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May. 1st, 2023 08:55 pmWell, I finished another watercolor tonight. This one was of a girl reading on the train. Proof people still read books, not kindles, not cell phones, but books on trains.
Wales was surprised I stated this. She reads books all the time on the train and sees other people doing it too. So maybe it's a Manhattan thing?
Wales works in Manhattan. I work at the tail end of Queens.
Speaking of...Lee told me today that this is her last week at the Queens location, next week she moves back to the Manhattan one. I burst out laughing.
( Read more... )
**
I have somehow managed to get my AIC to 6.2. So my diet choices are working. (Basically no carbs or limited. Lots of greens, proteins, and limit on sugar.)
The Polish Super who doesn't actually know English but speaks Russian fluently, came by to check the fire safety in my apartment. I told him one of fire alarms wasn't working - he ignored it. And seemed to be okay with the fact that kitchen windowsill wasn't completely clear for escape (it was clear enough - I can get out). Personally, I'd rather have the fire escape out the bedroom - because if a fire enters my home - it's coming to the kitchen. At any rate - I don't see myself surviving a fire in this building. Without some serious injury.
Back hurt from Saturday's shenanigans. (I cleaned out the bottom of my hall closet). Everyone I've told was impressed - if they'd seen the closet, they would have been more so. Although - I still need to get rid of the extension chords, television cables, and humidifiers.
****
Talked to Wales on Sunday - she told me that she could set up a show for my work if I wanted. She thinks I should have an art show - and the watercolors are good. I, of course, see flaws. Some are better than others. I should probably go back to just doing one person portraits. With the two people portraits, one of the people doesn't quite work. She said they reminded her of another artist's work - who did subway passengers, but he did long rows of people from more of a distance. Mine were more initimate portraits.
I'm think of doing superheroes on subways next. Except drawn as real folks. Such as an out of shape Batman. Basically folks going to Comic Con.
( watercolor of girl on train )
It didn't quite come out like I wanted. The man's outfit should have been more of lighter yellow, than orange and red, but I was trying to cover up the harsh pencil lines. Also while his face is dark, I think I screwed up with his features.
The girl reading is perfect however. She actually looked like that. Even down to the outfit. I just wanted the light green to come out more. It does in person. Photographs tend to darken or brighten colors and flatten the painting a bit.
Here's the Work in Progress...
( girl in train painting in progress )
***
Killing John Wayne has about four hours left in it. It's a long-ass book. I've gotten through the filming of the Conqueror - dear lord, that was harrowing.
( more on the making of the film and the fallout )
I discussed this with mother, who informed me that she'd seen the film too - just didn't remember it, outside of seeing it and that it was awful.
Me: That bad eh?
Mother: Well can you envision John Wayne as Genghis Khan?
No. LOL!
Wayne went back to safe territory - Westerns with John Ford, and ended up doing one of the best films of his career, best roles of his career, and later determined to be among the best films of the genre - "The Searchers".
Ironically, the Searchers and The Conqueror (that's what the Genghis Khan film was called) were released at the same time. ( how well the Conqueror did at the box office - a heck of a lot better than you'd expect, seriously people are weird )
The reason it was released so late - was Howard Hughes, who was holding it as collateral in the sale of RKO. He refused to release it until he got paid fully for the sale of the film studio.
It took the buyer of RKO (Mike Lee (I think that was his name, might have been Tom Lee), about four years to pry the film from Howard Hughes.
The reason it did so well - was it had Hayward and Wayne as box office draws. And people were curious - due to the marketing blitz. They went nuts with the marketing, and premiers and the red carpet. People lined up for blocks to see their idol - John Wayne. (He was kind of the equivalent of Tom Cruise - now, except even more popular and much bigger?)
But it was really bad.
Oh, I found the original theatrical trailer!
( The Trailer for The Conqueror )
It's basically a toxic male historical romance or boddice ripper. And the dialogue and performances are astonishingly bad - as you can tell from the trailer. There were good films made in the 1950s, this just wasn't one of them.
The audiobook goes into detail. ( the details of why it was so bad )
I've not gotten to the bit about a quarter of the cast and crew contracting and dying of cancer. The Director, all four of the leads, and several of the supporting cast, and crew all died of cancer ten to fifteen years later. And their kids who were on the set - all had brushes with cancer.
I did read about it on Wiki though. A lot of people from that film ended up dying of cancer - the percentage was so high, people wondered, but not high enough to get money from the government. Agnes Moorehead's estate sued. Wayne said it was probably his six pack of cigarettes a day habit that did him in, and June Allison said the same of Dick Powell. Both died of lung cancer.
