Prisoner of Azkaban, Car Discoveries and Knit & Crochet Pumpkins!

Have you ever been so immersed in a book that you just can’t wait for the sequel to release? I’ve felt this lot over the years with many book series, some not releasing a new book for years. Harry Potter was one of these book series, I mean don’t get me started on all of the hype and speculation surrounding the final Harry Potter book but we’ll get on that later. Harry Potter has been around for 20 years now surprisingly and for the 20^th anniversary celebration I’ve been discussing every book and its movie counterpart. So far I’ve discussed Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets so go check those blogs out (The names are hyperlinked) because this blog will contain possible spoilers for those previous two stories. Today I’m going to be discussing the third entry in the series, the Prisoner of Azkaban. 

I watched through the entire series not too long ago and I've been re-reading the books so while I've watched these movies so many times my mind is now refreshed so I can bring you these blogs!

As a recap Harry Potter tells the story of a boy (The book is his namesake) as he discovers his abilities has a Wizard and enters the secret yet expansive world of Magic to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry with his two new friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger.

Before he gets to go to school every year however he has to suffer a fate most unkind, the Dursleys. The Dursleys are Harry’s only relatives and sadly they’re muggles (Non magic folk) to the bone. Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia and Cousin Dudley are constantly treating Harry like dirt but this book/movie introduces a new Dursley, Vernon’s sister Margaret. 

Well let’s just say she doesn’t stick around for long and soon floats away as Harry runs away in anger and encounters the "Knight Bus" a bus for transporting Wizards and takes a ride to the Leaky Cauldron... It's also a TRIPLE Decker bus. (And I thought Double Deckers were intimidating)

If Harry thought the whole Chamber of Secrets ordeal was a dark year at Hogwarts then he better prepare for an even darker 3^rd year. 

With a serial killer known as Sirius Black played by Gary Oldman (A big case of don’t judge a book by its cover) on the loose Hogwarts is tightening up security due to Sirius’s escape from Azkaban, which should have been impossible. 

With this tightened up security Hogwarts has now allowed Dementor’s the wraith-like guards of Azkaban who float around in these black cloaks and suck the life out of you to roam the outskirts of the grounds in order to protect the students.

Okay it's confession time, this is a little embarrassing but the Dementors actually gave me nightmares as a kid, and I’m not kidding about that. Hey they’re big black wraiths who suck your soul out with their pretty gross mouths and I’m sure their hygiene must be atrocious so you can’t blame me, right?

Another confession, I had no idea who Gary Oldman was when watching this movie as a kid, yet I actually did know who he was because I also grew up watching The Fifth Element where he played Zorg the villain of the movie. He also played a wide variation of characters all who I knew but never knew it was the same guy playing all of them. This man has talent and really can change himself to play different characters, I mean he sure fooled me up until two years ago when I finally found out it was all the same man.

Besides the darker themes this book/movie introduces some of my favorite characters such as the new Defense against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Remus Lupin. (Played by David Thewlis) He breaks the pattern set by the previous two just slightly enough to give him a lovable character that I wish had more air time on the movies but at least he had a lot of moments in the book. He shines as my favorite character from this film; he’s the first professor who doesn’t have some crazy evil plot or selfish motivation. Just don’t judge him by his cover; I think that might be a theme in this story.

Speaking of Book to Movie this is the story that started to drastically change things between the books and the movies. Yeah the story in general was the same but the way things played out was quite differently between the two books. Maybe it’s just a pet peeve but I’m not a big fan of drastic changes between books and movies. I understand leaving out some details and perhaps a few differences to make it more suitable for the big screen but drastic changes? Yeah I’m not a fan of that. The beginning scene of the movie is pretty odd too, one it wasn’t in the book two it featured Harry using the Lumos Maxima spell in his room, outside of Hogwarts. Yeah I’m pretty sure that’s breaking a law of some kind Harry. The changes between this movie and the book compared to later movies aren’t too much of a problem and while the changes are their both are absolutely enjoyable, albeit the book a little more.

