New Artwork!

So! I've been up to a lot of things, but predominantly, right now--it's working, watching tv, and drawing. Here are the two most recent images that I've posted. As always, you can see these images on my website at http://www.kagaipalace.com.

 This image is called "Barren Tree". It's mostly a filler image--I wanted to draw more trains, a tree, and it came together through shape. I added some buildings that are more American, especially a few skyscrapers in Midwestern cities.

This image is called "The Mask." I wanted to do some playing with my white space, which I usually use as a border and frame for the inner drawing. This time, I wanted to use white as I used my colors, not as a frame, but as a part of the piece.

You can check it out at its page on Kagaipalace: http://www.kagaipalace.com/images-m-34-themask.htm

New Artwork!

Well, after a long time of chasing down a "boksa" shop, or photocopy shop, I ended up at this small place near Chungnam University, where the employees allowed me to scan my art (in English Photoshop, no less!) for a mere 3,000 won. It was great. So I have a few new images--and some higher quality scans of the old ones.
(Clicking on an image will take you to a full sized one.)

This one is called "You can't stop this." I scanned it back in January, but the quality was weak. This is a much better scan, despite the water damage, which is almost invisible.

This one is called "Keep it in Perspective", and it was actually the last one I did from my old sketchbook. It remained unfinished for a really long time because of the water damage, but then I came back to it, fixed it up, and now I think it's going to be a prize--as a print, of course, but the original might sell someday, despite the discoloration that I took out of the corner.

I have three more that I'll share at a later date, and a lot more left to scan as well, but that's a job for a different weekend, I think.

I'm taking off tomorrow for a long travel trip, bopping around various places that are on my list. I don't have to work for seven days--which is the longest I've gone without working since I got here. I'm a little overwhelmed by the sheer amount of free time. In fact, one of my Korean coworkers said to me: "I don't WANT vacation--I don't want to deal with my son! He drives me crazy!"

And, one more time, when it rains, it pours.

I did the ultimate of stupid things yesterday, which has really impacted me and I feel... well actually I feel mostly okay, but I'm waiting for it to settle in. I might still be a little bit in shock.

I destroyed my sketchbook.

Not on purpose. Of course. I carried it to work because I wanted to draw on my break. But after work, I put my drinking bottle into my bag. The bottle is American, air tight--or at least it used to be. I should have known before that it was leaking... but I just put it in anyway and... then went home. I didn't even notice that the bottle was empty until I went to get my phone out of my bag some 15 minutes after getting home.

And lo and behold, the tea was everywhere... in my bag, on my sketchbook, on my journal... everything. So I got out the hairdryer and started to do some damage control. I cut all the marker art out of the book and laid them flat on the heated floor, which dried them very quickly. Luckily, the paper I used was superb, and the ink didn't run. I was really lucky for that... except there was one ink that I used, on a different piece.. a notecard that I had taped in, that bled into a number of the earlier drawings. Dark Sun and the City is pretty ruined. Luckily, though, that was the only one significantly ruined that I liked.  The other ones were not favorites, and the ones that were ruined were all ones that I had good, quality scans of.

Anyway.. now I'm thinking about how I can press them so that the ruffles go away. I'm really disappointed in myself for being so clumsy... and well, it means that I'm going to start trying to take better care of my things. (But as I say this my apartment is still a trainwreck of dirty.)

And it's still dirty beecaaause... instead of cleaning, today I had a fun and interesting engagement.

Someone contacted my recruiter friend about finding someone to draw something on a window. Since they had just figured out that I drew (and seen my undestroyed sketchbook) they asked me if I wanted to do it. I was hesitant at first, but agreeing to do it was a hugely great idea. I spent all day today drawing trotros and curvey buildings all over an interior designers office. And they liked my trotros!

I'm going back tomorrow to finish, and they said that someone else also might want me to do it for a coffee shop. I had a lot of fun--and I was definitely also attracting a crowd. "Oh someone's drawing on that window... cool--oh, oh my god, it's a foreigner!" It made me feel good. "Yes, foreigners have talent--and are capable of doing more things than drinking and hating on Korea." Proud to represent my foreigner status! Woot!

I liked the building where the place was located too. At first I thought it was just an apartment, but it was a little bit like an indoor market/walkway. It didn't feel 'sterilized' like Noeun or so much of Korea's commercial areas. This definitely felt like a place where people lived and worked, and it had the haphazard feel of something a little less simple. They were happy to have me there and I was happy to share my talent.

Anyway... one terrible thing and one good one. Now I'm going to go clean and try to remove the chronic clumsiness from my character. ^^;