Wales was surprised I stated this. She reads books all the time on the train and sees other people doing it too. So maybe it's a Manhattan thing?
Wales works in Manhattan. I work at the tail end of Queens.
Speaking of...Lee told me today that this is her last week at the Queens location, next week she moves back to the Manhattan one. I burst out laughing.
( Read more... )
**
I have somehow managed to get my AIC to 6.2. So my diet choices are working. (Basically no carbs or limited. Lots of greens, proteins, and limit on sugar.)
The Polish Super who doesn't actually know English but speaks Russian fluently, came by to check the fire safety in my apartment. I told him one of fire alarms wasn't working - he ignored it. And seemed to be okay with the fact that kitchen windowsill wasn't completely clear for escape (it was clear enough - I can get out). Personally, I'd rather have the fire escape out the bedroom - because if a fire enters my home - it's coming to the kitchen. At any rate - I don't see myself surviving a fire in this building. Without some serious injury.
Back hurt from Saturday's shenanigans. (I cleaned out the bottom of my hall closet). Everyone I've told was impressed - if they'd seen the closet, they would have been more so. Although - I still need to get rid of the extension chords, television cables, and humidifiers.
****
Talked to Wales on Sunday - she told me that she could set up a show for my work if I wanted. She thinks I should have an art show - and the watercolors are good. I, of course, see flaws. Some are better than others. I should probably go back to just doing one person portraits. With the two people portraits, one of the people doesn't quite work. She said they reminded her of another artist's work - who did subway passengers, but he did long rows of people from more of a distance. Mine were more initimate portraits.
I'm think of doing superheroes on subways next. Except drawn as real folks. Such as an out of shape Batman. Basically folks going to Comic Con.
( watercolor of girl on train )
It didn't quite come out like I wanted. The man's outfit should have been more of lighter yellow, than orange and red, but I was trying to cover up the harsh pencil lines. Also while his face is dark, I think I screwed up with his features.
The girl reading is perfect however. She actually looked like that. Even down to the outfit. I just wanted the light green to come out more. It does in person. Photographs tend to darken or brighten colors and flatten the painting a bit.
Here's the Work in Progress...
( girl in train painting in progress )
***
Killing John Wayne has about four hours left in it. It's a long-ass book. I've gotten through the filming of the Conqueror - dear lord, that was harrowing.
( more on the making of the film and the fallout )
I discussed this with mother, who informed me that she'd seen the film too - just didn't remember it, outside of seeing it and that it was awful.
Me: That bad eh?
Mother: Well can you envision John Wayne as Genghis Khan?
No. LOL!
Wayne went back to safe territory - Westerns with John Ford, and ended up doing one of the best films of his career, best roles of his career, and later determined to be among the best films of the genre - "The Searchers".
Ironically, the Searchers and The Conqueror (that's what the Genghis Khan film was called) were released at the same time. ( how well the Conqueror did at the box office - a heck of a lot better than you'd expect, seriously people are weird )
The reason it was released so late - was Howard Hughes, who was holding it as collateral in the sale of RKO. He refused to release it until he got paid fully for the sale of the film studio.
It took the buyer of RKO (Mike Lee (I think that was his name, might have been Tom Lee), about four years to pry the film from Howard Hughes.
The reason it did so well - was it had Hayward and Wayne as box office draws. And people were curious - due to the marketing blitz. They went nuts with the marketing, and premiers and the red carpet. People lined up for blocks to see their idol - John Wayne. (He was kind of the equivalent of Tom Cruise - now, except even more popular and much bigger?)
But it was really bad.
Oh, I found the original theatrical trailer!
( The Trailer for The Conqueror )
It's basically a toxic male historical romance or boddice ripper. And the dialogue and performances are astonishingly bad - as you can tell from the trailer. There were good films made in the 1950s, this just wasn't one of them.
The audiobook goes into detail. ( the details of why it was so bad )
I've not gotten to the bit about a quarter of the cast and crew contracting and dying of cancer. The Director, all four of the leads, and several of the supporting cast, and crew all died of cancer ten to fifteen years later. And their kids who were on the set - all had brushes with cancer.
I did read about it on Wiki though. A lot of people from that film ended up dying of cancer - the percentage was so high, people wondered, but not high enough to get money from the government. Agnes Moorehead's estate sued. Wayne said it was probably his six pack of cigarettes a day habit that did him in, and June Allison said the same of Dick Powell. Both died of lung cancer.