Rhiamon's Moon Garden

LJ Advisory Board Elections

2009-06-25T14:11:15Z

In case you hadn't noticed, the LJ Advisory Board Elections are under way. It may not seem like a big deal, but if you love LJ and want it to be there for you and grow in a way that pleases you, I recommend heading over here and having a look at the candidates and what their visions are for the future of LJ. For my part, I'm supporting kylecassidy because I know him to be a stand-up guy and I like his vision for LJ, but do read the platforms of the other candidates as your mileage may vary, and you should have a 2nd and 3rd choice to vote for as well. Y'know, it only takes a minute or two to read through the candidate posts and then vote - just DO IT! ;-)

Finished drawing and other rambles

2009-06-05T21:45:04Z

In case you hadn't noticed, Neil Gaiman and Amanda Palmer are dating. I first went 'hmmmmmmmmm' when I noticed them sharing a glass of wine during last autumn's Party on the Internet at Neil's place, but was in no doubt after seeing this photo by Kyle Freaking Cassidy last week on Neil's blog:

I mean, really. LOOK at that face - it's all right there! One of my favourite authors dating one of my favourite singer/songwriters. Good things will (and some have already) come of this.

I finished the pencil art I was working on. This is "Mistress of the Key", unless someone suggests a better name for her:

I am currently playing around painting her in Painter, so there will be this original graphite version as well as a colour version. Another sketch is in progress and will probably be rendered in watercolour:
No name for her yet, although I have some ideas.

I currently have no toilet. In my en suite, that is. Luckily, our house has 2 1/2 baths, so I'm not completely without recourse to toilet facilities. We discovered, a few days before going on holiday (photos of that event will be forthcoming), that we had a leak. About 6" of drywall above the floor had to be removed and replaced, and the linoleum was pretty shot as well. So, my husband removed the bog, tore up the lino, sanded the floor, and we are about to re-do that bathroom. I kinda wanted real tile anyway, so now's our chance.

I had to catch up all my season-ender shows online since we were in the UK when they aired, and watching very little telly. Of Lost, I have this to say: Dude! WTF?!!!!1111oneoneoneone!!!eleventyaarkvark

rhiamon @ 2009-05-24T22:30:00

2009-05-25T02:42:59Z

Back from the UK and had a lovely time visiting with family. We took lots of photos, and I shall post some next week sometime - I've still got to download and sort them.

In the meanwhilst, I posted a sketch of the new work in progress in my last entry, and I've been working more on it this week, so I'm posting an update of the work:

First, this is further progress after a chat session with some stellar artist acquaintances where the ladies shared some critique and ideas for making it a better piece.

Here is the piece in it's current state. I think all that's left is to finish the border, and do some touch-ups if needed.

Prints will be available, and there may be a coloured version as well at some point.

Went to see the new Star Trek film on Friday and quite liked it. VERY action-packed, though - almost too much so. Hubby and I have decided that we may need to see it a second time. :P

Happy Memorial Day - don't forget to take some time out to think of those in the armed forces who gave their lives in battle, and send out some positive vibes to those who are still in harm's way.

Random thoughts and a recipe

2009-04-01T16:18:12Z

But first, this is quite possibly the funniest thing I've read since 9am:

Fiction World Rocked as Woman Claims No Sexual Attraction to Neil Gaiman http://short.to/3d0u

Just thought I'd share some random thoughts that occurred to me whilst browsing a freelance site:

Dude - you're only offering $5 for several hours of someone's time and you wonder why no one's bidding?

What are you people thinking - bidding on "clone PayPal/Western Union/etc. site" jobs? Are things so desperate for you that you'll accept payment for helping rob others of money/identity?

When you say you need a 'Simple static web site' in your posting title, and then say you want "Flash start page/e-commerce cart/database/full backend" - you do realize you're contradicting yourself, don't you?

There. Snark over.

