Summer Sunflower Fields and A Classy 1938 Illustration WIP

Summer time, while a time for hot sweaty weather summer can still be enjoyed through the wonders of the beach, ice cream pops, traveling and a certain flower called the Sunflower. A week or two ago my Family and I went on a trip to a local Sunflower Field as this time of the year is when they bloom. Of course my Photographer sister and I being a pretty good Videographer cracked out our cameras. I actually was supposed to get this video up ages ago but I’ve been busy and also my computer isn’t as young as it used to be so it’s not super easy to edit a video, okay a little procrastination is in there as well. Anyway today I’m bringing you that video finally! I’m dubbing it “Summer Sunflower Fields” so grab a snack and enjoy this 5 minute video! Featuring some appearances from my Sister, I’m not sure if she’s ever shown herself before so this might be her debut appearance.

Did you enjoy? I know the quality isn’t the utmost quality I don’t have the newest camera with all that 4k junk and what not but I make good use out of what I own and I think this came out great in the end. I’m surprised I actually got my sister’s approval for letting her in the Video but yes this is I believe her debut appearance. If you don’t know her my sister runs a blog called Lady AnnaVintage, on this blog she writes Art reviews, Photography Blogs and other Art related topics. Annie actually beat me to it and already uploaded her Sunflower blog with a wonderful illustration and photography from this very same trip. (Like I said, I procrastinated to no end.) Before I show off my few photographs I took you should go check her out first by following this link: http://ladyannavintage.blogspot.com/2017/06/the-summer-sunflower-trail.html .

Back onto the actual trip the Sunflower field was almost like a maze, the flowers were enormously tall so you could get lost quite easily and I believe it went back much farther from what I explored. I actually lost my sister there for a few minutes we got so into our recording and photography we ended up losing track of where each other went. Another surprise that you probably saw on Instagram if you follow me on there is the fact that some people actually put faces in some of the Sunflowers. Yeah this gave me and my sister a laugh. I didn’t know you could actually do this, the only smiling sunflowers I ever heard of was Plants VS Zombies and that one character from Peggle. (Remember her? Yeah.)

Anyway after exploring the Sunflower Jungle we returned with a couple of Sunflowers to decorate our house with. (They were free to pick and bring home.) Only problem with this is Sunflowers tend to have a massive amount of pollen stored in them, which is not good for allergies so they couldn’t stay in the house all that long. We did however collect the seeds out of them so I may try and get myself a green thumb and grow these suckers.

If you live in areas where Sunflowers bloom go out and check them out! Sunflowers bloom from the beginning of summer to near the end of fall with a lot blooming in August so it’s not too late to go Sunflower hunting.

Enjoyed the video and blog so far? Be sure to support me on Patreon! With your help I’ll be able to get better equipment for making even better videos as well as doing some awesome things with the blog.

Moving on I’ve been playing Paper Mario some more. Last time I was just heading into Chapter 4 aka the chapter with the Shy Guy Toybox so some minor spoilers might be ahead. It felt like this chapter wasn’t as long as the previous 3 but the Shy Guys were pretty hilarious with some of them being tricky to beat. Apparently there was this grayish Shy Guy hanging around this treasure chest called Anti-Guy and foolishly I dived into a battle with him. Luckily I saved beforehand because I got completely wiped out in just two turns. I guess I come back to this guy later and beat him, or give him something I’m not sure. If you’re in chapter 4, don’t touch this guy. The partner you get in this chapter might have ended up my favorite partner so far. She’s this little electric ball named Watt who can light dark rooms and also has an incredible support move in battle which increases Mario’s attack power +1 for a few turns, the amount of turns depending on if you perform the action commands properly.

