still do.

The fact that so many people who I thought would know better are supporting murder, terrorism and wholesale destruction to this extent under the flimsy pretext of somehow combating racism, (which it doesn’t) displays a level of air headedness that I would hardly have believed possible.

Take Uncle Hugo’s Bookstore in Minneapolis as an example:

Here are some reasons why burning down a bookstore might be bad for art and creativity:

1, Its burning books!  Books are known to contain lots of art and creative writing.  Also there were a lot of irreplaceable 1st edition books as well as autographed copies some of them by authors who are no longer with us.

2, You just set fire to a bookstore!  Bookstores are places where people can look through and buy books, making all that creativity and art available to the public.

3. Its hard to have a booksigning in a burned out building!  Bookstores commonly have social events such as booksignings which are fun for members of the community.

4. Now the authors and illustrators can’t sell their books their anymore, which means they can’t get paid!  Which is bad for authors and illustrators.

5. Its just bad for everyone!  Burning down a bookstore puts people out of work and is just all around bad for the economy which is also bad for authors and artists.

So if you’re feeling bad about supporting arson and terrorism (and being a tremendous air head), here’s a chance to support the owner and his efforts to rebuild it:

https://www.gofundme.com/f/let-us-help-save-uncle-hugo039s?viewupdates=1&rcid=r01-159106110191-60120bbd3a4a430d&utm_medium=email&utm_source=customer&utm_campaign=p_email%2B1137-update-supporters-v5b

Its probably better than bailing out criminals, and social justice posturing!

This is an art blog, not a political blog so I wouldn’t even talk about this except that it is relevant to art, writing, and creativity in general.

It might not seem like a big deal right now if they haven’t burned down anything you care about, but you or your loved ones could be next, because terrorism is like that.

DA is Trash!

The new version of deviantart is such absolute trash its phenomenal.  Its far worse than I ever expected.  The adolescent monkeys running it have destroyed any semblance of functionality.  I can’t find my art, or other people’s art, or the art in my group, or any submissions to it.  Its phenomenal!

And its not just me, the feedback they've been getting has been overwhelmingly negative.  It was a good thing for me for a while.  And for a lot of people.  A social media that let me connect with other artists and share beautiful art and encouragement, so its sad to see it go.

So basically all I'm saying is I'm not active on there and won't be for the foreseeable future.  The only places I have left to share my art are here, and tumblr:

https://www.tumblr.com/blog/jpmorrow-art

Thoughts on the Virus and Stuff

My life is so much better now, I've got all this time off, I can work on projects, its great!  I know its hard out there and people are suffering, but there are some advantages.  Which begs the question, why can't I get time off work and sleep in and laze around and work on my own projects the rest of the time when there isn't a pandemic?  Why can't the world of freedom and opportunity among those of us blessed with 'non-essential' jobs apply to anyone whether there is a virus or not?  Certainly there are some people who don't want time off work, or from various social events, and they have my sympathy, but wouldn't it be amazing if people could take time off when they want to?  It is technically possible but in my personal experiences I find it constantly infringed upon.

I would like to introduce an apparently unrelated subject that is also relevant to what I would like to say.  I am here reminded of one of my lifelong goals which is to build a ruined castle and live in it.  Non ruined castles are wonderful in many ways, but a ruined one would have several advantages as follows:

• It would be crumbling and overgrown, with lush green foliage, and wildflowers, making it beautiful and picturesque.
• I only need part of a tower to live in, and some suggestions of foundations here and there, and it will look like it was part of a much bigger castle back in the day, and maybe even a great big city.  So I can suggest something much greater with less materials, time and effort than a conventional fortress.
•  It may look ruined on the outside, but the interior rooms will actually be quite well furnished and insulated, making it quite as comfortable as anywhere else.

And I could go on, but the point is ruined castles, and all sorts of ruined buildings are beautiful in many ways to a greater degree than their non ruined counterparts.  And yet all too often ruins are associated with disaster and neglect.  Perhaps their inhabitants died long ago of famine or wars or plague.  But my point is that it is possible to construct brand new ruined buildings to enjoy the ruined building aesthetic without the necessity of a disaster in the first place.

For another obvious but excellent example, the zombie apocalypse would have advantages too numerous to mention, such as:

• Not having to pay taxes, rents, healthcare, or student loans.
• Being able to just shoot your enemies in the face instead of being helpless while people are incessantly annoying and insulting.
• Living in a picturesque ruined hideout, of course.
• All sorts of adventure and excitement.
• A sense of purpose in life, from always having the task of killing zombies.
• Lots of wide open spaces and not too many people, (except zombies).

And I could probably go on, but my point is this.  I think disasters have many benefits that we should seek out and not have to wait for them to befall. Of course disasters should be prevented wherever possible and I am not in any way supporting the virus, the destruction of castles, or the rise of the undead scourge, and yet my point still stands.  What these benefits are and how they are to be achieved, I leave as an exercise to the reader.  But I think it an important thing to mention.  And the advantages of trial and hardship are as often mental or spiritual benefits as physical ones, such as discipline, work ethic, honor, and so on.  Yet these things too can be cultivated with peace and gratitude when there are no great trials to be undergone.

So those are my thoughts brought about by this regrettable, (and regretted) pandemic.  I will close with the standard reminder to keep your distance, stay safe, wash your hands and so on.

Thanks for reading,

-Johnpaul

More Artwork I've Done Lately

Top:  The Hollow Knight bug on a bench in Hollow Knight.  Which is a really great game and I really like it.

