80s party grand champion of the world! Oh yeah.

This weekend, I went to a 70s-80s party with a group of friends. You know, the best (or if you're from Utah, the "funnest") part of those kinds of parties is the getting ready part. My friends and I went to various stores and picked up some treasures from the 80s. Then I went home and put on some 80s movies while I made my lace and mesh tutu skirt and my roommate's skinny tie. Ah, they don't make movies like "Weekend at Bernies" or "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" anymore.

Well, we went to the party where there were various levels of dressing up, there were some impressive hairdos and pegged pants. I even saw a Cosby sweater. the sad part of the party was the realization that many people were wearing the same hairdo that they wear all the time, and their own clothes in their closets. . . They haven't changed since the 80s. Sad for them. Oh well.
My friends came as Madonna and Robert Smith. I came as a marriage of Madonna and Cyndi Lauper with a dash of Tiffany and a little Pretty in Pink thrown in. I just wore what made me happy and at the moment, a Debbie Harry T-shirt and pink hair made me very happy. I even bought Primo, the perfume I wore in 7th grade to the dance. (A little side note on Primo; at first it's fun because you're all waxing nostalgic but then the fumes give you a massive headache).

Although we had fun dancing to cheesy music, I was pretty upset that they didn't play any Depeche Mode, Erasure, the Cure, Smiths. . . Or any of the other tunes I actually listened to back then. All in all, it was successful. We had fun, and I won a lava lamp for the best costume there. Funny thing is, I'll be wearing 95% of the stuff I wore then in my regular day to day ensembles. I don't know if that's funny or sad that I've now lived through a style cycle and what I wore in 7th grade is now hip again.

I just said "hip".

Man, you'd think I'd finish something. . . Sheesh

Here's yet another unfinished hero by Casey. Obviously, I've been affected by all of the Tak and the Power of Juju work I did with work for 3 years but here ya go, another knight. He has good hair though, no one can sport a mullet like a knight with an earring . . . Or Billy Ray Cyrus. You know, he's on the Disney channel now (sans mullet though) and I'm not afraid to say that he's kinda hot in an "ex-country-mega-star-known-more-for-his-hair-than-his-music" kind of way. But I digress. I like knights. I also like cheese.

Camping, a random thought.

Have you ever gone camping with a large group of single people? It's entertaining and nervousing. (Verb: the act of making one hesitant, high-strung or fretful, causing their palms to sweat and t-shirts to moisten at the armpit).

The entertainment factor is obvious. Some people go to bed right after s'mores so that leaves everyone else at the campfire at 2 am. There's more entertainment than an episode of Seinfield (gasp! sacrilege), especially after a few hours of sitting on logs around the flames. You get the ones that are funny performing and the ones who think they're funny trying to one-up them. There are the people who can play the guitar and everyone waxes nostalgic while singing "More Than Words" while trying to squelch the people who want to sing emotional Joan Biaz stuff and hold hands. There are the ones who strangely disappear for an hour and then reappear with slurpees and silly string (hah, you thought I was going to say something else, didn't you?) These bonfire moments are excellent as you always have a couple hook up, you make at least 2 new great friends (although the morning daylight makes everyone look completely different and you don't remember who you told about your secret crush), and you get to find out who actually saw the movie "Caveman" with Ringo Starr.

Then there's the whole waking up thing and laughing at everyone else in the morning (that is, if you ever got to sleep in the first place). That takes us to the nervousing part. How do you pack for a thing like this? I mean, the jeans, not pretty shoes, and sweatshirt are a given, but does a girl bring make-up? I tell you what; I am nasty-on-a-stick in the morning and the whole natural, no make-up thing? Yeah, right. Does the name Freddy Krueger mean anything to you? There's always a person who forgets their toothbrush, it's a given . . . What if it's me? And worse yet- what if I'm stuck sitting next to the guy who forgets his deodorant, hasn't changed clothes since the previous morning and is sporting the infamous B.O./campfire eau de toilette? Do I use that old "goodness, smoke must follow beauty and it's getting in my eyes" excuse and move my folding chair? And what if he's the guy who wants to hook up with someone the night before around the fire? Poor unsuspecting new girl to the group, we forgot to warn her. She's toast.

I wanted to be like everyone else.

