Air New Zealand

Air New Zealand flight 002
I have never before had cause to feel actual affection for an airline, but of all the companies who've flown me to various locations around the world, I have to confess my love for Air New Zealand.  I'd always thought long-haul trips were something to be endured rather than enjoyed, but I now find myself looking forward to the flight and wishing I had an excuse to fly more often.  It is probably just as well for the ozone layer that I don't ... but regardless, well done, Flying Kiwis.

Old Town San Diego

I've been trying to improve my watercolour skills but only get the time to practise intermittently . . . luckily one of those times presented itself while I was in San Diego for Comic Con, as I got to spend a day loafing around Old Town.
Turns out one of the key aspects of doing good watercolours is to take your time with them. Crazy! Each of these took about 90 min.

Trainventure

Because Comic Con happens the same weekend as the opening day at the Del Mar racecourse, it's always a bit of an adventure to take the train. At the best, you get to eavesdrop on some hilarious drunk conversations, but sometimes there are delays or cancellations. I quite enjoy taking the train, even when it's crowded or late, but even I have to admit this year was particularly bad ... nevertheless I got a couple of good sketches out of it.
The train was initially delayed an hour, so I got to make a detailed study of some elegant turn-of-the-century architecture. We encountered a number of further delays until we were running almost three hours behind schedule, so someone managing the rail network back east decided to cancel the train entirely. They dumped us all off at the Irvine stop where we could catch the next train, which was apparently about 20 minutes behind us (actually more like an hour). It was a beautiful day, and the Irvine station is bounded by fields on one side, but no one else seemed to appreciate this ...

Chicago

I went to Chicago for the first time this summer. What a wonderful city! I thoroughly enjoyed walking around taking pictures, and while I didn't do as much sketching as I'd have liked, I never do, so that's not unusually regrettable.

 

I'd seen pictures of Anish Kapoor's Cloud Gate in Millennium Park (or 'the Bean' as locals call it), but I have to say that you really have to see it in situ to appreciate it – it's entirely mirrored, and reflections are three-dimensional, so it does all sorts of weird things to your perception of volume and space as you walk around, under, and through it.

Of equal interest was observing how others reacted to it.  I made a catalogue of the selection of reactions – pretty much everyone who came by did a variant on one or more of the behaviours noted here.

Toronto, Part 2

Toronto's been on my mind a lot, lately.  Then I remembered I never posted the remainder of my sketches from my trip there, when we went sketchcrawling at the Distillery.  It was super cool!  Unfortunately the sketches don't capture the amazing sky that day.

    



I know I spend too long on my location sketches, but I so enjoy being "in it" that it's hard to change focus too frequently.

Gealimh an Daoinn (Gallivanting)

Here I am in Belfast, alive and well, though I question my sanity when after only a few days in Ireland I turn up my nose at a castle if it is merely Victorian. Everything is so much more fantastically amazing than I thought it would be. This place is seriously awesome. And I have a renewed desire to learn Gaelic if only to figure out the mad spellings.

Today I listened to Radio 4 LIVE and IN THE CORRECT TIME ZONE.

Not enough time to sketch! Have lost all my pencils and must use pen! Many many photos! Have some more exclamation points!!!!

The First Letter of Tealin to the Vancouverites

And lo it was a Wednesday, and I was labouring upon my animation, and my desk was within earshot of the chamber of editing/compositing. Upon a late hour in the afternoon, there commenced a Meeting in which the Lords of Colour and the Lords of AfterEffects did converse and dispute as to why the company that did the trailer for Enchanted got the colour so wrong. It did continue for a goodly time and in fact well into the evening. And at no point was anything pronounced by the conversants which could be interpreted as "Aah, 's good enough, the kids won't notice, just ship it." Verily I say unto you, I have heard no such utterance in all my time here. The good citizens of James Baxter Animation have deadlines like unto the Vancouverites, yet behold their passion and commitment! THIS IS THE SOUND OF PEOPLE CARING. Love it.

More Photos




It's the magical door ... and I go in it every morning! Magical! I think there might be a forcefield of drawing power at the top of the stairs because it's just ridiculous in there. Here's a detail of the sign, with the world's best logo.
The Mendenhall Sobieski Gallery is next door, and it has this sign in its window which I found amusing.
This is a fixture in the local grocery store ... as far as I can tell, you put money in and you get movies out. No word on how they hold you to returning it ... maybe you have to use your store's loyalty card or something so they have your address and can send out their movie thugs to get it back.
This is the view from my bus stop in the afternoon. One of these days I will investigate that church or whatever it is; it looks pretty cool.

Adventures in Pasadena

First day of 'work'!

Five Things About California that are Not Like BC:
1. There is not a Starbucks on every corner of a busy, touristy shopping/business district. I walked for ten minutes to find a café, a length of time that would have taken me past three Starbuckses and an independent café in a comparable area back home.
2. The commuter bus is a coach, with no rails to hold while standing up, and with a button in the seat's console to signal your stop rather than a cord to pull on. FANCEY.
3. Jasmine-scented sidewalks that nobody uses vs. urine/pot-scented sidewalks that everyone uses.
4. People who talk to complete strangers on the bus and are not crazy.
5. No $5.95 18-piece sushi combos at liberally scattered hole-in-the-wall takeaways.

Photo Time!
Hey look! It's Robson! With palm trees and no pedestrians! (It was 8:30 am so no walking commuters and no business traffic yet.)
Further proof of Robsonicity: they're digging it up.
You know those trees people keep in big pots as houseplants? This is what they look like when not housetrained.
Oleander bushes that line the Buena Vista side of the Disney lot ... look out, they're toxic. Yes, that's right, Disney has a POISON WALL. Don't tell the kiddies.
The door I go in, in the morning, is the one in the side of the alcove that has the double red doors. It's magical. McCormick would have been my last name if it were not for my great-grandfather and, the story goes, his raising the ire of the IRA. It was meant to be, obviously! We'll conveniently ignore the fact there are thousands of McCormicks...

As for the life inside, well ... this is going to be an awesome two months.

Safe and Sound

Made it here in one piece, luggage intact (as far as I know), plus arms legs minus scales fins. All good. Now back to lunch and the Mabinogion!

P.S. Ken Duncan has a studio in Pasadena too. To which I say: AAAH. Mayhap I will meet him and pick his brain on his brilliant yet incomprehensible line style.

Special Announcement

I'm going to J. Baxter 32 Mills Place Pasadena, where are you going? I'm going to J. Baxter 32 Mills Place Pasadena if you're asking where I'm going, I'll tell you that's where I'm going is J. Baxter 32 Mills Place Pasadena – Where? I'm sorry, I didn't hear you, J. Baxter 32 Mills Place Pasadena - I can hear you, I was just asking if it was J. Baxter 32 Mills Place Pasadena!