Good Golden Morning...

And Leo doesn't get an Oscar. Well at least we can look forward to another great year of movies from this guy. The way I see it, once he does get an Oscar, he is going to go all Eddie Murphy on us and make terrible terrible pay check movies. No, not really. I think that's one thing about Leonardo Dicaprio that we love most, pretty sure all his movies are great films. He picks his films and roles wisely, and that is something you got to love and which is why we really want to see him win all the time. It will be a cold and sad day when Dicaprio chooses to do a write off family movie. Although, I think almost every actor has done one or two. Scary thoughts indeed.

So the Oscars happened last night, and me being a bit of a movie geek, I was curious to see who won and who got the snub...

86th Academy Awards winners

Best Picture: 12 Years a Slave
Best Actor in a Leading Role: Matthew McConaughey (Dallas Buyers Club)
Best Actress in a Leading Role: Cate Blanchett (Blue Jasmine)
Best Actor in a Supporting Role: Jared Leto (Dallas Buyers Club)
Best Actress in a Supporting Role: Lupita Nyong'o (12 Years a Slave)
Best Animated Feature: Frozen (Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee, Peter Del Vecho)
Best Cinematography: Gravity (Emmanuel Lubezki)
Best Costume Design: The Great Gatsby (Catherine Martin)
Best Directing: Gravity (Alfonso Cuarón)
Best Documentary Feature: 20 Feet from Stardom (Morgan Neville, Gil Friesen, Caitrin Rogers)
Best Documentary Short: The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life (Malcolm Clarke, Nicholas Reed)
Best Film Editing: Gravity (Alfonso Cuarón, Mark Sanger)
Best Foreign Language Film: The Great Beauty (Italy)
Best Makeup and Hairstyling: Dallas Buyers Club (Adruitha Lee, Robin Mathews)
Best Original Score: Gravity (Steven Price)
Best Original Song: Let It Go - Frozen
Best Production Design: The Great Gatsby (Catherine Martin, Beverley Dunn)
Best Animated Short Film: Mr. Hublot (Laurent Witz, Alexandre Espigares)
Best Live Action Short Film: Helium (Anders Walter, Kim Magnusson)
Best Sound Editing: Gravity (Glenn Freemantle)
Best Sound Mixing: Gravity (Skip Lievsay, Niv Adiri, Christopher Benstead, Chris Munro)
Best Visual Effects: Gravity (Tim Webber, Chris Lawrence, Dave Shirk, Neil Corbould)
Best Adapted Screenplay: 12 Years a Slave (John Ridley)
Best Original Screenplay: Her (Spike Jonze)

And that's the Oscars for you folks.

I will be the first to admit that I was just interested in seeing Frozen win as many awards as possible. I really loved that movie, and hell I will be the first to say as well I felt like Wolf of Wall Street needed to be recognized as well. But Frozen was an absolute joy to watch, it brought back those memories of watching Disney movies as a kid and falling in love with all the characters and the songs you would sing for days on end. I haven't felt so much love for an animated flick since The Little Mermaid and A Nightmare Before Christmas. So I am really happy to see Frozen get two well deserved Oscars for best Animated Feature and Best Original Song for Let It Go. As for the other picks, these are all really good and well deserved, I am happy to see Jared Leto take an Oscar as well. Was always a big 30 Seconds to Mars fan and I really liked Mr.Nobody, as strange as it was. I still need to watch a lot of these winners though, like Gravity and 12 Years a Slave, so it looks like I got to make some trips to the movies. And I still haven't seen the Lego Movie! 

So this was my Oscar recap, going to do my best to stay updated with you guys on a daily basis. So please come back and check back often, tell a friend and follow me on Twitter, Instagram and any other means of social media with the ChileanStorm. I am off for now, so keep chasing the storm. 

Beast is Always Hungry...

Mother nature, make up your mind sweetheart. I really don't mind clear skies or snow or even rain. Just next time, pick one for the day. Okay. Thanks.

That said, another event down and for the books. Today we were out in Brampton, drawing for fans of the Brampton Beast. Apparently this is the farm team of the farm team of the Tampa Bay Lighting. So you are 10 degrees separated from playing on the top line with Stamkos or St.Louis. That's pretty cool, when you think about it. But come hell or high snowy winds, we drove out to the Powerade Centre and set up for the night. I would like to thank Maddsketch, Vince and Nich for being good sports and getting into the hockey mood by rocking some of my hockey jerseys. I let Maddsketch rock my Alternative black Chicago Blackhawks jersey (one of my favourite designs of all time), Vince represent in the vintage San Jose Sharks jersey and Nich looked great in the old Buffalo Sabres jersey. Me, I had to rock the old blue and white Toronto Maple Leafs. Although that does remind me, I need to get the Winter Classics jersey soon. I mean we won the game, so we got some good memories with that one. I got to sit right next to the awesome duo behind one of the best independent books currently out there, Ricky Lima and Shane Heron, the talents that create the Black Hole Hunters Club. I can't stress this enough, get this book. Seriously. It's an excellent and incredible look piece of work, a lot of fun to read and with a big cast of crazy characters. I am going to write up a more in depth review later, but when you get a chance, get these books. And tell them, ChileanStorm sent you. But it was a good time for sure, a big thanks to Stadium Comics for having us and to the Brampton Beast. Spent Pencils, we will draw anywhere and any time. It's what we do.

