Merry Christmas

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Desolation of Smaug Midnight Premiere

A year ago, fans of Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy were left in suspense at the end of

"The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey."

A year later the joyous time has come upon us once more where Tolkien nerds can weep and laugh in joy at their pain being appeased at last. No more agony! We have the movie we've been waiting a year for! Everybody run around and celebrate!!!

Last Friday I was unbelievable and bizarrely thrilled to see the midnight premiere of "The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug." My first ever midnight premiere. For a movie related to my favorite books in all of this world. :D

MY TICKET AND 3D GLASSES!!! :OOO *LE BOUNCE*

This isn't a review, that would require too many spoilers which I don't want to give so soon after its release, and my view is too biased to be an honest reference point for the entire thing.

I will say I loved it. There were so many things I disagreed with (those of you who have read the book(s) will sympathize) but the more I've had time to relax and think about it the more I enjoyed it.

The picture below is a legit airplane that that they have in New Zealand. That place goes crazy this time of year concerning the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit movies. Postage stamps, coins, they have the set of Hobbiton in permanent residence there along with the Green Dragon... Honestly New Zealand is the closest thing we'll ever get to Middle Earth I think except for in our dreams and our imaginative reading endeavors.

Sketchbook #1

I've been working in my sketchbook all of December.

Alas I haven't been posting as much as I would've liked; life has been charging along with its usual energy. :)

I hope everyone has been enjoying their holiday season. Where I am we've had a decent fall of snow (at last!) though the forecast is threatening to send it away.

Here are some excerpts from my sketchbook. :)

Sherlock. I went over it with
watercolor.

I used a sketch I found on a Pinterest as a reference photo

I decided to draw a calendar and then fill it in with dates in
no particular order.

I punched holes in several pages to add texture. :)
The top page contains quotes from
"Atlas" from Catching Fire

Quick sketch of the dragon on my cover of the Hobbit book.
The swirls in the border all have different
locations of middle-earth written around them.

Tardis from Doctor Who.
Colored with prismacolor pencils.

I couldn't resist uploading a picture of the
snow Tardis my niece and I made! :D

Thanksgiving/Black Friday

Not my edit. It took me 15 minutes to hunt down a picture I thought encompassed and portrayed my kind of message.. :D

The title is self-explanatory isn't it.

Happy Thanksgiving to anyone who reads this. I hope you all had a splendid time whether it was with the comfort of food and family or either one without the other.

I myself had a very lovely day. Good food that I and several members of my family made, and discussions revolving around Doctor Who.

Thennnnnnn... Black Friday. Or rather, "Thursday." Somebody decided it was a fantastic idea to open up shop for Black Friday at 6:00PM on Thursday. Thanksgiving. As though we needed yet another thing to detract from this already stifled holiday.

Anywhooo, I went with some peeps and we shopped. In fact I just got home. It's 1:30. We shopped for roughly 7 hours. Sometimes I question myself.

Last year we started at 11:30 and got home at 4. I've no idea what was different this year. O_o
_____

I would like to say, that I am thankful for so many things... God has brought in so many new possibilities in this past year it's staggering sometimes to consider. I have a supportive family, friends, wonderful books and technology and - and - and I could go on forever. <3

Standing out in the cold waiting for maybe 6 minutes tonight (they let everyone in early) felt like forever. I am so thankful for our electricity and my wonderful bed. I have a bed. That's fantastic too.

There were some very friendly people tonight, the people assisting customers and at the registers most of the time had a smile or a friendly word despite being away from their comforts on Thanksgiving of all days.

Take a moment to be thankful for your bed, your socks, or maybe your gluten free food, or the air you breathe (depending on where you live or what you do for a living). Maybe your music or your HB pencil.

Take a moment to say thank you for whatever your special things are that cast light on the void of confusion that we are living.

~Bright

PS- Am I the only one who still gets a thrill out of the fact that Thanksgiving can be arranged to say "Giving Thanks"? I still think that's cool.

PPS- I wonder how much sense this post makes. Attempting to be somewhat more thoughtful when you're thinking about how hungry you are might not be the best combination.

PPPS- I really like these things.

PPPPS- This morning later on will be fun! I'm going shopping again!!! And I get to see what I actually bought last night since I've kinda forgotten.

PPPPPS- It's now 2:05AM.

Sketch- Katniss (finished)

I finished my November WIP!!! Roughy 8-9 hours.

