Thursday, October 31, 2013

Saints, Sinners and Survivors - Not Interested in 4

 
 
As their marriage - lastingly only 6 months - was never consummated,
Anne of Cleeves was never technically a Queen of England. Born in Germany,
she came to England and married Henry on January 6th, 1540. Both she
and her younger sister were in consideration for the position of wife number
four. 
Having no formal education or aptitude for cultural adaption, Anne was
just as displeased with Henry as he was with her - readily agreeing to
a divorce and the distinction of being the King's "Beloved Sister." She
never remarried and enjoyed managing the households gifted to her by
Henry - one of which once belonged to Anne Boleyn. 
She outlived Henry (And Catherine Parr, the only other wife to do so)
and lived to see Lady Mary crowned Queen. The Lady Elizabeth was
also a favorite, being included in her last will. 
There's a bit about her learning to play cards - and getting very good at it -
in the Tudors. Cards were one of her hobbies, so that is her designated
activity in this sketch. 
I often feel like this Anne is overlooked. Though it was tempting to skim
over her (She's not my favorite) I actually spent a great deal of time
trying to do her a little justice. I scrapped 5 earlier versions and am content
with this one. Her silhouette is still a bit dull - but it's hard to do much with
billowy skirts. : / 
 
I was going to originally wait to post this until Sunday or Monday BUT in the
holiday spirit...ta da!! Have a Happy and Safe Halloween! : )

Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Expanding the Universe!

The Cosmic Jingle Universe just got a little bigger!

I've started a Pinterest account to better organize and collect reference images for my projects. (Since my drop box is almost full ><) This also allows me to share those collections too - so if you're working on a project and can't find something, you might check out my boards to see if anything there would help you. :)
 
This is also a great way to get a special sneak peak on future posts!! (*Gasp*)
You can follow this link to get there OR there is a link to the right in the Manifest Destiny slot.
 
See you there! 

Monday, October 28, 2013

Saints, Sinner and Survivors - Lamenting 6


 
Is it irony that Henry's last wife was named after his first? Catherine Parr's 
mother was a close friend and attendant to Catherine of Aragon - which 
also explains why Parr sought to befriend the Lady Mary, becoming a
member of her household before accepting the king's invitation to marriage.
(That friendship lasted until Parr remarried after Henry died - very controversial) 
 
Henry and Catherine were married on July 12th 1543. Parr had been married twice before,
with no children from either marriage - unless counting step children. 
She had no children with Henry either - her only child (Mary) was with her fourth
husband, Thomas Seymour (brother of Jane Seymour). Parr died much in
the same vein as Jane - from complications after childbirth. 
It is probable that she was a reformist - judging by her book Lamentation of a Sinner
among other habits - but she managed to dodge most trouble by being clever and
lucky. I believe she was a rather good fit for Henry in his later life. 
 Go watch the last few episodes of the Tudors that have Joley Richardson as Parr. It is my opinion that she was a wonderful pick for the role. Other than that...no particular
inspirations to go along with this one. : /


Thursday, October 24, 2013

Fast Forward from 2008

YAY!! You've successfully made it to 2013!
Back in fall of 2008 I started attending art school - our first assignment was to draw/express our Selves on a 6x6" canvass square. I was so determined to do something awesome. Something that combined my love for creating stories, my recent exchange to Japan, my general quirkiness, etc.
And I thought I did a really good job with just acrylics. Our squares were collected and stitched together in a quilt that hung at the school until recently. (Apparently I'm old now?)
Since I spent so much energy on it and didn't want it sitting in storage forever, I requested it back. The school was happy to accommodate me. I remembered it as being better than it was...luckily I already had plans to revamp it digitally to go along with my new(ish) branding - and I really love how it came out. This is due to having worked my butt off to finish school and my continuing education/mentoring with Chris Oatley. (Go sign up for Magic Box - it's awesome) : D 
I will make prints of the renewed image (above) for my family and the school (If you reeeeeally want one I might be talked into it) for this Christmas. The old piece (below) I will keep in my suitcase of Japan - that is the suitcase I had to buy there to bring back all the things I bought or was gifted. 
I think I made some progress, don't you?? 


As a parting thought...some of you may know...this March I will be an auntie. Today I learned that I will have a niece. Very excited to meet the adorable girly in 2014!! : )

Sunday, October 20, 2013

Saints, Sinners and Survivors - Marry Me 5


A "Rose without a Thorn," daughter of Lord Edmund Howard and first cousin (once removed?) of Anne Boleyn, Catherine Howard married Henry Tudor on July 28th, 1540 at the age of 19 (Henry was 49) becoming his 5th wife. She rekindled his enthusiasm for life after much torment from losing Jane Seymour and divorcing Anne of Cleeves (to whom she served as lady-in-waiting). She enjoyed dancing and other such courtly indulgences.
 
