Doodle 055- Mawwaige - Or how I kinda wasn't really mawwied for nearly 11 years

First, today's doodle, (this way if you want to skip the long post you can do so lol), I drew Tinkerbell, what? You thought I would forget a suggestion? Never!

Tink - blue pencil, mechanical pencil and micron pen on plain Moleskine notebook. Aprox 15 mins.

And now, for yet another long story:

It's hard to come up with beginnings for stories, overall when none of it begins on a dark and stormy night or when it wasn't the best of times or the worst of times at the same time... aaand that's a lot of "times". Anyway, it was around the year 2000 (no, really it was actually 2000, but it sounds cooler that way, no?), I had left my friends, family and the country I called home in one epic romantic leap of faith to be with a man I had known for about a year but had only spent 10 days total with face to face.

Andrei and I met online back in the day when online dating was rare and rather odd. I was 18 and playing on an old timey word based game based on Ender's Game's battle school. He started playing a while after I did, we became good friends, then better friends, and before I knew it I was telling him to leave me alone because I was a free agent and loving it. LOL no, I am not kidding. I never quite believed in mawwiage , I liked being single, having the occasional boyfriend and going on adventures. I was young, free and trying out the whole fledgling grown up thing from the comfort of my parents' nest.

But love knows nothing of plans and before I could do much about it Andrei had managed to smite me through sheer will power and perseverance (that man doesn't know when to give up). After a while he came to visit me at Spain and spent 10 days with us. My family loved him and I loved him even more, and well, I somehow decided that I couldn't live another day without him, so after trying to go on with my life and a long distance relationship for a month without much success, I packed my bags, dropped out of school and just left (kids don't try this at home, I mean eet!)

At the time I was 19 about to turn 20, I was scared, determined, crazy and reckless, but still scared.

I figured I had a two way ticket so if I didn't like what I had done I could always return home. Just for the record, it is now 2012, so you can tell that didn't happen.

After a month or so living with Andrei, we decided we just needed to get married since it was obvious we wanted to stay together for as long as we both should live. We were broke, spaghetti and tuna cans plus no car broke, my parents were an ocean away, his family was a little closer, but still several hours by car. We decided a small courthouse wedding would be the way to go since my folks couldn't be there.

We notified the parents and promised that one day, when we had "made it", we would throw a big party and have a wedding they could attend. They gave in reluctantly, I am known for being single minded, so there wasn't much they could say/do to stop me anyway.

A good intentioned friend heard of our plans and volunteered to help us have a small chapel wedding. I have never been very religious neither attended church regularly (or at all really), so it really wasn't a big deal to me, but eager to start things right and accept my soon-to-be-husband's friend's kindness I went along with it happily.

We started looking for affordable wedding dresses/outfits, it was a mess, Tallahassee barely had any wedding dress shopping options back then and the one boutique (that is no longer in business for good reason) that was around sent us packing the moment they didn't see an engagement ring on my finger... like I said, we were broke, so I didn't want an engagement ring, we saved instead to buy wedding rings.

After a trip across state lines and a very generous monetary gift from another friend, I purchased a big white wedding gown off the rack. It really was the one that fit and didn't look crazy on me a week before the wedding.

Andrei's sisters came to town to see their brother get married to a girl they had never met. I loved them immediately and they loved me back just the same, I was lucky that way and got awesome in-laws. The night before the wedding I was told by the good intentioned friend, that the whole chapel deal was out the door, but that she had arranged a small garden wedding for us at her grandmother's house somewhere off in the country.

Not being one to complain and clearly caught in other people's plans I took it all on stride, let her take me to a hair salon and breakfast and then I was driven out and away to wherever this ceremony was bound to take place... I did notice though, there were no paved roads where we were heading... panic started to set in then, I had no idea where this place was and Andrei had told me he didn't know either.

The weather wasn't cooperating, dark clouds loomed overhead, so as we pulled over at a modest home I was again informed that the whole thing had been moved indoors... and now we were going to have the ceremony in the sitting room of the friend's grandma... and the grandma was a justice of the peace, so she would do the honors of officiating the ceremony.

I just smiled and I was ushered into a room and I tried to get into my now ridiculous large gown while people I barely knew rushed about. Looking back, I really can't remember getting disappointed, confused, angry or nervous. It sort of felt as if I had been swept away into this real surreal and bizarre situation, I just wanted to get things done with as much dignity and grace as I could muster and forget about the mess I had gotten myself into.

