baby. tiny baby. terrible baby

Mon Cher

Oh look, more painting stuff! :D After resisting the urge to break into them for over a week because I had other projects to work on, I finally broke into the 60 set of Arteza watercolors that I'd ordered, and after swatching and a little testing, this was where I went with them. But I'm not going to focus on a review/first impressions of the paints here, as I want the focus to be more on the piece itself since I'm really happy with how it turned out. (If you're more interested in my thoughts on those paints, I'll link to the piece I have coming up that I made more specifically to talk about those as soon as it's up.) This piece was also inspired largely by Leonidafremov, one of my favorite artists here on deviantArt who passed away recently, which is a large part of which I ventured further outside my comfort zone to make it. I may make another piece inspired by/dedicated to him at a later date now that I'm dipping my toes into acrylics, but I'm not sure yet. As for the here and now; I went with the Effiel Tower as my main subject of choice partly because of the reason above, and also partly because I have dreams of visiting Paris someday and thus it has become a sort of default artistic subject for me. After browsing through Pinterest for a bit for some extra inspiration, I couldn't decide between doing a more dreamy, sakura-tree surrounded tower, or a more "realistic" cityscape surrounding, and in the end I more or less combined the two with the trees poking in on the left and the city poking in on the right. Once I had a plan, I did a little practicing sketching and painting to think about how I wanted to paint and shade the tower as well as how much thought/sketching needed to go into this before I brought the paint to the paper. Thanks to that, I did end up doing some light sketching for the tower, the tree branches, and the outlines of the city buildings, but I tried not to be too fussy about it--no rulers allowed!--since I didn't want to spend super long on the sketch and really wanted to be a little looser in my watercolor technique overall. My main concern was that I didn't want the tower to look like it was drunk and/or you were looking at it through a kaleidoscope, and I think I managed to accomplish that, even if it is a little off in some places. I was also working with a limited color palette because I fell in love with the six colors I used when I saw them all lined up in my swatches, and I did have white and black on my palette just in case, but I didn't touch the black at all and I was pretty sparing with the white. (Which is a highly unusual thing for me to say.) I had a really pastel yellow, a peachy pink, a muted lavender, a darker true blue, a dull teal-ish blue, and a very pale pastel blue. Since I'm very often a stickler for color matching or using a more realistic palette, it was fun to experiment with something more centered around a particular palette that gives a much different look for more realistic/natural color choices. I started by going in with the yellow on the tower, as I'd decided in my planning I wanted to go with a light-to-dark side shading on the tower, starting with the yellow and transitioning across the colors into the blue, using the pink to make a prettier transition. Using the dark blue was the trickiest part since I didn't want it to spread too far and start making green with the yellow, but I did want it to be noticeably present and not blended out to a pastel blue and/or purple. Especially since I had plans to bring the blue up in the background later. I also tried to keep the shading simple but still sensical, meaning I tried to shade the little ledges and stuff properly, but again I tried not to be too fussy about it. While the tower was drying, I moved on to the trees. I start by dabbing on the pink that I had unaltered and without much water so that the paint would be more opaque, then I added some water to pale it out and let the petals "bloom" and float a little, and then I started adding on layers in the same way with a lighter pink I made by mixing in the white, some white the yellow, and some with the purple and a little bit with the blue that ended up getting mostly covered by the branches later.  My goal was to add a little more depth & dimension but still keep it pretty abstract. Then while that was drying, I moved on to using varying amounts of water to create the buildings on the right, and I did mix in a little purple and pink just to "blend" the buildings into the rest of the painting a little better. This was a bit of an exercise in patience and experimentation as far as that goes because I have had minor struggles with that in the past, but I think it worked out as well as I needed it to here. And I did end up adding a couple of extra buildings beneath the tower that I hadn't sketched in because I felt like the colors were a little off balance and I wanted to try and remedy that. With the buildings filled in to my satisfaction, I went back to the now-dry trees and took the teal-ish blue I hadn't used yet and started lining the branches. And again, I tried my best not to be too fussy or particular about them, especially since once I added the petals most of my sketched-in lines disappeared because they were hiding behind the paint.   By that point, the buildings were dry enough that I was able to go in and do the lines of the tower (as you can see some of the buildings are basically touching parts of the tower), and at first I wasn't sure if I was just going to do the more noticeable/necessary outlines and leave the bulk of the tower with just the sketch lines, but as I went it became kind of a no-brainer to me that, as trying of my patience as it would be, I needed to go over pretty much all of the lines to "complete" the tower look. And I do like the emphasis the outlines place on the colors/shading of the tower, especially since it's lighter than the darkest blue, so in person, you almost expect there to be some sort of shimmer when you move the paper. It's a pretty interesting effect if you ask me. After all of that, I waited what felt like ages for everything to be dry so I could go in and add a light wash of color for the background. (Which admittedly in hindsight I should have done first before I did anything else with the paint, but I didn't think about it until it was too late.) And I did try to get a transition from just a hint of the yellow to a hint of the pink to a hint of the purple, while still blending the edges of the colors against the trees, tower, and buildings as best I could without disturbing the paint that was already there. I had to do a couple of layers to try and build up the color I wanted, and on the scan, it still looks too pale (though in person it is paler than I was going for, it's just enough that it works to my eyeballs), and unfortunately despite my best efforts I did end up with a few pretty obvious water lines/spots from that. Though on the scanned version they're less noticeable. I think. Then while my faux-background was drying, I went back to the buildings and layered on some spots to indicate windows and on the slanted one, what I imagine to be a kind of giant glass-terrace for very fancy upper-class soirées. And admittedly my windows aren't terribly nice in share and aren't as opaque as maybe they should be, but since I was going for loose, I'm not going to count that too hard against myself. Finally, that upper right corner felt very empty compared to the rest of the drawing, and though I debated on it at first, I ended up adding a moon and very few small stars just to give it a little something and round out the painting a little. And of course I had to add my signature, but I'm trying not to look at/think about it because that pink gel pen came out way more pinky than I expected it to.   Overall, I know there are a lot of mistakes and learning hiccups here, but I really am happy with how it turned out in the end and I really had a lot of fun getting lost in the artistic process with this one. At one point, I looked and the time was 2 am, and then I looked up again at it was 4 am! Two hours had passed in what felt like maybe thirty minutes. And despite its flaws, this is one of those pieces that has boosted my confidence in working with the medium used to create it, and so I say the experience was very much worth it, and thus I am looking forward to trying more larger watercolor pieces like this going forward.  (I am especially eager to try a larger one on canvas, between this and my experiment with watercolors on canvas I did a while ago, so maybe look forward to that in the future?) ____ Artwork © me, MysticSparkleWings ____ Where to find me & my artwork: My Website | Commission Info + Prices | Ko-Fi | dA Print Shop | RedBubble |   Twitter | Tumblr | Instagram

