Terminé.

I’ve finished my illustration for my friend’s story. Here it is (comments and feedback welcomed. Thank you) :

Photo version (true colors) :

Scan version (a bit too light) :

Let’s take a break

More on Doctor Who when I’ll have more time (or when I will be able to muster more courage and energy) to write proper reviews, but just now, let’s take a little break to show some of my recent art.

The other night I went to the movies with friends and met this woman (who I knew before but never really talk to for some reason) and we had the most charming chat ever. I learnt that she was writing stories which was highly interesting as it’s mostly fantasy stories. I gave her my email and we stayed in contact, I read her latest story (a vampire story) and that inspired me an illustration, I’m still working on it, at a very slow pace as is my habit, but I can show you some of my progress:

Voilà. I’m totally not sure if you will be able to click on the thumbnails to enlarge but I hope that you will, if you won’t well, I’m sorry, and just leave me a comment and I’ll send you a link to the bigger size.

It was done with Winsor and Newton extra fine watercolour paint.

I put an extra couple hours on the painting tonight and am so happy with the result that I wanted to share it too. Oh of course it’s not finished yet but it’s pretty close now. Hope you’ll like it too!

4.6 The Doctor’s daughter

Written by Stephen Greenhorn

I had great expectations for this one and somehow I wasn’t disappointed at all. I very much enjoyed the notion of the doctor having a daughter, even if I honestly never saw it coming, as to the way Jenny comes to life.

All and all, it was a great episode, even if perhaps I could regret the fast pacing of it making it skim over the world and the protagonists rather than showing a real good view of them. I didn’t really get the notion of the war being going on for only 7 days when the fighters had generations fighting it.

And I very much liked the aliens in this one, and how Martha is getting on so well with them, I especially liked the way they were designed. I would have loved to know how they talked and what they had to say. I didn’t really like the scene when the Hath dies saving Martha though, I thought that was too predictable and kind of cheesy.

I enjoyed the discussion Jenny and the Doctor have while imprisoned in their cell, about how they are alike and how the Doctor is a fighter if you really think about it. I would have loved them to explore this a little bit deeper.

I thought Jenny was very pleasing, her joyfulness and youth and enthusiasm were very similar in a way to her ‘father’s’ enthusiasm in the first series. I thought it was refreshing and very much complementary to the doctor’s personality. I would have expected Jenny to become her next companion.

I wasn’t much convinced by Tennant’s performance after Cobb killed his daughter, although he really was good when she dies in his arms.

I don’t know yet what to think about Jenny’s late ‘regeneration’ and how it is that she kept her form and didn’t change like she should have. Didn’t really get that part.

All I was thinking throughout the whole episode was that ‘she’s Tennant’s girlfriend in real life’ ‘She’s Tennant’s girlfriend in real life’. Hehehe.

4.5 The poison sky

Written by Helen Raynor

Second part of the Sontaran episode.  It was a good episode I thought,  that contained all the ingredients of a good drama, action, suspens and a final climax that made me give a relieving sight as to the Doctor’s fate.

My favorite moment was probably the scene between Martha and her clone. I did felt slightly sad when the clone died, but then it was meant to be. And I thought that Rattigan made a good job of me hating him, gosh I really wanted him dead when he was in the alien ship, and then I changed my mind when I realized he was fooled. I thought he redeemed himself somehow in the very end for all the deaths he caused.

The aliens weren’t scary at all, they were way too ‘Humpty Dumpty’ shaped and small sized for being really threatening, so I understand why most people laughed at them when they first encountered them.

4.4 The Sontaran Stratagem

Written by Helen Raynor

I liked this episode comparing to the two previous ones, probably mainly because of the return of Martha, I really liked her, although, seeing her transformed into a soldier was kind of weird.

Briefly what happened in this episode was Martha Jones asking the Doctor assistance via her mobile phone, which was fun to see Donna’s reaction to the Doctor having a mobile.

The main problem comes from the Atmos ‘system’ which is installed in millions of cars, a sort of satellite navigation system and carbon zero emissions device developed by Luke Rattigan, a young genius. It appears that the Atmos killed simultaneously fifty two people in the world, and Martha asked the doctor to investigate this. We soon learn that young Rattigan is in fact a human agent sheltering an alien invasion of a military warriors race called the Sontaran.

What I mostly appreciated in this episode is of course the return of Martha Jones, as I said before, but I very much enjoyed the ending when Donna is going back to see her family. I had totally not recognized her grandfather, who actually appeared in Voyage of the Damned, but I tremendously enjoyed this actor and felt truly stressed when he finds himself locked into the car at the end of this first two parts episode, which, in spite of the very late hour had me searching the net to know if he would die or if the Doctor will find a way to save him. I felt particularly angry at the Doctor for being so useless and lost as to what to do at that moment and I’m sure that if Donna wouldn’t have been so crushed, she would have slapped him again.

