2011 Dezolutions List

1. Finish 2010 Resolutions

2.Two piece on the beach

3. Make time for exercise/cooking

4. Vacation somewhere w/no agenda

5. Green Belt in Taekwondo

6. Take my GMATS

7. Go down ONE WHOLE Pant Size.

7a. Go down ONE MORE Pant Size

8. Pay Off Credit Card Bill

9. Find a fantastic designer piece on sale

10. Go away with my girlfriends

11. Finish a painting

12. Blue Belt in Taekwondo

13. Learn How To Bake

2012 Dezolutions: The Year of Not Giving An EFF

Hard to believe I am approaching the 3rd year of my blog, based from New Years Resolutions. 2011 was hard. Really hard. I’m not a big believer that everything happens for a reason, for some instances,  maybe this is true.

I left a job, a tough & grueling job where I spent close to 3yrs knowing it wasn’t where I wanted to be. I finally landed a new job in my dream scenario with the most amazing group of people, in the perfect location, in the exact field I wanted where I am appreciated and thanked on a daily basis. Every morning I wake up and I am genuinely excited to go to work. Every day I walk into the lobby of my building and think ‘Damn,  I’m lucky”.

So in this instance something did happen for a reason, I had a tough job for years that led me to appreciating where I am today.

I enjoyed watching the transformation of this blog. The first year it was very fresh and exciting and unstructured and was more like a personal diary. The second year, I had more specific goals and I focused on motivating others which gave me a different reason to blog.

This year, it’s more about internal discovery. Becoming comfortable with who I am as an individual and learning how to let things roll off my back… in other words, this is the year of Maturity.

I know it will be a good year and a good start because I ran into an incident the other night. I was on the 2am train in NYC where some drunk bro-dudes called me fat (unprovoked), to my face. Normally, that would’ve sent me into a crying fit and self loathing for months.  But I honestly couldn’t care less about what some inebriated manchild had to say about me, because I’m comfortable (and healthy) with myself. And two, I know for a fact I could’ve fast kicked him in the jaw and laid him out in front of his friends. But thats neither here nor there. I’m not sure how it is for men, but for women we could be told 1000x that we’re beautiful, funny, charming etc…. but we always tend to believe that one negative comment the most. How can being called fat once ruin an entire year of genuine compliments? That’s what you have to remember if you’re having a rough day, and plus people that try to put you down seriously have way more issues and self-esteem issues than you do.

It’s a gratifying feeling to learn how to be yourself, but an even better feeling not letting some d***head ruin your day.

Year 2012, is the year of not giving an EFF.

Now this years list is fairly structured. A few athletic challenges, a few horizons to broaden and a few steps in the direction of all around wellness. Shall we?

1. Warrior Dash

I’ve always wanted to participate in a group obstacle event like Tough Mudder, but this course is insane. It’s still a life goal but I’m being more realistic as far as additional training goes. Warrior Dash seems like an excellent idea for someone who is working full time, training in TKD a million hours a week and on her way to starting her Masters.

2. Go to Canada

I just never went. It’s about time.

3. Red Belt in Taekwondo

I recently tested for my Blue belt, naturally, this goal goes without saying.

4. Apply/Start for Masters

January 5th, is my first meeting with an adviser. Holy crap this is happening.

5. Play the Violin

I played many moons ago, and I still feel like I need an instrument back in my life. After being hooked on Airborne Toxic Event, it piqued my interest again.

6. Culture Dabble

Industrial dance nights, belly dancing classes, Chinese new year celebrations, indian cooking classes. You get the drift.

7. Broadway Show

I’ve been to one, and I have to see another one. Chicago preferably.

8. New Apartment

Self-explanatory.

9. Do Something Scary

Everything is scary when it’s new….now if I only knew what I was afraid of.

10. Appreciate My Past

Reconnecting with old friends.Valuing my progress in all areas of my life. Forgiving…perhaps.

I’m Having A Baby (New Year).


Baby, or Not to Baby? That Is Your Judgemental Friend’s Question…

Recently, it’s become very apparent that I am too old to be single and without child. In the South, I am pretty much Quasimodo. In the North, I’m another wedding guest with no plus one. And my life also has no meaning because I don’t know how babies work. Clearly, my life is over. Where are my cats? 

Growing up into womanhood, my mind was far from the thought of settling down, marriage and babies. I never dreamed of my wedding day, I never imagined what my kids names would be, I never thought about where my ideal home would be nestled. This started way before I saw my own family split from divorce, or my friends having kids at a young age, or anything else that would deter me from the lifestyle of creating the ‘ideal’ family. I was happy with rolling with the punches.

