Making Art from "The Legacy of the Triple Lotus" (Nanowrimo 2011)

Here is the first piece of art based on my WIP "The Legacy of the Triple Lotus". The beginning part of the novel is set in Shinwa, a land based on Ancient China. Here is a temple, part of the Bell Temple complex in the Tong Mountains. Read the excerpt here. 

 

Shinwa Temple

"The Legacy of the Triple Lotus"

oil 20x16

© 2011 by A. Dameron 

 

I used many references for this painting, including Rob Alexander's How to Draw and Paint Fantasy Architecture and John Chinnery's Treasures of China: The Glories of the Kingdom of the Dragon.

My younger daughter decided to 'help' me with the painting. (This was while I was photographing it, and Sarah decided to pick up a dry brush and pretend to paint).

Sarah the Artist

digital photo, 2011

 ©2011 by A. Dameron

Like mother, like daughter! :-D

I made it through Nanowrimo 2011!!

 

As of this morning, my Nanowrimo word count is 51,705 words, and the story isn't finished yet. It looks like it might end up a LOT longer than I was expecting. For something that was a hodgepodge of scenes and stuff, it's starting to gell into an actual plot (gasp!). I've also gotten back into the habit of writing every day, even if it's just jotting a few notes or character quirks.

Now that to pressure of making 50K words before November 30 is off, I can return to some of my projects I put on hold to do this. My newest e-book "Women in Color" is planned for the first week of December, with art products on Zazzle in time for Christmas. I also have a few short stories and fanfic that I need to get back to sometime...leaving plots on indefinite cliffhanger makes for unhappy readers indeed.

Back to work...and stay tuned for more writing and art posts to come!

 

 

An extremely busy week...and it'll only get busier

Nanowrimo stands at 40,567, two days before the Thanksgiving holiday. I'm going to try to squeeze in a few thousand before traveling on Thursday, but let's see how that pans out. We're going up to Roanoke, VA to visit Hubs's parents, aunt and grandmother. 

I've also finished an oil painting based on the abovementioned Nano novel. Part of the story takes place in a land similar to Ancient China (around the Han dynasty somewhere, sort of) and I painted a temple loosely based on pictures of Chinese temples of that period. It's a fantasy piece, and not to be completely realistic, but I think it turned out pretty well. It took me 3 weeks to get it done, in between everything else. Now working on another oil painting of a building in the Nano story, this time a cross between Middle Eastern/Persian/Egyptian architecture. This book by Rob Alexander has been a big help, especially with the specific architectural details for each area of the world.

Speaking of art, the digital camera has died, and I'm usually ending up using my cell phone to take pics. It can be a real pain in the tucus, but the absence of recent photos of my art will soon be remedied. Hopefully.

Back to typing on my Nano novel...and hopefully I'll get that 10,000 words to 50,000 before November 30 rolls around.

A Nanowrimo Confession: An Unorthodox Strategy to 50,000

2011 marks the second time I've done Nanowrimo (National Novel Writing Month). The first time was in 2006 and I barely sneaked over the 50,000 word goal...by exactly 18 words. I divided the entire piece in 'writing sessions' instead of chapters. That way I could see my progress from day to day and keep daily word counts straight. Each day, I picked up where I left off and just wrote what came to me. "The Silk Dragon" turned out to be a lot more coherent than I expected, especially at the end when I was grabbing at anything to keep going. That included kids' shows, mythology, and fuzzy yaks. Don't ask.

This year is a bit different. I have a starting point and an ending point, and the goal is to get from point A to point B. Yes, there is a (gasp!) plan. Like 2006, I've begun each day with a new OpenOffice document...so today's would be "Legacy of the Pearl Dragon 15.odt", with 14 other docs before it. Granted, the way that the story's progressed, that title will change in the next draft in December, but I stuck with it.

I'd planned a fantasy series several months ago, outlining it on Writer's Blocks, version 3. It was a grand plan, encompassing four fantasy lands based on real-life ancient civilizations, and a massive hero's journey and war. Of course, it got buried in the chaos of real life. At the beginning of November, it fit my ideas perfectly, so...

I write in 'snippets', scenes that jump around in time and place, so each day's writing is a hodgepodge of scenes that may/may not follow each other in sequence. That habit came out of jotting down ideas for scenes as they came to me, so I wouldn't lose them. The story also has a 'master document' where I cut and paste scenes in rough chronological order, so I can see where the novel's going and where it's been. 

Granted, there are some contradictory details, time goofs, wonky characterization, etc., but Nano is for writing, not editing. My inner editor has been in a padded room since November 1, ranting and raving, despite the luxurious accomodations. She'll be free on December 1, when I'm sure she'll return with a vengeance. I'll need an editor during that time, not during this time. So, Inner Editor will have to sit and cool her heels while the Muse decides to put in some overtime.

And I'm about 3,000 words shy of 30,000 as of today, November 15. I'm hoping to finally get this story told...then the process of paring and editing begins in December.

 

New Art: Ameiko

Ameiko

pencil, colored pencil, Sakura pen 0.6 and 0.3, chalk pastel, prismacolor blender

 © 2011 by A. Dameron

Poetry: Academia

Academia

Ivory tower

holds the power

over life and death.

 

Watching eyes

all realize

each time you take a breath.

 

Red ink pens

stroke again

a raucous symphony.

 

Tearing hearts

reforming parts

To what they hear and see.

 

New ideas

are anathemas

choked before they bloom.

 

And don't you dare

while they all stare

From 'cross a deep dark room.

 

One mistake

is all it takes

to offend their theories.

 

And one harsh word

Your doom insure--

Their smug philosophy.

Poetry: Rhiannon

Rhiannon

 

Dark webs of silver

through midnight black hair.

Skin a-glow with starlight

from another world.

Eyes blue orbs of 

a very hot flame.

Clothed in the shadow

of Midwinter's night.

A crown of holly on her brow

and berries on her lips.

The sky is her home,

The earth her playground,

the water her sustanence,

the fire her spirit.

Life hums all around her

as she raises her arms.

Quiet reigns; she looks,

then the real symphony

begins.