Spontaneous Baker

 by Chloe Arvin

I'll bake on a whim as long as I have the right stuff, for whatever reason. It's a great way to use up ingredients. Not gonna finish that fruit in time? Cobbler. Bananas looking a little rough? Muffins. Too many carrots? Carrot soufflé. 

I have a lot of ripe berries right now, and I thought they would pair wonderfully with shortcake! I found a great go-to shortcake recipe a while ago; I almost always have the ingredients and it is incredibly easy & quick to bake -- plus it's never turned out bad! I like to make it as a bundt and serve it with powdered sugar (bc I don't always have heavy cream for whipped cream). I made it again and have been enjoying and sharing it all week!

Here's a quick doodle of my shortcake:

Scenes from Lady and the Tramp

By Josie Millikan

Lady and the Tramp has always been one of my top Disney movies. I remember watching it many times at my grandparents' house as a young girl, sitting on the floor in front of their giant box TV. My grandma loved this movie as well, and she would watch with me as she knitted in her corner recliner, her many dogs snoring beside me. Lady and the Tramp would fill my head with dreamy sequences that would stick with me until the next time I watched it, and this remains the same today.

One aspect of this film that makes it great is the clear sound and music. The sound design in this film creates powerful emotions for each scene as you are guided through the story. Think about the scene where Tramp fights the rat in the baby's room, when Trusty is hurt by the coach and Jock howls into the still night air, or during "Bella Notte" when the camera pans upwards to the laundry lines in the moonlight as the music swells. These moments are made emotional largely because of the sound which swells and fills the air, taking you out of your world and straight into theirs. However, the sound design would not be able to complete the feeling of any scene without thoughtful background art. We'll focus on a few moments of background art, and if you know this movie, I'm sure the sounds and music will come to you as you look at these pieces.

The movie opens and ends on picturesque Christmas scenes, like an old postcard. You see an expansive view of their town and close in slowly on Darling and Jim Dear's house. A horse-drawn sleigh jingles by, and every house has warmly-lit windows reflecting in the snow. The background indicates a vastness behind the town, but all of the focus is on the smallness of the buildings and their close proximity to one another, creating a warmth even in the cool-colored palette.

Inside Darling and Jim Dear's house, we have a sense of grandeur in any room that we're in. This is heavily due to the fact that we're seeing their home from Lady's low perspective, which is a very clever way to use scale to create drama in the backgrounds. The result is a feeling of wonder in every scene that pulls the viewer to discover what's behind every corner.

The neighborhood that Lady lives in is picturesque and every detail is done with care. It's noticeable in the differences between the design styles of Lady's house and Trusty's porch - each fit perfectly to the characters' personalities.

My favorite background piece of all is the panoramic view of the town from the hill where Lady and the Tramp stargaze and wake up in the morning. It's just absolutely lovely night and day. Wouldn't it be magical to find a view like this in real life? 

As Trusty's grandpappy, Ol' Reliable, used to say, treat yourself to some time with this classic and enjoy the dreamy feelings that come with it!

Sunny-Rainy days here in Tennessee

My neighborhood is a dog-walker's heaven. There is not a single hour that goes by that I do not see one, maybe even two, dog walkers parading around pavement. Which is why I was not surprised that in a midday, torrential down pour, I looked out upon the land and saw a woman and her dog caught in the rain. I probably would've missed her entirely- if it wasn't for her gorgeous yellow rain jacket. She was a *~ STAR *~. So I did a quick sketch study as her and her pooch did their turn around the block. Have a great rest of your week everybody, and get caught in the rain :D

The time I vandalized a Guitar

 By Jon Densk:

    Way back in 2017, I had a band with some friends back in my home town. We wrote lots of songs and played 3-4 times a week. Good times! At that time, I really wanted a guitar to lazer in on a sound I was aiming for, and decided to buy a 2017 Charvel San Dimas. It had some pieces and parts that felt like the guitar i wanted to weild for ultimate rocking. 

However....

    I had plans to vandalize this guitar completely. To my dads complete horror, he came home to me sanding off the beautiful purple burst finish, and had masking tape all over the important hardwear. Dont worry dad the story ends well!

    For anyone who hasnt spraypainted a guitar, or is goofy enough to think its a good idea like i did 9 years ago, Here is a breakdown of how you can do it in the most janky way possible, and still pull it off! I had a design in mind, I wanted to essentially copy a one off piece Eddie Van Halen made, but in different colors. So my supplies were, a pencil, masking tape ( martha stewart thin brand, no im not kidding) white, black and blue spray paint, and an expensive guitar lol

    Once the neck, and strings were taken off, i spraypainted the entire thing blue. No going back now. After that dries ( 1 - 2 days ) i used a pencil to mark where i wanted the blue lines on the guitar, and copied those lines with the thin masking tape. some of the pieces were so small just to make the curving lines all over, and i utalized poorly ripped tape to give a more energetic, reliced look to the final paint. 