It occurs to me that I once indicated that I'd post recipes on the blog occasionally - when I make something up and it seems to work, or when I find something everyone should know about, sort of thing. Well, I sort of made this one up - based on something my husband sort of made up. He usually baked his version, whilst I like my chicken pan-fried (but - not, you know, clog-yer-arteries-at-a-glance deep-frying, like). So, here's my lime-garlic chicken recipe:

Zesty Lime-Garlic Chicken
2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
Juice of 1 medium lime
Garlic Powder
Sea Salt to taste
Ground Pepper to taste
Red Pepper (Cayenne) to taste

This can be marinated ahead of cooking, or just pop the spices on right before plunking it in a pan.

1. Place chicken breasts on a plate, or shallow dish. Squeeze lime juice over pieces. Add a pinch (or more to taste) of sea salt, ground black pepper, garlic powder, and red pepper powder. Turn breasts and repeat.

2. Heat extra-virgin olive oil to medium heat in a non-stick pan, using just enough to coat the surface of the pan (sometimes I use part olive oil, part butter for extra flavour and enhanced searing).

3. Place chicken (what would be) skin-side down in pan. Cook chicken breasts for about 8-10 minutes per side (depending on thickness), reducing heat to medium-low after the first 3-4 minutes of searing (the lime juice caramelizes a bit making for a nice browning).

It's very tasty, and relatively low-fat providing you don't go crazy with the olive oil or oil/butter blend.

I'll be updating the web site over the next several days - watch this space for news!

rhiamon @ 2009-03-27T14:16:00

2009-03-27T19:19:08Z

One more original artwork added to Etsy-that's it for today! I promise! http://ping.fm/PmrAS

rhiamon @ 2009-03-27T13:35:00

2009-03-27T18:37:59Z

I've added an original ACEO to my Etsy shop: http://ping.fm/D6zJy

rhiamon @ 2009-03-25T13:17:00

2009-03-25T18:19:48Z

Framed original art work just added to my Etsy shop! http://ping.fm/wYYDn

Help me fundraise for Red Nose Day!

2009-03-07T06:05:51Z

Art for charity! I've created a Red Nose Day fund-raising page, and anyone who donates (no matter how small the amount) will get art from me - either an original sketch, inked or full-colour artwork, jewellery, or hand-embellished print. I'll surprise you - but it will either be created from scratch (artwork or jewellery), or a hand-embellished print.

To visit my Red Nose Day Giving page and sponsor me, click on the link below:

http://ping.fm/FnVKr

For more information about Red Nose Day visit www.rednoseday.com.

Thanks for your support!

Tubes 'n' Tags, and becoming a better blogger

2009-03-07T02:27:57Z

Tubes 'n' Tags

I am thrilled to be plugging FantasyScraps.com. I'm licensed there, and it is the only official source for images of mine to be used in PSP tubes and tags. Fantasy Scraps also features artwork by LA Williams, Brigid Ashwood, Jane Starr Weils, Ash Evans, Ruth Thompson, and Bill Plank. There will also be extensive digital scrapbooking collections to come! If you are a tuber, spread the word about this fantastic new site!

Becoming a better blogger
Yeah...like that's really going to happen. Well, maybe it will. See, it's about Ping.fm. Ping.fm allows me to update several social networks at once. Which means, I can blog, and have it on my personal blog (more on this to follow), LiveJournal, and MySpace in one step, instead of typing up a blog in one place and copy/pasting it to up to three other places. I'll still have to copy into Enchanted Folk and Deviant Art, if I want my blogs there, though - as Ping.fm doesn't update those services. I've got my LiveJournal posting into my Facebook page, so that one's covered, at least.