It is Katniss Everdeen from the Hunger Games. This particular piece is to celebrate Catching Fire's premiere last Friday.

I saw it Saturday. I AM AWED AND STUNNED I LOVE IT.

And of course my favorite guy FINNICK is present. To say why he's my favorite however would be giving spoilers.

Here's the unedited version-

System Failure- short story

Here is the final short story I wrote for American lit class. :)

A day late for the blog (Thursday/Friday is when I upload writing and it's Saturday) but here it is.

This is a small glimpse into a larger, more complex story I've been developing recently. Science fiction with a "modern" trend of dystopian.

System Failure

Dr. Peter Somar trudged through the bustling streets. All the laughter and chatter of the world paled in comparison to the throbbing pain in his mind. It must be a mistake. I must be a mistake. He desperately pleaded with himself. How could the system fail in such a way?

The smell of coffee brought him back to his senses. A quick scan of his wallet revealed he had enough money to purchase the whole café if he wanted. Well, he’d settle for a small cup right now.

The man at the register smiled warmly at him and asked if he’d like it with cream or non-fat milk. Gazing out the window, Peter absentmindedly answered yes for both.

He delicately grasped the cup when he took it from the man’s grasp without revealing the tremble in his fingers. With a smile and nod to the cashier he departed the café.

I have to get away. No peace and quiet here.

Home was near. But he knew what awaited him there. The computer would have sent off the results immediately. It was only an hour at the most they would grant him before he would be tracked down and required to go in for questioning.

Peter checked his watch. Seven O’clock. Twenty minutes left. A deep sigh escaped him. Ahhh might as well head back now.

They were waiting in his kitchen. A woman with copper eyes had taken the liberty to boil water and make herself a cup of tea.

“Diana.” His shoulders sagged and he leaned against the cold counter. It was black marble, the sort of stone that endures. “What are They saying?”

“Hey Peter.” The casual greeting didn’t suit her formal attire. Her eyes held a faint glow if you knew to look for it. “They are saying that you have discovered something that could compromise the safety of the city.” She paused.

Peter’s hold on his paper cup tightened.

“In fact they are saying that you are the something. You could topple this society as we know it.”

With precision Peter set his cup on the counter. A faint clack sounded. He moved forward and bent down so he was eye level with Diana.

The narrow point of a shooter from one of Diana’s guards pressed into his neck. Peter ignored it. His body began to go cold and he could feel sweat in his clenched fists.

“What. Are. They. Saying?” He ground out each word.

She leaned closer. “I can feel the fever radiating heat from your body right now. You don’t have much time. That is… unless you submit to our questioning. We can fix you. I don’t know what went wrong, but we’ll have a look at you and find out. Such an occurrence will never happen again.”

“No. You know what went wrong. Somebody altered a chip on purpose. Somebody meant for the program to go wrong. One little mistake, purposefully inserted among millions of perfect copies can undo the world.”

They stared at each other intently.

”Who did it?” A wave of nausea rolled over him. He tugged a chair out from the table and settled into it so that he was still facing Diana. “Do you know who messed with the system?” The shooter had moved away once it became obvious Peter had no intentions of harming her.

“We don’t—”

Peter interrupted. “You control the human race at the touch of thousands of buttons. You could have the whole human race except for yourselves wiped out from Black Plague in a week and then plan for Wyoming to die of measles. Don’t lie to me and tell me you don’t know.” His voice began to rise in pitch. “Who was brilliant enough to infiltrate your system and make sure that I received a faulty code in my chip?”

“We don’t know.” Her voice was firm, cold, and quiet.

“Why is it I received the bad chip? There must have been hundreds of others to pick from, there was no way to tell that I would become a doctor and capable of discovering my flaw – Capable of altering the world?”

“We don’t know. I’m sorry. But we can fix you.”

“You know I was going to turn myself in. I was going to let you take me. Who wants to live a life knowing you have a flawed code? Especially a doctor who could infect hundreds of patients in a day? But now that I think about it… How is it the perfect system can be tampered with? Maybe you’re beloved system isn’t the perfect way to do it.”

Diana stood while her chair screeched across the floor. She glared at him. “Don’t you dare suggest such a thing. You are a perfectly educated man. We went through the same tests and courses together. You know that the system is blameless. It was just a silly troublemaker who wanted to make a point!”

“A silly troublemaker wouldn’t be able to make a point in the first place. You must have a traitor in the system and you know it. Now believe it.” Peter massaged his temples. The ache in his head had spread throughout the rest of his body which was experiencing flashes of hot and cold.