Seems like all artists in the game industry have at least one knight. . . Here's my attempt. Although he has a sword, he still looks like he's about to serve you a frosty and some fries.

Scary letters

Some people spend time contemplating the subtle shades of color that envelop the sky during a sunset. Others stare at a face for hours, discerning the lines and shapes - looking for a story. I draw scary letters. Not even the whole alphabet. . . Just some letters. And no, this isn't a common occurrence, just on that day. Maybe I was on NyQuil or something. Ever notice how NyQuil tastes like licorice?

Old Stuff.

Here are a few older paintings I did in college. I was planning on becoming a children's book illustrator and these were part of my final BFA project. . . Who ever thought I'd be making video games for Disney?

Mummmmmm

And here's the third installment of my Halloween portraits.

Frankenstein

So, I painted up the Frankenstein drawing from my sketchbook too. Good therapy.

Mix your Comics?! I'm aghast.

I was hanging out at Target yesterday (because that's the place to hang out when you have a cold and you feel like your lungs have been filled to capacity) and wandered by the Halloween section of the store. I guess you could say I gravitated there. I do that. Halloween, Christmas, cheescake, and shoe sales all make me do that. As I was perusing the aisles of plastic pumpkins and face paint, I heard one of the most awesome yet pathetic things I think I've ever witnessed.

I heard a man's voice say "You can't be Spiderman and carry around Batman! One's DC and the other is Marvel!" When I turned the corner, I saw a little boy around the age of four holding a Batman trick-or-treat pail looking confused at his father. It was all I had to maintain my cool. I picked up a stray Christmas stocking and turned around.

Poor kid. He's going to grow up knowing all of the alias names for the X-Men and the genetic makeup of the members of the Fantastic Four but will never learn how to have a conversation with a girl.

The Count

So, I've painted up one of my Halloween drawings. . . Halloween is so cool.

Hotness.

I thought I'd support my point of view with actual photo reference.
This Tuesday, during one of our breaks in my figure drawing class we started talking about things we find attractive. We didn't even go to the whole "I like butts" thing. I have to maintain some level of respectability there, I'm a college teacher.

Yeah right, like I've ever concerned myself with that before.

But the women came to a decision. We've decided that men's eye wrinkles are the hottest thing. It's true. I came to that conclusion back when I was 23. I was talking to a 27 year old friend of mine who was playing his guitar. Apparently I was funny because he started laughing. When he laughed, I watched his eyes and it was like the clouds parted and the sunlight came through my living room ceiling and rested on his shoulders, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir sang one of those pretty chordy note thingies they do so well, and the air filled with the smell of fresh bread.

In my studies, I've learned that men start developing these eye wrinkles (also described as laugh lines) around the age of 26. So, all you men out there- keep smiling. It's hot.

Prince, meet Tim Burton

We had another art challenge and the assignment was "Royalty". Not too specific so I stretched it. I thought of Queens, Kings, Princesses, and a Prince. Once I had him in mind, it seemed obvious that he'd be my royal of choice. Besides, he was fun to do.

Ah, I get it now.

I've always been described as the "cute one", the "funny girl" and the "best friend" by men and women alike. Never have I been described as "mysterious", "elegant", "demure", "lovely", or anything to that nature by anyone (okay, except for one time by a friend of mine, but only because I had just said that no one uses the word "lovely" anymore so I don't think that counts.)

Anyway, my sister had her celebrity look-alike thingy done and it made me wonder who I looked like. . . In Hollywood. . . Otherwise, I'm told that I look just like everyone else in my fam. When I was a teen, everyone told me that I looked like Helen Hunt so I thought for sure she'd be on that list. . . But NO. No such luck.

Apparently, I look like a Disney kid and a male one at that. Ricky Ullman is my number one look-alike. (Um, for all of you who don't leave your televisions on the Disney Channel all day for your dogs, Ricky Ullman is Phil on Disney's "Phil of the Future") He's the dream man for thousands of 14 year old young ladies. . . Just what I wanted. But then again, I look like Lalaine from Disney's "Lizzy Maguire" too. I guess I'm just destined to work for the mouse.

But the fact that I look like four people who aren't even old enough to drive brings me back to that whole "cute" thing. I guess I shouldn't complain, I mean at least I don't look like Betty White and Patrick Stewart (oh wait, my roommate just did this and found out that she looks like him, true story). But c’Mon. . . Jodi Sweetin?!!! The obnoxious middle child from "Full House"?! She's the non-Olsen twin and non-Kirk Cameron's sister one. She never had any good lines and wore denim vests the whole 2nd season.

