Lenny's ART.

Secret 7"

2012-01-21T16:59:00.003-05:00

Hey guys, I entered a contest and I would seriously appreciate your votes!

CLICK HERE TO VOTE

Prints for Saleeee

2011-08-29T23:12:00.004-04:00

Alright so going through my room, I've found quite a few decent to high quality prints that I no longer need after cleaning out my room. They range from being there for my personal enjoyment to rejected portfolio prints, and I'm opening them up for sale to anyone who would like one.

First come first serve, descriptions and sizes follow, as well as any imperfections.

Contact me at olena.li@gmail.com if you're interested.

1. A Million Red Roses
8x12
Matte (satin finish)
$5 CAD

2. Ave Maria
8x12
Matte (satin finish)
$5 CAD

3. A Bautiful Truth
8.5x11
Matte
$5 CAD

4. Headlock
8.5x11
Glossy (photo paper)
Slight tape transfer mark on front, minor imperfections
$3 CAD

5. Don't Jump
8.5x11
Glossy
Minor imperfections, slight purple tint
$3 CAD

6. Captain
8x7.5
Matte (satin finish)
$5 CAD

7. Boat
8x10
Matte (satin finish)
$5 CAD

$25 for all 7 prints.

Peace,

~Len

18? Oh yeah

2011-07-10T16:04:00.003-04:00

So I've had one hell of a birthday celebration, still recovering from the massive amounts of cake I've consumed haha.

A list of current things I'm into:

1.

This dress that I got in the States 2 weeks back. Unimpressed with how it looked on the hanger, it ended up looking up much better on me. The fact that it has pockets? Sold.

2.

Rimmel 60 seconds Nail Polish in 819 Green With Envy. A birthday gift from a friend of mine, and the shiny peacock blue/green is gorgeousssssss.

3. My new Moleskine sketchbook that I love to death and am terrified to draw in.

4. Realizing lately that you can borrow CDs from the library (shut up CDs are awesome) I borrowed Mika's "The Boy Who Knew Too Much", Regina Spektor's "Far" and Kanye West's "808s and Heartbreak". I have an absolutely whacked out taste in music and I apologize for nothing. I've enjoyed all 3 thoroughly and they've made their way onto my beloved ipod.

I've had a great weekend.

~Len

Thinking

2011-06-04T21:33:00.009-04:00

I've been thinking a lot lately, which is probably a side-effect of having either not enough work, or enough work but no motivation, but I digress.

There's a few things that I (as well as the majority of the world's population) probably find really weird, but don't really comment on because god knows who has the time to think of these things anymore.
Take fluency in terms of language for example. When does one become fluent in a language? When one can carry on an intelligent conversation that goes beyond the whole "hello" "how are you" "quite fabulous thank you"?

Take it from a high school senior taking university-level English, I have encountered people who ONLY know one language and are thoroughly incapable of carrying on an intelligent conversation.

So we can scratch that I guess.

Maybe when you can think and formulate ideas in a language?

I have 3 languages that I consider myself fluent in, and I think in abstract colours with no grammatical structure whatsoever.
So quite frankly, I have no idea.

So this entire thing got me thinking, when do you know if you know a person well?

What kinds of questions do you, being able to state that you know them well, need to be able to answer?

What's their favourite colour?
What was the name of their first beloved childhood pet?
What is the one thing that they need to accomplish so that they can say that they have left a successful existence?

A friend of mine suggested that you need to know them well enough to predict how they would react in certain situations. How they would act, what they would say, what have you.

Alright, I'll take that. I've known my parents for almost 18 years now, I think I know them very well. I can predict most of their reactions, and that is what keeps me on the honour roll, year after year.
But occasionally they throw things at me that are completely out of left field. They react in a way that is completely uncharacteristic of their usual demeanour, and I guess the same holds true for humans in general.

Does that mean I don't know my parents well?

And if that's true, does that mean that none of the people who I hold as important to me are people that I actually KNOW WELL?

It's kind of a weird train of thought to follow.

I have an idea for SOMETHING. I'm just not sure what form that something will take. I also don't know if I'm ready as an artist to do something like this to begin with.

In a nutshell, too much thinking, not enough work being done.

Peace,

~Len

P.S.

I love Adele. So hard.

Springfest 2011

2011-05-23T12:18:00.009-04:00

May 19, 2011. Aching feet, grumbling stomach, half-delirious imitations of a decapitated millipede on the drama room floor, panic, root beer milkshakes, and an overwhelming sense of accomplishment.
That's the best I can do to sum it up.

SO. A recap of springfest and the stuff I had displayed.

Nicole's jars and my drug drawings.

"Choose Wisely"
Dramatic angle time.

Panel 1.

Panel 2.

Panel 3.

View from the stairwell. Back at like 6ish, when the natural light was streaming in, it was absolutely gorgeous. Too bad I didn't get a picture :(

Prints!

"I'll Assemble All the Sand"

- watercolour

Didactic Panel

"One In a Million"

- ink on illustration board

"Aut Inveniam Viam Aut Faciam/Either I Shall Find a Way or Make One"

- ink on illustration board

"Maori"

- oil on canvas

The art stairwell that I basically called dibs on.

"Show Them What You're Made Of" (otheriwise known as my never-ending love affair with carbs)

- wheat on poster board

"Performance Piece 2"

All in all, a resounding success of a night :D

I'm gonna miss you, graduating talent of '11

Peace,

~Len

Jars

2011-05-16T15:36:00.003-04:00

Behold, the 3-panel monster that I slaved over for hours and hours.

(almost done)

Peace,

~Len

P.S. OH GOD SPRINGFEST ON THURSDAY

P.P.S. Never drawing another jar again

Wheattttttt

2011-05-09T13:03:00.003-04:00

So I'm finally getting back into the art groove. Sorta.

Some birthday cards:

And the bane of my existance, a self-portrait in wheat.

Essentially taking this:

And somehow re-creating it in wheat.

Some progress shots:

Peace,

Len

3 Things

2011-04-21T16:19:00.003-04:00

1. Foiled - Blue October

I've realized that if I had to listen to one album for the rest of my life, this would be it. It's been one of my favourites for the better part of 5 years, and it's always been relevant, and it's always been amazing. Pure brilliance.

2. Prom shoes

Yessir, the silver ones on the right are the ones I'm wearing :]
I can't believe I just blogged about shoes.

3. Still Life (FROM HELL)

My god this was the most painful still life I've ever had to draw. HUNDREDS OF PAPERS. ART BOOKS EVERYWHERE. GOD DAMN IT ALL.
Done in about 2 periods on vellum, 3/4 of this stupid drawing ended up on my arm anyways. I kind of like it.

Peace,

~Len

Performance art

2011-04-12T21:06:00.001-04:00

Final Performance Art,
Many thanks to Amy Chang, I don't know many people who'd agree to be covered in paint with me.

~Len

Tattoo thoughts

2011-03-24T17:58:00.004-04:00

I think if I ever end up getting a tattoo, that's what it would be.

I've always had a connection to daisies.
My earliest memory of my grandfather was of him teaching me how to make a daisy wreath. I find half the things I do nowadays relate back to him.
Daisies are the flower equivalent of innocence.
Also, I feel that if I had to show people, brushing my hair off of my neck has some kind of intimacy and vulnerability to it that I find interesting.

Also, I like the way it looks with my profile.

Thoughts?

~Len

Prom Dress

2011-03-22T16:50:00.001-04:00

Got my dress!

Love it to death

~Len

Photography Assignment in Progress

2011-03-18T12:35:00.002-04:00

I am absolute garbage at photography, which is why this assignment is pissing me off.
UGH.

Probably my favourite so far.

I can't believe march break is almost overrrrrr. What did I accomplish?

*sigh*

Oh yeah whoops I have homework I was actually supposed to do.

Peace,

~Len

40 day challenge

2011-03-08T17:14:00.001-05:00

Be it out of genuine drive to improve or temporary inspired insanity, the Changster and I have decided that for the next 40 days, we shall draw something every day.

For 40 days.

Cue ominous music here.

I'll update every week with scans of my progress, and here's hoping that I learn something.

Peace,

Lenny

Sheridan Illustration Portfolio

2011-03-03T21:22:00.004-05:00

ALRIGHT SO I GOT IN!

----

Somehow, I have managed to find innumerable examples of portfolios for Animation, but Sheridan Illustration, not so much. So for the benefit of anyone who may be looking, here's what I've managed to come up with for the drawing test.

If I get in, take this as a guide of what to do.

If I don't, this is a guide to what NOT to do.

ONWARDS.

Figure seated

Figure standing

Figure involved in an everyday activity

Drawing of a figure with some furniture (without using pencil)

Interior of a room with the view out a window

Still life with the basic shapes of a cube, sphere and cylinder

Above drawing with some change applied to it (removed gravity)

AWE YEAH IT FEELS GOOD TO BE DONE.

Peace,

~Lenny

Portfolio Portfolio

2011-03-02T16:33:00.005-05:00

1.

2.

10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

15.

16.

I need to pick 14 of these.

Halp.

~Lenny

Horizon lines

2011-02-25T23:22:00.002-05:00

Here goes my super super fun re-learning of perspective, vanishing points and horizon lines!

4.5 down, 3.5 to go.

*sigh*

~Lenny

Accepted!

2011-02-11T17:22:00.002-05:00

First Conditional Acceptance for Art Fundamentals at Sheridan College :D

Which, although not being my first choice, is still kind of an ego boost. It feels good that at least SOMEONE accepted me.

So I had my Sheridan/York interview today, and I think it went fairly well. The fact that she basically spent 5 minutes looking at what took me about 2 months to compile was kind of painful, but still.
The interviewer told me that my illustration skills were very strong and that I'd be successful if I wanted to pursue either one (graphic design or illustration). Which put a huge smile on my face.

And man on man thank God for Desktop Design.
If it wasn't for those artists that we had to study, I'd have no idea what I would have answered for any of those questions.

All in all, I think it went as well as it could have for a 10 minute interview.

One down, two to go.

Head down, pencil in hand, moving forward *sigh*

Peace,

~Lenny

Doubleplusgood

2011-02-02T16:42:00.002-05:00

So massive snowstorm today, and district-wide snow day. GREAT.
On the one day that I have no school, we get a snow day. This blows.
Also, this complicates my "gotta get to TKD no matter what the weather" plans considerably.

Here are some doodles from my sketchbook, and one finished work.
I apologize in advance for shitty camera quality.

Finally got this baby back, my first independent. Proud as hell of it, for once. I'll get a proper scan up eventually.

Got myself a red colour-erase pencil. I think I'm in love.
I don't think I'll draw with anything else ever again.

20 minute self-portrait in dying brush pen and marker.

Squiggly Monroe-inspired lady, and random topless girl with cane.

And the sketch of the thing I'm currently working on.

I've had quite the week :]

Peace,

~Lenny

Dun dun duuuuuuuuuuuuun

2011-01-25T17:21:00.004-05:00

Mmkay here's some things I've been thinking about/enjoying lately.

1. Grigoriy Leps "Ukhodi Krasivo" (literally translated: Leave Pretty)

MAN OH MAN.
I think somewhere between his delivery and how goddamn catchy the beat is, I found myself hopping around my room with hairbrush in hand, singing (read: bellowing) along.

2. Future graphic novel?
Oh man I wish I hate starting things I don't finish, but I really really want to dip my feet into the sequential art with a plot world. I know I can't even update my comic on time, but gahhhh.
Must doodle some more and think this through.

3. Last exam tomorrow, I reaaaaaally don't want to study

That is all.

Peace,

~Lenny

Graphic Design Portfolio take 1

2011-01-23T19:25:00.004-05:00

Well the first portfolio interview I have up is for Sheridan/York graphic design (my 3rd choice), and simultaneously, we had to produce a portfolio for Desktop Design. Here are some pieces that I have copies of on my USB at the moment.