4.2 & 4.3

4.2  The Fires of Pompeii

Written by James Moran

Strangely enough, this episode is one of those that were the most ranted episode of the serie, but it wasn’t my favorite at all, I found the plot confused and messy and not very interesting.

Actually, I’m not very sure about what the plot really was, Donna and the Doctor find themselves in ancient Italy, thinking they are in Rome, but in fact they are in Pompeii, and just a day before Volcano day. But just when they want to flee the city, they discover that the Tardis has been sold to a marble sculptor. So they go to this sculptor’s house and meet with his family. They realize that something is wrong into that household and decide to stay a bit in order to investigate it.

So, what I didn’t get was how the Sybilline sisters had prophecies about the Tardis mostly, that point is quite nebulous to me.

And what I actually appreciated in the episode was the dilemma the Doctor went through about saving the family or not, about making the choice (but then did he really have a choice?) to make the Vesuvius explode and thus causing the death of thousands of people and a whole city, and how Donna really played a role into his decision, thus, humanizing him a little.

4.3 Planet of the Ood

Written by Keith Temple

Planet of the Ood actually was interesting and probably better constructed then Fires of Pompeii in my opinion, but it still wasn’t a strong episode to me.  The thing I liked the most about it was actually the music, which was actually very good, but other than that, I couldn’t care less for the plot.

4.1 Partners in crime

Writen by Russel T Davies

Partners in crime shows the return of Donna as the Doctor’s companion, and that was for my delight because Runaway Bride is probably the episode that made me laugh the most since David Tennant took over the role of the doctor.

And this episode was actually a lot of fun, not only because of the main plot, fat being separated from human bodies to be adopted by aliens parents.

I think that the best scene is of course the mime Donna and the Doctor exchange when they first realize they are investigating on the same case. That was truly hilarious.

I had mild and mixed feelings though, as to the reappearance of Rose, although it’s done in such a way that it intrigues more than it actually pleases or don’t please.

Rebuilding strength (Happy new year post)

Hope everyone (well anyone?) had a nice and happy holidays for Christmas and New Year. I was too busy working, buying gifts, seeing people, worrying about family stuff, designing cards and watching tv personally to bother come back here, and anyway, not a lot of you that I don’t see on other places to actually miss a post by me here soo…

So. In about 7 days I’ll be officially unemployed. That’s pretty much old news for some of you but now it’s really official. I turned down the offer they did me at the shop (on the 31st!!) cause well, it wasn’t a good one or satisfying one. And I prefer tempting fate and take risks as to sign a contract that would have bound me indefinitely to a slavery job that physically exhaust me and injured me and let’s face it, was leading absolutely nowhere. Of course, I could still find some ‘good points’ like, not working full time, like sure to have money at a regular date on my account, like all the bonuses I had because of my years in the enterprise, but really honestly, I have earned this year about 2000 € less than last year. That’s a lot! And what’s the point of working like a dog if you earn less? If you have to take a second job to pay for the only holidays you can afford after more than 5 years without taking any? and to only be able to do so if you go somewhere with your PARENTS!? Not that I didn’t like going with my parents, I loved it really and I had a great time and surely saw/did more things than on my own, but still, when you’re 40 years old, that’s kind of pathetic.

Anyway. I’m watching lots of tv recently, mainly in order to ‘unblock’ my mind block as how can I resolve the situation in my novel, novel started about 5 years ago and never finished. I’ll take the opportunity to be unemployed to actually try to finish this novel and also to paint more, now that I have gathered lots of material to do so, just still lacking some canvas. And yes, they could be quite expensive.

Plus, alternatively, looking for a job that could satisfy me or just pay for the bills.

So in short, rebuilding strength and health. Plus, you wouldn’t believe all the fixing there is to do in this appartment. Perhaps moving out of it would be the solution. Ah well.

sunday evening rambling

hello again, it’s me. Nope, I’m not dead, not yet.

 

Fascinating news. (not really). I’m more than addicted to the new Stargate tvshow and the Merlin one too. I once visited a friend who told me this one was shot in my country. That’s just crazy. And in a real castle that you can visit. heeha! I wish I could go and visit when the crew is there and shooting. what a thrill it would be!

Otherwise. I’ll soon be out of job, in exactly a month and a half (or so). I’ve absolutely nothing else in sight at the moment and I’m afraid there won’t be any job for me around here. I badly want a change, a move. A big one. But… this takes planning and money and … I’m not sure I will be able to do this, even if I really really badly want it.

I’m still doing illustrations, once in a while, not really motivated at the moment and honestly feeling exhausted on physical and moral plans. I badly need a break. My knee hurts now all the time, and I’m reluctant to go see the doctor, but I will have to. At some point.

Playing farmville on facebook at the moment and beaten my top score at the scrabble with a friend. Yay.

Is it really worth uploading things in here?

I really don’t know. But I’m willing to try, so here’s a series of sketches, doodles and paintings I did those last few days and months: (feedback mostly apprecitated)