Then there's the rest. That photo of Eva Herzigova (that sounds like a flesh wound) looks like she should be selling pleather underpants and feather boas. I think I saw Sarah Michelle Gellar tear someone's brain out through their ears one some show and I don't think that earned her a "mysterious" or "exotic" title. Drew Barrymore is the "Fire Starter" and JK Rowling, well she has more money than a small country so she's pretty tempting to any man, I'm sure.

But, like I said, this exercise has really opened my eyes. I'm destined to be cute. Any woman in her 30s and looks like a young Jodi Sweetin or a 15 year old boy should just accept that fact and move on with her life. I will never be mysterious, dark, and coy like all of those fabulous ladies in Hitchcock films. No, I'll be the Minnie Mouse of my generation. I will stand up for all those other "cute" women out there. We will have a battle cry. LONG LIVE JODI SWEETIN!

New baby. . . Er. . . Not mine though

Technology these days. Wild stuff. So, my bro and his wife just had a baby Monday night. Apparently she was in labor for like a week (talk about marathon! whew!) and I was able to be up on all the details. For three days, I got this series of text messages on my phone:

Having contractions.
Probaby going to hospital in next hour.
She got a bracelet.
She's asleep and last we heard about 2cm
Dialation 3. Broke water.
She is at 4cm. Has epideral and patosin
6cm dialated
9cm. The fam is going to the hospital
Announcing the arrival of baby girl. Finally!

The next morning, I got two beautiful shots of a newborn baby. Even though it wasn't as cool as being able to hold her (she's 13 hours away from me), it was important to be up on the dialation numbers and know exactly when she got her patosin. I mean, who doesn't want to know when someone gets patosin?

I'll make sure and post it on my blog when I finally get my patosin.

Having to sit still

Well, because I had to sit for eight hours this weekend, I thought I'd doodle. . . And because Halloween seems to be quite the theme right now, I wanted to be part of the cool club and I did this stuff. Um, no. It didn't take me all eight hours to do these, sometimes I just sat still.

Christmas in September

You know how sometimes you get in moods where you’re really into something in particular? My roommate said that during one summer, she had peanut butter sandwiches every day. I don’t think she even really eats peanut butter. Once, I wore “Nightmare Before Christmas” clothes all week because I could. One time I was itching to sew something so I made a six foot by six foot bean bag chair out of old jeans. It’s pretty durable, and has plenty of pockets for remotes and dog treats. Sometimes I get a wild hair and want to go to the gym. Yeah. That doesn’t happen as much as it should.

I’ve been in a Christmas mood all week. I can’t explain it. . . I mean, I don’t want to forget Halloween, I love Halloween! I’m all about costumes and candy. Any time you can wear pleather, black fake nails, bite marks, and a wig and still be accepted in respectable society is a wonderful thing. Besides, we have some stellar Halloween decorations. And Thanksgiving? Sitting around the house, eating olives and pickles off the relish tray while watching the Macy’s day parade in your pajamas and waiting for the turkey? Hello, nothing beats that. But I just have been all about the Christmas recently.

I have well over a day’s worth of Christmas music on my iTunes and have been enjoying that. I went to Blockbuster on Tuesday and rented several Christmas flicks for the week (the Blockbuster employee that helped me out had quite the odd expression on her face when I walked out with a stack of Holiday movies but when I wished her a Merry Christmas upon leaving, she smiled). I’ve even been working on some illustrations for my holiday cards. I’ll post one when I finish. I hope this mood goes away . . . But just for a month or 2. . . They’re not even selling eggnog yet. Mmm. Eggnog.

Some Figure Stuff

So here's a small collection of some of my figure drawings and paintings. . . I guess since I teach a figure drawing class, my students should be able to check out my skills. Sorry these are older, I just haven't really put new stuff in digital form yet and knowing my laziness, that's not likely to happen too soon.

Bu Bah. This is the sound of setteling

I used to write emails to over a hundred ladies every day, chronicles of the life of me. . . The dating fiascos, bizzarre experiences, embarrassing moments, and events in my life. They were called "Card Thoughts". But I've stopped doing the "card thought" emails because of lack of time. . . Sorry.

