So winter has settled in fully and everything around here is turning festive as Christmas approaches. It seems that as active as everything is these days there's surprisingly little to do. I could list off gift shopping or prepping for the GRE's, but both of those are more like drudgery than anything else. On the plus side, I was able to put pencil to paper more often than usual. It does feel good to crank out a few sketches without weeks in between each one.

One high note, however, is the new exhibit at our local museum about John Audubon. For those out there who don't know, he is, in my opinion at least, the greatest avian artist ever. His pictures are so lifelike and detailed, just spectacular to look at. The people who put the show on were very eager to share all the history behind him and his travels. They were very excited as well since an original copy of Audubon's book, 'Birds of America', recently broke the record for most expensive printed book in history, having sold at auction for eleven and a half million, which kind of pleasantly shocked me. The exhibit will be here until February, and I'm definitely planning on going again.

So to everyone out there, I hope you have a great holiday season this year.

So it's nearly the end of October, and I'm guessing many of you guys are ready for Halloween. Well, first off, hope you have a great one this year. As for me, I'm heading up north this week to look at potential graduate schools. A lot of driving is in store since I'll be going from Portland to Seattle and then back down to Eugene and Corvallis. So far those three schools seem the most promising for the emphasis I want to pursue and I'm really excited to see what they have to offer. Not only that, it'll be nice to get someplace green for a while and be out of the high desert browns. So before I end this brief entry, I want to ask if anyone knows some cool things to see or do while in Portland. I'll be spending about a day there and I'm at somewhat of a loss as to what kinds of attractions the area has. Anyway, hope you all enjoy your spooky weekend and have a great November.

So this might mark the first time since I've signed up that I've actually posted a journal here on FA in the three years I've been on it. I just feel like I need to, first and foremost, thank all the people out there who are watching me. Every favorite and comment I get from you is greatly appreciated and really makes my day whenever it happens. So I express my thanks to you for liking my little pencil scribbles.
That being said, I've been very slow with new sketches for a good long while. Life's been very chaotic lately, family and personal issues abound and I can't find the time or the inspiration to draw. Life tends to get I'm hopeful that I can at least make the effort to put graphite to paper again in the near future.
Lastly, I wanted to ask all of you who feel so inclined to critique my work. I'm curious to know what you like, what you don't like and what about my work you think needs improvement. If any of you would let me know I would be very grateful. Thank you again.