My life has been far from conventional. I planned my wedding once, when I was engaged. Only to have it fall from reality into something more suitable, like…not…being married. I like the idea of living together forever till one of us decides the tax breaks are big enough to get hitched. I see these reality shows on TV about the excitement of this impossible expectation of the perfect day. I see girlfriends  freak out about planning a wedding. You know what that looks like? Something I don’t want to do.

Being married sounds awesome, don’t get me wrong. I love the idea of vowing till forever in front of friends and family. I like shiny things on my finger. I like the official title change to wife, so that shiesty ho’s would shake in their boots at the sound of ‘Don’t mess with him, Dez is his WIFE!’

It’s not even January, and most of my vacation time is already booked to wedding related things. I’m attending three, I am in two this year. Maid of Honor for one of them. Not to mention the plethora of babies that are shooting out of my friends at an ungodly pace. Over the past three years, my Facebook News Feed has changed from photos of binge drinking, vacation photos from Vegas and Cabo, status updates about terrible dates and angry political rants…to engagement photos, wedding announcements, sonograms and babies dressed up as pumpkins. What.The.Hell.Happened?

I’m 28. 

I’m 28 and single with no children.

And I am pitied.

Oh I KNOW I am not alone in this. There are plenty of women & men in my age range that are in the same boat, so this post is for you, for us. Whether in a committed relationship and just want to stay that way. For women who enjoy making the most out of their lives, and understand having a spouse or a child, although may satisfy some people, is just not what we need at the moment.

Which reminds me of a wonderful episode of SATC, A Woman’s Right To Shoes… in which the married mother of two, devalues Carrie’s lifestyle choice – and insinuates because she is married with children, Carrie’s choices are ‘insane’. Although not a realistic portrayal of what happens in life, it makes my point very well.

The way I look at it, you have the rest of your life to devote to other people, and your choices are limited once you create a family, your life is no longer about you. From the day you were born till about 18yr old, your parents are in control. From 19-35 (maybe longer) you get about 16 years that is yours to do with what you want. Make your own choices, find out who you are, and more importantly, find out what you can bring to the table when you finally DO get involved. 35yrs old in my opinion is about the time, biologically speaking, to make a decision whether or not you want a rugrat. You don’t have to have one at 35, but that’s when I decided I should at least make up my mind, for the sake of health and making sure I still have the energy to keep up.

And from 35 till death…50-60 years maybe, if you say “I Do” or “Put A Baby In Me”, you no longer get a 100% vote in your own decisions. So if you think about it, 16yrs out of 80yrs, that’s only 20% of your life that you get to have all to yourself. That’s it….

Oh sure, there are perfect scenarios out there, where the both of you love and support each others feelings and goals. But for the other 99%, you’re both going to have to make big sacrifices at some point. Moving for a better job, taking in an elderly parent, buying a house, even deciding on the perfect vacation. I don’t know about you guys, but I would be lucky if I got one European vacation once every ten years, and now you would have to compromise where. And rightfully so, in a healthy well balanced marriage, big decisions should be accompanied with big compromises.

So, to recap, this message isn’t about how shitty it is to be married or have kids. In fact, marriage sounds cool as hell. And with the right person, I bet it is. Kids sound messy and aggravating….but fun and fulfilling. But I don’t have either. So why am I made out to feel like I’m slacking in the ‘life’ department.

The fact is, I’m not. I lead a quite exciting, honest and completely gratifying life and I don’t need someone to enhance it for me. The people I invite into my life are there because I want them there. The holidays are a tough time to be lonely, that big ole bed can get cold… and all those happy couples with bouncing children don’t look that scary. But nothing is better than knowing you’re doing just fine with your choices.

I made the choice to develop who I am so that I’m ready to fully commit when the time comes. So I know who I am, where my morals and boundaries are and live comfortably knowing my character won’t be swayed by suggestion or guilt. I want to use my time wisely so I can be the best damn partner I can be. And I realize we all change overtime (just as humans), but hopefully I would’ve built a strong foundation for myself, to trust my gut long-term.

But first,

I’d love to take a moment and congratulate all my friends getting married and having babies. I am genuinely thrilled for you! You have literally doubled my friend count this year….

This year, I decide my New Year’s mascot is not a baby….

 

…it’s my Masters degree and a new passport.