An 8-page book we had to make on ourselves, outlining past, present and future. I particularly enjoy my map of Europe.

A piece I've probably posted already, Photoshop painting from back in the day titled "Insomnia".

Logo Design for the company "Dairy Cow Cream Puffs" an all-organic gourmet cream puff bakery.

Street banner design for the theme "Urban trees" after the style of Irma Boom.

Independent assignment, poster for La Roux's "Tigerlily".

A series of 3 labels outlining different tastes (I'm pretty sure sour eel chips exist somewhere in Asia, I just haven't found them yet).

Also, I have some ideas for a graphic novel brewing in my brain, and as soon as I get my butt in gear, I'm going to start outlining the story start to finish, properly. I don't know about you guys but I'm excited :]

It'll be equal parts snarky humour, human introspection, and of course at it's core, a struggle for happiness following a series of dark and twisted events.
VAGUE I'M SORRY BUT MY MIND IS MOVING FASTER THAN MY PENCIL.

Peace,

~Lenny

2011-01-15T14:41:00.002-05:00

There aren't very many pictures that I like too much of myself. But here are some that I do :]

Photocred: Ana

Photocred: Veronica

Photocred: Veronica

Photocred: Veronica

Wish I had more art to show, but sadly I have nothing scanned D:

Peace,

~Lenny

2011

2011-01-01T13:53:00.002-05:00

So let's see, I got home at 4 am, after eating dessert at 3 in the morning, and played chess with yuliya, both sides looking near-identical.
After taking out my own knight in chess, mr. green murdering mr. body with the candlestick and the rope in an undisclosed location, a 2 minute game of dominoes and some facebook lurking we decided to call it quits.

Happy New Year guys, 2010 was pretty good,
I hope 2011 is even better :]

~Len

Prints

2010-12-19T22:51:00.001-05:00

Base Print

Beauty

Wish For the Future

Social Commentary

Postmodern

Weird

2010-12-08T23:00:00.002-05:00

I take absolutely no credit for the above work of genius, I've had it sitting on my computer for a few months now and don't remember the source. D:

But it was the driving inspiration for my Narrative Non-Fiction short story thing that I ended up writing and re-writing and poking at for Writers Craft.

I just thought I'd share.

There Are People Like Me/There Are People Like You

There are people like me, who laugh too easily, talk too much, and dance like a wounded turtle with only three legs.
There are people like you, who when they laugh light up a room, talk just enough to keep the world interested, and though I've never seen you dance, I'd bet it comes as easily to you as everything you dare to attempt.
There are people like me, all razor sharp wit and precise lines, and a terrible secret fantasy that someone would draw me a curve and leave me confused, open, and breathless.
There are people like me, who rage over the smallest, most insignificant details and largest frustrations with the world, losing sleep over the fact that I can't change anything and never will.
There are people like you, who I've never even seen mildly irritated, who take everything in stride, and so it goes, and so it goes, and so it goes.
There are people like me, who are addicted to words, who read text messages on the way home from school and grin like an idiot because maybe it reminded me of the million dollar smile you flashed me last Monday when I told you a particularly heinous joke.
There are people like you, who handle my verbal sparring matches like a pro, matching me blow for blow and leave me frustrated at the fact that I just can't win.
There are people like me, all shiny brown hair and long-lashed eyes, obscenely tall in heels and no, I wouldn't put on skinny jeans even if they paid me.
There are people like you, so hopelessly striking that I wonder how I get any work done, ever and find myself drawing the same set of eyebrows, again and again.
There are people like me, who have had to work for everything they've ever achieved in life; who if they wanted something, left their blood, sweat and tears on the floor and got up for more – because I've got something to prove to any bastard that's ever told me to do girl push-ups instead.
There are people like you, who've probably never had to try for anything in your life, who've always been so naturally talented that you assumed we were all the same way.
There are people like me, who are absolute garbage at articulating feelings and any emotion that matters and yet care so much. Selfish and self-absorbed, I sometimes wonder how I managed to keep any friends at all.
There are people like you, who listen, if absolutely nothing else.
There are people like me, who are terrified and petrified, so completely lost that I wonder how I ride the same bus home every single day and how,

how can you be so sure?

1 2 3

2010-11-17T17:40:00.004-05:00

Here's a breakdown so far:

1. Art stuff
I've been drawing like a MANIAC. I honestly haven't been this productive in years, and yet I have nothing to show you. D:
I swear I'll scan some sketchbook pages and throw them up here eventually but not yet.
Goddamn portfolios.

My Maori-inspired oil painting which turned out better than I thought it would.

2. Harel Skaat

I can listen to you FOREVER.

3. Everything else.
Life's been... ok.

Evening out as of late.
Which is nice, definitely.

Comic is on indefinite hiatus. At least till I get into art school.

Peace,

~Lenny

Nipple licking goldfish

2010-10-31T13:00:00.003-04:00

Alright so today, i was sifting through my saved msn conversations and i realized that the file names are PRICELESS.

"nipple licking goldfish"
"inception homoerotica"
"ace puberty"
"my life is twilight"
"your place or mine"

I love my friends.

And on another note, for the first time in a long time I woke up smiling today.

~Lenny

In a nutshell

2010-10-24T16:07:00.004-04:00

Alright so here's what's happened in a nutshell:

1.

I've finished knitting this sonofabitch of a crab. Handed it in last week.
PZrops to Veronica for the photo :]

2.

I went to my first ever TaeKwonDo Tournament yesterday, and got bronze in patterns and gold in sparring.
NOT what I expected, but I think I did pretty well :]

3.

I figured out what I'm wearing for the Awards Banquet at my school. I apparently got the Media Arts award (yay me? haha) and bought this top today.
The skirt I found in the states for $10 this summer.
Yeaaaaaaaah :D

That's all for now,

~Lenny

Today was a GREAT day.

2010-10-12T23:07:00.002-04:00

GUESS WHAT CAME IN THE MAIL TODAY. GUESS.

Aweeeee yeahhhhhhhh.

Also, I've been experiencing RAOP (Random Acts of Poetry) lately.
I blame writers craft.

~Lenny

Modern

2010-10-09T16:22:00.004-04:00

1. Nuit Blanche

Alright, I may not be the biggest art geek in any respect, and modern art has never particularly been my cup of tea, but I LOVE Nuit Blanche, and this year it did not disappoint.

Modern art reminds me of an Andy Warhol quote that my friend purchased a print of in New York City that I think went something like "Art is anything you can get away with". Feel free to correct me on that.

It's always weird, it's always cold, it's always liberating and giddy and ARTISTIC.
Maybe not always in all the right ways, but spending time with friends has never been a bad thing.

2. Knitting.

I don't enjoy knitting in any strict sense. But art class is forcing it on me and I've realized that hating it just makes it even more painful.
My knitting is also lumpy and uneven and no amount of practice seems to be able to remedy that.

That's all for now,

~Lenny

Makes Me Think - MMT #10518

2010-09-19T21:37:00.001-04:00

Makes Me Think - MMT #10518

Isn't that what, deep down, we're all afraid of?
:(

Grade 8 portfolio

2010-09-15T20:26:00.006-04:00

Alright, so I signed up for portfolio classes today and after the dirty looks from my old art teacher (who I kinda abandoned for 3 years whooooops D: ), I was instructed to bring in everything I've drawn in the past 3 years to see if 3 years of RAP program produced anything worth showing to potential art colleges/universities.

GOOD THING I DRAW IN MY FREE TIME.

But nevertheless, I stumbled upon THESE in my picture files, and decided for shits and giggles, I'd share.

Behold. The majority of the grade 8 portfolio that got me into high school.

Still life on chair with clothing.

Self Portrait from mirror (PFFT YEAH RIGHT) with hat.

Stop laughing.

"Over and Over" using a red triangle.

"What goes on inside my head"
LOL WTF WAS I SMOKING I DON'T EVEN KNOW.

I still like this one. This was one of my choice pieces.

COLLAGE :D

Has anyone noticed how much I love still lives? Like actually? LOL

STOP LAUGHING ALREADY.

~Lenny

Back to Basics

2010-09-11T15:06:00.003-04:00

Awe man the lyrics. I can't get over them even after 4 years or so.

Sound Of Pulling Heaven Down/ Blue October

Somewhere, far away from here
I saw stars, stars that I could reach (yeah)
It was a midnight, a silent twilight
Fell down, beyond the ocean beach (yeah)

I assemble all the sand that cover wedding beaches
To build a castle so your mom would have a place to stay
Behind the water slide and down the hill where heaven reaches
Land and time is left to float away (yeah)

So rest assured I have the key to every opening
To every wishing well that's deep enough to dream (dream)
I want to show you just how fascinating kissing is
When earth collides with all the space between (yeah)

I'm reaching farther than I ever have before
Leaving all who broke your heart upon the shore
I may be some sort of crazy
We may be some sort of crazy
But I swear on everything I have and more

So never look behind you, spooky people bring you down
The world is ending there's a party by the bay
I'll wear my suit and tie when I am
I am toasting to the way you put that smile upon my face (yeah)

Fill up the air balloon and ride with me
Yeah hell is jealous of the rain (rain)
Make love like time and space Is ending
While befriending fate's alluring way of putting us to shame

I'm reaching farther than I ever have before
Leaving all who broke your heart upon the shore
I may be some sort of crazy
We may be some sort of crazy
But I swear on everything I have and more

You make the sound of pulling heaven down
You brought the rain's romantic pour
You make the sound
You make the sound
Of pulling heaven down

I'm reaching farther than I ever have before
(Tired of wasting time)
Leaving all who broke your heart upon the shore
(tired of wasting time)
I may be some sort of crazy
We may be some sort of crazy
But I swear on everything I have and more
(go go go go)

I'm reaching farther than I ever have before
(Tired of wasting time)
Leaving all who broke your heart upon the shore
(Tired of wasting time)
I may be some sort of crazy
We may be some sort of crazy
But I swear on everything I have and more
(go go go go)

Romance Is

2010-09-05T17:21:00.002-04:00

I'm not even sure what I want to say about this picture. It's been stewing in my sketchbook for a few weeks now, always in the back of my mind. I finally decided to scan it and fiddle around with it in Photoshop until it more or less ended up being something I'm halfway satisfied with.

I don't draw a lot of nudes/half-nudes any which way you look at it. This isn't even mature content really.
Not entirely sure why, since I greatly enjoy life drawing.

I tried to make her less than perfect, but I still didn't go as far as I should have. She still looks a bit too cookie-cutter perfect for my liking. That irritates me to no end about my drawing. For all my fascination with quirks in appearances, and meeting that one amazing nose, fantastic jawline, or what have you, all my people look exactly the same. Ugh.

Improvement needs to be done.

At least if I have any hope of getting into art school.

Peace,

~Lenny

Inception take 3

2010-08-12T21:01:00.005-04:00

Alright so I went and saw Inception for the 3rd time today and it just gets better and better and better. I am getting that movie on DVD the second it hits shelves so I can watch it as many times as I want.
I have SUCH a crush on Tom Hardy it's probably border lining on creepy. (Those lips! THAT ACCENT~)

BUT ANYWAYS.

It was my dear friend Sarface's birthday a few days back and instead of drawing her some shirtless buff man, I gave up and resorted to territory I understand a bit more.
*SIIIIIIGH*

One day my grasp of male anatomy will be a step above "dubious".

Also, I finally got around to reading Neil Gaiman's "Coraline" after seeing the movie in 3D a while ago :]
It was brilliant, as I have come to expect Neil Gaiman to be. So I had to whip up some fanart, of what might have happened if Coraline accepted the black button eyes.

Summer has been going along very well for me, and I hope I'll update soon with something more substantial.