Middle:  My copy of an illustration by Beatrix Potter for Appley Dappley, which is one of her nursery rhymes, and also the name of the collection it features in.

Bottom:  The original illustration, for comparison, and because we can always use more Beatrix Potter in our lives.

Why Deviantart sucks

You can switch back and forth right now, but they’re getting rid of the old version on around May 20th.

These are both screenshots of the first thing you see if you go to my channel on deviantart.

In the old version I had my artwork on the left, and my profile on the right, (even though I didn’t really say anything).  The default was more cluttered but at least it was sort of customizeable.

In the new version, on the other hand...  I haven’t really spent much time with it yet, but ah... doesn’t it seem like a lot of blank space?  I see a lot of data which is probably very important to them because all they care about is getting people to click on adds, but not so much art, and yes I know I can upload a cover image but that’s only one picture.  Good for advertisers.  Not very good for artists.

So that’s my first impression.  I hope I’m wrong but the new site seems like garbage.  The feedback they’ve been getting is all negative so I don’t think I’m the only person who feels this way.

Anyway I hope you had fun listening to me rant about something other than youtube for a change.

PS.  I know the layout is probably the least of the reasons that DA sucks, because of all the obscenity, and ads if you don’t have adblocker, but I’m really just talking about the technical side of it today.

PPS.  Here’s the link to my deviantart channel in case you’re interested.  (Even after all I’ve said about how much DA sucks).

https://www.deviantart.com/jpmorrow

PPPS. Blogger is another dumpster fire, I'm having trouble getting the paragraphs where I want them, so please ignore any errors, they are not my own.

Viking Ducky! :))

I happened to have a rubber viking ducky lying around, so I drew and colored it.  :)

Gameplay

I've been uploading some gameplay footage lately where I'm playing video games:

Commander Keen.

Minecraft.

And Hollow Knight.  Which is a fun game set in a really beautiful world full of cute bugs.

These are all short 3-4 minute videos, and I just thought I'd share since they give some idea of the sort of things I do to goof off sometimes, and anyway people might find them interesting.

UPDATE:

I did another Minecraft video, with more of my dome houses:

:)

Fish Hook Seashell

We often meet with insanity on the very road we take to avoid it.

By The Square

Floating Island - Erosion

Colored With Crayola crayons.  :)

February Update

Last month:

Last month I said I'd write one thousand words and finish one illustration.  And I did, I started a story about an old dwarven border fort, (maybe I'll share it here at some point on a chapter by chapter basis), and I finished that Celtic knot so that's my picture for the month.  I also said I'd work on the children's book, and I did that some as well.

This month:

This month I'll write another thousand words on my border fort story, and finish another picture, and hopefully do more drawing in general.  Also I'll continue doodling my children's book and writing Goblin Children.

Next month:

I think I'll discontinue these updates.  Its been a useful exercise for me but none of it is really newsworthy and and I can't imagine any of it is very interesting for you, the reader, (correct me in the comments if I'm wrong).  So I'm going to start a journal and keep notes of my progress on various projects, but I don't feel like I need to publish them here.

Video updates on the other hand, I think those would be great fun.  I'm going to get a new youtube channel going here pretty soon, (or some other kind of video channel, the fact that I really don't like youtube is what's been holding me back for a long time).  Get ready for all kinds of great video content from me at some vague point in the future, whenever I get around to it.

2010s Decade In Review

You know I got to thinking about it, at first I didn't think ten year increments were that important, but I was thinkin', you know I really got a lot done this last decade.  In 2012 I started a tumblr, that was my first experience with really doing internety stuff, and since then I've started a bunch of blogs and things, including this one.  In 2014 I wrote my first NaNoWriMo novel.  That was the first time I'd written an entire first draft of a novel, and now I've got a bunch of drafts of stories lying around.  And in 2016 I published a coloring book.  That was the first time I'd published a book, so yay.  All three of these things: social media; writing novels; and publishing books are achievements.  So I'm pretty happy about all that.

The 2010s were for me, a beginning.  I've raised the anchor, unfurled the sails, caught the wind and steered a course out of the harbor.  My nostrils are filled with the scent of adventure, and I can hardly wait to see what the new decade will bring.

At least as far as artwork and writing are concerned.

My First Art Of 2020!

Yes indeed!

January 2020 Update

Well its the roaring '20s again!  That era of tough men, hot women, and roaring tommy guns!

Or something, I dunno...


December

I'm still working on the children's book with the brontosaurus.  I've got a name for him now.  His name is Herbert.  So now it is the story of Herbert the brontosaurus.

I also started yet another tumblr, this one is for children's books:

https://sit-he-oo.tumblr.com/

I'm having a lot of fun with it.  And, just for grins, here is a link to a post on there where I review a couple of books I got for Christmas:

https://sit-he-oo.tumblr.com/post/189872052840/new-books-i-got-for-christmas-the-foxbury-force#notes

Christmas was good.  I give it five stars, (or one big one).

January

I'm not promising to do more art in 2020, (except for Inktober), but I will do about as much, and hopefully more of it will be in color (again, except for Inktober).  My goal for January is to find a place that will print my outline drawings on watercolor paper so I can color them without losing the original and also worrying about messing it up.  This will also be important when I get around to illustrating the stories I have written.

Last month I said my goal for the new year was to set myself a writing goal as well as an art goal every month of the year, so this month's goal is, one thousand words of short fiction, and to finish one illustration, in addition to ongoing work on Herbert the Brontosaur.

February

I'd better see how this month pans out and leave February blank until I get there.