“Diana, have you ever considered the possibility we were lied to? That maybe our minds are being fed misinformation?”

The look she gave him said enough.

“I’ve had enough from you Dr. Somar.” At that moment Peter knew he had ceased to exist. He was no longer Peter, her former classmate and friend. He was Dr. Somar, a threat to the city and a threat to the man she had always idolized as mankind’s savior. She nodded at the guards. Two of them helped him to his feet where he swayed.

“Get him out to the car. We’ll drive to the center where Mr. Aragewill question him.”

They injected a sedative into his neck. His last drowsy thought was of the Mercy Slayers. He would never be able to tell them what he had discovered. Peter closed his eyes.

__________

“We hide things. We steal the things the world says are the most dangerous things in the world; the things that will bring back our mortality.

Humans are supposed to die. We’re supposed to ‘get sick.’ But we don’t.

We are murdered.

We are taken away if we don’t fit in with the criteria.

But why? Why are we isolated from others? Why do our codes come across as flawed?

Is this how humanity should be controlled?

If it comes down to being forced to live this life; then we will remove our codes and never have to suffer the consequences.”

-- from the Creed of the Mercy Slayers

Sketch- Zentangle

These are zentangles. :D simple black marker, you draw clouds, hills, mountain etc and fill them in with patterns.

Opening Words

Copyright Peter Vanham

For one of my classes I get to write a short story. :D

I have a couple excerpts from different stories I'm considering. There's just too many possibilities!

The first one... is based in an established world already that I've created.

The second one is made up of what I have going on in my head. Numbers and stone statues.
__________________________________________________

“We hide things. We steal the things the world says are the most dangerous things in the world; the things that will bring back our mortality.

Humans are supposed to die. We’re supposed to ‘get sick.’ But we don’t.

We are murdered.” – From the Creed of the Mercy Slayers

“What about… The Stealers?” Garrett gulped down more of the tonic. “It’s got a mysterious feel to it, like the shadows.”

“But it’s so obvious.” Tuney groaned. “What do we do? We steal stuff. If the idea is to not get caught let’s not name ourselves with the crime before we commit it.”
__________________________________________________
The statue didn’t move.

Tony could’ve hugged the statue’s pedestal in relief. Then the shock of what that implied sank in.

“It’s finally over.” He took a deep breath and turned to Syrie. “Can you believe it?”

Syrie shook her head. Her voice whispered through his mind. No. But I know that it is. It’s not like last time. However you of all people know that knowing is different than actually believing…

Tony stepped over to the statue’s pedestal and slid down the still warm stone. He touched the words engraved in their neat little rows. Above the lengthy paragraph was the title: The Queen.

Tony and Syrie each studied the stone chunks scattered around them. There was a wing (from a very talkative griffin), an arm, the remains of The Queen and pieces too badly battered to discern what they had been originally.

Syrie pulled out her pen, the one that had lead for ink, and wrote on the pedestal: The 37^th War. Year 2073. The Queen has fallen. Survivors Tony Derk and Syrena Tome.

We remember.
____________________________________________________

Sketch- November WIP (update)

This is what happens when I get really into a piece...
Suddenly I'll notice I have 6 different things floating between my hands.

I bring an update on my November WIP! ^_^

Anybody have a guess as to who it is?

Farther along-ish with the hair

Lots of adjustments to the face... :)

Photography Spam for Autumn

edited in pixlr

I thought I'd show something different today just because. :)

Some photography from the past couple weeks.

Aha this was me trying to be all deep and philosophical.
Man/nature and all that. GO GREEN.
I stuck down the bag in the field and YES I picked it up!

Death of Glory (excerpt)

Roman Gladius used in the Roman Legions
(Pinterest)

I wanted to title this post "Excerpt From My Novel The Death of Glory Which I Haven't Touched Since July" but decided that was a bit much. ^_^

I know most of you are unaware that for 2 1/2 years now I've been working on a book which in proper, writerly, terms, would be called a novella. It's based on the OYAN curriculum form. A marvelous curriculum that has changed my life first and foremost and my writing second. But to get into that of course would be enough for a post all it's own.

So any time you hear me reference my "OYAN novel" taa-daa now you know what it is. :)

The working title is "The Death of Glory." The main character is boy in his teens living in Roman-Britain. Roughly 400-410 AD right before the Romans are pulled out of Britain.