Looking at cars is taking up way too much of my time for someone who still has a month until I start working full time

I was looking at Honda CR-V, Mazda CX-5, Toyota RAV4, and Nissan Rogue but I’ve kinda realized that they’re going to cost a bit and I don’t really need a big suv.

Basically what I want is something with awd and some weight to it so I don’t die in the winter (nurses don’t get to call off or be late when it snows, sick people are 24/7, also throwback to when my preceptor came in one day laughing when it snowed and was like “I spun 180 degrees on the highway on my way here”). Something relatively new, like 2016 or newer, preferably 2017/18, to avoid the wear and maintenance of older cars for a few years.

So I didn’t find any cars (literal small cars) that fit what I want (awd) that I’m interested in, so I’m looking at Mazda CX-3 and Honda HR-V now because they are the smaller, slightly cheaper versions of the CX-5 and CR-V. They are SO similar that it’s hard for me to pick what I like better. Mazda seems prettier and more attractive, but my parents have Honda’s (a pilot and civic) and my dad knows how to do all the maintenance on them (changing brakes, tires, etc). And I know how reliable Honda’s are, my dad has had the Pilot since 2012 and logged 150k miles on it and not a single thing has broken or gone wrong on it (but he’s anticipating things to start soon, PA/northeast US winters are harsh and destroy vehicles). Also that fucking pilot is a god damn TANK, I have seen it slip in the snow ONCE, I’ve driven it through 8 inches of unplowed snow on the highway without a single fucking problem. Mazda is a little more expensive than the Honda, but it’s so pretty. I won’t actually be buying a car for minimum a month and a half, but the cx-3 I’m looking at rn is white on the outside and interior is black leather with red leather accents and it’s gorgeous. Everyone I’ve talked to who has owned a Mazda (my parents had one and mike did too) said they loved theirs, I just don’t have any idea on how they last.