Afterwards we decided to pay a visit to my little brother, Toby. Poor dude had to work today and he was really under the weather, so what better cure then blueberry tea, chips and some Blue Mountain State. This is a football based comedy about jocks from Spike, and let me be the first to say, it is awesome! It's on Netflix right now and you probably turned your nose at it in passing. But I can honestly say it's a lot of fun to watch, it's got the raunchy college comedy thing down. It accomplishes what so many movies and TV shows have tried to do in the past, but have fumbled on. Yes, it's portrayal of both men and women is really sexist and over the top, but you need to watch this with a light heart and mind. It's got some great series running gags, an awesome casts and one of the best openings I've seen in a while. Just makes you want to grab a cold beer and chug. But seriously, check this show out.

Well that was my day, it's been a long day. Be on the look out for the latest episode of Time Well Spent and the Twin Cast. Also we did a photo shoot last night, so I will share those with you guys on my page here and other social media pages like Tumblr and Instagram. Going to be taking part in the day long Comic Book Jam challenge, it's going to be a good test to see if I can get something done in that time frame. I can't wait. Also, I have been tested with the challenge of realism and portraits. So will see how that goes, but I got to give it a try after all. Thank you again guys, be sure to comment and subscribe to the page and be sure to let you friends know all about me and the entire Spent Pencils crew. Keep chasing the storm.

Links:
Maddsketch YouTube channel
Tea Em YouTube channel
Spent Pencils
Spent Pencils Facebook Page
Stadium Comics

Not Down with the Sickness...

Hey Storm Clouds, ChileanStorm here (or Papa Storm, I guess) with a quick update. Long story short though, this past week has had me trained out completely. I am pretty sure I caught some sort of sickness, everyone at work has been ill and a few of my fellow Pencilnecks as well, needless to say I have been out of it for a while now. But nothing a few extra hours of sleep, honey and plenty of Refresh mint tea can't fix. I am actually feeling a lot better today, which is good cause I got to go shoot the latest episode of Time Well Spent. Again guys, three new episodes are already up, so please give them a view or two and spread the word. I am going to be recording another episode of Twin Cast with Toby tonight, episode 4 is just waiting to be uploaded but it should be soon. So you will have plenty of Storm n Tea to watch and hear this weekend. And also be sure to subscribe to both channels as well, plenty of cool content to be seen. 

Also I am doing a late post on a blog I wrote up last week on our trip out in Brampton, for the Brampton Beast night, I have the link here, so give it a read as well. Plenty of good times with the crew and with friends from Stadium Comics. As well this past weekend I took part in the twelve hour comic book challenge! It was a great chance to stretch my creative muscles and see what I can do within that time frame. I worked on a little idea I had, one that came up during a night out with friends from my old work place. It's a pretty dark take on the day to day routine of a part time worker, I don't want to give away much more, but know that I will be posting it up here on Storm Watch and as well on the upcoming SP web comic page that is set to release soon. With short stories by Maddsketch and Toby as well, be sure to keep an eye out for those as well. 

And we are just about a week away from the first big convention of the season, the March Comic Con at Metro Toronto Convention Centre. I am getting hyped up and ready for this show, going to have more prints of the Avengers Time and Loki Lemongrab as well as original sketch covers. I am also going to be having free sketch deals and sketch card give aways, so be sure to come by and spread the word. Also I am always available for commissions, so if you are looking for something cool and unique, drop me an email or a comment below here. Ready to unleash the storm and let the world know what I am all about.

Again thank you for your time guys, please be sure to comment below and spread the word out on ChileanStorm. I will be back later, until then keep chasing the storm.

Also Canada gets gold! Sweet!

Winter blues...

"The cold never bothered me anyway."

A quote, said by no one...wait...what? Elsa? Frozen? What's that? An amazing incredible animated movie you say. Well let's take a look. 

...

