uhuh uhuh

Eiko says...

I haven't been posting for a while, and I have no excuse whatsoever aside from having very little to blog about that would make an interesting read. That's a lie. But all the interesting stuff is private, and although this is my personal blog, where I have every rite to post whatever I feel like posting, just the fact that YOU are reading it makes it a very public thing, and some private things are suppose to remain private--and for good reasons too.

So, all the things in my life that's reader-friendly and un-private isn't so interesting. But since that's all I have right now, I'll make the most of it, and write it up anyway. Brace yourself! (or just skip this one all together. I'm simply blogging for the sake of blogging, and when people do that, their posts tend to be very difficult to read through. )

*My back is hurting less these days. I think I found out what the problem was! I decided to sleep without a pillow, and after 2 weeks of no pillow sleep, I've been having less pain.

*I've been more faithful with my exercise. My favorite work out video is still Shaun T's Insanity program. I'm fascinated by the fact that I can't really complete the work out. I like a challenge.

*I'm looking for employment somewhere. I wanna save up for one, and secondly, the Home is needing some steady income.

*And the minor identity crisis thingie mostly gone. I'm finding my footing again--somewhat.

And ladies and gentlemen, I want to draw your attention to an absolute masterpiece Akari drew! It's posted on our Art Blog! It's perfection itself! Words fail me, Akari, dahling! Keep this up and you'll be the best out of us all! Woo hoo!

greetings from nasu

Eiko says...

Staying at the parent's place

My stay at Lodge Home made me appreciate so many things about my parent's place in the peaceful countryside. I don't have a problem with being busy, and I actually would prefer bordering on being too busy as opposed to being too relaxed. I like the 'up tempo' lifestyle because it gives me a sense of accomplishment and makes me feel like I'm actually doing something. But after taking a few steps back, I've realized how much I've been craving the peaceful environment. It's great to be able to just SLEEP, and not be worrying about anything in particular. It's been a very relaxing week in so many ways, I almost feel over rested. Too much of this will eventually get me edgy, but I haven't reached the point of being 'over rested' just yet, so I'm still good.

Health and stuff

In the past few weeks, I've noticed a strange pain in my back, and it's been bothering me for a while. At first I didn't think much of it, and that it was probably the work load, but it seemed to worsen after coming here to Nasu. It really caught my attention during a work out session, when I couldn't complete a certain exercise that I have been able to do without any problem before. The pain in back nearly paralyzed me! It almost feels like a strain, a dull pain, and if I bend over past a certain angle, my back gives in. The pain also occurs when I lay down, flat on my back. It's extremely uncomfortable.

Last night, because of the pain in my back, I slept on my side, only to wake up with my arm that I had used as a pillow, all stiff. I think my upper body is a pain magnet. My shoulders cramp up easily, and I get neck strains. I'm hoping this can be remedied by better posture, strength training and an overall healthier schedule.

Other than my back issues, I am happy and healthy. As I noted earlier, I am SLEEPING! I'm sleeping so well, I can't even drag myself out of bed in the morning! THIS is the life!! I am loving my sleep!

Reboot-ing

Being that my daily schedule is very relaxed, I have a lot of time to read and study the reboot material. With all the changes that are being addressed so suddenly, there will be people who will either love the 'new' TFI, or people who won't be so happy with the 'new' TFI and all the changes that are happening. I am among the ones who are lovin' the changes. But at the same time, I'm finding myself at a minor identity crisis. Notice that I said 'minor'.

Because although I'm very happy about there being more freedom in how we can live our faith, being that a big part of our lives have consisted of following rules and living up to standards, and our discipleship and membership being measured by how well we've been doing in those respects, when those things are so suddenly taken away, I feel a bit shaky and unsure about what exactly I want to do from now. I feel like the chained eagle, that had just been released from the chain! The chain no longer exists, but I've been so used to doing things in a certain way, that I think it will take a bit of time getting used to having 'wings' and learning how to use them. I feel like I want to explore these new changes. The problem is that I don't exactly know how to do that. Therefore, the 'minor' identity crisis exists. I'll be getting over it as soon as I get used to all this new stuff that's happening.

Art

For the 100th time, I'm giving up on art! I seriously suck at it. For one, my patience for art has gone way down. After the basic sketch and the first layer of shading, I'm board out of my mind with the picture I'm drawing1 Secondly, I'm simply getting bad at it. I'm losing the 'touch', and it's become pretty obvious. It's more difficult and it takes more time for me to get the proportions right, and my shading skills have dropped. More importantly though, I'm losing the desire to draw to begin with. I don't have the inspiration.

But although my skills have been going down the drain, the other Matsuoka artists have only been getting better and better! Akari and Yuya have been practicing and the results of their efforts are amazing! Check out their latests: a pencil drawing of Brittany Murphy by Akari, and the character of Richard Sharpe in color by Yuya at Matsuoka Art!

Okay, well, I'll blog more later, because frankly, I'm blank. Life has been pretty uneventful these days. Actually, I take that back. There have been some pretty memorable moments and events that happened this past week. But some stuff just shouldn't be read by people that aren't directly involved, which is YOU, so I'm keeping that to myself.