I’ll obviously be looking to own this car for 5-10 years probably? So I’m also really looking at the mileage and the wear the cars already have. I’m also not looking to lease because I don’t like the idea of paying for something that I won’t actually own at the end. I also have suuuuper good credit for some reason (I have no idea why tbh, I think it’s because I have federal and private loans taken out for school that have been open for four years and I use my credit card like a debit card, only spend the money I actually have in my bank account) so I don’t really see myself having a terrible option with payments. I also will have the bug to trade in, I’m not super sure how much they’ll really value it as, but online calculators say about 2k, I could also sell it privately but that’s a dumb hassle. The bug is a special edition one which I always forget, in 2008 they made triple white coupes which is what I have, so it should be worth a bit more plus it’s the highest trim, whatever that is, I always forget the names but it has all the features they offered at the time. That’s the only year they made my car, in 07 they did triple white convertibles. But, the girl who owned the car before me curbed the passenger side a fucking ton so it’s dented, but almost all bugs I see on the road are dented like that too lol. She also burned the plastic dash and the cloth ceiling a bit with cigarettes, so that means it’s not excellent condition (+a bit of rust, thxs PA)

I guess I just have to keep looking, and of course if when the time comes I find a cheaper cx-5 or cr-v, I might go with that. I would also like something more than the base model, I love the sunroof in the bug and the heated leather seats, I also would love another white car to “honor” the bug, I’m too sentimental like that (but when it comes time and if I have to pay 1k+ more, it’s not happening). I guess I’m pretty picky with what I want, but really it boils down to safety, comfort, and price. Also with what’s available, I live in NEPA and the prices are cheaper if I drive down to the Lehigh valley area, but I’m really not looking for a 1.5-2 hour drive one way for a car, but it’s possible if there is a big price difference and there honestly does seem to be (because there is more competition down there for cars). A reliable dealership is a must too, I bought the bug from a guy with two black eyes at a sketch used car place, and while it’s a funny story to tell, you probably won’t get a great car from there. I’m surprised the bug has lasted this long, I say that all the time and I really mean it.

I’m just looking though, but those seem like my best options. I do really like the two small compact SUVs, I think they’re both so gorgeous so that might be what I go with. When the time comes I’ll just have to look again and compare the price, mileage, features, etc.

I think I’ll be plenty sentimental when the time comes to get rid of the bug, assuming nothing major breaks within the next two months and it runs good (which it fucking better because we have replaced so much..). But it’s just incredibly unreliable, I’m honestly a bit anxious about taking my NCLEX because it’s a day both my parents work and they won’t be home if my car decides not to start or do something stupid. There’s no reason/indication that’s going to happen, but it’s still worrying me. Honestly rn everything in the world is worrying me, but I think I’m just stressing myself out (although that acknowledgement doesn’t do a single thing to lessen it).

I’m going to pass my NCLEX, turn 22, start my new job, and get a new car. I just need to relax and it’s so hard. Once I pass my NCLEX I’m going to email some of my favorite professors from college and let them know I’m super grateful to have had them. Partially because I will be falling back on some of them when I need references for NP programs, but also to just personally give them a big thank you. I feel like that’s a nice and good thing to do and probably not something a lot of people would. I was deleted pictures off my phone the other day to free up space (over 2k of screenshots...) and I came across the card I wrote to my preceptor from my internship and I just remembered how thankful I really am for the people who taught me and got me through nursing school and they should get some recognition for forming me into who I am right now, and who I will be for the rest of my life because this was my baseline for my future. I think I’ll be a good nurse, I really hope so.