The ceremony started as normally as it could under the circumstances and it was going smoothly... a CD was playing some ambient music, people were standing or sitting around furniture that had been pushed around to make more room.

As I saw Andrei waiting on the corner I decided things were going to be ok, after all, all I really wanted was to marry the man I loved. The justice of the peace was rather elderly, she probably hadn't performed weddings in a while and was reading the script as well as she could, maybe a bit, ok maybe a lot rushed. The vows came up pretty fast, Andrei did his bit, said his vows to me and slipped the ring onto my finger and then I waited for my turn, heart pitter pattering... only to hear the justice of the peace go straight to: "And by the power invested in me...", my heart nearly stopped, I panicked a bit, looked at Andrei, who looked at me rather puzzled, I quickly grabbed the ring from whoever was holding it at the moment and slipped it into Andrei's finger right before hearing the "I pronounce you husband and wife" part.

We kissed, signed the paperwork and I asked Andrei in a whisper if the justice of the peace had skipped my part or if I had imagined it. He confirmed it, I had been skipped and made no vows. I shrugged it off, we had punch and toasted with sparkling apple cider since I was underage for drinking in the US, a fact that made me giggle since in Spain legal drinking age was 16, so by then I had drank plenty and developed a taste for fine wine. Our first wedded lunch consisted of chicken salad and a slice of cake and that was the end of it.

We drove home with Andrei's family all piled up on an SUV or van (It is all a blur really), and went back to the one bedroom apartment we lived in along with my sisters in law, my new nieces and more company. We didn't have a honeymoon, the next working day everything was back to normal again.

For the next 9 years I often teased Andrei telling him he was married to me, but since I had made no vows I was still free, yup, just like Buttercup. Of course we were legally married, but it was fun to poke a bit at him sometimes.

As we both finished school and got well paying jobs and worked hard to move up on life, we started taking actual vacations and leaving town more often. One year, as we cruised down to the Caribbean aboard a Disney cruise ship and we watched the sun set over the ocean he said: "Let's renew our vows, or I'll renew mine and you can say yours", I thought he was joking, turns out, he wasn't.

After much research, number crunching and planning, we decided that a vow renewal for our 10th anniversary at Disney World would be the best solution for us. It was a shorter drive away from his family, it had an international airport and built in shuttles and hotels for mine. Plus our trips to Disney World after my hospital ordeals had managed to keep me sane (or as sane as I was gonna get anyway), so it had great memories for the two of us even during really dark days.

Now, having a Disney wedding wasn't cheap, but it came with a great perk, I had a virtual army of people taking care of things and all I did was come up with a look, add several personal touches in the shape of paper goods we did ourselves, wedding favors etc, and keep within our budget.

Andrei and my friends helped me find the perfect wedding dress, this time it was one I really wanted and loved and was ordered a year out and made for me. The food, cake, everything was planned with care and with the help of Andrei an awesome team.

I really won't describe it all, instead I will post a few of the tons of incredible photos taken by our wonderful photographers and friends Becka and Nate from Studio222 photography, because they pretty much say it all about the day:

I patiently hollowed a hardcopy of Ender's Game to make a ring bearing book. Nobody panic, we actually own 3 more copies and they are all safe and sound including my original Spanish first edition that Orson Scott Card signed for me. - Photo credit: Studio222 Photography

I gifted Andrei a limited edition Up bottle cap pin, because, well the story of Carl and Ellie is so similar to ours that we wondered if Pixar had been spying on our lives. I must also note, that to this day I can't see the "Married Life" montage at the start of that movie without crying, and it has been the only movie that has made me cry at the theater - Photo credit: Studio222 Photography

We stayed at the Animal Kingdom Lodge during the festivities, it is still my very favorite resort in Disney World - Photo credit: Studio222 Photography

The lodge provides with awesome backdrops - Photo credit: Studio222 Photography

We couldn't have a Disney wedding without a monorail pic, could we? - Photo credit: Studio222 Photography

We wanted a personalized ceremony, so we each wrote our own vows and then made our own vow booklets so we could have them as keepsakes and read them to each other on anniversaries - Photo credit: Studio222 Photography