 

But who knows, life is what happens when you’re busy making plans.

 

 

2011 – What the EFF Happened?

I’m sure you may have noticed I went on a bit of a hiatus. Not on purpose really, but life took over – the great ‘go-to excuse’.

As 2011 comes to an end, all I can say is “Whooooooooooa”.

Lots of updates I need to fill you in on, including but limited to: New job, new opportunities, new friends, new adventures, matters of the heart, graduate school, moving,  belt tests and other TKD related things.

It was a busy year, but unlike other busy years, this one felt long…reeeeeeeal long.

I’m lucky enough to have some free time in the near future, so I can’t wait to spend it sitting in front of a computer talking about myself. <3

Till then… look at this widdle shmoopy-face.

November is National Everything Month….

It’s that time of year where people are realizing the next year is upon us. Did you accomplish everything you wanted to this year? Did you make any new goals for next year?

For me, I’ve already started Dezolutions 2012. It’s crazy almost two years have gone by. I’ve made some adjustments on how I chose my goals. I’m much pickier, a little bit harder, and tackling things that will improve my life long-term rather than instant gratification. Basically, I’m getting old.

November has a lot of meaning in terms of re-evaluating your position in life. It’s midterms, it’s dieting before the holidays, it’s popping extra Xanax because you know your family is right around the corner ready to veto your hair color and cooking.

But, November is also:

National Mustache Month, also known as Movember.  I thought it started out as a joke, but it has moved on to raising awareness for men’s health. I personally enjoy a fancy handle bar or most giant beardface ever….

 

National Diabetes Awareness Month, it is important to see some statistics. This has a special place in my heart because I lost my grandfather at a very young age due to complications of diabetes. And I am sad to report most of the people I know who suffer from diabetes are predominantly children. So I’m doing my part to recognize Awareness Month: 

  • Two out of three people with diabetes die from heart disease or stroke.
  • Diabetes is the leading cause of kidney failure.
  • Diabetes is the leading cause of new cases of blindness among adults.
  • The rate of amputation for people with diabetes is 10 times higher than for people without diabetes.
  • About 60-70% of people with diabetes have mild to severe forms of nerve damage that could result in pain in the feet or hands, slowed digestion, sexual dysfunction, and other nerve problems.

Prevention is a very simple concept: shows that people can delay and possibly prevent the disease by losing a small amount of weight (5 to 7 percent of total body weight) through 30 minutes of physical activity 5 days a week and healthier eating. 

 

National Novel Writing Month, or Nanowrimo. Writing a novel in a month. Say what? As much as I’d love to hole up and crank out 300,000 words, not gonna happen. I’m better at blogging like the rest of 20 somethings who love to have their piece of the interwebs.

But for now, I’ll stick to what I know….

Growing sweet sweet mustaches….

Losing Weight – From a Guy’s Perspective

I’m on vacation this week, so I’ve recruited a good friend of mine, Dan, to write a guest post! We met in taekwondo class and quickly became friends.  He has recently started to share his weight loss success with a few people and I was incredibly proud of his determination and almost shocked to see how quickly it shows! Most of the readers of this blog are women, but I’d love to get a different perspective for the men. I was thrilled when he agreed to share his story.

Dan’s Story:

They say the best way to lose weight is to eat less and exercise more. Well duh of course but, there is a little more to it than that.  In the last 4 weeks I’ve lost 24 lbs and still aoing. There is an art and science to it.  This requires focus, discipline and determination.  Weight loss does not happen overnight but by staying focused, you will see results by the end of the first week. First let me say, I am guy, and in the world of beer drinking and seemingly endless supply of junk food around. Not to mention,  a world of peer pressure from keeping said beer and food from entering my mouth,  is quite a challenge.

So How Do I Do It:

When I eat, it is the only thing I do at that time.  I eat a lot less this way.  I eat small portions, I stick to foods that can be cut or sectioned into small pieces, this is very important.  During each bite I place my fork down.   During each bite I remain present to the food.  I feel the texture of the food, savor each flavor and enjoy each bite.  Once I clear my mouth of that bite, I take another bite and place my fork back to the table.  Even though I have had a substantially smaller amount of food, I am left feeling satisfied with my meal and full.
 
Besides smaller portions, I establish a calorie budget for the day.  I like to stay between 1200-1500 calories. To do this,  I must choose foods that will pack in as much nutrition into my calorie budget.  This requires me to also understand food. I learn about what foods provide nutritional benefits.  This diest is not a carb free or a food-restricting plan, is just eating small balanced meals.