For my "official" journal - linked to my web site, I'd been using Movable Type, but customizing was a nightmare. I'd had a Blogger account for about 4 years, but had signed up only to comment on my friends blogs. Recently, I decided to play around with it and see if I could make it look like it belonged to me, sort of thing. I wound up customizing it and liking the look, so I started thinking of having it be the "official" blog, since I wouldn't (hopefully) have to re-design the bloody layout after every software update. Unfortunately, I can't incorporate it into my site as designed on the blogger site as it's considered an 'upgraded' template. I know folks have personalized blogger-driven blogs on their own web sites, without needing to dedicate a whole domain to it (Neil Gaiman and his PA Fabulous Lorraine, for example), but I'm not sure how they managed it, and without a nice step-by-step tutorial on doing that (which I've yet to find), I'm leaving the blog on the blogger (or, blogspot, more accurately) site and linking to it from my personal web site. At least the blog now looks like part of my web site! I'm keeping my LiveJournal as well - thanks to Ping.fm, I can update it at the same time with posts to my personal blog as well, and still keep super-personal posts at LJ for friends-only. I've also got a feedburner account, which means one can subscribe to receive my bloggings via email, if they like. So, official blog is now at http://ping.fm/NkaHS LJ for super-personal friends-only stuff, and the MySpace blog will just mirror the 'official' posts (when it works - it's a bit hit and miss for ping.fm to manage a MySpace blog posting for some reason).

Snowy photies!

2009-03-02T23:09:03Z

It's become a rare occurrence, but once in a while, we get a nice snowfall in NC. Last night, around 7pm, the snow began after a day of mostly rain, and freezing rain, occasionally mixed with sleet. I'm one of those folks who like the snow, so first thing this morning, I grabbed the camera and took some shots (clickening for embiggening where permitted):

A Yellow-rumped Warbler came to visit

Me, posing with the pretty snowy tree (a Bradford Pear)

A nice shot of the pretty snowy tree.

What's this on my roof? Could it be.....

a footprint?!

A lovely, picturesque line of trees out back.

Damn, bugger, and blast

2009-02-25T20:07:28Z

Also: arse, and poo, and shagging wanksticks! It would seem that I can't have my shiny new Blogger blog (http://ping.fm/j9d0y) on my own personal web site unless I purchase a whole domain for it, or unless I use their screamingly boring bog-standard "classic" template, wherein I would be able to use the ftp thingummy option. Damn it Marjorie!!!!

rhiamon @ 2009-02-06T23:52:00

2009-02-07T05:57:36Z

My art now available for PSP tubes and tags! Fantastic site with great artists - spread the word if you're a tuber: http://ping.fm/214Fy

rhiamon @ 2009-02-06T16:24:00

2009-02-06T22:28:53Z

Posted a Coraline review at rottentomatoes.com: http://ping.fm/h4cCp

rhiamon @ 2009-02-06T08:48:00

2009-02-06T14:53:37Z

Dressed in a Neil Gaiman-style uniform of black trousers and black shirt in preparation for seeing Coraline this afternoon!

rhiamon @ 2009-02-03T08:39:00

2009-02-03T14:44:00Z

This morning I laundered my phone. It's clean and shiny and sparkly....and completely dead. Damn it all to Blackpool.

rhiamon @ 2009-02-01T15:32:00

2009-02-01T21:37:06Z

Screen-shot of Amanda Palmer portrait in progress - http://ping.fm/V2oZq

rhiamon @ 2009-02-01T14:05:00

2009-02-01T20:09:43Z

Art in-progress til 4pm EST - watch live at uStream.tv: http://ping.fm/6PVyZ

rhiamon @ 2009-01-30T12:18:00

2009-01-30T18:22:30Z

Oh, no! I just found out John Martyn has died :( http://ping.fm/JIUxd

Masterpiece or Mess? pt. 6

2009-01-02T20:55:39Z

I'm ready to call her finished! The lantern was finished using a light wash of Paynes Grey with Cadmium Yellow for the lightsource colour. I used a black artists pen to punch up the darker wrought iron details. Pencil was used to define the pearls and crystals, additional layers (and some washing out of areas) of Rose Dore and Raw Siena defined the skin tones. Cerulean Blue, Paynes Grey, Ultramarine Blue, and a tiny bit of the Alizarin Crimson were used to create the shadow areas beneath her dress.