The Saxons are attacking and the "R&B's" have been forced to cooperate (as far as I know this isn't historically accurate, but it's very much something that could have happened).

I thought I might show you guys the last scene I wrote in my novel. :)

-Duer is the main character (it is from his perspective, first person)
-Ator is the primary antagonist, leader of the attacking Saxons (also called Sea Wolves)
-Arlyn and Brean are friends of Duer

I did edit it a bit so that it flowed better and (hopefully) makes more sense but this is still first draft material.
_________________________________________________________________________________

I find myself face to face with Ator.
Sometimes I wonder if the gods purposely plot out my demise and then throw up their hands in frustration when I escape.

He wouldn’t recognize me. He’s killed too many Romans and Britons for one to stand out. So the riot of battle can cloud even the sea gods gaze. I smile darkly. The sweeping strokes of his sword knock me to the ground within the first few minutes and I gasp in shock. How? I note how he has taken up a Roman sword in one hand, while he doesn’t wield it with grace, his strength more than compensates for skill. In his other hand he grips a spear.

I bring my arms up in submission. When the blade strikes down I fling myself to the side and the blade pierces the earth next to me. Now it is dancing through the air again, ready to plunge deep within me and wrest out my spirit. I’m almost tempted to let it. Such a death would guarantee a glorious afterlife.

A spear with the top of the shaft broken off lies to my left. My fingernails gouge the dirt and I make a fist around the spear to block against Ator’s sword. The shaft is snapped in two from sheer force. My arm tingles.

Again I’m forced to scramble away, having to pause to lurch out reach for a heartbeat from the unrelenting steel, panting and dragging in gulps of air. This is straining my body and my mind. Soon, all too soon, I will give out and be eliminated.

If only I could get onto my feet. In desperation I brace my palms on the ground and surge upwards, twisting to face Ator. He knocks the side of my head with his sword hilt. Everything sways and blurs and I collapse.

The only thing that exists is the sky. Gloriously empty. My head throbs, and I gladly distract myself from it by staring up into the endless depths of pale gray. It hurts too much to think. It takes too much effort to summon any lingering feelings of regret towards my friends or any lingering pity. I can’t bring myself to greet my death. The noise of banging shields and screams are a rough haze… What do I care for their quarrels?

Gray eyes connect with mine. A path links between us for a moment. Gray eyes. Gray sky. Endless. Hate and rage storm through them. Beautiful.

“Duer!”

Ator is shoved into the ground by a large body barreling through. Rough hands jerk me to my feet. Arlyn roars at me. “What are you doing?”

I see Ator recover and bare his teeth like a cornered hound.

“You were just staring.” Brean’s frantic shouts wash over me as he rushes to my side.

The sky vanishes and I blink. “I…”

“Why were you just staring? Staring!” Brean can’t seem to understand what exactly it was I had been doing.

I lick my lips. “I was greeting Death.”

He lets out a yell of frustration. Arlyn half paces, half jogs next to us, weapon held at ready to defend our retreat.

“Arlyn.” I greet him and attempt a wave. “Thanks.”

The dark haired warrior rolls his eyes and proceeds to ignore me.

Later I would wonder, if I were to kill Ator, how would he have felt in the afterlife? I was no one special. Would he be raging in humiliation and swearing revenge on me as he burned in whatever afterlife the Sea Wolves believed in? Or would he resign himself to his fate?

And I have to laugh. What are the odds of me killing Ator?

He is only a man.

He is also a god.

To his people and to some of the Britons, to me even, he is a god.

Who can kill a god?

But now, now this was war and war does not merely think. War is calculating and cruel as she takes lives. Her second in command is Death and he does her bidding.

I shake off another cloud of dizziness along with Brean’s supporting arm and charge yet again.

Sketch- November WIP

I've got a WIP for November.

This isn't a sketch, but it'll do.

I'm updating as I go on my FB page.

https://m.facebook.com/profile.php?id=710574545625274&__user=100003162808345

The fun with this drawing is that I'm not going to say who it is until it's finished. If you know who it is, let me know. ^_^

Here's what it looks like right now:

Song for Fall- song (pumpkin carvings)

My niece's pumpkin. Gandalf's Mark along with his name.
I'm so proud! :)

Mine. The evil eye of Sauron!!! I spent wayyyy too much time on this. O_O

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!!!!!!!!!

Heyloeth guys, a cheery song for *shushhhhh* Fall!

