{ Rain Barrel of Dia de los Muertos }

A typical Dia de los Muertos getup

So I've been dying to get back into painting, and what a better kickstart than a charity event... I mean, we all love to do good, right?  So I volunteered to paint a rain barrel for the Water Quality Forum via the Stormwater Matters group to benefit the town of Farragut (here's their handy Facebook page too!).  I've seen the previous years' barrel, and some are way cool, and figured this was a good gig to get into.

I've been sketching up some new directions to go in for my art, and I've really been fixated on my heritage... while, not Mexican (I'm Guatemalan + Spanish) I have found myself fixated on all things Dia de los Muertos related. These images done by Sylvia Ji (a Sexy Spanish modern day pinup painting meets Gustav Klimt) or even the fun t-shirt graphics by Mondo Guerra ... you know he was your fave last season on Project Runway... are the ones I keep finding myself coming back to. I've always been more of an illustrator, and I think it's time to take my findings on myself + culture (via my thesis in architecture) and love of graphics to the next media! so enjoy this Rain Barrel postings in the weeks to come! So far, I only have the base paint done, but weather permitting I want to make major headway tonight. And please any comments are always welx!

Mondo Guerra t-shirt graphic

Dia de los Muertos fashion - unsure of designer

Sylvia Ji painting

the simple red base coat

{ Didn't She Get the Memo? }

I guess she just couldn't stay away. A few months ago, I posted about a contest Matel hosted where fans could vote on Barbie's next career, and at the time Computer Engineer won out over Architect... but I guess she wasn't feelin' the whole computer crowd. While normally I find it awesome to have little girls aspire to be / do something other than being a model (or skank) or living off her rich husband, I don't think Barbie made the right career move by pursuing architecture. This is one of the worst times to enter this job market... while things are pointing to an economic upturn, still more of my friends (with architecture degrees) are unemployed than not, and have even gone back to school to avoid this dire time.  Plus what's up with all the color? I don't think Barbie, contrary to what the article says about working with architects, has ever visited a firm. It's pretty rare to find an architect with so much color in her wardrobe... but at least they got the thick rimmed glasses right.  {via}

{ Cat Burglar: too cute to file a police report }

{ Infographic of the Day: Dr. Who }

{via}

{ Hipster Ariel }

I stumbled across hipster Ariel (sorry I don't remember what site... I'm thinking the Daily What), and just hooted out loud. I especially love the weirdly font choiced one about Arial font. Those hipsters, so ironic! and double thanks to simply adding glasses to Ariel.

 

{ Cuteness Overload: Chipmunk in Slow motion }

{ Bow Chica Bow Wow }

Congratulations are in order for good ol' Knoxville! Apparently Amazon.com has ranked Knoxville as the #2 most romantic city in the US.  After compiling sales data of romance novels and relationship books (Kindle Books and print books), romantic comedy movies (digital movies and DVDs), Barry White albums (CDs and MP3s), along with sexual wellness products, since Jan. 1 of this year on a per capita basis in cities with more than 100,000 residents, Knoxville was the most improved and zoomed up from number 14 to number 2! woot woot! so I bet we can all expect a good V-Day.{via}

{ Eye Candy: Time Lapse Marker Painting }

One of my fave bloggers, Gala Darling posted this portrait of her done by artist Bokkei, and it's a treat for the eyes! enjoy!