Peace,

~Lenny

2 Things

2010-07-22T13:19:00.005-04:00

1. Inception

So I saw Inception on Tuesday and goddamn the last thing that made me freak out that much was Avatar.
VERY well done, and I absolutely loved the idea.

It ended up being one of those movies that you need to stay awake and pay attention to every second or else you miss something. It was suspenseful, smart, funny in an offhand way and just SO INCREDIBLY GOOD.

Have I mentioned how fantastic it was yet? If you haven't seen it, WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU WAITING FOR.

2. Harel Skaat

29? Really? You lie Wikipedia.

My love for music in languages I can't understand has inevitably led me to Hebrew. It is an absolutely gorgeous language and I can't for the life of me stop listening to Mr. Skaat.

I first heard him on Eurovision and still firmly believe that he should have won. Best male soloist on that stage by FAR.
But this isn't about the eternally entertaining political game that is Eurovision.

Trust me, I have tried to sing along to this. I'm just not meant to attempt Hebrew.

That's all for now,

~Lenny

What's the best place near you to get a drink?

2010-07-22T13:08:00.002-04:00

I don't have the slightest idea. I probably should, but I never really made it my mission to figure this out.

Ask me anything

17th Birthday

2010-07-15T12:05:00.006-04:00

I never post these things on time.

BUT YEAH.

So my birthday came and went, and I could not have asked for anything better.

The entire week was fantastic.

I thought my face would crack from smiling so hard.

But I digress,

July 8th was spent watching television (because I can hahahah) and then I made my way to TKD. Which was the highlight of my day, hands DOWN.

I love these kids so hard.

The dream team, minus a few people who didn't make it.
There were some pictures when the shirts came off, but Hellen hasn't posted those up yet. LOL

AND HERE'S THE LOOT LOL.
All, or most of the stuff I got for my birthday. Which includes all the stuff shown above as well as jewellery, and probably some other things I forgot when taking the photo.

There's so much more to say but I think it'll all be redundant.

THANK YOU GUYS <3

And clothes. I got a lot of clothes. And a new purse.

I like stripes.
A lot.

Peace,

~Lenny

There's No Place Like Home.

2010-07-15T11:52:00.002-04:00

I got home at around 7:30 pm yesterday from our 3-day camping excursion, which is actually a perfectly long time for me. I'm not much of a camper.
I obviously had to finish drawing the Mucha I started, kudos to the amazing marker paper that Ana got me for my birthday :]

But I did have to conclude that Watkins Glen State Park, New York, is absolutely gorgeous. The Olympic sized pool was nice as well. :]

What a view.

This photo, while dark, also mistakenly shows me as though I have some sort of arm definition.

The heart shaped pool was cute :]

Peace,

~Lenny

P.S. Birthday pictures will be up soon! :D

Post-Bday

2010-07-11T00:39:00.001-04:00

STEPHEN FRY: WHAT I WISH I'D KNOWN WHEN I WAS 18 from Peter Samuelson on Vimeo.

This is absolutely brilliant and well worth a listen.

What a way to move into being 17. hahaha

~Lenny

8 things

2010-07-06T23:21:00.003-04:00

A birthday gift for one of my best friends, who's birthday is two days after mine.

I was tagged on devART for this a while back but never got around to doing it, so here goes.

8 things you probably don't know about me:

1. I am super super close with my mom. How much I talk to her is probably comparable with how much I talk to my girlfriends.

2. I have a weakness towards the following foods: canned peach halves in syrup, brie cheese, Fuji apples, gummy bears, milk chocolate, The Crescendo Deluxe pizza, rainbow tortellini, and bacon.

3. I was raised listening to Pugacheva, Kirkorov, Gazmanov, Mashina Vremeni, Serduchka, Malinin, Shufutinsky, Lyube, and the like. I'm a bit behind the times when it comes to English music.

4. I have two very prominent birthmarks, one on the right side of where my neck meets my shoulder, and one on my upper inner thigh.

5. Water is my favourite drink. Closely followed by root beer and Nestea.

6. When I get a new CD I listen to it 50 times or so non-stop before getting a little bored.

7. When putting on pants, I always put my right leg through first.

8. Semicolons are my favourite form of punctuation.

Peace,

~Lenny

School's out!

2010-07-01T17:26:00.003-04:00

My final studio exam.

Not entirely satisfied with this because I would have much rather done it either digitally or in a mix of ink and watercolour.

OH YEAH.

SCHOOL'S OVER. FINALLY.
HA. SUCK IT GRADE 11.

Yesterday was very productive, but mostly exhausting.
I finished this semester with the highest average that I've had since starting high school, 90.5, which is amazing for me LOL.
My major ended up bringing my entire mark down, but this whole dropping your lowest mark business will probably remedy that.

I also helped out at TKD both as a favour for Master Ko and for my remaining 4.5 volunteer hours XD
It was actually a ton of fun.
As fun as 3.5 hours without AC can be anyways.

Peace,

~Lenny

Equation of a Sewing Project

2010-06-27T22:21:00.003-04:00

Three parts cheap fabric you find on sale at Fabric Land eye-searingly rendered in sketchy quality flash photography.

One part interfacing, a pinch of pins, a dash on needles, and fabric scissors to taste.

3/4 cups full of planning and measuring.

Ice with cheapo fabric on sale at Fabric Land that will one day be transformed into a summer dress. Fabric should be a middle ground between the above photograph, with flash.

Or this one without.

Hope you all are enjoying your summer, because I know I am :]

Peace,

~Lenny

Six Billion Secrets - FMS #105572

2010-06-26T18:53:00.000-04:00

Six Billion Secrets - FMS #105572

This literally almost brought me to tears.

TV Fanart

2010-06-20T22:54:00.004-04:00

I've been on a "drawing fanart instead of studying for exams" kick lately, maybe because this semester has given me little to no opportunities for art for ME.

But here's what I got so far.

A sketch that needs some work.

Fillmore!'s Ingrid Third (left) and Danny Phantom's Sam Manson (right). Because I miss the days where television didn't suck.

Peace,

~Lenny

Ish Fizzies

2010-06-09T22:34:00.000-04:00

Art studio exam outlines

English Class Update

2010-05-26T14:32:00.004-04:00

I have 25 minutes left of English class in which I am supposed to write a story that is both profoundly moral and not scandalous or personal enough to offend anybody.

This is ridiculous.

I have a lot to say, but all the lessons I learned in life came from experiences that I do not want to share with my U English class.

I'm surprised that my blog isn't blocked on the school computers.

It is hot as hell today.
But it could be a lot worse I guess.
Last week at TKD almost made me forget what it felt like NOT to drown in your own sweat. And other people's. *shudder*

I saw "How to Train Your Dragon" last weekend, and it was single-handedly the most adorable thing ever. And I own a 9 month old kitten.
SO CUTE.
The entire audience was "AWWWWWW"ing basically every single time Toothless came on screen. I LOVE how catlike they made him.
GAHHHH <3

I've been spending most of my time lurking old songs from my childhood on YouTube. I'll link some when I get home I guess :]

I'll go back to writing my stupid-ass photostory on the time I locked my cat in the fridge by accident and almost scared myself half to death.

Peace,

~Lenny

Nouveau

2010-05-21T17:41:00.001-04:00

I needed to link because words do not express how hard I love this:

CLICK

WANT WANT WAAAAAAAAAAAANT

~Lenny

May Madness

2010-05-09T19:31:00.003-04:00

2/6 projects done.

This week is going to be as fun as a stomach infection.

Daniel Diges, I can listen to you all day, every day.

Peace,

~Lenny

Law courtroom sketches and wips

2010-04-11T18:16:00.000-04:00

PANTS

2010-03-21T17:27:00.005-04:00

Behold! What I have accomplished over the march break:

Pants! Handmade, from scratch. And by scratch, I mean upholstery fabric I yoinked from my art teacher and my blood sweat and tears over the better part of a week.

They were supposed to be made to fit me, and they do :]

More angles!

Neat seams! (I hope)

My workstation. The clean version of it anyway.

A close up of the fabric, that is an off-white suede-y couch fabric haha

And more fabric that I got from Fabricland yesterday that i shall sew myself things with when I have the time!

Peace,

~Lenny

Confession

2010-03-10T19:08:00.006-05:00

I have something to admit to all of you.

I am actually Russian.
Disregarding the fact that I was born in Ukraine, my parents were born in Ukraine, my parents' parents were born in Ukraine etc.
Speaking Russian makes me Russian just as speaking Chinese would make me Chinese.
And even IF I was from THE Ukraine, that's basically Russian, right? I mean come on, who the hell cares. Chinese, Korean, same difference.

As an Eastern European, I am associated with the KGB, was at some point best friends with Stalin, am an alcoholic, believe in a communist utopia, and will obviously grow up to be a mail-order bride.

Once being an immigrant, I obviously aim to steal your jobs and live on welfare for the rest of my life.
By not Anglicizing my name, I obviously am a terrorist that hates the government of the country I moved to.

I'm probably going to be an unemployed slacker in the future, as I am planning to go into art. As every knows, there is no respectable living to be made doing what you like to. My contribution to society will therefore be useless since I am not immersing myself in a profession that is more suitable for an honour-roll student.
I am obviously set to waste my potential by not becoming a doctor, a lawyer or an accountant.

Peace,

~Lenny

Art Fashion Assignment

2010-03-01T16:52:00.002-05:00

Daywear

Eveningwear

Skate-wear?

My favourite pair of shoes.

Peace,

~Lenny

Fashion rough sketches

2010-02-21T21:45:00.001-05:00

And so begin my tentative forays into the world of fashion design.

Because art class said it must be so, here are my half-baked and half-accurate rough sketches for an upcoming project.

Apologies for shitty camera pics.

Peace,

~Lenny

studio exam details

2010-02-04T17:15:00.003-05:00

Feels like Insomnia

2010-02-01T21:02:00.001-05:00

I'm turning into some kind of insomniac.
And every time I visit my homepage, I'm reminded of that fact LOL.

I don't know.
Did you guys ever have those days where you're tired, yet all you end up doing is lying in bed staring at the ceiling, tossing and turning until 4 am?
It's not even the amount of sleep I get that bothers me, it's more the time that I COULD have spent sleeping was instead spent thinking over complete nonsense and worrying about trivial things.

Then the next day, you're so profoundly tired that you sleep like you're dead? And the whole cycle starts aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaall over again.

This sucks.

Sleep why must you elude meeeee. I love youuuuuuu D:

I find lately I'm listening to music that i was into 3-4 years ago. Every song brings back memories of what I was like back then.
And I don't know if that should scare me or not.

I remember trying harder when I was younger.
Now I kind of wonder what the point is.

I remember being completely and totally clueless and that hasn't really changed much to be honest.

At least the comic updates regularly. :]

~Lenny

Hibernation.

2010-01-29T00:12:00.003-05:00

Have you ever had it where you don't like someone,

And you know you don't like them,

Like YOU KNOW you don't.

You know it almost as much as you know your hair is brown.

And then you start doubting your hair colour?

~ Lenny

P.S. EXAMS ARE OVER WHOO. Time to hibernate.

2010-01-15T11:55:00.003-05:00

I just realized how much I seriously hate graphing. Some things I dislike, like gym class. Some things piss me off, like teen suicide. Some things I hate, like cooked carrots. BUT GRAPHING. GRAPHING needs a category of it's own just so I can fully express my violent homicidal hate towards it.

I can't wait till the end of math class >_>;

Here's some stills of our documentary/Art Attack Mockery from media arts. I like how it turned out and I may upload it this weekend :]

~Lenny

2010-01-10T20:29:00.002-05:00

My new boyfriend. LOL. I like him for his personality, obviously.

My matchbook jewellery project, a necklace and earrings made from matches, matchbook covers, and wire.