Back to the movie the cast really grew in the time period between the 2^nd movie and this one. I believe there was a two year gap between filming but it seemed like Daniel Radcliff and the rest drank some aging potion or something. This was also the first film where Dumbledore had his actor changed from Richard Harris, who sadly died before this film was shot to the actor who would portray him in every movie after, Michael Gambon. Not to restart the dumble-wars but I have to say I always liked Richard Harris more, not saying I don’t love Michael Gambon and I’m not saying he didn’t completely ace his performances on numerous occasions especially the silliness Dumbledore tends to portray on a few occasions but I like the more humble Richard Harris more. Curious though I wonder how Richard Harris would have portrayed the darker Dumbledore of the later films.

Want to know the real ridiculous part of this movie? The Boggarts. These shape shifters shape themselves to the Wizard’s worse fears which end up causing quite the laugh when the spell “Riddikulus” is casted on them. Actually some awesome spells are introduced in this movie, one of them being Expecto Potronus (Which I would constantly call Inspector Potronus as a child because I knew no better) a charm spell used to deflect Dementors. This spell would come into play in many movies later.

The lovable Hagrid gets himself a larger role in the Hogwarts School in this story by becoming an actual professor in Care of Magical Creatures which was pretty great considering his love for magical creatures. (Including a giant spider) During one of his first lessons he introduced the third-year students including Harry to a certain creature named Buckbeak, a prideful hippogriff. (Not to be mistake with a hypocrite) 

Keep note of Buckbeak he becomes more part of the story at later time. Odd thing is in the original book there are actually 7 hippogriffs but they only included Buckbeak in the movie.

To be honest my favorite part of this entire movie and the book would have to be the events that happen towards the end. I won’t spoil anything despite the age of this book but it involves time travel and it’s pretty sweet.

Oh yeah! If you've read the Sorcerer's Stone blog I showcased these awesome Harry Potter bookmarks I have in my house.

These actually come from this movie as all of these items symbolize something from the Prisoner of Azkaban. I actually remember there being a huge amount of merchandise for this movie and even their being a Time-Turner which I'm really jealous that I don't own right now.

Prisoner of Azkaban really sets up a lot for the future films while revealing some dark secrets about Harry’s Parent’s death and it’s full of the same magic the first two films had. The book is better by a long shot in my opinion with so much more detail but the movie is just as enjoyable (Although a lot of missed opportunities were there and some unnecessary changes) and I can’t stress enough how you must read and watch both in order to get the real experience of J.K. Rowling’s story. Prisoner of Azkaban is a darker and more thrilling story while keeping light hearted themes mixed in. The book and sometimes the movie dive deep into some back-story behind people related to Harry, Ron and perhaps even Scabbers the Rat. (Yeah the rat plays a part in this movie, keep an eye on it.) The movie takes a on a much more darker but cinematic approach compared to the lighter first two films and you’ll find the whole look of this film carries on to the later films. Alfonso Cuaron takes on the director role from Chris Columbus as well. If you haven’t seen the movie yet (Which would be pretty rare) or want to upgrade from a VHS which my family and I have done with all three of the first Harry Potter films due to them being on VHS you can buy it now from Amazon in a 2-Disc Special Edition for either Blu-Ray or DVD.

Of course you can also purchase the kindle book (Or hardcover/paperback) here from Amazon as well!

So with that said and done, I have some pretty awesome car photos to show you all. Yes when I was out the other day I came across not one but two pretty awesome cars, well I think they’re awesome anyway. For those new I’m actually quite the big fan of cars which is what half of my artwork revolves around when it doesn’t revolve around my story characters. Mostly it’s old cars but I’ve found some love in newer cars as well. Well this first car I came across in a parking lot across from where I was parked, it’s a Mazada MX-5 Miata!

Judging by the roundness of the grill and the headlights I can say this is probably a 2008 MX-5 but I may be wrong. I’m not a super car genius so if you are and some of you actually are please let me know below what this car is!

The Mazda Miata was first launched in May of 1989 after a production and design process that dates back to 1976 thanks to Bob Hall and Kenichi Yamamoto. (Head of Research and Development at Mazda) In spirit of British Roadsters (My favorite kind of cars) this car was made in that likeness but as a more inexpensive car. Oh this first generation had those popup headlights that would then sink back into the car’s hood when you weren’t using them, always thought those were kind of weird yet cool.

2001 would bring about a major facelift to the brand that would carry on and evolve till this specific model I found here, which would be a third generation. These cars are pretty sweet and would undergo yet another facelift for the fourth generation which is the MX-5s currently on the market.