今はネ…

Eiko says...

It's snowing outside, and it's freezing cold. (What on earth? I'm writing about the weather!) I am wearing an over-sized T-shirt and an apron. My hair smells like curry, and my fingers smell like garlic. I wish I were somewhere else right now. I also wish somebody could press the fast-forward-button on life and skip the Kids Camp altogether!!
I'm quite nervous about the whole thingie, and I have a foreboding that I'm going to, someway or another, mess up big time as the "organizer/representative" of the camp.
Freakyyy!

My art-life is on pause right now since I'm busy with all this camp stuff, but after it's over and out of the way, I will resume my art practicing, and also finish up a picture I'm working on for a friend.
It's half way finished, and that's wonderful. But what's not wonderful is that I have lost all inspiration for the picture. I look at it, and feel slightly nauseous, and the thought of finishing it makes me feel faint. I try a few strokes and smudges at the picture and my eyebrows knit, and I looked constipated--and for a good reason. It's just not quite perfect. But so far, so good. It's in proportion and it looks how it's suppose to look. I just need to keep it up.
Ganbarimasu. . .

S.T.E.M in black and white

Eiko says...

I was browsing Ryan's blog for pictures to draw, and out of all the sexy pictures of women in colorful poses, THIS picture of Steve jumped out at me. I could almost swear I heard it yelling, "draw me, draw me!"

So I did.

It was an easy piece to draw though. Steve has a very distinct face, and his strong features make getting the proportions right as easy as pie. But I felt like pulling all my hair out when it came time to shade up his shirt and the guitar. I'm sure you can tell where I slacked off in.

It took me 2 days to finish it, which is quite decent for me.

I personally think I got it down fairly well, aside from the guitar. Junk that. I have NO vision for drawing instruments whatsoever after exhausting myself while drawing a sax for an acquaintance. In fact, I swore to myself that I would never agree to draw an instrument under any circumstances. I guess that explains the less than perfect job I did of the guitar. Meh.

Anyway, the picture isn't scanned, so it's a bit low quality, but if you click on the picture, you'll get the full-size version.

Hope you like it.

自分が描いた絵を眺めてたんだけど、（っていうか、観察っていうか。。。）とにかく、ステムくんってかなり幸せそうな顔をして歌うよな～って思ってたの。
なんか、自分が歌っててイケメンより、歌ってて幸せって感じが伝わってくるの。マッ、わたしステムくんじゃないから実際何を考えて歌っているのか分かんないけど、それが魅力でこの絵を描くことに引かれたのかも。
whatever

I finished it!!

Eiko says...

Remember the drawing of Jim Caviezel and what's-her-face I started but didn't finish because I had lost inspiration in finishing it? I had posted the unfinished version of the drawing in an older post, and I honestly didn't think I'd ever get around to finishing it since just looking at the picture gave me a mega head ache. Not that it was a hopeless picture that was out of proportion or anything. It was a fine picture with lot's of potential in becoming something beautiful. But alas, the inspiration had left me, and I thought it would never come back.

But surprise, surprise, come back it did!!!

And thanks to that, I was able to finish it up in a matter of a few hours, as opposed to weeks, or even months, had I tried to draw it when I was void of inspiration.

To refresh your memory, here are the first two pictures of the unfinished drawing.

STAGE 1:

STAGE 2:

FINISHED!!

I deserve like, 10 brownie points for this one!!
But what do you think, does it need a background? It might just be me, but something tells me that it needs a background...

I drew J.E.W (dedicated to Boris)

Eiko says...

Introducing my new art style to you all!!
It's a picture of the band, "Jimmy Eat World", one of Boris' favorites.

I like it.

CLICK ON THE PICTURE TO SEE ALL THE DETAILS!!

art blog is updated

Eiko says...

ATTENTION!

Akari just finished drawing the likeness of Orlando Bloom, and I just finished Avril Lavigne!!

Click HERE and check it out!!!

To appreciate the beauty of our art, click on the picture to see all the nitty gritty details! *wink*

daddy-daughter advice :)

Eiko says...

A little advice to all the dads and daddies and papas out there, who are concerned about their relationship with their teen age daughters:

*Wear your cap on backwards
*Roll one side of your pants up to your shin
*When any kinda music with good rhythm is playing, keep rhythm by bobbing your head, and if you feel you can take a bit more, put some shoulders and knees into it.
*Greet your teen age daughter with a, "yo", or a "yo, wuz up?", or a "hey", instead of your everyday, "godblessyousweetheart".
*Try to remember a few hot male celebrities, and impress your daughter by casually including it in your conversations. Names such as Johnny Depp, Adam Brody, Gerard Butler, Jim Caviezel, and Robert Pattinson should be added to your spirit helper/demons memory work flash cards.

etc etc etc

I'm sure your creative minds can come up with more ideas and strategies to keep your adolescent daughter interested in giving you time to talk.
Good luck.

Announcement

Yuya just finished drawing 2 epic pictures! Remember to check our Art Blog out every now and then for updates and new goodies.

hermmm

Eiko says...

