I went to the Los Angeles zoo. A small boy was playing by the elephants. Her mother was tugging his hand "Let's Go". It was time to leave, but the boy did not want to go. He stayed with his hand on the fence. His mother yelled "I don't have time for your nonsense." After she said this, an elephant walked to where the boy was standing and waved his trunk up. He made his elephant noise and looked at the boy. I understood what the elephant was saying. He was letting the boy know that he had plenty of time for nonsense. I like that elephant. After the boy and his mom went away I stayed and played a game of elephant charades. I didn't leave until the final closing announcement. It's important to make time for nonsense. If I ever forget about that, I will go back and visit that elephant.
Acrylic ink and watercolor on rag paper (Elephant is actually longer but he would not fit in the scanner.
Last night I stopped by the Hello Kitty masquerade ball at the Royal-T in Los Angeles. I was very surprised to see a line of 3-400 people waiting to get in. I was very lucky because they were letting the artists in without having to wait:) Some people waited 3 hours to go in. There were many handsome cosplayers. I dressed as Dokin-chan from Anpanman.
I made a video for my Japanese channel that shows a small part of the long line and some of the costumes.
The three week Hello Kitty anniversary celebration ends Sunday. Goodbye, Kitty.
Pay Katsuyuki took me to Koonan Ramen in Nagoya where they have his art on display. Pay makes ramen at a different Koonan location. It really is the best ramen I have ever had. Everything there was great, gyooza, eggplant, even meatballs. I would like to have a swimming pool full of it, or at least a bathtub or small jacuzzi. Pay is a great artist and I did a whole post about him earlier in this blog
I hope you will take a look at it and see his beautiful art work.
Yesterday was the meet the artists party, and I went and saw my friends artist Mari Inukai, and Amanda Visell
I also got good news from the curator that my painting sold yesterday. YAY. やった！
I was very happy
The part was packed with Kitty lovers and art friends. They were silk screening t-shirts with Buff Monster designs there, and also had yummy kitty cakes and brownies.
I got a goody bag with all kinds of kitty goods in it, and a $25 target store card, pez, a wallet, coloring book, crayons, pens, pins, a stamp, book, so much stuff.
They also published this book of all the art in the show.
It's my first time having my art in a book so I was very happy. The picture at the very top shows my painting in the book.
I made a video about it for my new Japanese channel, but it's only in Japanese.
I guess I have the swine flu, but there's no way to know for sure. It could be a bad cold. I did't really have a fever, but it has been a week now and I am still feeling too weak and coughy to go outside much. I went to the LA county fair a few weeks ago. There was a small piglet named Evelyn who looked very cute and snuggly. When nobody was watching I climbed into her pen and snuggled her a little bit. Maybe that is where I got the virus.
I hope the soup fairy comes soon. My friend Natasha, told me there is an American Obake called the soup fairy. When you are sick, you put an empty bottle of Nyquil cough syrup under your pillow. At night the soup fairy comes and takes the bottle and leaves a pot of chicken soup. I slept on my empty nyquil bottle for three nights, but no soup yet. My cheek is getting sore. I knocked on Natash's door and she told me she made a mistake. It's not Nyquil, it's Robitussin MD brand cough syrup. Now I have to start all over.
I made a video about the flu but it's for my new Japanese channel, so it's only in Japanese.
I feel too lazy to do much, so I mostly am playing tetris. I have painted a little bit too. I'm working on the book that I am making. It's the same book that features the two bears in my earlier post. I have a habit of making one painting, and then deciding I need to make a change and doing another version. It makes my progress go slow. I can't tell you much about the book now, but hopefully soon I will. I think it will take me a few more months to finish it.
I made this one first, but then I got worried that it was too cramped and hard to read.
Then I made this one, but I still don't know which I will use.
Now that this cat is done, I have to do the hardest page so far. It's hard because I don't know what to draw yet. I only know the words.