If this is the 2008 model like I’m assuming this would have a combined MPG of 23 (24 on the Grand touring and Sport Models) with a inline 4 cylinder with the touring having 158 Horsepower @ 6700 RPM and the Grand touring having 166 Horsepower @ 6700 RPM. Mostly this car was a convertible but I think you could get it in hard top.

This next car is another convertible this one a Ford Thunderbird!

This one is a much newer Thunderbird compared to the classics from the 50s and 60s and was part of the Eleventh and final Generation of the Ford Thunderbird. I’m not exactly sure what year this one is again it might be a late 2004-2005 model. This was part of the attempt at reviving this luxury brand after it being non-existence since 1997.

I actually remember featuring a car from this same generation back last year (You can read that here: ) and I claimed that to be a 2004 so I’m not exactly sure what this one is, maybe it’s an earlier 2001-2003 model. It sucks that the Thunderbird brand didn’t survive this revival it’s actually a really nice model compared to what the Thunderbird became in the 80s and 90s. (It wasn’t pretty in my opinion.) It had call backs to the 50s and 60s while having that newer perhaps rounder 2000 look.

Crazy what I find randomly driving by or sitting in the parking lot across from myself. I haven’t actually put up any car photos in a while, mostly because I haven’t actually found any cars worth taking photos of until now. You can click the “Cars” tab up top to view some more!

We’re now in the thick of September which means next month is October and I can feel the spooky vibes emanating from it. Yes I’m not big on Halloween but I know a lot of you knitters are so let’s dive into the FREE Knitting Pattern feature for today! Actually this one isn’t just a free knitting pattern; it’s a little bit more.

So recently my sister has taken a dive into fiber art herself but unlike me and Mum she’s decided to give crocheting a go! I am not good at Crocheting and I’m not really that fond of doing it despite loving the final products but Annie seems to be getting along with it. She runs a blog named LadyAnnaVintage.blogspot.com so go check that out! (Not sure if she’s ever going to do Crochet blogs or not but hey that would be a good collab between us, Knitting VS Crochet)

With that said today’s pattern is both a knitting AND crochet pattern while being fall/Halloween themed. This is “Spice & Clove Knit and Crochet Pumpkins” by Hannah Maier.

Yup it’s an actual pumpkin. No need to go and buy real pumpkins that’ll decay and go smelly when you can knit or crochet your own! I have no idea about the crochet pattern part of this but I do know you’ll need a 3.5 MM (E) hook and for the knitting pattern US 2 – 2.75 MM. You’ll need 187 yards of sport weight yarn in the colors you want for your Pumpkins. (Not all pumpkins have the same colors)

I am actually surprised how easy this is, I didn’t quite understand how you got the pumpkin to actually look like a pumpkin but apparently you’re just knitting a circle then using a needle to thread the yarn a few times to create 6 parts of the pumpkin. Actually I did something like this myself, almost exactly, my pin cushion I made a while back. This is so easy for knitting (I assume crochet too) it could be a quick knit/crochet. Annie if you’re reading this let’s make a whole bunch of these and set them outside for Halloween. We just can’t make Jack-O-Lanterns out of these, because that will cause a house fire.

Anyway you can check out that pattern here: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/spice--clove-knit-and-crochet-pumpkins.

Be sure to check out the ZAK Entertainment 1 Year Anniversary Malabrigo Yarn Giveaway! 

https://zakentertainment.blogspot.com/2017/09/malabrigo-yarn-giveaway.html

Comment on that specific blog and you’ll be entered in to win this awesome yarn. Huge thanks to those who have already commented it means a lot that you’re tuning in and that you’re interested in the yarn. I’ve read all of your comments and some of them were really motivating so be sure to go comment on the blog post here: https://zakentertainment.blogspot.com/2017/09/malabrigo-yarn-giveaway.html .

This was ZAK Entertainment

See you on Wednesday!

[Photo Credits: ZAK Entertainment, Warner Brothers, J.K. Rowling, Hannah Maier.]