:-) - Photo credit: Studio222 Photography

Finally mawwied, and this time I said my vows and everything! - Photo credit: Studio222 Photography

Another small homage to Up, I put the small house together and our awesome florist got the balloons, this was the kid's activity table - Photo credit: Studio222 Photography

I drew different things that had special meanings to Andrei and I for each table. He was a launchy on rabbit army on the game where we first met, hence the bunny - Photo credit: Studio222 Photography

Overall look of the tables once put together by our awesome Disney Wedding team - Photo credit: Studio222 Photography

Us checking out our amazing cake, it was so beautiful we felt guilty cutting into it - Photo credit: Studio222 Photography

We couldn't have a Disney wedding without Mickey and Minnie, could we? - Photo credit: Studio222 Photography

At the end of the day, tired but oh, so happy - Photo credit: Studio222 Photography

 When the day was over and we had finally gotten out of all wedding finery and sat exhausted while the TV played some Phineas and Ferb cartoons he said: "Well, now you said it" I laughed and replied: "Yup, I did" "You can never take it back now. Ha!" he added.

And so, that's the story of how I wasn't quite mawwied and then how I finally got to say my vows. It was one of the most amazing days I have ever lived, and I can say without a doubt, I love Andrei more than I ever did and I am sure I'll grow to love him more as the years go by.

We aren't the same two people that we were when we first embarked on this crazy adventure we call mawwiage, together, we are older, wiser and we have weathered more than I ever expected we would or could. Over the years we have learned more from each other than any other person we have ever met, we spend most of our days together and never get tired of each other's company, we have learned each other's boundaries, limits, buttons and secrets; in a way he is now so much a part of me as I am part of him and I still find that mysterious, slightly scary and altogether wonderful.

Doodle 054 - Fairy Tales (part 2)

Another Sunday, another batch of interactive doodles over.

Hope everybody is starting the new week well and ready to make the best of it!

First I will post the villains: Rumpelstiltskin, he was harder to draw than I expected, I went with a more impish/devilish version of him.

Rumpelstiltskin - blue and mechanical pencil on plain Moleskine notebook. Aprox 15 mins.

Now, we move onto Baba Yaga, again, never had tried drawing her before, so it was fun to do something different. She is next to the chicken that carries her house.

Baba Yaga - blue and mechanical pencil on plain Moleskine notebook. Aprox 20 mins.

 And last, but tot least, steampunk Hansel and Gretel. They have grown up, Gretel is a sorceress and Hansel is an engineer/inventor of sorts. Together they try to prevent other kids from being attacked by witches, wizards and other supernatural creatures creeping the the forests.

Steampunk Hansel and Gretel - blue and mechanical pencil on plain Moleskine notebook. Aprox 25 mins.

And now I am pretty tired lol so I'll be seeing you all tomorrow with a brand new doodle. Hope everybody had fun playing along for another week!

[Update]: OK you can tell I'm ready to turn in for the night when I forget one doodle... anyhow, I also did a small drawing of Buttercup from the Princess Bride.

It is one of my favorite movies, long story short, I teased Andrei about the fact that Buttercup never said "I do" to Humperdinck hence not really marrying him before Westley came to the rescue... because... well, I never said "I do" during our original wedding. I might tell you guys that story one day if you would like. It does have an awesome ending though.

Without further ado, today's final doodle (for real this time):

Buttercup waits for Westley - blue and mechanical pencil on plain Moleskine notebook. Aprox 10 mins.

Doodle 053 - Fairy Tales (part 1)

Wow! So many cool suggestions yesterday/today. I might have to draw them all, really.

Today I was able to sleep way more than I have in the past 2 weeks. As an average I have been getting about 3 to 4 hours a day, this has made me rather sadder and more tired than usual, plus more prone to migraines.

Needless to say, today I feel much better, but as a side effect of finally relaxing I was very lazy and barely did anything of significance. To be sincere, I finally sat down to draw at about 7 p.m., which is late for me any day and specially late on a weekend and I didn't set foot outside at all.

It has been a weird week anyway, but it ended in quite a sweet note. A good friend, Amy, wrote an incredibly sweet entry on her blog about me. It reminded me, yet again, of what an incredible collection of wonderful friends I have managed to meet over the years.