So I started my first NLS class today, and I'm pretty excited for it. 5 hours of swimming is kind of hardcore and I will never get the water out of my ears, that I am sure of. I'm in chlorine so often lately that I literally sweat it. Ugh.

But my class seems alright. The people seem laid back and everyone's got a sense of humour. Which is I guess necessary when you're touching complete strangers. XD

I miss the break :(

Basket Case Menagerie has been updating regularly lately, so you guys should go check out the link on the sidebar on your right if you haven't already :]

Peace,

~Lenny

2010, movies, and my two week break.

2010-01-03T20:27:00.002-05:00

Well well, tomorrow it's back to school, and I must say, other than the art, I got barely anything accomplished this break XD

I ate like CRAZY. My family makes so much food around the holidays that we have another 2 weeks of eating leftovers XD

BUT ON TO THE MOVIES I WATCHED.

So basically starting at the beginning of December, I've went to see The Princess and the Frog, which was AH-MA-ZING. End of story. New Moon, which is only worth watching for Taylor Lautner. That's it. And maybe for the comedic value. Sherlock Holmes I watched on Christmas Day and I loved it. My parents were like "LOL WTF" at the fact that they made it into an action flick, but I enjoyed it quite a bit. I re-watched Amelie, and National Treasure 2 as well.

I finally got around to watching Torchwood: Children of Earth yesterday/half of today. And wow. Just wow. A part of me is glad that I've sat through more than 5 hours straight of it, and a part of me is so so SO disappointed at the ending. I almost cried (Iantoooooo ;_; ). Sara can vouch for the fact that I spent quite a bit of time yelling at the screen like it would change anything. IT WAS SUCH A GREAT 5 OR MORE HOURS. If you guys ever get the chance to watch it, (it's on YouTube) do yourself a favour and do it. It was amazing. No movie/series has ever made me think and be remarkably angry while thinking. And then laugh like crazy and yell at the screen. It. gave. me. shivers. Wow.

I'll shut up for now and pack my stuff.

Peace,

~Lenny

Acrylic

2009-12-29T17:09:00.002-05:00

I don't tend to paint much in acrylic, so I decided to change that.

Landscape assignment

Old as hell flower painting assignment that now hangs in my kitchen

And my latest attempt at acrylic painting and I can't decide whether I like it or it seriously disturbs me.

Peace Out,

~Lenny

FREEDOM

2009-12-23T17:36:00.003-05:00

I'm a bit delayed in expressing my joy in finally being free of school, but as my dad likes to quote, "Better late than never". So here's some art. :]

More ATCs. Left to right: acrylic, pencil crayon, watercolour & ink. Lyrics belong to the Beatles.

Finally more ROP art! My assignment for "Gas".

Those roses took me forever.

An experiment with new Tria markers that I threw together for my friend because one of her Christmas presents is a picture frame and the generic couple that come with the picture frame were creeping me out.
So let's see, this break is off to a GREAT start.

And by great I mean I'm having loads of fun and it's only gonna get better from here on out. I shall update with details as soon as I'm able to type coherently.
I hope your holidays are going well!
Peace,

~Lenny

More School Artwork

2009-12-08T20:57:00.002-05:00

A few of the Artist Trading Cards I made for charity. The bottom two are envelope designs :] Art nouveau inspired like WHOA.

States of Matter title pages. Left to right: Solid, Liquid, Gas.

Sorry I haven't been posting much personal art, but then again, I haven't been making much (aka ANY). Apparently senior visual arts means that you have no life outside of drawing at ALL. One part of me really doesn't mind, and one part realizes that my creativity will soon sap out if not vanish completely. Which would be bad.

I had a little blast from the past a few weeks back and god this thing is damn catchy STILL: CLICK

Nothing much has been happening as of late except for the fact that I basically lost my voice and now sound like Darth Vader going through puberty. Not fun times.

Peace,

~Lenny

For fuck's sake.

2009-11-29T13:53:00.003-05:00

I have too much homework to do today, so the most obvious choice is to update the ol' blog.

I'm so sick and tired of so many things. I want more time to sleep.

I'm not even worried about the physics lab/math assignment/sketchbook progress work/art trading cards/art history essay that needs to get done.

At least, that doesn't worry me as much as learning how to walk in heels in a week.

I'm already basically 6' tall, what in the name of fuck do I need heels for?

I read somewhere that high heels are man's invention to make it more difficult for us to run away.

I can not agree more.

Oh yeah and after spending all of yesterday shopping, I finally found a dress.

Yeah I didn't expect it from myself either. O_O;

But I do like it a lot. If I was more of a dress person I'd make myself more excuses to wear it.

~Lenny

Art Projects

2009-11-27T21:47:00.002-05:00

Media Arts set.

To anyone who says I don't draw realism, SUCK ON THAT. Still Life Narrative Assignment.

Tequila sunrise~ Art Sketchbook assignment "Liquids"

My two paper prayers this year for the topic "Responsibility". Cross stitching a fetus? Never again.

Peace Out guys, and Happy weekend,

~Lenny

Mucha card & brief rant.

2009-11-16T16:07:00.006-05:00

Mucha inspired card for Livia.

Oh and hey, physics teacher? You're an asshole. Thanks for splitting our presentation over two days you incompetent dumbass.

Hey Cawthra? Today was not a good day.

I'm gonna go papier mache and cool off.

Peace,

~Lenny

Remembrance Day poster final & comic site update

2009-11-03T11:39:00.003-05:00

Finally done :]

Oh and I finally got off my ass this weekend and snazzed up the old comic site, (still no new updates DD:)

CLICK FOR LINK

Added an "About" and "Characters" page.

Html is misery for me. Always. So out of practice. :(

~Lenny

This is Halloween

2009-10-31T23:23:00.000-04:00

Halloween costume 09 pics!

I went as a mafia member. :]

~Lenny

R-Day, my week, and kittens

2009-10-30T11:58:00.002-04:00

My media arts remembrance day poster work in progress.

There hasn't been much art posting from me lately mostly because I find it remarkably hard to find time to do things that I'd like to do instead of need to do.

This entire week was horribly tiring, I don't know how I'm still alive, seriously.

Monday was alright, first real day back to TKD with no injuries, so I enjoyed that greatly. Private lesson! That was unexpected but kind of nice. If not quiet. Really quiet.

Tuesday was HELL. I have no other words to describe it. Swim practice first thing in the morning, followed by school, a fire drill, then guitar and TKD. Only 3 people showed up to TKD. What is this, early hibernation?

Wednesday I headed off to Value Village with a few friends to look for remaining Halloween costume pieces. Didn't actually end up finding anything, instead we went out to eat and then I went to TKD. Deserted as this entire week has been.

Yesterday was pretty hectic too. Swim practice after school, and then I dashed off to the TKD Halloween party since I promised to come help out. I didn't actually manage to get there on time but hey, I tried. Then took the class and went home to collapse in front of my computer and read Bridget Jones' Diary.

I'm looking around the internet for anyone giving away free kittens, since I'm looking for one now. Preferably male, but it doesn't need to be. Kittens please, no cats. If you have any info that could be of use to me please comment :]

~Lenny

R.I.P. Murka

2009-10-26T17:19:00.004-04:00

R.I.P.

Murka.

2003-2009.

My cat Murka died on Wednesday, October 21, found in my neighbour's yard by my parents. Nobody bothered to tell me, and I didn't notice until yesterday.

She was an outdoor cat, and we're pretty sure it was poison that killed her. There was no blood, so pesticides or eating some contaminated mouse is the generally accepted idea.

2009 has been about loss for me.

Loss. Adjustment. Moving on but never wanting to.

And now, as the cherry on the cake, the world took my baby away from me.

My best friend.

Who's going to take up meow at ungodly hours in the morning until I let her in to sleep on the bottom half of my bed?

Who's going to take up 3/4s of my bed and leave me trying to sleep in an uncomfortable curled-up position?

Who's going to leave grey cat hair over all my black sweaters, usually right before I need to wear them?

Who's going to sleep beside me and purr when I'm sick or feeling horrible?

Who's going to be irritated at me when I forget to feed her or refill her water dish?

Who's going to bring back headless bunnies and leave them in the backyard so I trip over them and shriek like a banshee?

Who's going to meow and nudge me every time I start yelling to quiet down?

Who's going to run out of my room every time I play Rammstein or my guitar too loud?

Who's going to give me the most innocent look after she's done something wrong so I can never really be mad at her?

Who's going to put up with my baby talk and the hundreds of names I've called her over the years, ranging from Fuzzy, Fuzzface, Murkie, Kittycat, and cutie pie?

Who's ever going to have the 'O' pattern in her stripes and the 'M' on her forehead?

I didn't take any pictures of you and I together because I never thought I'd need to. And now I miss you more than anything I ever missed before.
Now all I have left is photographs and memories.

Memories that I'm so scared I'll lose, because you meant everything to me.

It didn't matter to you how tired I was, or how irritable, or how horrible I looked that day, you loved me regardless.

I didn't even notice you were gone for good until 4 days after. I'm a horrible human being and you loved me anyways.
What I hate the most is that I didn't get to say goodbye.

I never get to say goodbye.

I hope that your 6 years on earth with us were happy and good, regardless of how many squirrels and neighbourhood miniature poodles you terrorized.

I can cry for the next months straight and give myself a huge headache and it will never bring you back.

I promise I'll never try to put a harness and leash on you again.

I'd give anything to have you back.

You'll be in my heart.

Always.

Post-Secondary Panic

2009-10-24T15:38:00.011-04:00

I figured I'd get an early start on this so I can get it out of the way.

Is it just me or are school websites designed to be as impossible to navigate as humanly possible? They do not allow for BROWSING. AT ALL. You need to know exactly what you want and then google it. Ugh. Anyways.

So, the priorities for me in a college/university are as follows:
- MUST be in Canada I don't have the money, and I refuse to take American History. I don't care.
- Close to home. I want to live at home. I don't want to live in a dorm, or by myself anywhere in the near future. Maybe after I learn how to cook so I don't have to survive on scrambled eggs and cereal.
- Close enough so I can go to TKD OR has a good TKD club close by Because I have my priorities :3
- Good program DUH.

I've finally figured what I might apply for LOL. I guess I kind of knew all along but hey.
Illustration or Graphic Design. I realized that this is what I want to do with my life. I think.

Major major flaw to this? Canada doesn't have many schools that offer Illustration. They are ALL in the U.S. of A.
Which makes me really really sad since that cuts off a lot of schools from my potential list.

But here we go, the schools I decided on and their pros and cons.

Sheridan College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning.
Program: Bachelor of Applied Arts (Illustration)

Requirements:
- Grade 12 English credit
- 1 senior level Visual Arts credit at M or O level
- 4 Grade 12 credits at U or M level
- Minimum 65% average
- Portfolio

Pros:
- Close to home!
- I've always wanted at least a Bachelors degree, and all the schools I've looked at for the programs I want only offer (at most) an Advanced Diploma. Just a weird thing of mine.
- I've heard great things about this program from a few people that I've asked, they all love it.

Cons:
- Uhm. Other than the fact that my parents would like me to go to a University, there are none that I have found.

Program: Bachelor of Design (Honours)

Requirements:
- OSSD
- Grade 12 English credit
- 6 Grade 12 credits at U or M level including one Grade 12 (U or M) course from one of the following disciplines: Canadian and World Studies; Classical Languages and International Languages; French: Mathematics; Social Science and Humanities or Native Studies.
- Portfolio

Pros:
- Also close to home!
- Also a Bachelors degree!
- It's offered in conjunction with York University which is cool :]

Cons:
- 6 GRADE 12 CREDITS AT U or M LEVEL? WHAT. THAT'S CRAZY TALK. no seriously, I was planning on taking mostly art courses with are OPEN courses. Thank GOD RAP courses are M courses.

