Friday, December 31, 2010

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!
What are some of YOUR New Year's Resolutions?

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

                      CLICK PICTURE FOR FULL SIZE.                                                            My Christmas gift to my family. From left to right: Dad, Mom, Gerard, Grace, her fiance Dan, Ben, Me, Leo, Rose, Vincent, Dominic, Helen, and Sammy (the kitten). Japanese anime is fairly well liked in our household, as well as being the subject of many of our jokes. Therefore, I thought it would be amusing to portray the family in typical "anime" style.















































Monday, December 20, 2010

As Requested...

Hey all! OK so one of my readers requested that I put up more of my drawings. I was tickled pink to have someone ask me this, so I complied wholeheartedly. There are a couple below with descriptions and explanations underneath each one. Enjoy! Feel free to tell me what you think!

I'm sure you've all read Regina Doman's "modern fairytale novels." If you haven't, go do it now, because reading those books is one of the biggest favors you will ever do for yourself. Anyway, these are the four main characters (l to r): Bear, Blanche, Bear and Blanche's baby (I had not yet read the 3rd book at that point, so I didn't know they had a boy), Rose, and Fish.

Full size version. I love Rose's smile. It's exactly how I pictured her.

Close up of the married couple and new baby. <3

Rose and Fish. Best love story EVER.

Wow. This one requires a TON of explaining. OK, so the "two" girls in white are actually the same person. It is supposed to be a representation of the two sides of one girl. The deadened one sitting on the swing is the good side. The strong one standing up is the evil side. I have targeted various other parts of the image below.

Note the triumphant smirk. She thinks she's won. Also, see how she has her hand on the sitting girl; it's a sort of "in charge" motion, as if she's the one who calls the shots.

See how she looks despairing, nearly dead. She's almost been swallowed by the evil inside her. She gives you a blank gaze as if she's lost all ready. She's sits weakly; she has no energy left. Her hands are crossed lightly on her lap; the fight has left her.

The last person I showed this to said "Yea, you're right! I can tell who's evil and who's good because the evil girl's feet are so weird looking! They LOOK like evil feet!!!" Weirdest statement ever. (Albeit amusing). But that's not why I show you this part of the picture. See what the one girl is standing on? It's water and fire -- Hell and baptism. They basically represent the two choices we can make: good vs. evil. Love vs. Hate. We can be saved and abandon ourselves to His love, or we can voluntarily step into the fires of eternal torment. The girl on the swing dangles above these two elements. She can give in to sin and fall into the fire, or cling to Hope and be saved through Christ. The ropes of the swing are being eaten away by the demonic fire -- where will she fall?

Note the oddity of the sky. The black moon is in the pale sky -- what was once pure and beautiful has turned ugly and unnatural.

But although the sky has turned almost completely black, the rays of the Son still pierce the darkness -- Hope lives. And one is left with the feeling that, through Him, she will be saved, will conquer the darkness.... My favorite part is their dresses. :-D They are simple, yet exhibit an exquisite beauty -- as does the soul. The white represents the purity which we receive in baptism, and blood represents the sacrifice of the Crucifixion through which we are saved and purified.

Sunday, December 19, 2010

An Advent Prayer.

 Lord, I humbly ask Your guidance in this last week of Advent. Let me choose the right gifts, not burn the food, and remember all the decorations. But if it comes down to it, I don't care if the gifts are wrong, the food is charred, and the house is bare -- all as long as there is Peace in my heart, Love in my home, and Joy in the world. Let me be a small candle to guide the lonely, the hurt, and the forgotten to your unconditional and everlasting love. Amen.

Thursday, December 16, 2010

LUCY PEVENSIE: The Ultimate Female Lead Role (Model)

      This past Saturday, I went to see The Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader in digital 3-D. Many things struck me about this movie. There was the beautiful music, the breathtaking effects, the edge-of-your-seat battles, and, of course, the dashing Edmund Pevensie. ;-) There was, however, one aspect of the film which I did not expect to be so caught up in. This was the character of Lucy Pevensie.
      I enjoyed Lucy in the previous two films: she was cute, kind, and ever faithful when it came to Aslan. But I really was not prepared to experience her as a realistic role model in this third Narnian installment. You see, Lucy is really a one-of-a-kind girl in today's silver screen world. She is essentially an opposite of every popular female character. Now I've yammered on for far too long. Let me actually get to the point and tell you why she's so different.
   
1. SHE HAS FLAWS.
       Unlike Megan Fox's role in Transformers, who is stunningly, almost frighteningly beautiful, and obnoxiously good at everything. (Including fixing hard-core cars and looking seductive simultaneously without getting oil all over her barely-there clothes). Lucy is not particularly attractive. If anything, I'd call her cute. She has blah colored hair and a pug nose. She is quite jealous of her older sister Susan's classic beauty, a vice which nearly leads to her own downfall. She isn't constantly making eyes at the camera, and doesn't always know what to say. And I, for one, love her for it. I mean, really. Lucy is someone I, and most likely millions of other girls, can relate to. We all have the sister and/or friend who far exceeds us in beauty. We don't always have kick-ass come-backs on the tips of our tongues. We sometimes get in the way when people more talented than us have work to do. But here's the best part: rather than bringing Lucy down to our level, we are brought up to her's. Meaning, Lucy embraces or overcomes her flaws, depending on what they are. With her faith in Aslan, she triumphs over her desire to look like Susan and embraces her true self. She joyfully learns to become who Aslan (or God, if we look at this allegorically), truly meant her to be. Sure, I'm a sap. But I still left that theatre thinking "I don't want to be anyone else. I want to be me, the best way I can."
           "Be who you are, and be that well." ~St. Francis De Sales

2. SHE IS ONE TOUGH COOKIE -- BUT IS AWESOMELY FEMININE.
     In a world which insists that you can either be a loser 1950's housewife or a kick-butt feminazi, Lucy sure proves otherwise. She is a totally awesome "watch-your-bad-guy-back" fighter. She's got a sweet dagger which any ninja would be jealous of. She goes on scouting expeditions with the men, and never goes down without a fight. She makes heavy decisions and is High Queen of Narnia, for crying out loud!!!!! But she also holds herself with incredible dignity, and never speaks harshly of anyone or to anyone. She dresses practically, yet modestly -- befitting a young woman who's saving the world from evil. She is never too old to exhibit inspiring, childlike faith. She is always the instigator of peace, and embraces her feminine desires for beauty, mercy, and love. She displays strong and touching maternal instincts and sympathies. (Which, I might point out, none of the men even thought of doing!). What the best part of this is, is that Lucy finds the perfect balance between "tough cookie" and "feminine grace." She doesn't have a split personality, and she doesn't behave contrastingly. She behaves as a whole. The numerous attributes which she possesses are all part of her as a true woman. This is Lucy behaving as the woman God meant her to be.

I could go on for a while here. I mean really, I actually had 3 other things I wanted to talk about. However, this has ended up being so long that I think I'll just leave it here! Thanks for reading. :-) Feel free to comment -- positive or (constructively) negative! I hope you enjoy Narnia, also!!!

~Wyld
WATCH THE TRAILER HERE