I keep saying this, but it is true, I just don't know what I have done to deserve such wonderful people in my life. The sole fact that I managed to find Andrei, for example, over all the thousands of miles across us was an amazing oddity on its own, but as I have grown and worked I have met people that have touched my life in so many great ways, encouraged me and welcomed me into their lives as if I had always been part of them. Truly remarkable, isn't it?

Anyway, sappy moments aside, here are today's Fairy Tale drawings. I had to do some research on some of them since I hadn't heard of these characters before, or I had heard of them, but forgotten them overtime. So, in no particular order, here they are:

First off, Red Riding Hood. She was a very popular choice! I steampunked her some as well, partly by request, partly by personal preference lol. She carries her own ax, and she surely knows how to use it. The vials on her belt hold different potions/enchantments to guard off malicious wooden spirits.

Red Riding Hood - Blue pencil and mechanical pencil on plain Moleskine notebook. Aprox 20 mins.

Next up is Aladdin's Genie, as I worked on it and took a quick picture I realized it looks a little bit like Andrei, lol I thought that was funny anyway.

Aladdin's Genie - Blue and mechanical pencil on plain Moleskine notebook. Aprox 10 mins.

I had never heard of Jack Spratt and his wife, but thanks to google I found out they are from a nursery rime. I love learning new things/stories, so that was fun.

Jack Spratt and Wife - Blue and mechanical pencil on plain Moleskine notebook. Aprox 10 mins.

And finally (for today), Scheherazade. I had heard of her before, maybe by another name (I read Fairy Tales like I breathed air as a kid), but I had forgotten about her completely until I researched and remembered. She is proof that being well read and shrewd can save your life.

Scheherazade reading a book - Blue and mechanical pencil on plain Moleskine notebook. Aprox 10 mins.

Ah that was fun for today. Don't worry, I have actually started on the villains (Rumplestitskin and Baba Yaga for example) and have ideas for the rest of the suggestions I have received. Once again I want to thank everybody for your input, as the weeks go by on this project I am beginning to feel more creative and drawing is becoming easier to do.

Doodle 052 - The moon plus new interactive Friday theme

Survived yet another week, it had its ups and its downs but now we have the weekend to look forward to, so to me, that's plenty good :)

Today I doodled this while catching up on missed TV shows after dinner:

And the moon came out to play at last - Graphite and mechanical pencil on plain Moleskine notebook. Aprox 20 mins.

Just a cute dreamy doodle for the night.

And now, since it is Friday we will do another interactive set of doodles. This time I will ask for another 6 suggestions, so let me know which fairy tale characters you would like me to draw.

Ready, set, go!

Doodle 051 - Maleficent

When I sat to draw today I was mostly thinking about Halloween. Like I said before, I love that holiday, it is just fun, plus it is the beginning of my favorite time of the year.

Whenever we can afford it or take time off work Andrei and I head over to Disney World around the end of September/beginning of October to run around Epcot during the Food and Wine fest and attend Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party.

I am a sucker for Fall decor and candy, plus I love Disney's firework shows (seriously, their Halloween party fireworks are incredible), so I am pretty much as happy as a clam whenever we manage to wing it. This year I sacrificed my Halloweenish outing to Disney World in exchange for Dragon*Con. I am happy with my choice, but I still wish I could go.

That's why I ended up drawing her:

Maleficent - Graphite, mechanical pencil and micron pen on plain Moleskine notebook. Aprox 15 mins.

I love Maleficent, she is my favorite Disney classic villain, I think because she is just evil, period. To be sincere I am pretty sure she would have cast a curse on Aurora (Sleeping Beauty), even if she had been invited to the baby's party, because... she is just bad like that.

I have never drawn her before, and it fits my Halloween mood perfectly.

Doodle 050 - Wonders

I was sick at home today, I am still not feeling quite well at the moment. I am not quite sure what I've caught now, but from what Andrei tells me, about everybody at his office went home sick today with what sounds like a bad cold or the flu... I just hope I haven't caught that and can get back to work tomorrow.

Since I spent most of the day with a splitting migraine and resting I didn't do much drawing, just a quick storyboard I thought of when a friend said that for a second there my knitting octopus looked like it was holding toilet paper lol.