Ryerson University
Program: Graphic Design

Requirements:
- I'm assuming something like grade 12 English and a portfolio.

Pros:
- Close to home

Cons:
- NO INFORMATION ON THE PROGRAM AT ALL. WTF.

George Brown College
Program: Graphic Design (Advanced Diploma)

Requirements:
- OSSD
- Grade 12 English credit
- Portfolio

Pros:
- Close to home
- Advanced Diploma
- Looking through the compulsory courses, I see I am given a LOT of electives. 4 for semester4 and 5, and then 2 in semester 6

Cons:
- Honestly the curriculum sounds remarkably dull. Things like "Design" "Drawing" "College English" "Design Culture" "Typography" and a lot of electives apparently.

Humber College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning
Program: Graphic Design (Advanced Diploma)

Requirements:
- OSSD
- Grade 12 English Credit
- 3 Grade 12 credits at U or M level
- Portfolio

Pros:
- Close to home
- If Amy decides to take her Bachelors of Industrial Design there, I'll have Amy there :]
- Advanced Diploma

Cons:
- Looking at the compulsory courses, they seem really....business oriented. And dull. As well as advertisement oriented.

St. Lawrence College
Program: Graphic Design (Advanced Diploma)

Requirements:
- OSSD
- Grade 12 English credit
- MAJORITY of Grade 11 and 12 courses must be of C, M or U level. (god knows what majority means. Hopefully 5)

Pros:
- Looking through the compulsory courses, I'm in love. This sounds amazing. "Digital photography" "Design Illustration" "Life Drawing" "Colour Theory and Perception" "Design Typography" "Advanced Layout"

Cons:
- It's too far. 3 hours too far actually. I won't be able to live at home. I need to look into TKD clubs.

PHEW.

That's all for now. And that's plenty.
Advice, comments, insights are all welcome and appreciated. Oh and help. Help would be nice.

~Lenny

New art

2009-10-19T11:31:00.003-04:00

Inspired by the song "Heavyweight" by Infected Mushroom. Cause obviously high music is the best kind. I'm sorry I only draw weird shit D:

Bill Kaulitz in all his fauxhawk I-still-can't-make-him-look-girly-enough glory. :]

And my art assignment. Bookmark for the book "Notre Dame de Paris"

~Lenny

Swimming, school, food, TKD

2009-10-15T11:45:00.004-04:00

I am so remarkably tired that it's kind of ridiculous. It's only a month and a half into school and I can't keep my eyes open. I am ready for second semester to start already so I don't have to calculate anything.

That and I'm really REALLY hungry.

4th lunch is not cool >_>;

TKD has been so lonely lately, it really makes me sad. We're in much the same situation we were this time last year. Basically one teacher, everyone either not going at all or going irregularly. *sigh*

Yeah I'm just annoyed that I get paired up with whoever's left over.

So yeah, I went the the Explore Design fair type thing yesterday on a school field trip. Which was informative if slightly dull.

If before I had one or two options for my post-secondary education, now I have more like 15 O_O;

Which is kind of not helping me in any way at all.

I want to do art for a living, I think I've decided on either illustration or graphic design.

I also would like to live at home, for various reasons such as the fact that if I live alone I'll die of starvation. That and I am NOT ready to leave home yet. I don't understand people who can't wait till they do. Its' pretty much an impossible concept for me to grasp.

My 3 so far are Sheridan, Ryerson, and St. Lawrence.

The first two are close to home, the last not so much. But it's closer than something like Ohio or New York.

I still have time to think, so maybe that'll change.

Oh, and next summer I am most likely going to Ukraine, which is awesome on one hand, and not so awesome on the other.

Awesome because I love my family and I want to get out of Canada for a bit because all I do here is be bored out of my mind. Unless my parents drag me camping in which case I'm also irritable. I think it'd be good for me to get away from it all and just chill. Concentrate on having fun and nothing else.

Not so awesome because I'm already thinking about how horribly out of shape I'm going to be when i get back and how badly I'm going to die at TKD. I'll also miss all my friends, since I will be internet-less for the most part when I'm there. So, basically a month and a half of no communication with the world over here in Canada land. I am NOT looking forward to answering my emails when I get back.

But I'm worrying ahead of time, as per usual.

In other news, first swim practice of the the year is today! The practices have been moved to twice a week instead of 3 times, and they are now Tuesday mornings and Thursday afternoons.

Which means we don't have the luxury of ever missing a practice.

Time to get my butt in gear and cut some seconds off my times, and seeing as I haven't been swimming for real since February, this shall be interesting if nothing else.

Peace,

~Lenny

Music & Surrealism

2009-10-08T16:39:00.004-04:00

Hello all,

New Media arts surrealism photo manipulation.

But that's not really my topic of choice today. I was on Facebook a few minutes ago and I came across this:

"I don't want to give away too much about what it will sound like, because so much will change before the end, but its...not what you would expect. Its definitely not happy married music, but its not like I'm dying the whole time either. Its dark, sarcastic, fun, strange, familiar, and very different at the same time. It makes me feel alive and I wish I could show you right now. If you were here, at my house, I would pour you a drink and we would turn it up really loud and rock out to it, and I know you would love it"

- Amy Lee on the new Evanescence CD

I think Evanescence was a major part of my depressed 13-year old-dom, but it was what it needed to be for me at the time, and I do still like them :]

SPEAKING OF MUSIC I LIKE.

TOKIO HOTEL CD ANYONE? :D

I bought myself the German copy the day that it came out and OMGGGG I'm freaking out a little every single time I listen to it. SO. AMAZING. I didn't know how they were going to add the techno deal into their music and not turn it into something weird, but GODDAMN they succeeded and I could not be happier.

I'll shut up now,

~Lenny

Nuit Blanche 2009

2009-10-04T16:06:00.004-04:00

Because you couldn't have possibly expected an art geek like me to miss out on something like this, could you?

I didn't get too many pictures, but here's what I did get.

A puddle of vodka. My Eastern European ancestry enjoyed this immensely, though I probably will never understand contemporary art.

THREE WORDS. FREE. COTTON. CANDY. word.

The description said that when you moved in the marked off squares in certain ways, it set off different sounds. I think it was a social experiment to see how long you can make random people flail and jump around while you have a CD blaring or random dings! :D

Hanging walkie talkies I think they were. Please excuse my photos of epic fail. Between the dark and my temperamental camera, I'm surprised you can make out any of this.

THIS WAS SO AWESOME. 10 port-a-potties lined up, each one had a different smell inside. I particularly enjoyed the Vanilla and the one that smelled like wet grass.

Not a piece of art was still awesome. Some guy painted himself like a statue and freaked the hell out of people when he moved.

Giant metallic bunny balloon.

I didn't get close enough since the line was huge, but there was some kind of blindfolded cage match going on.

Yuliya with one of the hockey statues.

LOL. Just LOL.

What I learned about nuit blanche was that my fingers almost froze off, it smelled like a mixture of weed, cigarette smoke and alcohol, and was one of the funnest nights of this year. My feet were killing me, but it was amazing.

Can't wait to go again next year.

Peace,

~Lenny

HOW COULD IIIIIIIII MAKE A MAAAAAAAAANN OUT OF YOUUUUUUUU

2009-09-30T11:49:00.006-04:00

I need new music, I'm getting really bored of what I already listen to at the moment. Even though I've been listening to a lot of Disney soundtrack stuff lately, which is obviously impossible to get tired of.

I hate math.

I may quite possibly fail math this semester and be grounded until I'm 35.

I HAVE NEVER FAILED MATH BEFORE.

Our teacher is a psycho, and I'm seriously not even kidding. He gave us one hour to do a 2 hour test, and gave us shit we haven't even SEEN let alone reviewed on the unit test. WTF WTF WTF.

Out of every question he took up on the board, I got maybe one right?

It's not that it was hard, but it was the fact that I had a whole 2 minutes to spend on each question.

UGH.

I should have taken workplace math and learned how to balance my sketchbook, because somehow, I think, that would come more in handy than ever having to announce to a grocery store clerk that 'x' is an element of real numbers such that can not equal 2, 0 and -1/4.

Amy's birthday is next week and I seriously need to get a move on that card.

I also have some posters/flyers to do for TKD, and also no printer >_>;

*sigh*

Life is dull and repetitive.

(finally)

Peace,

~Lenny

Schoolwork

2009-09-28T21:31:00.003-04:00

Well here are two finished art pieces, both of which I'm proud of for various reasons.

Sketchbook assignment for this month, spark word "solid". I am so proud of the straight lines on this since I hate buildings and straight lines and GAH. >_>;

Media Arts "humanimal" project, the FINAL final version XD

I did this virtually entirely by mouse, so I'm damn proud of that. (Only the whiskers had tablet assistance)
Half-day tomorrow, so I'm excited.

Peace,
~Lenny

Humanimal transformation ver. Lenny

2009-09-22T11:35:00.004-04:00

Here's my media arts assignment, which was to transform myself into an animal.

Here's the "before" mug shot,

And here's Lenny as a furry.

Mad props to those who can guess the animal.

If you can't, well I guess I have a lot of work left to do D:

~Lenny

P.S. Computer still down, I'm typing this up in media arts

Songs That Shaped my Summer.

2009-09-19T22:36:00.005-04:00

List seven songs that you are into right now. No matter what the genre, whether they have words, or even if they're not any good, but they must be songs you're really enjoying now, shaping your summer. Post these instructions in your blog along with your seven songs.
stolen off of: http://rcvision.blogspot.com/

The videos should be largely ignored.

1. Everything is Alright - Motion City Soundtrack
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sMTGMRIDU6I
Give me a reason to end this discussion,
To break with tradition.
To fold and divide.
Cause I hate the ocean, theme parks and airplanes,
Talking with strangers, waiting in line..
I'm through with these pills that make me sit still.
"Are you feeling fine?"
"Yes, I feel just fine."

2. Carnival of Rust - Poets of the Fall
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zRVrQsdWDds
It's all a game, avoiding failure, when true colours will bleed
All in the name of misbehavior and the things we don't need
I lust for after no disaster can touch us anymore
And more than ever, I hope to never fall, where enough is not the same it was before
Come feed the rain
'Cause I'm thirsty for your love
dancing underneath the skies of lust

3. Automatic - Tokio Hotel
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Mi1xxT3Fqc
You're automatic, And your voice is electric
Why do I still believe?
It's automatic
Everywhere in your letter
A lie that makes me bleed
It's automatic
When you say things get better
But they never...
There's no real love in you
Why do I keep loving you

4. Laughing With - Regina Spektor
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rov3pV9PsRI
No one laughs at God in a hospital
No one laughs at God in a war
No one’s laughing at God
When they’re starving or freezing or so very poor
No one laughs at God
When the doctor calls after some routine tests
No one’s laughing at God
When it’s gotten real late
And their kid’s not back from the party yet

5. Zusammen - Lafee
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qe5eLk1jNNA
Wir stehen zusammen
Wir gehen zusammen
Zusammen bis in den Tod
Wir leben zusammen
Wir schweben zusammen
Zusammen bis in den Tod

(We stand together
We unite
Together into death
we live together
We float together into death)

6. Винтаж - Одиночество любви /От Москвы до Нью-Йорка
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_NPL_7duKfQ&feature=related
Ну а кого мы любим
С тем никогда не будем
Зачем же мы забыли что мы люди?
Отпусти свой крик
К полюсам Земли лети
От Москвы до Нью-Йорка
Сквозь открытые окна
Без адреса летит над миром смотри
Этот крик одиночества любви

(But who do we love,
With that one we will never be
Why have we forgotten that we are people?
Let go your yell
To the poles of the earth, fly
From Moscow to New York
Through open windows
Without an address fly over the world look
This yell of the loneliness of love)

7. Moy Rai - Maksim
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_XmQHlJn10Q

(Maybe this is my heaven,
Looking for his reflection
In objects of black colour,
And hear May in his voice.
Maybe this is my heaven,
In the rays of light from the window,
The sky seems so close
When eyes are the colour of heaven)

~Lenny

School.