Breakfast: I have a cup of either 0% or 2% fat Greek strained yogurt.  Just plain yogurt,  no flavor added.  The fruit on the bottom types offer little additional benefit, in fact is provides unnecessary sugars and very little fiber.  Just eat plain yogurt.  Fage seems to be the best.

Lunch: I may have sushi.  This is one of those  super foods that provides good nourishment and is typically already in small bite size pieces.   The fish provides Omega 3, a healthy amount of unsaturated fat, which is needed for your body to distribute fat soluble vitamins and seaweed and rice which offer fiber.  Plus some sushi has vegetables such as celery, bell peppers and avocado are all great for the body.

I may alternatively have a small salad.  I have a mixing bowl at my desk which allows me to use a small amount of dressing my having the ability to mix the dressing in thoroughly.  Make sure it has a low saturated fat meat like fish or chicken for protein.  When I select a salad I make sure is it very colorful.  This ensures I get a high variety of vitamins and antioxidants.

Snack: A good light snack after lunch is raw almonds, only 1/4 cup and follow the same principles of eating.  I eat 1 almond at a time and do not eat another until I have cleared my mouth of the first almond.
 
Dinner: A light balanced meal and rarely ever do I eat after 6:30 in the evening.  I have a meal with vegetables and a small portion of a meat.  It is ok to have lean red meat but the portion should be larger than 6oz.  That is a little larger than a deck of playing cards.  You can have a potato, but it should be 1 small redskin potato.  A good preparation for this is to cut the potato sprinkle with garlic, Italian seasoning  and a dash of salt.  Toss with one tablespoon of olive oil to coating evenly and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

Tips: Keep limes and lemons handy for the meats, they make robust low fat and low calorie marinade base.  When you use fat, just use olive oil and sparingly. Keep tea handy and lots of it.  Green tea, Oolong tea and Rooibos tea, Teavana is a great source for good tea.  When your are hungry brew some tea and sweeten with honey or agave nectar. Avoid sugar crystals and artificial sweetener, try to keep it as natural and unprocessed as possible.  Chemicals impact your liver’s ability to process the fats in food.
 
Alcohol!  Don’t drink much of it at all.  A little on the weekend is good, keep to wine and beer avoid the hard liquor it offers no benefit to your body.

Exercise:

 Just make sure to find time in the day, at minimum 1 hour  and it should be at cardio speed the entire time.  Stretch in and out.  10 minutes should be devoted to stretching.  30 minutes should be high level cardio on the treadmill, elliptical or other running environment,  the rest of the time should be weights and abdominal work.  For abdominal work,  I typically use a decline bench at 45 degrees and perform multiple types of ab work and hold a 10-12lbs weight ball.  Vary the tempo for crunches and full sit ups.  Do halfway pulses and full range twist ups.  I even grab a balance platform, get into sitting stand and throw 30 punches while holding 10 lbs weights in 3 sets, ultimately 90 punches while balancing on the platform.  I have also chosen a gym with a studio which also allows me to set up endurance exercises and practice poomsae (Forms) and kicking techniques.

If I am not at Taekwondo, I am at the gym.  Weather pending and my meeting schedule permits, I will run during my lunch break, it takes about 45 minutes dress in, run, shower and dress out.  Later that day I will go to the gym or Taekwondo depending on my school schedule.

Slipping Up From the Diet:

Of course I slip.  A little emotional intelligence and strength is key.  It is not the end of the world, I jump right back on the wagon immediately, but this requires discipline and there is nothing to feel guilty about.  I just get over it and keep to the  mission of weight loss and continue to take actions consistent with my goal.  I just go back to the gym, eat right at the next meal and get that I can’t change the past, I slipped and that’s done with.  It does not impact my future.

My Goals:

Starting Weight: 230lbs (September 11th)
Current Weight: 204lbs (October 18th)
Target Weight: 175lbs

At 6ft tall, I have identified a healthy target weight, I keep reminders at my workspace and in my kitchen.  It helps me to be present about what I am eating, why I am eating and keeps me on track to my goals.  But here comes my challenge, I have injured myself in a Taekwondo tournament.  I have the challenge of keeping on my diet and altering my workout while I recover from my foot injury.  Perhaps there will be a follow up to this in my weight loss mission.