So I thought it would be quite awkward to find an octopus as a washroom attendant:

Octopus washroom attendant - Graphite and mechanical pencil on plain Moleskine notebook. Aprox 15 mins. (click to enlarge)

Sorry if the photo isn't very good, I have very low light and the panels themselves are a bit crooked hehehe.

As a side note, whenever I stumble into a washroom with an actual attendant inside, I sort of feel a bit awkward, and they are humans and all. For a moment there I freeze, say hi politely and then start to freak out because I rarely carry cash or change with me, so I feel terrible when I can't tip... one just doesn't expect them to be in washrooms anymore.

Next I started drawing randomnly and the figure sort of looked like Wonder Woman to me. I have never drawn her (or really any superheroes) before, I gave her a costume that I thought was more practical than the usual strapless swimsuit she is drawn in. If I were to go into battle and kick some major butt I would need proper clothing, just saying.

Wonder Woman - Graphite and mechanical pencil on plain Moleskine notebook. Aprox 20 mins.

I struggled a lot with the feet, so next week during figure drawing I'll make it a point to draw way more detailed hands and feet in order to get better at it.

Doodle 049 - Octo Knitter

You could say I am tired today, my drawing arm was so not used to all the drawing (at a larger scale) I did yesterday, hehehe, I need to build my artistic muscles back up.

To rest my arm and my drawing hand I did a silly little doodle today and decided to color it in with some prismacolor pencils:

Knitting Octopus - Graphite, mechanical pencils, micron pen and prismacolor pencils on plain Moleskine notebook. Aprox 20 mins

Yup... it is a knitting octopus. Haha! Yeah... I have no idea why, it just happened... ok maybe it is about the fact that I am nearly done with my latest scarf, this time the whole thing goes around my neck about 4 times. Yup... that's one long scarf.

Doodle 048 - Figure drawing (Some artistic tasteful nudity)

Today was a good day, sure, it is Monday, it is raining cats and dogs and there is a raging storm outside which is threatening to leave us without power momentarily... haha! I hope I finish this post before that happens, but today I did something I have been struggling to do for months.

Yes, today, I went out and interacted with a bunch of people I have never met in order to attend a figure drawing session with a live model.

There is a cool art community here in town, the epicenter of that community is a small complex of studios and galleries next to the railroad tracks, it is called Railroad Square because of the location. It is a funky, quirky place filled with odd and fun shops and cafes. I go there on time to time to visit the second hand shops etc.

One of the gallery owners started having figure drawing sessions a while back, I often tried to make it out there, but work or my own fear of meeting strangers, plus my painful shyness made it an uphill battle. Finally, over the weekend, I made it a personal goal to get out there and draw.

I had a long day between the doctor's office and work today, so by the time I got home I had forgotten, I went ahead, changed into house clothes, and I was about to start fighting with myself over working out or not (it is always a fight... "Get on the elliptical!" "Hmmm... I dunnooo" "DO EET!" "NEVERRR!"), when I remembered about the session. I changed right back up, grabbed my largest sketchpad, portable easel, my little pony bag and got on the road right on time.

When I got to the art studio there were several people setting up and getting ready. I sorta walked in and said a very shy "hi" and started to set up my own stuff. Everybody was sort of introverted as well, so that was kind of cool, after a while people started to come over and say hi and ask what my name was and to see my drawings, so I felt more comfortable as the session went on.

Our model was awesome and did a great job even though it was her first time, I always have a lot of respect for models, overall when the session is on the nude, like today's, plus she was very sweet.

All in all, I had a blast and I am very happy I made it out there and didn't let my fears keep me away again.

So, to begin with, I found some old doodles I made with my brush pen when I first got it on the front of my pad, I took a couple of quick pics:

Random doodles - brush pen on plain sketchbook.

Random doodles - brush pen on plain sketchbook.

And now, a word of warning: the following drawings will have artistic nudity, it is, after all, the only way to really get better at anatomy.

First we started with quick warm up sketches, these poses were 5 minutes long and they were perfect for me to get my feet wet again. This page is an example of what my drawings looked like at the start of the session:

5 minute figure drawings - graphite on plain sketchbook. Aprox 5 mins. each

As you can see it is mostly structure. We then moved onto longer poses of 20 mins each:

20 min. pose - graphite and brush pen on plain sketchbook.

This was my first long pose. I decided to be bold and tried my brush pen to define the figure. I was struggling with the hands and face, but I didn't give up.

