jflaxman

The last couple of months have been very productive. There's been one big change this year that's worked wonders for my mood, but I won't say any more for now. I took a long break over autumn as it's a good time to be outdoors, and it took a bit of scribbling before drawing felt right again. Losing myself in the process was fun, but if I'd continued down that path, I'd probably have ended up with whole pages scribbled black. I'm sure this would be cathartic, and adding the right psychobabble could make it a hit with all the wrong people, but I'd find it less fulfilling than taking on new challenges. My biggest challenge lately has been reconciling what I want to do with what many people want to see. Anyway, that's enough about me. Halloween's not far away, and while the local ghouls gear up, here's some added ambience. Kaduflyer does great things in many different mediums; his command of anatomy provides a strong foundation for more exotic, monstrous forms, and besides his work

I've got a bit of very good news. A couple of journal posts ago I said a lot of my favourite artists had left DA and some had shut down their accounts. Now Mavros-Thanatos is back, posting otherworldly creature concepts that combine great imagination with remarkable technical skill, and offering a fine riposte to anyone who thinks this site's all AI, fan and fetish art. For those prepared to look back further, it's inspiring to see how his work evolved from obvious, but powerful, survival horror homages to more polished and distinctive visions, and see how well he's mastered media as different as pencil on paper and advanced 3D modelling. Link for anyone who's interested: https://www.deviantart.com/mavros-thanatos Hope this info serves you well, JF

A lot's been going on lately but I'll try to cover what I can. The war in Ukraine might seem far away, but I've been paying close attention due to old interests and new ties. It's taken an emotional toll but I won't make too much of this while I'm in Australia. To look at it dispassionately, which is a luxury we don't all have, mistakes have been made on both sides, and it's hard to imagine Zelensky or Putin achieving their stated aims: I can't see Ukraine reclaiming all of its lost territory or Russia annexing all of Ukraine. I can only speak as a foreigner who takes interest in these things, but it's worth revisiting some claims I made more than a year ago. As I said to Innumerabilis, a very civil Russian speaker, I know Ukraine isn't perfect, many people in the east feel closer ties with Russia and national borders don't always reflect culture or ethnicity. Given Russia's long, traumatic history, it's not surprising many Russians would feel threatened by NATO expansion or