After the chapter was over and the next Star Spirit saved another Peach segment occurred, which happens after every chapter. This is probably the most unexpected and fun Peach segment yet. Peach becomes Solid Snake in Metal Peach Solid and has to sneak past some guards to the lower floors of her castle, which is not easy. She then encounters a really pudgy Shy Guy who loves sweet treats, striking a bargain to cook him something in exchange for information regarding the next location of the lost Star Spirits. I never would have imagined Paper Mario as a Cake baking simulator but what would you know I actually had to BAKE a cake in game, even having to time the length of time it sat in the oven. I know this is no surprise to all of you as you have all probably played this game time and time again but as this was my first time I was surprised. I ended the game after this for now but I’ll be heading to a place named Lavalava Island next.

I’m never quite sure whether to show art WIPS or wait until the final product but I’ve been doing some sketching the past couple of days that will end up watercolor projects for #WorldWatercolorMonth that’s happening this month. First off I have the next entry in my car illustration collection. I decided to go further back then the 57’ Chevy and 60’ Austin Healey and draw a car from 1938.

This is a 1938 Talbot-Lago T150-C SS Teardrop Coupe. Talbot-Lago was an automobile manufacturer originating from France. These cars are absolutely beautiful it’s a shame the company disappeared leaving it’s only traces in the days gone by. The 1938 model might be my favorite model from this company so of course I’m making it my next illustration. To add more to this illustration I decided to also add a person, I mean someone has to drive the car. I figured hey someone from my novel I’m writing Dream Eclipse would fit in perfectly. After drawing Aeris enough I decided to utilize a different character this time, a character that needs some more love, Rachael Scarlet. Rachael Scarlet is a rich upperclass girl in Dream Eclipse but despite her status she’s actually the best friend of Aeris (Who is not rich by any means.). I figured Rachael would fit perfectly in a Woollen Day Suit coupled with a large brimmed hat which is a fashion design that was popular around 1938.

I’m almost ready to start on the watercolor part of this illustration I’m just waiting for a certain something to come in the mail before I begin.

I also did another sketch yesterday that would be classed as fan art. Well I’ve been binge watching Pokemon XY (It’s on Netflix guys.) so I figured why not draw Ash Ketchum. I couldn’t see the Pokemon Anime without this guy (Despite the fact he can’t seem to win at a Pokemon League, ever.) and the Pokemon Anime means a lot to me so it was only time before I did a sketch or two of the characters from the show. This is Ash’s Kalos design and I sketched in a Pikachu as well, though it’s not the best Pikachu sketch In the world I guess. I think I’ll go ahead and turn this into a watercolor piece too once I’m finished with it. Watercolor has become my favorite coloring medium, I could easily do all my work in colored pencil but Watercolor is what I’m into right now.

Before I wrap I have the free knitting pattern of the blog to share! As you may or may not know about me so far is I’m pretty big on knitting dishcloths, they’re easy and quick to knit but can have so much design packed into that little square of cotton goodness. Lot’s of my projects I’ve done so far are dishcloths and I’ve shared a few dishcloth patterns before. So to add to that list today’s FREE Knitting Pattern is “Kitchen Star” by DROPS Design.

This may be one of the most elegant dishcloths I’ve ever laid my eyes on. At first I thought this had some cable knitting in it but it’s actually all lace work. You’ll need some cotton yarn of choice I’m not sure if that matters or not but I assume DK, Sport or Worsted will work. Needles used on here are 3 mm / US 2.5 but this also depends on your gauge and the needles your yarn calls for. The pattern involves Yarn Overs and Passing Slipped Stitch Overs so it shouldn’t be too difficult to knitters new to lace like myself. There’s a chart to read as well and I’m not the best at reading charts but this pattern looks worth challenging myself to do so. I highly recommend you give this pattern a go it’s really elegant and would fit perfectly in a kitchen or on any cloth you please, this doesn’t have to be a dishcloth per say. You can check out this pattern by following this link here: https://www.garnstudio.com/pattern.php?id=7334&cid=17.

That’s it for today everyone but before I leave, what’s your favorite part of summer? Leave a comment below! Don’t forget to support me on Patreon if you liked the blog, I appreciate all your support over the past year. (Yeah ZAK Entertainment actually has been around for almost a year now.)

This was ZAK Entertainment, See you on Friday!