2009-09-15T12:05:00.003-04:00

Here comes my first post from media arts where I'm too far ahead for what we're doing and am waiting till tomorrow to start taking pictures that I shall morph into an animal, since I don't look too great today.

I don't mind Macs as much as I used to, but my widescreen PC is the love of my life, I don't care what anyone says :D

Physics is picking up slightly, any class where I'm allowed to throw Barbies attached to elastics for some kind of bungee jumping lab is alright in my books.

I kind of wish it wasn't so early in the morning though.

Math is well....math. My teacher is pretty cool, all thinks considered, but I'm convinced that no teacher, no matter how great can possibly make math interesting.

Media Arts, is by far right now the highlight of my day. Great class, great people and computers and Photoshop. Love it.

Art I'm kind of excited for, but more interested in what we actually end up doing. Being seniors now we have so much more leeway in terms of assignment topics and that excites me :]

That's my little ramble on how life is going at the moment. Having physics and math in the morning is horrible and I realized that I am ditching my friends more and more often for the sake of sleep. I love my sleep. And as Vanessa said, I know how much we joke about us dying without each other, but it just isn't true. I can live without you, painfully, but I can. I can not however live without sleep.

~Lenny

Books

2009-09-12T15:52:00.006-04:00

So I was lurking around my Goodreads after I got home today from Jean shopping and I've accumulated quite a to-read list.
I admit, I don't read nearly as much as I used to back in elementary school, high school really does take a lot out of you, but I'm trying to get back into the swing of things.

I realize that I'm seriously missing out on classic Russian literature, because quite honestly, I read remarkably slowly in Russian. My vocabulary is limited, and yeah I'm just largely out of practice. I've heard of people learning the language for the sole reason of being able to read things like Anna Karenina, The Master and Margarita, War and Peace (ok maybe not War and Peace) in the original Russian text. To me, that is insane.
Russian is a remarkably difficult language and far far more advanced and beautiful than English could ever hope to be. I find myself often frustrated at how hard it is to translate between the two.

I've never liked classics. I was forced to read them as a child, and I've read some of the better ones, Oliver Twist, Treasure Island, Journey to the Center of the Earth, 20,000 Leagues under the sea, Tom Sawyer, etc. etc. and those weren't THAT painful.
Forcing myself to read through the entirety of Pride and Prejudice however, was immensely painful.
Maybe I'm easily bored or maybe I have horrible taste in books, but hey at least I know what I like.

But I would like to read Russian classics, preferably in the original and the translation. This may be a long and time-consuming process though.

I'm not a huge fan of the profoundly moving books on human nature and how doomed we all are in the end, because honestly (and I've inherited this from my mother) I'd rather read something entertaining.
The world sucks and we all realize this full well.
I'm sick of being sad about my insignificance in the grand scheme of things, and I just want a stupid disposable murder mystery novel or humanity's newest attempt at humour (has anyone noticed that the novels in the humour section are rarely, if ever, funny?), or a sword and sorcery adventure of epic proportions.

I'll shut up about books now,

~Lenny

P.S. survived first week of school. dreading next week.
P.P.S. Got 2 pairs of jeans.

Summer's over.

2009-09-10T17:42:00.004-04:00

Here's a sketchdump of pretty much everything in my sketchbook over this summer (which is not much xD) But yeah we've got here everything from MLIA references, giving my female characters some variations in noses, some clothes, some hands, some abs (fail), and some fairies and creepy shit. Nothing new.

A new painting, because I got new Arches watercolour paper~
Which works beautifully in case anyone's wondering.

Peace,
~Lenny

P.S. School started and math + physics = not a happy Lenny

i have my own voice, and this is what people say for me.

2009-09-04T01:23:00.003-04:00

Because I am young, I am hopelessly idealistic about the world around me and do not understand what it means like to truly suffer. The most I understand in my cushy, white, middle-class existence is the fact that I have 2 years of school left before I go off to a college while living at home. I think that the only problem in my life is making sure I wear the right clothes and make friends with the right people, so I can meet the right guy and get ahead in life.

Because I am young, I do not understand what it means to love, because I am not yet resilient and cynical about the emotional capacity of man. I don’t understand what love truly is because my age hasn’t reached past the two decade mark. I don’t understand what it means to truly care for someone because I haven’t been in a failed relationship before, only kissed one boy, and manage to have feelings for all the wrong people.

Because I am young, I have no sense of responsibility and my conscience doesn’t bother me. All I am concerned about is when I get my next allowance, why nobody truly understands me, the fact that my clothes reflect exactly who I am to the world, and that my curfew doesn’t let me stay out nearly late enough.

Because I am a teenager, I have no morals, because fuck the world, nobody understands me anyways.

Because I am a teenage girl, I am insecure, think that I’m far too fat, and care more about what people think of me than I do about things that should truly bother me. I am not intelligent, and if I am, I could not possibly let a boy see me that way. I care about what my cell phone ring tone says about me as a person. I let my worth be judged by others, and do nothing to help my community or better the world around me.

Because I am white, I think I am the superior race and obviously shouldn’t be bothered by the fact that more and more jobs are looking for racial minorities instead of me, because my race is responsible for everything wrong with the world, past, present, and future.

Because I am a female, I want to prove to the world that I am a male. Not that I should have the same rights and the same opportunities as a man, but that I can bench press as much, waste as much of my life away in front of a computer, be as stoic and emotionless, go as long without crying, and generally just go against my biologically hardwired instinct to nurture and interact socially.

Because I am human, I put too much emphasis on the individual and never stop think about people affected on a larger scale.

I don’t know about you, but I’m sick of people talking for me.

Letter

2009-08-26T22:27:00.008-04:00

This post may be largely ignored due to the somewhat repetitive hormonal angst and hypocritical statements.

Dear Life,

What the fuck.

I kind of realize that it's too much to ask for me to go through my teenage years without some kind of ridiculous drama that seriously isn't worth my time or energy.

But could you at least let me experience in order?

Since when is denial, depression, and then finally acceptance followed by HOLYSHITINEEDTOPUNCHSOMETHING rage?

Ok I am angry.

Irrationally so.

I actually can't remember the last time I've ever gotten so worked up over something that quite seriously isn't even worth it.

I might even end up learning some angry bitter song on the guitar so I can yell along with it. At least my Youtube account would get some new material.

But enough with being optimistic.

DO NOT JUDGE MY MATURITY BASED ON YOURS AT 16.

I HAVE NEVER BEEN SO ANGRY AT THE FACT THAT I HAVE NOTHING TO BE JEALOUS OF.

I HAVE NEVER BEEN SO ABSOLUTELY SICKENED BY JUST HOW PREDICTABLE THE HUMAN RACE HAS BECOME.

I HAVE HAD IT WITH BEING UNDERESTIMATED FOR WHATEVER REASON.

THE FACT THAT I AM YOUNG, FEMALE AND WHITE DOES NOT TRANSLATE INTO NAIVE, WEAK AND RESPONSIBLE FOR EVERYTHING GOING WRONG WITH THE WORLD PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE.

But on the other hand, my self esteem has never been this great.

So please Life, whatever you're trying to teach me here, could you kinda start speaking my language? Oh and kindly go fuck yourself sideways.

Love,

Lenny.

P.S. I seriously need to go back to TKD and go punch something. Hard. Preferably something that will put up some kind of a fight.

Here's a Bill chibi, drawn for Yuliya's bday. Because you've been such great sports.

Wonderlaaand~

2009-08-21T11:48:00.003-04:00

Well I finally managed to crank out a painting after much procrastination and total lack of inspiration. I could have done better but it feels like I haven't touched my watercolours in years.

OHHHHHHHHHH MY GOD.

Well I finally managed to go to Wonderland with a bunch of friends on Wednesday and holy shit why haven't we done that sooner. I have a hard time remembering the last time I've had so much fun.

We didn't get a chance to ride on Behemoth because of how goddamn LONG that line was. Which sucked, but we're sprinting there first chance we get next time.

Everything else was super though :]

I have a whole whack of miscellaneous photos on my computer that I haven't had a chance to upload to Facebook and I'm pretty sure people want to see what creeper photos I've managed to take over the past year or so. This includes the black belt testing, TKD Christmas party, and the wonderland trip.

We'll see if I just end up posting them all together.

I heard something about Lafee doing a duet with Tokio Hotel but can't seem to find the song. Maybe it's in the works at the moment?

I'd love to hear it.

Peace,

~Lenny

Do the Time Warp!

2009-08-13T23:34:00.001-04:00

Lenny, in all her embarrassing phases.

Enjoy.

~Lenny

Keys, HBD SARFACE and Tokio Hotel

2009-08-11T21:35:00.003-04:00

A drawing because that's how I cope with everything. I need to draw more. I mean seriously, this only took me less than an hour and GAH.
Happy Birthday Sara! I'm sorry that you ended up being the guinea pig that I test out my new nib pen and ink on LOL. Haven't actually ever used a nib pen before, but I am LOVING the line variation and awesome old-fashioned-ness of it all.

WARNING: EXTREME FANGIRLING AHEAD.

*deafening fangirl squeal*

OMG OMG OMG OMG OOH MY EFFING GOD. SMITE ME NOW.

TOKIO HOTEL'S RELEASING THEIR NEW ALBUM "HUMANOID" ON OCTOBER 2ND OF THIS YEAR HOLY SHIT I THINK I JUST DIED A LITTLE INSIDE.

Ok ok no more caps, promise.

1. Bill, I know you make all girls look ugly next to you, and I love you to death, but what on earth is up with the hair? (though he can probably shave his head and still be prettier than I can ever hope to be)

2. *suppressed shriek* Gustav + glasses = <3>

3. I'm not sure how I feel about Tom's cornrows LOL but I love Georg. You have my heart right after Bill.

4. Can you tell I'm excited? I heard a 7 second clip of 2 songs that were leaked on youtube and god I never knew I was capable of such a high-pitched squeal.

5. Come back to Canada sometime soon please.

6. Can you tell that I would sell my soul and my left arm for a chance to meet these guys in person?

Ok ok I'm done, I swear. *deep breath*

~Lenny

ROAD TRIP: Part 2 - Kiptopeke State Park, Virginia

2009-08-08T16:01:00.008-04:00

And so starts the long week that I spent in Virginia, camping and bored out of my mind for the most part.

A praying mantis that fell on the picnic table of the family we were camping with.

A horseshoe crab (dead of course)

A blue crab. Native to Chesapeke bay apparently. Ate a ton of these.

I have to give Virginia credit for it's amazing sunsets.

A ghost crab. Cutest things ever. Next to maybe my cat.

The beach :] On one of the most overcast days of the entire week

Obligatory picture of me in a bikini. Moving on.

LOL. A hermit crab

We caught a flounder with a crab trap. Now THAT'S skill.

An undersized sea bass that we let go

My mom on the pier.

Clouds

Another sunset :]

AAAAAAAAAAAnd another one

One more for good luck.

Me in front of a sunset in a dress looking appropriately awkward.

Obligatory jumping pictures.

Hellen insists I look like Britney Spears. I have no idea if I should feel offended or not. I hate that.

My dad's personal fav. "I'm a pretty birdy!"

Last one folks.

It took me far too long to get these pictures up but I guess I've had no motivation as of late. For anything. Let's hope summer picks up and we actually end up going swimming like we planned. No more excitement life, thanks. I'm still recovering from that last curveball you threw.

Peace Out,

~Lenny

P.S. Saw "The Ugly Truth" on Friday and that was by far one of the best romantic comedies I've seen in a long time. It actually made me laugh. Watch it if you have the chance, because predictable it is, but it's still good.