*John Watson covers his ears and wishes for January 17*
_____

To the tune of Deck the Halls.

Song for Fall
Tis the season we love pumpkins
(pu-pu-pu-pu-pu-pu-pu-pumpkins)
When we think of country bumpkins
(pu-pu-pu-pu-pu-pu-pu-pumpkins)

Deck the fields with corn and beans
(pu-pu-pu-pu-pu-pu-pu-pumpkins)
Squash and gourds are commonly seen
(pu-pu-pu-pu-pu-pu-pu-pumpkins)
-----
Don bright yellow orange and red
(pu-pu-pu-pu-pu-pu-pu-pumpkins)
Come the days we long for bed
(pu-pu-pu-pu-pu-pu-pu-pumpkins)

Wind and rain grow ever colder
(pu-pu-pu-pu-pu-pu-pu-pumpkins)
Snow will come but in November
(pu-pu-pu-pu-pu-pu-pu-pumpkins)
-----
Soup and blankets all surround us
(pu-pu-pu-pu-pu-pu-pu-pumpkins)
Marvel at the changing forests
(pu-pu-pu-pu-pu-pu-pu-pumpkins)

Dark the days and long the nights
(pu-pu-pu-pu-pu-pu-pu-pumpkins)
We will treat till morning light
(pu-pu-pu-pu-pu-pu-pu-pumpkins)

Sketch- watercolor experiments

Happy Tuesday!!!

I bring you my experiments from the weekend. A mixture of watercolor, pen and water, and some pixlr effects.

First up is ink with blue watercolor to highlight the front raven. I brushed over the birds with water and it created the cool shadows.

The woman's face I did the pen and water effect. I splurged on red, brown and black warercolors and used up the last of the blue to accent.

Black and white now because it looks cool. :)

Agh this one I can't decide if I like it or not. He looks creepy. I mean I wanted him to look a little sad and hard pressed, he just looks like the undead. O_o I like it, but I've got mixed feelings about it.

Based on one of my favorite characters in a recent book I read. I suppose it reflects my unhappiness towards what the author is doing to him.

Edited. Wooooo... :)

First Lines (story starters)

Who doesn't love messing with Siri? That's pretty much the only thing she's good for. ^_^

Today in drivers ed (last day Woooo!!!) I had some free time because I finished early. So I decided to come up with some "First Lines," what I could picture as being good openers for a story/book. I also dug up some first lines from other things I've done in the past.
I figured they would be acceptable for today's post which had to include writing of some kind.
Enjoy! :)
_____

-The color of the sky on the day we died... That's difficult to say, it was a sunset, and there's always more than one color in those, usually.

-Do you think joy is real? Or is it really just chemical interactions like the books say? I have proof that joy is real. But I can't tell you what it is, because nobody believes what they're told. You'll just have to listen.

-Once upon a time there was a river. The sun boiled it into roiling steam and captured its sound with the wind.

-Perhaps being the last person in the world has made me lonely and slightly paranoid.

-Children learn their ABC's and how to count to ten. I learned how to Shift.

-The lonely god tossed stars over the world.

-The shadows rose up and screeched.

-Pale faced warrior why do you laugh?

 -A milennia ago, there was peace, a lifetime away, I ended it.
_____

In the room the voices resemble what ghosts in a cathedral must sound like. It must be what grey curtains of rain sound like.

Feet cross and shift on the streaked, hardwood floors.

“When is the event over?” Red hair tumbles over freckled shoulders.

“When the music stops.” The two women, one with red hair and the other black, move away.

From room to room the polished glasses clinking together sound.

Someone laughs.

A beautiful woman sits at the piano. Music dances its way out of the glowing instrument. It is awake. It is singing.

IN THE BLEAK MIDWINTER
FROSTY WIND MADE MOAN
EARTH STOOD HARD AS IRON
WATER LIKE A STONE
IN THE BLEAK MIDWINTER
LONG AGO

Inside the instrument she wanders. Faces with deep eyes sing to her.

“Play something cheerful now my dear.” A warm hand clasps her shoulder.

Out of the misty world she stumbles. She nods quickly and abruptly begins to play. Slowly falling back into her own heart where winter remains.
_____

And that's all for today. The scene at the end is something from a short story from awhile ago.I hope everyone is enjoying this glorious autumn weather. :)

Sketch- Divergent

Happy Tuesday everybody!