Borrowing Mum's Cotman Paints and New Canon Powershot Camera

The finish line, the end of the road, the epilogue of a book, everything comes to an end but an end always means a new beginning, a new chapter and a new journey. #WorldWatercolorMonth has come to an end and boy have I seen some incredible artists with some incredible work this month. Of course this doesn't mean the journey of an artist has ended but we’ll have to wait until next year to celebrate this month once again. As a new watercolorist of only a few months this was a big time for myself a time to learn and get deeper involved in the watercolor world. I actually finished 4 watercolor pieces this month, yeah four. What did you say? I’ve only showed you three this month? Hmmm wonder what that means.

Yes just in time to wrap up the month I finished one last project. Funny enough this means i’ve finished a project every week this month. Without further ado let me show you this new finished art project, just a warning it’s full of 1930s class.

I’ve been dabbling in some car illustrations after creating a father’s day card featuring a 1957 Chevy Bel Air. I mean I'm a huge car fan, especially of classic cars, so to illustrate them seemed like a great idea and to my surprise I'm not half bad. It's not a technical drawing by any means, I'm sure I could probably pull some sort of patience out of myself and get super technical but I love illustrating in this style, my style.

This car is none other then a 1938 Talbot Lago T-150 CSS. To many car enthusiasts you probably know this car but I'm afraid I didn't know the name of this beauty when I first discovered it. This French Automobile manufacturer sadly faded into obscurity after the 40s and I rarely hear anyone really talk about it when describing 30s and 40s motors. This sucks because this is a beautiful car which prompted me to make it my next illustration. I decided to go with a burgundy like color for the motor and while my color mixing probably isn't superb I really love how this came out.

You probably noticed something else as well, the classy looking (And pretty tall.) lady standing next to this car. Well in an experiment of sorts I wanted to actually illustrate someone next to a car. It was tough to originally pinpoint where she should stand but I found a few references to help. Probably would of been if I knew how tall the car was but information about this car is scarce. Anyway I decided to do more than just a random person and use a character I’ve not touched on much. This is Rachael Scarlet from my novel series Dream Eclipse. I’ve illustrate her before a few months ago and more recently side by side with Aeris her best friend. Rachael is also from a very Rich family thus the classy outfit. Unlike Aeris and Luna I don't really want to dive to deep into her character yet but i’ll be drawing her more in the future so maybe i’ll slip some more details out soon. I'm really plugging away at Dream Eclipse and after many years of building up the world I'm finally solidifying it. As much as I would love to get book 1 done this year I'm not making any certain dates but I think I'm on a roll.

It seems I’m always poking my nose into my Mum’s new cool supplies, from raiding her yarn stash to what I got to do yesterday. I may or may not have borrowed some of Mum’s paints to try out for you guys. With my Mum being just as avid with watercolor as myself (I got into watercolor because of my Mum and Sister.) she has some really cool supplies and paint brands. One of these is a brand i’ve been tempted to upgrade too in the near future, Winsor & Newton Cotman.

Photo Taken With My Nikon Coolpix S3300 (This is important for later keep that in your head.)

My sister also recently upgraded to this brand and never turned back to her Sakurai Koi with her artwork improving even more so because of this. While she got a 12 color pan set my Mum grabbed herself a 24 pan set which is what I got to try out. Yeah don't let Mum know I'm doing this okay? Im making her a color chart so that should make up for it.

Photo Taken with Mum's new Canon Powershot ELPH 190 IS

Winsor & Newton Cotman brand watercolors are student grade watercolors compared to Schmincke’s Artist Grade Horadam Aquarell watercolors which I got to try out last Friday but these might be a huge step up from what student grade paints i’ve been using so far aka Sakura Koi. (Also they’re a lot cheaper then Schmincke.) I'm not saying Sakura Koi are bad they’re pretty good but these Cotman paints I believe might be the best Student grade paints out there.

This comes in a much larger box then Sakura Koi’s 24 set does and much larger than Annie’s 12 pan set but unlike my sister’s pan set this box does not have that odd and annoying blue plastic part that you have to detach to open the box all the way. Mum has told me a lot of people who bought this box complained about their nails breaking when opening this box but I can safely say nails are not necessary, actually pressing firmly on the top lip and lifting the lid will do just fine.

Photo Taken with Mum's new Canon Powershot ELPH 190 IS

Inside the box you can see Mum has put a lot of use into these awesome paints and what really caught my eye is the fact you can mix and match these paints in any order you want.