ROAD TRIP: Part 1 - Washington, D.C.

2009-08-04T11:41:00.009-04:00

Well I'm BAAAAAAAAAAAACK :] And what an interesting time I had. From Maryland to D.C. to Virginia, and I think we passed through New York, Pennsylvania, and Delaware. Love Delaware, no taxes! :D

So between all our misadventures, all the rain, the heat, the windshield wiper flying off somewhere in Pennsylvania, scarfing down pizza with knives and forks, the y'all's, the only half-successful tan, my lack of knowledge in the field of American history, and our difficulties finding butter in a gorcery store, it was fun. I can't say it wasn't fun.

Our hotel room in Largo, Maryland. And half of my brother.

Complimentary Holy Bible. XD

The doors to the metro. Metro! hahaha I'm so used to calling it the subway.

Here's us at the start of the tour (mom, brother, me). We were the only Canadians in the group. There were some Brits, some Americans, some French speakers, and something that sounded a lot like Latvian but I seriously can't tell the difference. We got a pretty cool tour guide, as long as you didn't get too close to him. We want to hear the news not the weather, if you catch my drift.

The Vietnam War Memorial. It was really pretty I must say, and really well done. It's almost as though by seeing your reflection in the stone you can put a face to the name. Or I may be crazy.

The far less controversial half of the Vietnam War Memorial. These three were looking right at the wall of names and as an art major, I LOOOOOOOVE this sculpture. Beautiful.

Vein-y arm! This makes me happy for no reason.

Me standing in front of the Lincoln Memorial. It was suffocatingly hot and crowded that day and I ran out of water halfway through the day.

Me, dad, and Abe Lincoln.

Me, mom, and Abe Lincoln.

Me, dad and brother on the steps of the Lincoln memorial.

The Washington Monument.

Me, in front of the wall of gold stars at the World War II memorial

Same wall of stars, my eyes are closed because that's what the cool kids do. Actually it was more along the lines of the fact that the sun was in my eyes and my dad refused to let up on the picture taking.

Walking alongside the Vietnam War Memorial. Wow out of sequence much.

The White House! Sorry guys this is as close as I could get to Obama without being killed by the snipers on the roof :(

I could however get a picture of myself kissing him, for $7. But he's married and a tad old for me.

The Post Office! This place was great. It was a lot like that underground food court that was near the AGO, only bigger and indoors and classier. There was this elevator that went all the way up to that tower and you could see the original bells, and all of D.C spread out below you. It was awesome.

The ride back to Largo, Maryland on the metro. Tired, sweaty, and my feet hurt like hell. But it was an awesome experience. I wish I had more than one day to spend in D.C. And more patience to show you guys more pictures. But I can't be arsed to write a detailed entry.

~Lenny

of me using my youth as an excuse to bitch about life

2009-07-24T15:28:00.005-04:00

Happy Birthday Sinthu!

Remind me never to sketch with only markers again.

Here comes my rant of all things that piss me off/depress me at this point:

1) What the hell is up with 2009? Is it just me or has this year been one giant fluctuation between depressingly bad and REALLY GOOD? Overall I guess I'm going to learn something from all the crap that happened this year, but COME ON. It's like I don't even have time to enjoy being bored and irresponsible anymore!

2) I need to remember that life has a sick sense of humour. And next time I ask for it to be more exciting, I should be more specific. I hate change. Everyone and their dog knows this by now. I will fight change till you pry my cold fingers off of what I'm used to and force me to accept the new. Everything is so freaking convoluted right now that I seriously have no idea what's going on, what's going to happen, and GAH.

3) I think I've finally accepted that I'm another year older, and only have 2 more years of school left before my group of friends split up for their post-secondary education ventures. As if going to high school was bad enough now I have to overhaul like crazy AGAIN? And I need to decide what the hell to do with my life when I honestly don't have the foggiest idea. I'm going to end up a hobo and poor if I go with anything that I'd like to do as a career.

4) Volunteer hours or child exploitation? The library still hasn't called me back after a year and a half, and so help me God if I have to sell carnations for charity again.

5) I miss Amy :(

6) Hell I miss everyone. Please don't leave.

Well that was short and to the point. Sort of.
I'm off to Virginia for a week tomorrow. Waking up at 5 am or something like that. Should be fun :]

Peace Out,

~Lenny

art then. art now.

2009-07-18T20:38:00.005-04:00

Because honestly, we all need an ego-boost sometimes, and mine comes in the form of seeing my art improve. *thumbs up*

And the 2007 version makes me cringe, thankfully my art has improved massively in 2 1/2 years. Sage looks more human now (look at the face anybody?). She's gained some weight, has an ass, some skin tone variation, and her HAIR looks more natural. There's still some kinks with the pose, but hey. I haven't improved THAT much.

I'm set on re-painting the rest of this series.

Wish me luck.

Peace out,

~Lenny

3 am wake up call

2009-07-11T21:08:00.002-04:00

Happy (late) Birthday Eggplant!

I hope you don't hate me too much LOL

Okay well I've had a remarkably tiring day. First of all, my phone woke me up at around 2:30 am. I thought I was hallucinating at first, but sure enough, my cell was ringing. So pick it up with a drowsy, "Allo?"
and I get in return some weird-ass background noise that suggested that he was in some kind of club, and a "Yo sup?"
"I'm sorry who is this?"
"Uhh Nick"
And the only Nick I know is smart enough not to call me that early in the morning ever.
"I'm sorry but you have the wrong number, please don't call it again"
and I hung up and went back to bed.

For a whole 3 seconds before I had to get up and check that it wasn't someone I knew and that it wasn't some kind of emergency.
My god, I get more wrong numbers than actual phone calls. *facepalm*

But anyways, I somewhow went back to sleep, and then early in the morning my mother dragged me to 5 consecutive grocery stores to make sure we had all the food we need for tomorrow's party.

My back hurts, my butt hurts, my legs hurt, and we didn't even do anything soul-crushingly painful yesterday at TKD. I can almost hear Alex's "I TOLD YOU SO" right now, but I'm kicking myself for not taking a double class.
ACK I should have known better!

Anyways, fun times ahead tomorrow~

Peace,

~Lenny

Happy Birthday Lenny

2009-07-08T21:55:00.006-04:00

Today was my birthday, and a day of amazingness it truly was. I can not begin to put into words how happy I am.

So my parents got me a phone, A Nokia 3600 Slide actually. And it is beautiful. Me and my easily amused mind spent the better part of today sliding it back and forth.

My grandparents sent over a jewellery set that is green and I feel kinda bad that I'll never wear it enough.

I've eaten too much cake, had way too much fun, and my face hurts from smiling. Here are some pictures.

Michael stole my purse for reasons unknown. I still say it looks better on me. That's the facial expression I make when I'm trying not to laugh.

Candid shot, thank you so much CJ and Alex for the cake! When I eat it all for the next week, I'll be thinking of you guys <3 Group picture! (and I'll be taking some guesses with the name spellings here) Left to right: Amy, Jenny, Me, Master D, Wesley, Alex, Pavel, CJ, Sinthu and Jessica.

Another group pic Wesley, Amy, Jenny, Master D, Alex, Me (crouching because I was positive I'd be blocking someone's face), Pavel, Sinthu, Jessica, and Michael in the front with his eyes closed LOL.

And now we move onto eating more cake at home -__-"

My dad and me :]

Me and mom.

Siblings, but you'd never be able to tell.

I burst out laughing right as I was blowing out the candles, hahahah.

Sweet Sixteen baby!

I can feel the wrinkles settling in already.

Thank you thank you thank you everyone for an amazingly awesome day, and there's really no greater feeling than the kind you have when you realize that like 20 people bothered to wish you happy birthday on Facebook, countless relatives called long-distance, and people bothered to bring you cake.

I love you all!

Peace Out,

~Lenny

Pandas and pictures I'm not proud of.

2009-07-03T21:08:00.006-04:00

Well happy almost birthday Alex. I took pity on you since you got kicked by Master D. Maybe I should draw more animals...

And my birthday being in about... 4 days not counting today, I'm getting pretty nervous.

And here are a few pictures that I spent too much time on, and yet don't like in the least.

This will probably end up being someone's birthday present. I don't even mind giving away the original. It's too pink, too unoriginal, and I ran out of marker ink for the background -___-' It's pieces such as these that make me question my worth as an artist/talentless hack. I'd like to think there's more point to my art than to draw pretty things.
But that's all I end up drawing x)

Ohhh and I got some legit marker paper, and holy crap I love that stuff. Unfortunately it's half-transparent, and looks a lot like vellum/tracing paper. But it's smooth, doesn't bleed and HOLY CRAP THE COLOURS. So totally worth it.
I'd never be able to do my normal technique of mixing watercolour, marker and pencil crayon though, his paper is designed for marker only.
I want more marker colours :(

TKD was fun today! I screwed up my ankle somehow and now it refuses to function properly, but all in the name of improvement right?

Right.

Peace Out,

~Lenny

P.S. NEW BANNER!

Webcomics you need to read

2009-06-30T23:38:00.000-04:00

I've been wasting my life away lately in front of the computer reading webcomics. I thought I'd share with you some that I particularly enjoy.

Here it goes,

1. Lackadaisy: http://www.lackadaisycats.com/
Oh my lord I can go on for days about how much I worship the ground Tracy Butler stands on. But go on and take a look for yourself.

2. The Meek: http://www.meekcomic.com/
Gorgeous art, I'm into the story even though it's barely a chapter in. Much love for the facial expressions too.

3. The Phoenix Requiem: http://requiem.seraph-inn.com/
I'd be hard-pressed to find something that I don't like about this comic. The story is amazing, the art is to die for, BEAUTIFUL. Absolute must read.

4. Girls with Slingshots: http://www.daniellecorsetto.com/gws.html
Hilarious, honest, and some of the most memorable characters I've ever seen

5. Evil Diva: http://www.evildivacomics.com/
Cute, I love the art, and the story is whimsical and amusing.

6. Johnny Wander: http://johnnywander.com/
I can't even explain the appeal of this, you have to read it for yourself.

7. xkcd: http://xkcd.com/
I admit that as a high school student I don't get half of these jokes, but the half that I do are awesome.

8. Hark, a vagrant: http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php
Historical and hilarious.

9. Calamities of Nature: http://www.calamitiesofnature.com/
Cute, funny and cynical. And much love for poking fun at groups that really do take themselves way too seriously.

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaand here's my somewhat pathetic webcomic-in-progress.
Basket Case Menagerie: http://basketcasemenagerie.smackjeeves.com
I swear I'll work on it sometime.

I am always on the lookout for more reading material, I'd love if you suggest me some webcomics that you enjoy :]
I have a list of about 10-12 more that I need to get around to reading, but when I do, consider this list updated.

Peace Out,

~Lenny

TKD: Amy's black belt test (with pictures!)

2009-06-28T17:34:00.000-04:00

So today instead of doing nothing I went to go cheer on my over-protective ex-husband (lol) since she was testing for second dan :]

I think she did awesome, personally, but she's never going to agree. Whatever, here we go.

To start off, I own a Canon PowerShot SD450, which is essentially a point and shoot digital camera. Please excuse the picture quality. And since this is TKD, it is blurry as well as dark.

Here we go,

Master D kicking what is pretty much his face level.

Hahahah I'd be nervous holding the boards too. Last black belt test I held an apple for Master Ko to kick, and he missed, kicked my hand instead. I lost feeling in that hand for about a minute. Thank god nothing worse happened.

This was a tornado for sure, whether or not it was a 540 remains debatable. I forgot -___-'

When I grow up, I want to be able to do those kinds of kicks. I need to get so much more flexible though. :(

Amy's tornado kick.

I NEVER NOTICED SHE DID THAT. But omg, I have about 5-6 pictures of the exact same pose LOL. That's amazing. I should try it.