Well, I've learned that our company wants us to have blogs to post our artwork and stuff so I figured I'd kill 2 birds with one stone. So, here you go, another episode in the "single in her thirties" chapter of Casey's life.

So, yesterday I went to lunch with two of the married guys at work to the Gateway shopping center where we got a table outside for some prime people watching. We saw a half naked, mostly pierced man carrying a baby in a light blue flowered front-pack; A flock of girls with two toned hair; a couple where the man was wearing a towel on his head coverd by a hat from the foreign legion, and a reflective construction vest. He was pushing his lovely wife whose hat had a bird, two trumpets and a lopsided boquet perched on top.

As we were laughing about them, an Adonis-like man walked by. He was beautiful. As I watched him pass us, I suddenly realized I knew him. He was a friend of mine several years ago and we just haven't kept in touch. I called his name and he came over. We talked for a bit, reminiscing about the old times, and catching up on each other's lives. I was dying because he looked fantastic in his tailored suit and fancy tie and I was wearing a Tshirt with "Nightmare Before Christmas's" Sally saying something like "I dig pale scrawney guys", a vintage zip up sweatshirt thing, jeans and red sneakers. I think I had spent all of 2 minutes on my hair. Anyway, we talked for a while and agreed to do lunch sometime in the near future and he took off.

My friends looked at me with that "we've seen that look before, Casey. . . You dig the guy" look that married people give their single friends. So, I explained that if ever there's a hot guy around, chances are, he's a friend of mine and that my role in life is to be the friend of any attractive man I know. Well, I stood up to refill my soda when i noticed a group of more attractive men in the back of the restaurant. Suddenly I recognized one. He was a guy I had a total crush on like 10 years ago. . . You can't blame me, the guy looks like Billy from "Melrose Place". So, as I passed, I stopped and asked if his name was Steve. It was and he recognized me.

We spent a few seconds catching up and then he introduced me to his equally beautiful partners in his graphic design firm. Apparently, they're doing very well, winning awards and scoring some impressive clientele. I talked with the table of Ken dolls, Steve asked me for my number because he remembered that I'm an illustrator ,and then I left to reload the Diet Coke.

I sat down with my friends mortified. I had just seen two of the most handsome men I've ever known and I looked like Punky Brewster. Typical.

Little help for the ladies.

So, in search of Mr. Right, I have some to some conclusions that I feel are pretty accurate. There is no "Mr. Right". There are "Mr. Rights for Her" and "Mr. Right Now" but the mysterious "Mr. Right" to whom I am eluding to is as evasive as a snipe in those snipe hunts we were made to participate in back in girl's camp. I've not given up hope at all; don't get me wrong. I have just revised my strategy. Here are my new guidelines, you may adopt any you please.

1. Do not look for a man on a white stallion wielding a sword and shield- Stallions poop all over the place, the shield gets in the way and men with any type of blade are like little boys with fire. They'll play with it until they're hurt or have wreaked havoc around camp. Maybe they'll poke their eyes out.

2. Do not go into the law library of your local campus to find an intellect- the only men there are ones doing the same, looking for a girl who'll support them so they can play video games all day and eat corn dogs.

3. Never walk down the frozen foods aisle when men are there- In talking with several men, I've discovered that many hang out there, pathetically looking at frozen pizzas in hopes that one of us sweet women will offer to cook them something home-made. Yeah. . . I'm not kidding.

4. Do not go into Banana Republic in hopes of finding good dresser- Men there are either more interested in your brother or are too high maintenance. You may run into the same problems at the Gap but have a higher chance at finding a normal man at Old Navy. I've had several female friends teach their man to dress with amazing results . . . Men don't always know these things.

5. Look for someone who makes you laugh- a funny guy becomes better looking with time. Good lookers who can do nothing but look good should be placed on a mantel and dusted occasionally.

6. You're quirky, look for someone who'll accept that- we're nowhere near perfection, why should we be looking for that? I'm just excited when he remembers to wash his hands and zip up his fly.

7. Don't mope- who wants to marry someone who sits at home and does nothing but feel sorry for themselves? Go out! Target is always having great sales!

8. Go camping. Guys like girls that camp. They also like girls that don't wig out when they spill something. But don't spill on purpose. That's weird.

Blah