So no Journal for a while.

Still very happily engaged, with plans gradually rolling forward to our wedding, even if that is still rather distant.  We're also well on the way to owning our first house, all agreed and we're now waiting on the legal cogs to slowly turn.
Been making a lot more work lately, overall output is still pretty low, but at least I'm steadily producing work again, rather than sitting worrying about it.  As well as my digital work on here I'm trying to keep drawing more as my pencil skills were getting a little rusty, and I'm also starting to do more paper-cuts, hopefully somethign I can start selling in the near future.  On that note, I may open an etsy account soon, so if anyone is interested in any of my work keep your eyes peeled for a link.

I've also been on a nice big film and book kick (probably the reason for the burst of creativity)

Books:

Brom - The Child Thief
Dark and elaborate retelling of Peter Pan.  Brilliant writing from one of my favourite artists and illustrators. really enjoyed this.  It was very much like reading a childrens story written for adults, all the fantasy and adventure but with mature writing and good dollops of the macabre.

Emma Donoghue - The Room
Really touching tale told in a unique way.  The narrative here is the thoughts of a five year old boy dealing with day-to-day life. Only his entire wordl consists of life with his mother in a 10ft square room.
Not as dark as I expected but very moving and brilliantly written.

Cormac McCarthy - The Road
Father and son travelling across post apocalyptic America, a ceaseless landscape of ash and snow.  I think 'Harrowing' is probably the best word for this novel. Dark and pretty much cover-to-cover about loneliness, despair and hopelessness, and yet still a good read.  Written in a beautiful and elaborate style with great descriptions and some very poignant moments.

Films:

Shutter Island
Weird. Very very strange, with some very odd directing from Scorsesee.  Opening sequence for example has some chocking green screening and far too much cheesy suspense music, but this settles down and it gradually just gets weird.  However, it really pays off by the end of the film, when it quickly becomes briliant.  Probably a good book.

9
Enjoyable animated feature. Some great ideas and lovely animation but it lower budget showed in places, particularly the sound, which was often quite flat.  

Solomon Kane
Well entertaining. Suspend your disbelief just a little and this is great. Over the top graphic-novel-esque cinematography, totally 2D characters (good bad and ugly, pretty much) and lots of visual efffects.  Comes complete with demons, witches and possessed warriors.  Do not take seriously, you'll be bored.

Up in the Air.
Supprisingly good. Billed as another clooney rom-com, this is actualyl a really good story about people. How we handle things, the defences we build up and the way we need others.  Cheesy in places, but much more poignant and well written than the trailers make out.