Today Veronica Roth's novel "Allegiant" was released. The final book in her "Divergent" trilogy. They're working on a the movie right now set to release sometimes early-ish next year and so far I have high hopes for the movie. :D

The sketch for today would probably make more sense if you have read the books, but I hope you still like it even if you can't appreciate its full meaning.

Unfortunately I won't be able to read "Allegiant" for a couple weeks, but it's ordered and I dearly hope it's as engaging as the previous two.

Hobbit- Misty Mountains Cold

Look I got cool stuff from Barnes and Noble! Aka the happy place. :D

It's hard to see in the pic, but I got Thorin and Gandalf holographic bookmarks with Thorins key and Gandalf's staff as PENS! <3

And the House of Hades which I've finished, but that a whole'nother realm of trouble to get into.

Today I didn't have time to get something written up for writing, instead, enjoy this beautiful poem from Tolkien's The Hobbit. :)

I do not own the amazing artwork. I thought it was pretty awesome though and worth sharing.

You still get writing and art, just not mine.

Also, here's a couple links to some beautiful music inspired by Tolkien and Peter Jackson's films.

http://youtu.be/F2CsBqwcL1c - dubstep misty mountains cold

http://youtu.be/GsbzPlrfgyo - Neil Finn's song of the lonely mountain (the ending credits always make me blurry eyed)

Anyways, hope everypony is having a beautiful week, cheers! I just wrote this up, I think I'm half asleep. :P

“Far over the misty mountains cold
To dungeons deep and caverns old
We must away ere break of day
To seek the pale enchanted gold.

The dwarves of yore made mighty spells,
While hammers fell like ringing bells
In places deep, where dark things sleep,
In hollow halls beneath the fells.

For ancient king and elvish lord
There many a gleaming golden hoard
They shaped and wrought, and light they caught
To hide in gems on hilt of sword.

On silver necklaces they strung
The flowering stars, on crowns they hung
The dragon-fire, in twisted wire
They meshed the light of moon and sun.

Far over the misty mountains cold
To dungeons deep and caverns old
We must away, ere break of day,
To claim our long-forgotten gold.

Goblets they carved there for themselves
And harps of gold; where no man delves
There lay they long, and many a song
Was sung unheard by men or elves.

The pines were roaring on the height,
The wind was moaning in the night.
The fire was red, it flaming spread;
The trees like torches blazed with light.

The bells were ringing in the dale
And men looked up with faces pale;
The dragon's ire more fierce than fire
Laid low their towers and houses frail.

The mountain smoked beneath the moon;
The dwarves, they heard the tramp of doom.
They fled their hall to dying fall
Beneath his feet, beneath the moon.

Far over the misty mountains grim
To dungeons deep and caverns dim
We must away, ere break of day,
To win our harps and gold from him!”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit

Sketch- Seto Kaiba

Sketchy Tuesday! :)

Today we have Seto Kaiba, a character from the anime show Yu-Gi-Oh! The original series will always be the best, but I enjoyed GX also. Seto was always cool, one of the primary antagonists (and occasional ally) of the series.

Marker, colored with prismacolor pencils.

I've not had much practice drawing anime or cartoon style, but oftentimes its very relaxing. :D

What Comes Before - a poem

Breath of Winter?
Original design hand drawn on computer and edited in Pixlr

Tis time for the Thursday/Friday post!

The picture above was originally black and white with her breathing green. Thus "Breath of Winter?" But as is my habit, I played with it, and here's the sepia colored version.

What Comes Before -2011 

They stood before me in a row,  

Cloaked in terror, joy and snow,

One, his face was plump and cheery, 

Another his hands held gray poverty, 

A woman had a gown of water and air, 

And I saw a girl with white flowers in her hair. 

Then I saw a man with eyes full of tears. 

And a man with his back pressed by years. 

They stood with an ethereal glow. 

One at a time I watched them go. 

But three stayed and kissed my head. 

Each was clothed in a fresh blood red. 

The first held a cup filled with thin bread, 

The second wore a cross of heavy lead and in his cup he held scarlet wine. 

The third’s cup held water and a scriven line, 

Then, a last one arrived unheard, 

And he parted swiftly without a word.

In short, this is me worrying not about dying, but about how I will die.

Sketch- magical beings

Heyloeth guys,

It's sketchy Tuesday. While watching The Hobbit (again, yes) I worked on a couple pen sketches which I colored with Prismacolor pencils.

Freehand. I used reference photos for their poses. Their arms and hands are definitely strange, but I still like these little pieces. :)