Here is a Before & After Photo

*Disclaimer: Dan or myself are not registered dieticians, nutritionist or medical/licensed professionals. Please consult your doctor or medical team for any advice related to weightloss and your health. As you may know, each body is different and requires special treatment for desired results. This post is informative and published to provide a personal observation of motivation and goal setting.

I am really excited to see Dan’s progress and I hope he will enlighten us with some more updates in the near future! Great post!

People Pleasing – The Ultimate Hurdle Part 1.

This post is for motivation, and may have been sparked by recent current events of people who are doing what they feel is the right thing and pissing a few people off in the process. Right on.

Occupy Boston                             Miss Representation                   Anti-Circus Protests

Did you know that people pleasing is now considered a disease??

Or an addiction???

Or a disorder????

We’ve all done it. Going out of your way to do something for another person for the wrong reasons. Usually, it should be done because you genuinely want to help. But more times than not, it is done as to not disappoint and so they won’t have a reason to not like you. I want people to like me. Some people have a problem admitting that, because it may come off that I have impure intentions.

But it’s not really like that, I genuinely like people. I like lots of people. All types. Nice ones, jerkfaces, whiny ones, martyrs, loud ones, quiet ones, mean ones. All of them. Crowds don’t scare me, tight spaces on trains don’t bother me, loud crazy concerts being shoved around – I could care less about. I just like people. So I want people to like me.

But guess what?

Sometimes, people just won’t like you. And not that there is anything wrong with that. With 7 Billion people on this planet, things can get a bit too close for comfort. So many walks of life, so many personalities and opinions, you are bound to rub someone the wrong way. Most people who don’t like you – may often times have an asinine amount of insecurities. Therefore, they do NOT need a reason to not like you. Accept that fact.

Sometime after my birthday this year  I finally started to get it.  I had received a piece of advice “Dez, just stop trying to please everyone and make your own damn choices!” Ironic, that this was the statement that made me stop trying to listen to other people. I was wasting so much energy on saying the right things,  rearranging my schedule to help others, taking heed on unsolicited advice or just plain ole’ apologizing for things I really wasn’t sorry for.

  And all it brought me was this: Guilt for not listening to my gut, my important tasks being put onto the back burner,  resentment and most of all, regret.  And the worst part, people still may not like you after all of this. No matter how hard you try, people pleasing is a lost cause. It’s an emotional immaturity thing. Perhaps needing constant validation from others to convince yourself you’re doing the right thing. Guilt/regret is a hell of an emotion – it metastasizes to other areas of your life that are unrelated.

I’m 28 years old. Still considered young to some, but I am old enough to know I can damn well make my own choices and I am old enough to know I am the ONLY one who has to live with them.

Never let someone’s opinion about you get in the way of making your dreams happen. They may not agree with you, but that is no reason to back down from your goals.

For example, someone close to me, demanded I do not participate in a Tough Mudder race – for my safety, sure. But I will live with the regret of not doing it, not them. Advice is just someone elses opinion who is not involved. It’s up to you to be emotionally capable of handling what people will say to you, and the guts to live with your  own decisions.

I read a quote the other day “I am not responsible for the way you feel about what I say“. Pretty interesting…..

Check back for Part 2. When friends and family love you too much…

21 Tips To Stop Being A People Pleaser.

Stuff I’m Dig’n Part II

1. Radishes. They’re crunchy lil things that have a weird flavor of mushrooms and onions combined. I don’t get it, but I love’m.

2. The movie 50/50 with Joesph Gordon-Levitt & Seth Rogan. I did not know till after I saw it, but it was based on a true story of the writer. It’s a beautiful story and really makes you realize the little stuff is nothing in comparison. Oh, and there’s love and crap in it too…

3. Vintage & second-hand book stores. You’d be amazed at what you can find in there. Now that Border’s/Barnes & Noble are gone, and when I just NEED a book, these are the best places to go.  I don’t have an e-reader – I’ll never buy one. Here are a couple fave spots:

- Commonwealth Bookstore on Milk St. in downtown Boston

- Rodney’s on Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge

4. Dead Man’s Bones - Ryan Goslings lil band. Ok, I may be a bit bias because I’m in love with him (stupid Notebook…), but this man has got some serious talent! Check out this song:

5. Belly Dancing. Just because. I want to do it, so I signed up – easy as that. I’ll let you know how it goes.

6. New York Bagels with lox. I can’t believe I even tried lox. I don’t do fish. But I went to New York this past weekend and had bagels and lox for Yom Kippur with my BFF and her family. By the way, I’ll never eat another bagel again if it doesn’t come from New York. What do you guys put in them, magic spells??