Photo Taken With My Nikon Coolpix S3300

When you first receive your set all of your cakes will come wrapped and already set within the pans allowing you to place the pans in any order you want in these sets of four in which you can then move your sets of four around anyway you want. One of the disadvantages of this however was sliding, yeah the pans apparently slid around due to gaps in between each pan but Mum the genius she is came up with the idea of cutting up some black sponge to place in between each pan, stopping the paints from sliding around and reducing any risk of paint spilling from one pan to another. Oh yeah apparently there’s this big empty spot to the right of the box which I guess can be used for adding additional pans but Mum has turned it into a brush cleaning sponge area as it doesn't seem useful for anything else at the moment.

Another part of this set is the removable pallet at the top, to my surprise it's a double layered pallet with the top being removable revealing more pallet space below for all your mixing needs. You can place this removable pallet on the lower part of the paint set.

That aside I was eager to check out these paints and see if they were worth being my next upgrade and yeah I think without a doubt i’ll be upgrading to these paints. As you can see the paints are really vibrant and rich to the point I question if these should even be classed as student grade, they feel like artist grade paints but let me just go out on a limb and say I'm a novice with only a few months experience so I'm very early in my artist journey. This is why I'm very eager to try out as many different brands of paint as possible. The Colbalt Blue in this set is a much deeper Colbalt Blue then my Sakura Koi set. (Which is classed as Colbalt Blue Hue apparently, didn’t notice that before.)

Photo Taken with Mum's new Canon Powershot ELPH 190 IS

Really these Winsor & Newton Cotman paints are great and while I haven't tried their professional brand just yet (Would really love to at some point.) these are some of the best paints I’ve tried yet. Annie my much more talented sister has gone a lot more in depth on these paints with her recent review on her Winsor & Newton paints on her blog Lady AnnaVintage so I recommend you check this blog to give you definitively answer whether to buy these paints or not. You can read her blog here: http://ladyannavintage.blogspot.com/2017/07/the-winsor-cotman-watercolor-review.html .

For those wanting to purchase this specific set I got the link for you on Amazon!

You may of noticed a slight difference in photos throughout the first part of the blog as well as a little tag under each image indicating different cameras and that’ll be because Mum let me use something else of her’s today. Yes we have a brand new camera in the house in the form of the Canon PowerShot ELPH 190 IS!

With all new tech I get pretty excited to try it out so Mum has let me use it for this blog and discuss it in a little bit of detail.

In an interview with my Mum she expressed her eagerness to find a camera that was compact enough to fit inside her handbag as well as have great quality photos and ease of access in regards of transferring images from the camera to her iPad. Well two of those wishes came true at least. This camera while not as thin as my Nikon compact camera which has been my primary camera throughout this past year of ZAK Entertainment’s life time it’s thin enough to be perfect for mobile use. We’re out and about almost all the time with scenery and perfect photo opportunities around every corner so a compact camera is perfect for Mum’s situation. As far as quality the quality of this camera is comparable to my Nikon which I’ve always praised for being the best quality a compact camera can get (Other than Annie’s slightly higher tech Canon she got for Christmas but that’s a little bit less compact than mine.) if not better. Sadly transferring photos is where this camera falters. It’s Canon Camera Connect App on iTunes seems to be absolutely useless after one use leaving the only way to download photos to your iPad from your Camera to the temporary server you can upload your photos too, though this costs time and internet data. Oh yeah and Mum wasn’t too keen on the blue but she’s warming up to it.

While my Nikon Coolpix S3300 has a 16 Megapixel capture with a 6x zoom this camera has a 20 Megapixel capture with 10x zoom but I have to say the quality isn’t extremely different from mine, which is for the most part what Mum wanted, a camera similar to mine. It does have its perks such as software wise as it seems to have more program options including a low light mode which is pretty cool actually as well as a Macro Mode and an Infinity mode for shooting long distance which is a plus over my Nikon. You can also have a grid layout for better positioning as well as some other cool guides that I didn’t dive into much. (This isn’t a proper review, just me trying the Camera out that’s all.) Apparently this camera doesn’t have as many flash options as my Nikon and the Flash seems to be in a bit of an odd position but other than that it seems to have everything you need to take great photos, with exposure settings, white balance settings and ISO settings.  