But having a reputation before her marriage in terms of numerous lovers (including music teacher Henry Mannox) and a vivacious nature that called her fidelity into question, she was accused in November 1541 of treason/adultery. Her accomplices, Thomas Culpeper (a distant cousin) and Francis Dereham, were executed in December of that year while she was placed in the Tower and finally beheaded on the 13th of February, 1542. Happy Valentine's Day, Henry.
 
A bit of inspiration to go along with this post - the song Marry Me by Emilie Autumn on the album Opheliac relates Catherine's perspective in what I like to think is an entirely plausible tone - both grimly hopeless and fluffy minded. Understandable teenage behavior, and since she was after all very young in the scheme of things, well...she is certainly not amongst my favorite of Henry's queens, I do have a bit of sympathy for the girl. A good reminder that things can spiral out of control quickly if you aren't conscious of your decisions and refuse responsibility for your actions and are generally promiscuous. Also of note is Claire Hummel's Historically Accurate Disney Princesses. Delightful revisions of the classical fairytale ladies. While I wasn't exactly aiming for the level of historical accuracy that Claire was - I did fancy the style. Combined with what I've been learning in the Oatley Academy (Which I need to catch up on ><) I think I've made great improvement! : D More to come soon!!

Friday, October 11, 2013

Rebranding


I'm currently auditing a class that focuses on branding, social media, etc. And I think this time around I have a much better handle on things. Let's face it, your last semester of Senior year isn't the best time to be faced with the question: WHO ARE YOU? (artistically) With everything else I had going on, this wasn't high on my priority list.
 
But it should have been.
 
Which is why I'm retaking the class now. Some of you may have noticed a shift in presentation - which will continue on through until mid December when the class ends - and while some things are staying the same. Others are definitely not.
 
I am sticking by Cosmic Jingle. The idea is still important to me. But the logo has changed, pretty drastically which is fine. I feel like it fits me better. I am unfortunately still not of Asian descent, but I draw much inspiration from my stay in Japan and several current projects focus on that experience. What happens when I finish those projects? The inspiration is still there. I'm not going to ask everyone to go back to spelling my named Becky. Still Beki here.
 
What are the red characters then? A while back I looked up the meanings of my last name(s) and translated the meaning over. Black was pretty easy. Gliko was more of a challenge. I've been throwing this on pretty much all of my artwork since...well since 2008 because my name's too long to write out on the bottom of a piece. (Too long for most official form lines too and most don't recognize hyphens either) This way I also avoid confusing people with multiple initials. Hallelujah!
 
I understand some people's opinions about using your real name on things. I agree that whenever possible one should try to use their names and take responsibility/credit for what they put out there. But I can also understand how in certain situations this is not possible. Some people have more common names and are unable to get the identifier they want. Some people deeply hate their name. Some people have awkward names. Some people didn't plan on being a public figure and are stuck with nicknames they picked when they were 12 years old. (Although to that I have to question their understanding of how the internet works...?) Some people are in Witness Protection or another similar situation. I am still surprised how many Facebook friend requests I get from people who think I am that Friday girl, so it's nice sometimes to get away from that mass of trollers.
 
Anyways, that's my two cents on the whole branding/rebranding.
Expect more changes in the next couple months - including some new art up on the website. ; )
Thanks again for stopping by and giving this post a read!!

Monday, October 7, 2013

Onisan Update



Two more pages of Onisan content: Julia's family and the Yosei who is disguised for most of the narrative as a house servant named Moriko. Still hoping I can at least get Oni ready by the CTN portfolio deadline this Oct. 13th. Had plans for two additional illustrations, but one they wouldn't get done and two...my brain exploded.
 
Why?
 
 
Chris Oatley recommended I read it and it kind blew my mind. I realized that with Onisan I had finally made a push with a personal project that was closer to being personal, but I could still push it further. It made me realize a lot of other things too - mainly though was this notion of giving/sharing and being genuine - being truly indispensable. So I started sketching...
 
 
These were mainly from photographs of when I spent a summer (2007) in Japan with YFU. It was absolutely brilliant. I'm now trying to figure out the best way to share this experience - utilizing my abilities and passion. Who knows, maybe when I finish I'll do a New Zealand follow up??
 
Seriously, go read Linchpin. Or get the audiobook and listen to it while you're drawing. Good stuff!: )