"Bringing Yuletide Magic"

And here's a little start-to-finish animation:

View Poll: Masterpiece or Mess?

No forced divorce

2008-12-29T02:35:22Z

Please don't divorce.

rhiamon @ 2008-12-24T10:17:00

2008-12-24T16:18:58Z

Merry xmas from Grahams and Me! http://ping.fm/ojsm0

Masterpiece or Mess? pt. 5

2008-12-23T03:58:03Z

Getting down to all the fiddly detail bits now. The dress is mostly finished now - I have added shading to the folds by way of mixing Thalo Green and Indigo Blue. I also used the Thalo Green/Indigo Blue mix to deepen the shading on the green ribbons and bows (on her dress as well as the staff). A mix of Alizarin Crimson and Paynes Grey was used to deepen shading on the red ribbons. Gold-ish ribbons were made using the same mix as was used on the bodice and I added some more Rose Dore and a smigden of Thalo Green and Paynes Grey to create a deeper colour for shading the gold ribbons. Paynes Grey was used on the wrought iron detail of the staff and on the lantern. I have finished her hair except for the holly and pearl tiara, and have shaded her lips and started detailing her eye. The next steps will involve finishing the lantern, bells, and staff details, finalizing the detailing on the dress, sorting out the snowy bit, and I will likely punch up the shading on her skintones as she's meant to be lit by the lantern and needs some brighter highlights and deeper shadows.

Masterpiece or Mess? pt. 4

2008-12-22T02:14:10Z

Another layer of Rose Dore followed by a layer of Raw Sienna and the skin tones are mostly complete. I've got a few bits of touch-up I'll want to do, but nothing major - just some shadow and shading touch-ups and lip colour and such. I've started defining the dress a bit more, adding some Paynes Grey into the dress colour for a nice burgundy shade, and some red and green detailing on the bodice which has also had a few more layers of the gold-ish mixture. I've worked on the hair a bit more as well, and have started working on the staff and ribbons using a brown mixed from Cadmium Yellow, Rose Dore, and Paynes Grey, and Cadmium Red for the ribbons. The white band area in her hair will be an adornment of holly and pearls. Treading a bit close to the 'Mess' end of the scale, with some of the red of the dress smudged into the snow beneath her. I also see that I missed out masking the very back of her dress as it billows out, which means I'll have to scratch out the red with my craft knife in order to keep the decorative pattern flowing. As usual, clickening for embiggening!

My original plan was to have some shadowy mountains in the background - I'm not sure it needs it at this point - but I will likely edit and add them with Painter X when the rest of the painting is finished to see if I should go back and add them on the watercolour original.

Masterpiece or Mess? pt. 3

2008-12-20T00:18:12Z

Sorry for the delay in posting the next progress step! I have added a wash of Rose Dore to the skin areas and have begun laying in the first washes of her dress. The red shade is a mix of Alizarin Crimson and Dioxazine Violet. The green shade was created by mixing Thalo Green and Indigo, and the goldish shade on the bodice is a mix of Cadmium Yellow with a wee bit of Rose Dore and a tiny smidge of Thalo Green. The yellow bit on the bottom of her skirt is masking fluid.

Masterpiece or Mess? pt. 2

2008-12-12T00:05:52Z

I have continued to layer in background washes of ultramarine blue and cerulean blue, ultramarine violet, and payne's grey to darken the night sky. I have also begun laying in the shadows on her skin using the ultramarine blue and cerulean blue mix - yes, I know it seems a bit odd now, but once I layer some other colours over it will look like skin - and have placed some shadowy bits in her hair! (Clickable for embiggening)

MORE WASHES

It will be next week (probably Wednesday) before I'll post the next installment.