This is either pattern 7 or 8, and since I know neither, I won't be able to tell you which one it is.

That is a pretty damn cool pose though.

So all in all today was so much fun, even though watching got a bit boring halfway through. It would have been far more enjoyable if I was not freezing my butt off. They decide to turn on the AC NOW. Of course. Hahahaha watching the black belts do the patterns is some kind of epic. I'll upload a video sometime if I can, but when they're doing the moves at the same time, wow. Just wow.

I'm surprised Amy didn't put up more of a fight about these pictures. At my belt test I threatened murder in the bloodiest way possible if any pictures of that ended up on the Internet.
And now I have a remarkable amount of reference for any martial arts poses I will ever need to draw.

Peace out,

~Lenny

directions.

2009-06-27T13:57:00.000-04:00

Summer

2009-06-25T15:30:00.001-04:00

Here's the full, painted version of the previously posted lineart.

What I don't understand is that now, during the summer, where I literally have SO MUCH TIME on my hands that I don't know what to do with it, I have no ideas and no motivation to do anything productive. I tried to draw a few things, with no success. I'm feeling overally uninspired and useless.
Oh and bored out of my mind.

If this carries on I shall fill up my summer with watching the Food Network and TKD. Not that I have any problem with either, it's just that I expected something more exciting...

On another note, I've realized that I constantly learn from my own mistakes and never have a chance to learn from anyone else's.
What I hate the most about being the oldest child in my family is that I'm pretty much the experiment. "Oh let's see what works with the older one to make sure that we don't make the same mistakes on the next kid". This is absolutely ridiculous.
I've been begging my parents ever since I saw my first Jackie Chan movie to sign me up for some kind of martial art, and no. I was about 7 when I started begging in case anyone's wondering. Instead what do I get? 6 years of dancing that did absolutely nothing to make me any less of a klutz. I still walk into walls, poles, people and trip over my own feet on a stable, flat surface.
And my little brother asks my parents for the first time, and what do they do? Sign him up for karate.
You have no idea the fit I threw. I was a difficult pre-teen, I'll be the first to admit it.

On a slightly different note, I borrowed about 15 CDs from my friend and am currently wasting my life away through listening through them all.

Hopefully next time I update this it'll not be as horrifically boring as this post was.

Peace out,

~Lenny

Stacey's bday inks.

2009-06-18T22:15:00.000-04:00

I like the black and white version of this much more than how the coloured version is coming along. Ah well. Happy Birthday Aceface, I shall see you tomorrow.

~Lenny

Free at last, free at last.

2009-06-12T22:11:00.000-04:00

This is suuuuuuuuuuch an old lineart that I decided to finally finish watercolouring a few days ago. It's not as horrible as it could be?

Hahahahahah I think I'm finally getting the hang of watercolour and fixing my technique. I'll post some of my newer stuff as soon as I get it done/get it back.

Oh and have I mentioned that WE'RE FREE? FINALLY.

Today was the last formal day of classes.

And I don't know what's sadder, the fact that I skipped for literally the second time in my life today, or that I felt like such a badass doing it LOL. And it was only 4th period.

I ate sooooooo much crap today. Cake, and let me tell you, my English teacher knows how to make cake, and a ton of junk food. And some crackers that tasted like cardboard. :3

I have an English exam and a science exam to write next week, and then I will be free for sure. But art and history are DONE and OVER WITH.

MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHA (I'm actually not above doing a maniacal cackle right now).

TKD today was not as bad as I dreaded, and I was sooooooooo happy. I've realized that the masters are so much nicer to you when you're sick. Not that it's much consolation when you can't breathe through your nose.

I wish classes would go back to the way they once were. When we stretched for real every day. When a class of 5 people was considered big. When the only time 3 digit numbers were mentioned, it was as a joke. When we sparred more, and didn't worry so much about conditioning. When we had more variety in our teachers, and a ROUTINE.

But you know, that's just a wish list.

I do very much like TKD. Hell, I love it. I drag my ass there regardless of how shitty I feel and it always cheers me up.

That's enough from me,

Peace out,

~Lenny

Macbeth seminar visual

2009-06-08T17:38:00.000-04:00

Macbeth seminar visual, so for those of you who haven't gotten used to my obsession with answering pointless questions, you've gotten what you came for :]

aaaaaaaaaaand here we go~

You think the person you like is cute?
- He can be. But please let's not start on this or I'll have a hard time stopping :)

Do you say the word "stoked"?
- Not unless I'm doing a really really bad surfer accent.

Do you like cats? Why or why not?
- How could you NOT like cats? I love them. They're adorable, fuzzy, and always make you feel better when you're sick.

Do you straighten your hair?
- My hair's already dangerously straight. I don't need to.

Would you rather have the ability to fly or the ability to read minds?
- Fly. I reaaaaally don't want to know what goes through the minds of some people >_>;

Have you ever kissed someone who's name starts with M?

- Yes. xD

If you found out your friend was smoking weed would you be disappointed?
- I'd be PISSED. And organize an intervention.

What is one thing in your life that is no longer there, that you miss?
- Ah, probably my extended family. Or my innocent little 5 year old mind. Or maybe art lessons. I miss those.

Do you like the ocean?
- I do, but it does not like me.

Is there anything you're currently holding back?
- Uhh no. Maybe the cold that thinks it's going to take over my throat. NOT ON MY WATCH >:D

Have you ever trusted someone you wish you wouldn't have?
- Yes I have.

Have you ever done something you knew was wrong?
- Yeah a few times. I probably get way too much of a thrill out of not being that much of a badass.

Are you listening to music currently?
- Yes! Serbia's entry for Eurovision 2009. It's so damn catchy.

Has a friendship ended recently that you wish hadn't?
- Uhhh it's not exactly "recent"

Ever been kissed under fireworks?
- No I have not. That sounds pretty sweet though. Though I must say that the kiss underwater is still infinitely more appealing for me.

Where is the person you want most?
- I'll take a wild guess and say NOT HERE.

Do you regret something you did yesterday?
- Eating all those gummy bears was not the greatest idea in the world, I'll admit.

Do you like text messaging?
- I don`t mind, but I'm not the greatest at it. SOOOOOOOO much better than calling though.

Ever been kissed under mistletoe?
- Nope :] Only found out what mistletoe was a few years ago. I'm such an immigrant LOL.

If your best friend went out with your ex, what would you do?
- Not care? Laugh like crazy? My best friend is a guy? LOL

What would you do if your best friend jumped on your ex the day after you two split?
- Laugh uncontrollably. I've mentioned that my best friend is a guy right?

Do you yell a lot?
- Not usually, but TKD forces me to.

When will you see your mom next?
- Anywhere between an hour and 5 minutes from now.

What's something that made you sad today?
- The fact that I'm horribly behind on my history exam and that I'm failing my art written tomorrow.

What were you doing at seven this morning?
- Slamming the snooze button on the alarm clock.

This time last year, can you remember who you liked?
- Yes. I can. I'd rather not. But I can.

How late did you stay up last night?
- Until about midnight for no apparent reason.

Why?
- Why what?Why did I go to bed at that time? Didn't I just mention that I have no valid excuse? LOL

Who are you talking to right now?
- Amazingly enough, nobody. It's strangely quiet....

Do you ever get "good morning" texts from anyone?
- Whoever attempted that has quickly learned their lesson.

What woke you up today?
- My alarm clock.

Have you ever slept in the same bed with someone you liked?
- Well I do very much like my cat. But no, in the sense that you're implying, I have not.

Latest you stayed up in the past week?
- like... 1:30 am.

What were you doing at 9:30 last night?
- I was talking to a whole whack of people.

Have you ever gotten a sunburn so bad it hurt to move?
- Not that I can recall. Or it may have been so bad that my brain has blocked the unpleasant memories.

Is there any emotion you're trying to avoid right now?
- Not really. Unless panic is an emotion. Along with stress.

Ever had a girl best friend?
- Yeah there's this girl who pretty much makes my life just by existing <3

Do you hate the last guy you had a conversation with?
- Probably not. I don't tend to talk to people who I hate.

Is it cute when a boy/girl calls you babe?
- No, I'm not a big fan of it. So seriously, don't push your luck.

Do you believe that everything happens for a reason?
- I guess so. Or maybe God's just fucking with us.

Do you have a brother?
- Unfortunately.

Are you missing anyone at the moment?
- Kind of. Not really.

Have you ever liked someone older than you?
- The person I like is older than me.

Today, would you rather go back a week or go forward a week?
- Right now? Forward a week.

Rent a movie or go to movies?
- It doesn't matter much to me.

Are you good at hiding your feelings?
- Pretty good. Until it comes to this one person who I can not control my facial muscles around.

Do your parents actually knock on your door before entering your room?
- I think I have finally trained them to do so. At least my brother and my dad. My mother just barges in randomly without asking.

Who was the last person you held hands with?
- Uhhh I do not remember.

Are your ears pierced?
- Yes they are :]

What color is your shirt?
- grey and navy blue

Do you think you are an argumentative person?
- Occasionally and around specific people. Because goddamn it, if I hate you I won't even care if you agree with me.

What jewelry do you wear all the time?
- Earrings.

How did you feel when you woke up today?
- Annoyed at the fact that I had to wake up.

Have you ever slow danced without any music?
- Ummm yes, ballroom dancing class. Do not remind me. >_>;

Were you born in the same country you live in now?
- Nope :]

What would your parents have named you if you were born the opposite sex?
- I asked them this, and they have no idea. Probably something like Vlad LOL

How ticklish are you?
- Uhh very.

If you could change your eye color, what would you change it to?
- Blue. Without a doubt. Maybe blue-green.

Are you in a good mood?
- Relatively I guess. It could be worse. I'm stressed and annoyed and panicking. BUT IT COULD BE WORSE.

Is any part of your body sore?
- I'd have to think hard to find one that is not.

Will this weekend be a good one?
- It will be an amazing one.

Are you wearing makeup?
- If it managed to survive TKD, then yes indeed I am.

What's on your mind most today?
- English seminar, Science unit test, Art written exam, History in class exam I AM SO DOOMED. Oh and ;D.

Would you ever consider piercing your lip?
- Never.

Do you find the opposite sex confusing?
- Only occasionally and only a choice few.

Are you proud of the person you've become?
- Somewhat. Actually yeah. I am.

Do you like/love someone right now?
- Yes I do.

Where did you meet the last person you were in a car with?
- Hmm I'm pretty sure I spent 9 months in her womb.

How's your week going?
- Terrible and it just started.

Will your next kiss be a mistake?
- It could be. I don't know. Whatever happens, happens.

Where are your siblings?
- Watching Tv, as per usual.

Do you want kids?
- I don't know. Maybe. Ask me again when I'm old. :]

Do you have reason to smile right now?
- I can probably find one if I look hard enough but I really don't feel like it.

Has any one said they love you in the last week?
- Yep, Sooah never lets me forget it LOL.

Are you friends with someone who's older than you?
- I have a lot of friends older than me.

Are your fingernails painted black?
- No, they're painted clear.

Do you sleep with your closet doors open or closed?
- Closed. They must be closed to keep out the monsters >_>;

Do you have a flip or slide phone?
- None of the above. But I want a slider. Is it just me or is the Sony Ericsson S500i the sexiest phone I have ever seen?

Do you wish someone would call you right now?
- Yeah, but I'd probably have a heart attack if he did.

Who are your favorite people to talk to when you’re down?
- Amy, Aceface, Sarface, Pat.

What's the worst thing that has happened to your phone?
- I dropped it?

Name something you dislike about the day you're having?
- IT HASN'T ENDED YET GAH I AM SO DOOMED.

Is there anybody you're really disappointed in right now?
- Myself probably

Do you think trust is a big deal?
- It's a giant deal.

Peace Out,

~Lenny