20 min pose - graphite and charcoal pencil on plain sketchbook.

I changed my approach for the next pose and pulled out my charcoal, my lines were getting a bit looser and I was feeling a bit more confident.

20 min pose - graphite and mechanical pencil on plain sketchbook.

After a break the model did the same pose, so I switched my angle a bit to get a different perspective.

20 min. pose - graphite and black prismacolor pencil on plain sketchbook.

The final pose was more relaxed (my arm was starting to kill me). I accidentally grabbed a black prismacolor pencil instead of my charcoal one and that didn't allow me to make as many corrections as I would have liked, but I forged on ahead and continued with the drawing.

I feel rather proud of myself, I haven't done any figure drawing since college and I really need to study anatomy in order to get back into real drawing shape. The sketches weren't as bad as I thought they would be, the atmosphere at the studio was great and I will definitely be back to work on my artwork next week.

Doodle 047 - All Mixed Up (part 2)

I had a mostly lazy Sunday, not ashamed to say, I didn't really get off my PJ's until after noon hehehe, but I did go outside, and I did wear real clothes, so I was a productive member of society for a bit today.

Here are today's mix-ups, starting with Marebabe's "baby elephant and a parasol".

Parasol Elephant Baby - blue pencil, mechanical pencil and graphite on plain Moleskine notebook. Aprox 10 mins

This is a hybrid parasol/elephant, the canopy of the parasol opens up when the elephant is happy/at attention and sort of folds back when the elephant is sad. Just FYI, the baby elephant on the upper right corner is sad because his mom grounded him for separating from the group while chasing a butterfly.

Becky suggested "A porcupine and a pocket watch", behold!

Porcupine Pocket Watch - Blue and mechanical pencil on plain Moleskine notebook. Aprox 15 mins.

This is definitely a fashion statement time piece, exercise caution while placing this watch in or out of your pocket. Matching tweezers to remove porcupine quills sold separately.

Jill suggested: "A seahorse and an iphone"

iPhone Seahorse 6 - Blue pencil, mechanical pencil and graphite on plain Moleskine notebook. Aprox - 15 mins.

*Dons black turtleneck* Presenting the new iPhone Seahorse 6. This cellphone will change everything and will revolutionize the underwater cellphone market. So intuitive, that all mermaids and mermen will want to queue at their local maritime Apple stores days in advance to get their fins on one. Tell your merfriends.

And finally I picked a random extra mash-up, Michelle H suggested: "A cat in a hot air balloon"

Navigating Feline - blue and mechanical pencil on plain Moleskine notebook. Aprox 20 mins.

 I drew that last one while on the phone with my mom. I have logged the rest of the ideas you guys shared and I'll probably work on them during the week when/if I find myself without any cool ideas, because really, some of you have awesome concepts.

Once again, thanks for playing along! I indeed have the most awesome blog readers ever.

Doodle 046 - All mixed up (part 1)

I hope everybody's weekend is going well, I spent most of mine either watching anime on Hulu, working out, knitting or running amok outside.

I didn't get back in till past eight and then I had to sit and watch Doctor Who... since I still had drawing to do I just doodled today's mixed up animal/objects while sitting on the couch and watching T.V.

AppleCore suggested: "a panda and teapot".

Panda Teapot - Blue pencil, mechanical pencil and graphite on plain Moleskine notebook. Aprox 10 mins.

Now I sorta wish I had this teapot... so cute!

prettylittlej suggested: "A honeybee and a xylophone". Not gonna lie, that sorta surprised me, but I came up with this:

The Musical Xylophone Bee - Blue and mechanical pencil on plain Moleskine Notebook. Aprox 15 mins.

This bee communicates using the music that it produces by playing the xylophone on its abdomen with its legs. When the bees go out to gather pollen they can play songs together.

Susanna King suggested: "An octopus and a chair". I like octopus, they are fun to draw, I haven't drawn one in ages though, so as I looked up reference images I came up with this:

Octopus Chair - Blue and mechanical pencil on plain Moleskine notebook. Aprox 20 mins.

It looks like a throne suited for a mermaid princess, doesn't it? I am rather happy about how it turned out.

OK I am off to bed now, hope you guys enjoyed these doodles! Tomorrow I'll do some more.