To my surprise this camera has a few editing options you can use after you take your photos. While it doesn’t have a red eye reducing flash it does have a red eye remover which works great. You can also view the histogram and other details of your photos which is cool for professional photographers.

Below is a photo my Mum took of a cow at a local farm, she seemed pretty camera friendly.

Like I said earlier this camera is going to be used outside a lot and as you can see from this it really does the outdoors justice. Here’s a similar shot I took from my Camera below of our Moo Cow friend.

Mum’s camera seems to be just a little bit more detailed than my camera; though considering my Camera is a few years old it’s to be expected.

Overall this camera is great and does everything you want a compact camera to do for a pretty good price too. While there are more powerful cameras out there such as Annie’s Powershot as well as her professional DSLR Camera this camera gets the job done with a quality to take amazing shots. I didn’t get to try out the video function of this camera however so that might be a task for the future if Mum will ever let me use this camera again, she loves it too much. You can buy this camera through Amazon, just don’t expect the Canon Camera Connect app to work, it doesn’t really matter what Canon camera you have this app just does not work at all.

With that said and done I have one more photo to show you guys before I leave you all for the day. For those celebrating #WorldWatercolorMonth I hope you enjoyed and poured your heart and soul into your work. I’ll be continuing to paint but I think it’s about time to kick the knitting back into gear a little with winter coming up soon. I do have a illustration in the works however so you might see that within a few days.

This was ZAK Entertainment

See you on Wednesday!

[Photo Credits Go to Didomum and Zachary Kuhn]

Cobras, Chevys and Custom Cars, Oh My! (Father's Day Car Show)

You know last week was pretty hectic considering it was E3 week and all but with that wrapped up this week we’re going to switch over to some non Video Game topics for this week. (If anything comes up I will report on it, just not as the main topic.)

I completely forgot to mention this but last Friday Cars 3 released in Theatres! It’s the third (Possibly last.) entry in the Cars franchise and conveniently I got to go somewhere last Saturday filled with just as many awesome cars. I along with my car loving Dad with Family in tow went to a Car Show. It wasn’t a massive car show but it was filled with some gems. Of course I had my camera in hand to take some photos of these cars for you guys. Now before I kick start this blog I want to point out that I might not accurately name some of these cars. Half of them had information stickers or their owners nearby for me to ask for the other half well it was pretty hard to get an accurate name considering I’m not the biggest car expert in the world. Though I am doing heavy research I would much appreciate it if you guys left me some feedback on these cars to help me accurately name them.

Immediately walking into the parking lot these guys were set up in I immediately noticed this beauty of a car.

This is one of those cars where the owner was nowhere in sight so I only have the help of the internet and my Dad to decipher this car. I thought it could have been a 1950s Buick considering the vent ports on the side and the triangular nose but Dad pointed out that it could have been an Oldsmobile Delta 88. Looking up both of these cars, well this car seems to be a hybrid of the Oldsmobile’s front and the Buick’s side, which tells me this is probably a custom job of sorts. I'll just assume this is a custom Oldsmobile Delta 88. Regardless of what it is this car is pretty awesome and as I can’t find a match make this one unique ride. Maybe I should have looked harder for the owner but considering this was a local car show he probably lives around here somewhere. I’ll let you guys know if I encounter this beauty again.

Next up is a car I recognized immediately; this without a doubt is a Chevrolet Street Rod, possibly 1932. (I’m a big sucker for 1930s cars.) I’m not sure if the Eagle on the hood is original or a custom job but with all the hot rod Street Rods out there this might be the closest you can get to the original. I did not expect a beauty like this to be here by any means and man do I wish I could have sat in this gorgeous car. Actually I wish I could of driven it but that’s pushing the buttons a bit.

I did get to sit in a classic car however, two in fact and it came as a complete surprise to me but I was actually offered to sit in this 1965 Shelby 27 Cobra Roadster.

This is probably a dream come true, actually driving it would have been but regardless getting to sit in this amazing car was a treat and props to the owner of letting me. Now before you question me yes I actually do have proof, my sister who was with me snapped a pretty awesome shot of me.