Okay, it's not my best, but it's definitely better than I expected.
It's not finished, so don't be too harsh with your criticism. It will look a ton better after I add the shading to her hair, and also when it's scanned, instead of it's picture taken by my crappy-ass mobile phone camera! Most of the cool details and shading can't be seen because of the picture's low resolution. But whatev! I'll re-post it on our art blog if I ever get around to finishing it.


Announcement

My dad is having his 54th Birthday tomorrow!

backsliding

Eiko says...

I'm losing it.

I sat down at my desk last night, determined to draw up a masterpiece, but I soon came face to face with the biting truth: that I am a hopeless LOZER at art now! Getting the proportions right took an eternity, and my shading simply sucked! After an hour of my pathetic attempts at art (if you could even call what I drew art), I put paper and pencil down, and gave up.

I'm falling from grace.

It's a scary thing to see your younger siblings running ahead of you in talents that you all share. Each new piece that they draw--although absolutely breath taking--sends shivers of fear down my spine as reality bonks me over the head: if I don't keep moving forward, I'll lose what I've got. And that's exactly what's happening right now!

All I need to do to fix the problem is to get practicing more often. So, being that tomorrow is the long-awaited-free-day, I will dedicate a chunk of time to doing just that. If anything beautiful comes from it, I will let you all know by posting it here. If I DON'T post anything, ... well then, you can go ahead and assume the worst, and write me off as a has-been (or that I simply had a lazy stroke, or got hit over by a speeding car, or got eaten by monster cows... etc.)

Art

Akari says...

I had time to make this christmas card because our moving always gets postponed. And we just might be able to move tomorrow...IF the roads aren't icy. Please pray so that we can move as soon as we can.

What I'm up to...

Akari says...

This is what I do for my spare time. Making decorations, cards, and socks. I shouldn't have so much free time (because of all the moving), but somehow I do.

No inspiration, no can do!

Eiko says...

Check out my new art project! I was going to post the picture once I've finished it, but I highly doubt that I'll ever get around to finishing this one, as my INSPIRATION for the picture has up and died, and has left me with ZERO feelings for the picture whatsoever! (other then feelings like, 'woah, Jim Caviezel is hot!')

In these two pictures, you can see the progress I've made...and how in the first picture, the girl's ear and hair line is not in the right place BIG TIME!!


I know a lot of people who just don't understand how I can start an art project, (and it's going perfectly well, with everything in the right places,) but just...not finish it. Well, my dear friend, I simply cannot finish something that I don't have the inspiration for. I may originally have had inspiration for the picture, but if I get board of the picture I'm drawing, or lose the vision, then inspiration fizzles out, and I simply cannot finish it. Sure, I could always push onward even when I'm low on inspiration, just like Thomas Edison advises, but when you compare that 'no-inspiration' art project with the 'lot's of inspiration' art project, the contrast is frightening!

And I think I'm not the only one with this, 'no-inspiration-no-can-do' problem. Leonardo da Vinci is a classic example of this. In fact, so is my whole family.

There is, of course, the rare occasion when I pick up an old, unfinished sketch, and regain inspiration for it, and if that's the case with this art project, and I end up finishing this picture, I'll be sure to post it here, and then you all can congratulate me, yeah?

Recent artwork

Yuriko is a freakin ARTIST!! I want her to finish this pic!!!!!

Ai-chan drew this master piece! Love the texture and colors! Amaaaazing!

Akari is getting extremely good at drawing humans these days. Very good, Akari! Good job!


Nozomi has the cutest style ever, and I love the way she uses her colors! So, so cute!
Yuya has been drawing up a storm, and it looks so good!! Yuya knows his colors, and I'm so proud of him! He's also got this super sexy style of pencil sketching that I can't get enough of!


I actually haven't been drawing much, and whenever I do try, I never really finish them. This one is among the rare few that i actually completed. I like David Boreanaz!!

Kiyoa's 1st Birthday EVER!!

Eiko says...
We love you soooo much, Kiyona!
Yuri and I baked these two Chiffon Cakes below, and we were very pleased when they rose beautifuly. But aren't the decorations just adorable? Yuri decorated the colorful one, and I did the boring one. BUT!! Notice the orange peel-ribbons! Ken's brilliant mind and my careful finger work created those! (Applause)

We were hoping that Kiyona would jump on the cake and get all messy like normal 1-year olds, but I think we pressured her a bit too much to do so, because she started crying. Oh, well. We cut her a slice, and she liked it that way.

And here's a picture I took of a sketch I drew of Kiyo-pee. Sorry for the bad quality of the picture. I'm far too lazy to hook up the scanner these days.

So, how do you like?

Pencil sketch by Eiko

Eiko says...
Here's a picture I recently drew. As you can see, I got lazy half way through her hat, so it doesn't look so cool, but heck! I don't wanna make Shiro jealous or anything, so no complaining there! *snicker*
I also got tired of drawing guys, and felt a big need to draw something innocent and less...well...guy-like. So here you go!
Enjoy!