Day 176: Lana Del Rey

"Oh, my God, I feel it in the air

Telephone wires above are sizzling like a snare

Honey I'm on fire, I feel it everywhere

Nothing scares me anymore."

-Lana Del Rey, Summertime Sadness

I was very reluctant at first to even listen to Lana Del Rey's music because I thought that she was just a typical pop singer. But with some convincing from a friend I finally listened to some of her music, and have been pleasantly surprised. Prior to that, all I know about her music was that she performed on SNL and got terrible reviews. But I'm actually a fan of her work, as strange as she is (or perhaps that's why I like her). Her musical style actually reminds me a lot of Florence and the Machine, who I obviously love since I just drew Florence a couple days ago. Anyways, I think Lana Del Rey's music is definitely interesting, as is her personality and her look, which is why I wanted to do a portrait of her.

Day 175: Audrey Hepburn

"For beautiful eyes, look for the good in others; for beautiful lips, speak only words of kindness; and for poise, walk with the knowledge that you are never alone."

-Audrey Hepburn

I didn't know this before I Wikipedia'd her, but Audrey Hepburn, in addition to being one of the most iconic film actresses ever, was also a great humanitarian and did a lot of work for UNICEF. The only movie of hers that I've ever actually seen is My Fair Lady, but always find quotes by her that catch my attention (my favorite being the one above). Some others include:

"As you grow older you will discover that you have two hands, one for helping yourself, the other for helping others."

"I decided, very early on, just to accept life unconditionally; I never expected it to do anything special for me, yet I seemed to accomplish more than I ever hoped."

"I love people who make me laugh. I honestly think it's the thing I like most, to laugh. It cures a multitude of ills. It's probably the most important thing in a person."

"I was born with an enormous need for affection, and a terrible need to give it."

I also was happy to discover while I was looking through quotes by her, that Audrey Hepburn was an introvert (very much like myself). It's always nice to hear that someone as successful and adored as Audrey Hepburn was introverted, seeing as most extroverted people cannot understand introverts.

"I have to be alone very often. I'd be very happy if I spent from Saturday night until Monday morning alone in my apartment. That's how I refuel."

"I'm an introvert... I love being by myself, love being outdoors, love taking a long walk with my dogs and looking at the trees, flowers, and the sky."

Day 174: Florence Welch

"There's a drumming noise inside my head that starts when you're around. 

I swear that you could hear it; it makes such an almighty sound."

-Florence and the Machine, Drumming Song

Florence and the Machine is definitely one of my favorite bands! Florence Welch has one of the most unique voices out there, and their music is amazing. 

Here are some other lyrics that I like:

"I was a heavy heart to carry

But he never let me down;

When he held me in his arms

My feet never touched the ground."

-Heavy in Your Arms

"And in the dark, I can hear your heartbeat,

I tried to find the sound,

But then it stopped, and I was in the darkness,

So darkness I became."

-Cosmic Love

"Happiness hit her like a train on a track,

Coming towards her, stuck still no turning back."

-Dog Days are Over

Day 173: Evil

"People who claim they're evil are usually no worse than the rest of us. It's people who claim they're good, or any way better than the rest of us, that you have to be wary of."

-Gregory Maguire

Day 172: Problems

"We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them."

-Albert Einstein

Day 171: Homicide First. Nap Later.

"I catnap now and then, but I think while I nap, so it's not a waste of time."

Yes, I've sketched basically the exact same thing multiple times before. But I'm tired and had almost no time to draw anything, and this is my go-to sketch. It's hard to try to create something that will look good when all you really want to do is take a looooong nap!

The real work of art that I created today was a fake murder for my forensic serology class. I think it came out great! I didn't think to take a picture when our "victim" was still here (the "wound" on his head also looked great), but I did think to take some photos right before we cleaned up. 

The victim was struck with a hammer:

 

 And then crawled a little ways...

 

 And then died. The victim's head was lying right about where the hand print is in this picture:

Here's one picture that my professor took of us preparing the victim. You can't really see the wound we created in this picture though.

I'm so proud of our fake murder! (Is that weird?) 

Day 170: Yawn

"A yawn may not be polite, but at least it's an honest opinion."

Even looking at a picture of a yawn has been making me yawn. By the way, apparently yawning is contagious due to the ancient, deep, and subconscious roots of empathy and social bonding. 55% of people who witness a yawn will yawn within the next 5 minutes. Yawns don't become contagious until around the age of four. I thought it was interesting that autistic children are less likely to catch yawns than other children. The more severe the condition, the less common the behavior of catching yawns gets.