    After that was all done, i spraypainted everything white, and did the same thing, making new lines and connecting where blue ones are. It was easy to follow them because the tape was raised underneath the white. it was REALLY hard to get alot of these stripes in but i called it done when my patience gave out! 

Finally, the moment came. After i spraypainted the guitar black, and waited 2 days, i pealed back all the tape and 'chefs kiss' it was extremely satisfying. It actually worked! And boy can this thing make noise! I did also swap out one of the pickups for one i specifically wanted and changed the volume knob to a tone knob that doesnt fit so it falls off every time i pick it up :) 

So many memories and songs recorded with this guitar! But im thinking of actually selling it. Its hand painted.. thats kinda cool right? i just want a different guitar and havent played this in years haha easy come easy go.

Too Much To Learn in a Lifetime

 by Joel Guthrie

whoops I totally thought I was supposed to post today instead of last Wednesday... so today you get a twofer yay! 

Below is a piece of animation I just finished, literally yesterday. Surprise surprise, another segment for the Beach Boys video essay! This is the part where Brian Wilson starts unraveling. He starts seeing visions, and ultimately ends up having an LSD flashback (LSD users can spontaneously re-experience hallucinations even after their trip has ended). He's at a bookstore and panics as he realizes there is just too much to learn in one lifetime. 

Understand, this is the guy who got basically this entire set of books and tried to read it in one year:

Yes this is (most of, it's expanded since) my very own Library of Books Brian Wilson Probably Read in 1966. A lot of astrology, Zen, religion, psychology, psychedelics, health, even a bit of the occult. Clearly the collection of a seeker. I wish I had the time to read through this whole shelf myself, but like Brian, I am a bit overwhelmed by the sheer amount of information to go through. Maybe it's enough for the knowledge simply to be there, for truth to exist out there in the world, without my being fully aware of its intricacies. 

Well anyway here's Brian freaking out enjoy

Christmas in July*

 *June

By Aedan Peterson

Happy Summer! I did this album cover in 2024 that I never got around to posting, so I'm doing it here! It was for a gospel singer doing Christmas hymns focusing on the incarnation. The final and some process images below.

Final

Thumbnails

Pencil Drawing

Watercolor Texture

I scanned the drawing and the texture and threw them in photoshop, then colored it from there. That has been the sweet spot for me in the last couple of years: a blend of traditional and digital work. That seems to yield the best results in the tighter deadlines. 

Deck the yuletide cheer ye merry red nosed reindeers!

How One Nasty Lie Turned My Life Upside Down

​Actual Title: Awesome Kids Books I’ve Been Inspired By 

By Natalie Peterson 

I have read millions if not hundreds of kids books over these past three years of parenting and one thing I’ve learned is: I like em. 

I love seeing all the ways authors and illustrators play with the picture book form. Finding a great kids book that both you and your kid loves feels like stumbling upon buried treasure (or whatever the modern day equivalent of treasure is) (buried Chick-fil-A gift cards maybe.) 

Here are some of our recent faves 

Meet the Parents by Peter Bentley 

Sara Ogilvie illustrated Meet the Parents. I’ve never seen a more honest and funny depiction of parenthood in a kids book before. I like that it’s not whiny or preachy at the kids- it’s just full of heart and humor about living life in a world of young and old. 

Phoebe picked this out at the library a couple weeks ago and we re-read it several times. It’s about a young family who travels to the border in hopes to give their grandma a Christmas gift. It’s delightfully illustrated with a hand craft feel that I love. 

All of the Toot and Puddle books by Holly Hobby are crazy beautiful. She’s a watercolor master who also knows how to create charming pig friendship stories. These were my favorites as a kid and now Phoebe loves them too. 

I mean….could it get cozier? 

This is Phoebe’s current favorite despite her disdain for dogs. It’s from the 1960s. The illustrations are simple and the colors are weird. Before Phoebe, I wouldn’t have cared much for this one, but I think it’s pull for her is in the strong emotions and the catchy rhyme scheme. Also the story has a satisfying arc. 

We picked up The Tiger Who Came to Tea in England and all of us have loved its charm and simplicity. I like that the drawings feel approachable- like a kid or student could’ve done them, but then also there’s a design complexity that makes them stand out. Phoebe likes that a Tiger has come to tea. Who wouldn’t? 

Baby’s Here is a genius book. Genevieve Godbout is a colored pencil boss if I ever saw one. This is one of my favorites to read with Phoebe because it’s interactive- so she can rock the baby to sleep and help the baby walk etc. Each page is so warm and calming without being too neutral- love. 

So sweet 

Last one! This book is gorgeously golden gilded and full of doodle-full spark. It’s the kind of book that makes you want to grab a fistful of crayons and draw the afternoon away. 

Alrighty. Of course there are lots more I’d recommend- Fancy Nancy for one and Snowy Day for two but I’m done here now. I shall leave thee with a fast fast scribble of my afternoon at the pool