7. My incredibly busy October. Oktoberfest, King Richards Faire (totally got knighted in axe throwing), TKD  Tournament, local band shows, vacation to Florida, Trip to NY, The Civil Wars concert, birthday parties, costume parties, Halloween parties. PHEW… I’m surprised I even had time to decide on my sweet costume idea!

8. Pumpkin everything. Beer, coffee, bread, cupcakes, cookies, donuts. It’s only the 13th and I’ve officially OD’d on pumpkin for the season. See you next year!

9. Participating in activities that do not revolve around alcohol. Not that I think it’s a problem, but it was becoming expensive, more calories than I needed and I just wanted to experience life without it. I love it! I’ve gone out dancing sans drink in hand, been to bars without drinking, went out to dinner without it. I’ve had a glass on rare occasions (duh, pumpkin??). It should be a treat not the focus.  As you know alcohol is a depressant, so I didn’t want to give myself the ammo to get into a bad mood. I’m sleeping better, I’m more alert, tons more energy and I am whole heartedly enjoying the time with my friends and experiencing exactly what I am without lowered inhibitions. In addition, I’ve dropped a lot of weight and quickly! That’ll boost anyones mood.  Plus… I’m so RICH now!

10. My sweet new go-to hair style. It’s yucky. It’s rainy. It’s windy. It’s in between shampoo days. It’s good for work, hanging out with friends, working out. It’s easy and I can show off my millions of earrings.

So that’s what I’m dig’n so far. There are PLENTY of things that I am not digging this month – but I can’t get into that. This is about positive stuff.

What are you dig’n?

Teach Me How To Chagi, Te-Teach me How To Chagi

My wonderful Ninja Biffle and I have designed these sweet shirts, on behalf of our TKD school. I know there are a few people across the country that read this blog and love taekwondo! Come on – so cute right?

If you’re interested in a shirt, let me know! Since we’re ordering at a group rate, they go for $22ea. Shoot me a message or comment if you’re interested, and I’ll email you the link!

Mens:

 

Womens:

 

‘Mistake’ Is My Middle Name – 2nd Painting

This painting was less therapeutic and more application. I tried to see if my brain can make my hands do what my eyes see. It…. can not. But it was still fun nonetheless.

The original was a Lichtenstein piece:

Something about it this piece attracted me. I tend to have a lot of sad girl artwork hanging up on my wall…. I’ll need to call my therapist about this one. Hmmmm ;)

So here is how it went down. I am not good at drawing. I used to be, but somewhere down the road I just reverted back into a 5th grader.

I was super excited to get some bright yellow on the canvas.

I learned not to paint black first, so I did face color then crossed my fingers through the next phase.

I needed to know I was capable of painting faces. I am not. But finally just getting it out of the way was so gratifying. I’ve never been a realism artist. But this is pop-art so anything can go really.

I decided I hated everything and started over. I had to change the color of the face, the tone was all off. The eyes could have been better, so I fixed them. Then I started working with outlines and detail in black. Which reminds me, I need to get new brushes. ALWAYS remember to  wash them diligently. I wasn’t too careful with a few and now they’re ruined.

Onward! To the rest of the face. More black outlining, and fingers – my demise! I put off fingers till the end because I was so nervous. Turns out, it was the easiest part of the entire painting…. but there is something I don’t love.

Giant Jay Leno chin. I had to fix it. Which require painting over the black with light colors (hard) and changing the shape of the jaw (harder). This is where I really learned about my mistakes. They aren’t perfect fixes but I did learn if you wet a napkin fast enough you can wipe off the acrylic before it dries (I’m talking seconds). If you need to cover black lines,  layer layer layer…. nice and thin layers and be patient! Let them dry. Don’t be afraid of taking your time! This painting took me close to 3 weeks. Mostly out of pure frustration, but figuring out how to tackle it. It sat propped up in my living room the entire time, so I always had to stare at it and try to figure out what to do next.

Finally….we’re done.

It’s no exact replica, but I’m pretty happy for my second attempt. I really enjoy that style. Comic book-esque. I left the white borders around the edge, so I can add a few more panels of pop art and make it look like a comic strip across my wall.  And yes, I do realize I changed the words – on purpose. I wanted to make it a little relevant to me (:

There is still a lot I would change, but I’ll save that from learning on my next painting. Which I already have in mind – SO excited! Hint: French Poet

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