Okay so let's go with, "wearing Iron Boots and layers upon layers of clothes is my idea of a good time". Pretty sure no one has said that...yet. And if that's you who is saying that, check your temperature. Seriously the winter can be fun and all, every now and then, in moderation mind you. But I am kind of over freezing my butt off at the bus station late at night waiting for one the buses to take me home. Call me weak if you will, I shall call you a Yeti. Or a Woompa. Whatever you like, you insane creature of the ice age. But I can really do without all of this, this cold and snow business. It's the kind of weather that makes me want to hibernate for the season, lord knows I've got enough games alone to keep me busy for atleast half a lifetime, if not more. And drawing and creating, well that's a no brainier for me. Comics, movies and music; I would be set. But alas, I am not a bear. Lucky bears. No, I've got grab my huge clunkers known as boots and zip up to go to work or to go out and see my friends and family. 

But snow and all, the show must go on. 

As it did this past Saturday at Comic Book Lounge. A good time was had by all of us from Spent Pencils, and it was great to catch up and chat with the other artist from the GTA, an amazing and talented bunch; Mike Rooth, Christoper Yao, Jason Loo, Sean Ward and The Joker Guy. It's an awesome feeling to be able to work in this world with you guys, we inspire one and other to keep pushing out the best and most unique kind of work in the country. Always a pleasure to get to see you gentlemen and catch up. And of course a big thank you to Kevin Boyd and all the staff at CBL for being amazing host. It's always a great time to go down to College street and see all the fantastic original comic book art on the wall, and the great collection of independent comics from all across the city. If you are ever in the area or looking for a new comic book store experience, give these a look for sure. 

That's all the time I've got for now, but I will be back later on today to let you know on two upcoming events this week and possibly drop a comic book review as well, going to be shooting a new episode of Time Well Spent and be recording a new podcast episode for the Twin Cast. If you still have yet to see these, I will place the links below, so please watch and subscribe, likes and comments are awesome as well. Thank you guys for your time, I will be back soon. Keep chasing the storm.

Links:

Maddsketch YouTube Channel

Tea Medeiros YouTube Channel

Spent Pencils Page

SP Facebook Page

...and Cena Swing.

How do I Post...

Hey y'all ChileanStorm here, back like a bat out of hell.

It's been awhile hasn't, not going to lie, I have been all over the place and well, I still am truthfully. These days I have been pretty organized with a lot of things in my life, so it's a little all over the place. I feel like my room or my apartment is a good indication of that; I got a mountain of laundry to do (but no change for the coins, go figure), coffee and beer in the fridge, a lot of books scattered all over the place. I need to get my stuff together, especially considering what's coming up this year, the tons of events that are happening with Spent Pencils and I am trying to change my current living conditions to be with a new room mate. And I've got a lot of debts that I need to clear as well, the money I am making is just enough, but I owe people some funds and that has got to be taken care of as soon as possible. But events and shows are starting, March Comic Con is going to be the first big comic book show of the season, a great way for all us artist to get our work out there and shown. I am really looking forward to it, a big cast of SP members will be on hand to represent, and from there we get the ball moving.

So what do I need to do?

Well plenty, but there's also what you can do as well. Now that I've got a computer here at home, and in my room, I am going to be going on Storm Watch on a daily, maybe twice maybe three times a day here and posting and updating y'all with the news in the Storm life. So let's get to it! I don't want to bore y'all with what I've been up to in the months, but needless to say without any shows or conventions in the winter, things have been pretty dead. That said, we learn how to coup and how to stay busy. I've got plenty of work to do on Glass Prison still, not sure when I am going to be able to give a window on that release. But I've got plenty of sketch covers that I've worked on in the mean time, which you can totally check out on my Instagram account, I try to update that as much as possible, so please go check it out and tell your friends. I am going to try and update my DeviantArt account as well, and try and post my work on here as well. What you guys, readers and followers can do for me, is spread the word of my work to everyone and all, and also please let me know if you are interested in ordering any of my work, prints or original sketch covers. Going to be setting up my shop soon, and I am ready to work and bust out some amazing work just for you guys.

Also thinking of making some cool and original free gifts for followers as well, something we can unite under, so you can represent for the ChileanStorm, cooking up ideas, but when they are ready I will let you guys know. And also a heads up for any fans of the YouTube game, over on the Maddsketch channel we are busting out a lot of new content, including the return of Time Well Spent, with my co-host twin, Toby Medeiros. And we also got a new podcast going on as well on his channel that you can check out, called the Twin Cast. I will be posting up links to these in the next blogs so they can get more direct attention, but please give them a watch and a listen, and let others know about our fantastic silly work.

Going to wrap this one up now, but not before I let you know that we will be on hand at the Comic Book Lounge this Saturday, to celebrate with friends and fans alike, we will be drawing and taking commissions all day, so if you are eager to get to see us and get some awesome artwork from us, don't hesitate to come on by. For more information, click the link right here and check the web page. Hope to see you guys this Saturday! 