Photography by Lady AnnaVintage

Of course I’m squinting because I forgot my Sunglasses but it’s an awesome shot regardless. (Check out her blog ladyannavintage.blogspot.com for more awesome photography.) Getting into this car was a bit difficult actually, apparently my legs are just a little too long but I squeezed my way in anyway. The car wasn’t turned on but I felt the power resting within this car.

Not sure what the lights inside this car are for can anyone enlighten me on that? Is this secretly some sort of Secret Agent car? An ejection seat button was probably placed somewhere in here.

Now if only I got to drive this baby, I’m not even sure if I could handle the power of it.

That wasn’t the only car I got to sit in and this next one is not of the 4 wheel variety. This is a Morgan Three Wheeler!

Now is it just me or have I seen this car before? Actually looking this car up this shark paint job is everywhere. Is the Shark paint job a normal paint job for these vehicles or does this specific three wheeler get around often? Checking it out it’s actually based on the Spitfire Airplane. Definitely not your normal ride and the only way I could get in this car was taking the steering wheel out. (Which is not hard, apparently? Don’t want to do that while driving.) Another huge thanks to the owner who let me sit in this car! Maybe you’ll let me drive it sometime, haha.

Photography by Lady AnnaVintage

After I managed to get out of the three wheeler (Almost fell out of) I immediately spotted these other two beauties next to it. First off another 1930s Chevrolet Street Rod this time it’s a hot rodded convertible with the traditional hot rod flames.

While I prefer the original Street Rod to it’s customized brother this is pretty sweet. Actually I called this a convertible but I’m not even sure if it has a cover it just seems to be an open roofed one. Wonder how powerful that engine is.

Next to it is another 1930s beauty but this one is more in it’s original glory. This is a 1931 Ford Model A.

I’m not sure which I love more the Model A or the Model T. The Model T I’m on about is the original from Ford’s pre-1927 cars before Ford retooled its production and pumped out the Model A from 1927 on. (Not to be confused with the ORIGINAL Model A which was Ford’s original motor from 1903, have I confused you yet?)

Anyway this is a Ford Model A and apparently it was restored back in 1983 and wasn’t classed as Show Quality but they brought it here anyway. I’m assuming they’re going to finish this baby up in the near future, would love to see what it looks like fully restored. Like I said, I’m a sucker for 1930 cars.

After leaving those awesome cars behind I came across another Shelby this one being, well new. This is a Mustang Shelby G350! (It’s still under the Ford brand, Shelby is just the sports variant and the company who makes them is also Shelby, some Shelby built motors have gone to companies like Dodge as well. They also stuck It out on their own for the Shelby Daytona in 1964.)

I’m not actually sure what year this is it could actually be a 2017. Regardless it’s pretty awesome. I’m not usually a big fan of Mustang but Shelby wins me over every time. I didn’t get to ride in this Shelby sadly but I love the color with the double black racing stripe down the center. Bet this car sounds like a beast.

Oh yeah Ford has announced they will be continuing the Shelby GT350 for 2018 but apparently no mechanical changes will be done just some new colors. Sounds like the Shelby GT350 may be coming to an end soon sadly but you’ll get at least one more year of them.

Speaking of Mustangs let’s flashback a little with this 1968 Mustang Fastback!

Apparently this car won some awards in the recent years. This was also one of the only cars who actually had all of the information wrote out on this plaque that was standing next to it.

Apparently this car was originally Candy Apple Red but I’m guessing they got a new paintjob on it. I’m not a big fan of the normal Mustangs like I said before but this is cool nonetheless. Oh yeah this car has AM Radio in it, remember when AM was the only Radio? Haha, yeah.

This should have been expected, you can’t have a huge car gathering on this blog without a Corvette. (We love our Corvettes in this area.) This is a 1973 Corvette Stingray Coupe!

I’ve featured quite a few Corvettes in the past but this is not one I’ve featured before. Unlike the previous Corvettes I’ve featured this one is narrower and arrow head like. (This is why it’s named Stingray.) The owner of this Corvette actually told me his father had it and passed it down once it broke down, which is funny. I’m assuming it’s up and running now however. This car is really awesome I love the narrow sleekness to it. It seems kind of futuristic despite coming from the 70s.

Up next we got two newish cars from a brand I’m smitten with. These are two BMWs!