Thank you everyone for sticking around with me and sorry again about the delay, will do my best to stay on top of this. Remember to follow me and Spent Pencils on all different media, like Twitter and Instagram, by following @ChileanStorm or by leaving a comment below here on Storm Watch. Always love to hear back from you, my Storm Clouds, so let me know what you want from me and I will see what I can do to deliver. Keep chasing the storm.

Ottawa gets Popped...

It was a cold weekend in Ottawa but luckily it was a warm welcome at the Ottawa Pop Expo this past weekend. A big thank you first of all to everyone who came to the show and stopped by our +Spent Pencils table and everyone at the artist alley. We do the traveling, the drawing and all of it for you, so a big thank you again to all of you. The trip was a blast though, when you are in good company you can go anywhere really, and the drive up was a blast with a stops along the way and even belting out "Wrecking Ball" as we drove, it's a damn catchy tune. We got in to town in the afternoon and decided to crash, apparently artist don't get much sleep, apparently this a thing. But as we watched the World Cup line ups and ordered in some pizza, we got to sketch and work on our different projects. It was also a great opportunity to work with some new pencil necks Nicholas Lukic and Herbert Kwan, not to mention working with my big brothers Joe Osei Bonsu, Maddsketch and Vince Sunico. I think all of us had a hard time getting to sleep out of excitement, but we passed out one by one. After a quick breakfast we made our way down to the Ernst & Young Centre and got unpacked, ready to see what the days ahead had in store. 

What I gathered from this weekend is everyone loves Loki. Even if he is a Lemongrab. I didn't think my print would do so well, but you guys love that Lemongrab Loki, and lots of love for my Pokemon and Adventure Time prints as well, so once again thank you guys! And I got a great response from the X-Men and Adventure Time cover I did, so you can bet you will be seeing a print coming very soon. And be sure to drop me any and all suggestions here or on my Tumblr, Twitter or even on Instagram. I want to do more with all of you here, a back and forth if you will. After all you can't have a storm without any clouds. 


 
But this weekend was a blast as you can tell from the pictures here, I got a chance to get to meet a lot of new faces, work on a few commissions as well and got to pick up a few gifts for friends as well. And every show and every convention gives me more and more experience and I love doing this with my Spent family. So a big thanks for all the support and love this year, 2013 has been a blast! I got to get going but again, keep posted here for all updates, I will see you soon. Keep chasing the storm. 

Water, Wind & Spent...

This past Friday night on the cold night in downtown Toronto, it was a warm and amazing experience with friends, family and everyone in the artist community who came out to support the Spent Pencils organized fundraiser Water & Wind for the Philippines relief funds. What you missed if you didn't get a chance to go was amazing auctioned art from many of SP family and other big names in the artist community, as well as amazing food and drinks, and an awesome after party as well. Granted I may have woken up a little heavy headed and with a lighter wallet, but it was totally worth it. And seeing everyone come together and bring some amazing work for charity is an awesome experience, a big thank you to all the artist who took the time and made some amazing art for charity. A lot of these are posted online, so be sure to check them out and I will be posting links to the pages of all the artist who took place in the show as well. If you see anything you like, be sure to contact your favorite artist and let them know. 

Here a few pictures from the evening as well, if you want to see more be sure to check out the Spent Pencils Facebook page, right here, a lot of our event pictures will be posted here, so be sure to check back often and share your Spent memories as well.

The years end is just around the corner but SP is not slowing down, with Ottawa Pop Expo next weekend and the Sketches for Pledges auction coming up, we still got plenty to do before we put this year to rest. And you can count on us to keep the momentum rolling into 2014, not slowing down anytime soon. Before I sign off, a big thanks to Kevin Briones for making this event happen in the first place, an amazing job for a great cause. You did an amazing job Cap'n Go! Also a big thank you to Celena "Pepper Pots" Ho for being amazing as always with helping us set up! And remember to check out all these amazing artist who took the time to donate and help out, they deserve the attention... 

• Mike Del Mundo
• Francis Manapul
• Pearce Cacalda
• Maddsketch 
• Vince Sunico 
• Paul Limgenco 
• Marvin Mariano 
• Kevin Briones 
• Gerard De La Costa 
• Oliver Castaneda 
• Arnold Trinidad
• Heroes of the World 

This just in as well...

"We would like to extend our gratitude for the artists who contributed their talent, time and effort to Wind & Water: Artist Fundraiser for Haiyan Relief on Friday.

Our combined efforts allowed us to exceed our $3500 fundraising goal including the government match!"

Amazing, thank you to everyone who gave a little to make a bigger difference. Keep tuned here on Storm Watch for more Spent Pencils and ChileanStorm related posts and what not. Keep chasing the storm!