Going by the design, forgive me if I’m wrong, the red BMW Coupe is a 2013 BMW M3 and the Black BMW is a 2008 BMW M3 Sedan, I think? I’m just looking at the design and taking a wild guess here with what I have of the BMW design knowledge wise. These are two sweet cars regardless; wish I could take them home I’ve been a BMW fan for a while now. (If only there was a 1959 BMW 507 Roadster here.) Oh yeah the BMW Coupe has this awesome racing helmet sitting on the engine. I’m not sure if these are owned by the same people or not.

You know what this actually was a pretty large car show because I’ve only showed you half of what was there so far. Guess I should speed things up, and to do that we need a certain blue hedgehog, Sonic the Hedgehog. Not sure why I’m bringing him up? Well apparently this, what I’m assuming to be a custom car, had this Sonic the Hedgehog plushie in the front window.

This car seems to come from Team Sun*Works who are a club/network of sorts that include people who do vinyl works and custom car buildings. They go around the country (Even the world if we’re talking Sweden), especially in my area showing their cars off and having a blast doing so. You can check these guys out at teamsunworks.com. Sonic the Hedgehog was just a nice touch to this already awesome custom car. The engine is in the back of the car and peeks through a glass window under the floor of the back.

So I’m not overloading you with cars I’ll just show you guys these last two. This next one is a car I’ve featured twice so far this year, the Chevy Impala Super Sport!

Unlike the previous encounters however this is model is one year older, instead of the two 1964s I’ve encountered this is a 1963 model of the Chevy Impala SS! To make this even more awesome my Dad actually owned one of these. I don’t know if that’s the original engine or not. I’m not super well versed on engines. (I’m learning, don’t worry.)

Finally I’m wrapping this up with one last Chevy but this time it’s not a car and not a street rod. I might be off on the year a bit but I believe this is a 1955 Chevy Pickup Truck! (Not sure on the actual model name either.)

I’m not a truck person when it comes to new trucks but these classic trucks are really nice and stylish. Knowing Chevy these trucks got the job done back in the day but I’m not sure if I want to get this truck dirty doing work. I think this truck might be altered slightly in the fact it’s more low riding then what the original would have been. The engine isn’t the original either but this truck is awesome regardless.

After looking at all these awesome cars and getting over heated we head to some sunflower fields, which is a story for another time. I wasn’t sure how large this car show would be but there were some insane awesome gems here, lot’s of 1950s cars but that’s one of my favorite era of cars so it’s all good. Just getting the chance to sit in some of these cars made this trip one of the most memorable car shows I’ve ever been too. Maybe I can get to ride/possibly drive some of these cars in the future? Actually I’d be happy enough to just ride shotgun. Hope you guys enjoyed these cars as well; you can see some more cars by clicking the cars tab on the blog but also check out my trip to Elite Auto where I run into more classic cars including the lustrous Austin Healey 3000! You can check out part 1 here and part 2 here.

This car show was actually perfectly placed, well almost. It happened one day before Father’s day so being able to head out to see all these cars with my Dad was an awesome gift for him. Speaking of gifts for the past week or so I’ve been working on a new illustration for Dad. I’ve never illustrated a car before, ever. I’ve only been doing art for the past three months so this seemed out of my comfort zone but I soon discovered I have sort of a knack for drawing cars. So for Dad’s Father Day card I took some of this cardstock which seemed to hold watercolor as good as watercolor paper and illustrated this baby blue 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air which is one of Dad’s all time favorite cars. (He’ll tell you 57 Chevy is the best every time.)

Pretty cool huh? It’s not perfect, I’m still new to drawing but I’m quite shocked I pulled this off. I’m going to be doing more car illustration in the future because of this so be sure to keep an eye out for that. I used my recently obtained Sakura Koi Watercolors, that cardstock paper which actually came folded and is built for making cards and some line art pens. I’m surprised how I managed to make this car seem not flat without having to do too many black lines. Maybe I’m slowly improving with my watercolor. I’ve been some other artwork as well but you guys are going to have to wait, they’re story related and I don’t want to just throw them up.

With that all said and done I’ll see you guys Wednesday, don’t forget to go see Cars 3 in Theatres now if you’re interested in Cars, Pixar and you know, talking cars.

That’s a wrap folks!