Carol Kroll

In with the new…

Ok. I’m tired of looking at that Christmas podcast on this blog now that there’s a new year here and I’m sure you are too. Time for an update to say the very least. So happy 2010 everyone! I won’t lie. I was very happy to see 2009 go away. Sure, there were some lovely parts, but there were also some shitastic moments for sure. The whole decade was one in question come to think of it but I’ll focus positively on the new one instead. One of my resolutions is to keep this place more updated in general. Not only with words, but with art, music and podcasts regarding such. And who knows maybe even some animation will show up here in 2010. It’s a goal anyway. Hopefully not a lofty one.

It’s finally cold and snowy here in Wisconsin, and this my friends is a little salvation for me. I am a winter person mostly. Well, and a spring person too. But there is nothing more depressing to me than a 60-70 degree day in December, January or February which the last decade brought plenty of. So far this one has brought plenty of snow and bone chilling cold. Thank you 2010!

Since the new year, I finally braved the white of my canvases that you may or may not have seen in the last podcast. The white of a canvas or paper can be intimidating sometimes, but I reminded myself that applying at least something on there, even shitty, is a learning experience and needed to move forward. Sorry, but that was the best pep-talk I could give myself lately. At least paint was applied so I guess the talk sort of worked. Now I need to have a similar talk with myself regarding the new tunes I still have incubating on paper to try to get them into musical form. The intimidated have ruled my roost for far too long lately and 2010 is a brand new year for being brave. It simply has to be.

I also uploaded a piece that is now finished that I had been working on in previous podcasts entitled “Freak Show Auditions”. This may or may not be a continuing series. I haven’t completely decided yet. Right now I have paintings about mermaids, people in shoes and dramatic people scenes playing out as paintings so it’s kind of too soon to tell right now if the freaks will have their regular show on canvas yet. And I have been dragging my feet with my ACEO production, but that needs to happen to. So, you know.

We’re getting ready for another Capitola show at the end of January on the 30th in Platteville, WI at The Driftless Market which has been of course most enjoyable. I believe it will be an early afternoon show so if you are in the area, please come out. Along with our readers, Mark and I are planning new tunes, so should be a lot of fun as always.

Also full hibernation mode has kicked in here in WI, so at night I have been getting into reading before I go to sleep. For Christmas, Santa generously brought me a ton of Rex Libris comics and books which I absolutely adore, but I’m saving and savoring them like a squirrel and his nut stash during the winter. It’s all about a superhero librarian so you can see why I’m hoarding them.

I also got a stack of graphic novels last week that I am pouring through and none of these which I list here have disappointed in any way. I won’t go into a long dissertation about each of them, but just a tidbit under each pic of why I dug them. This may become a weekly feature here. Not sure about that, and I already listed some possibly lofty goals for this blog already.

Creepy and quiet and unresolved at the end. Love, love, loved it.

Again, creepy and quiet in a David Lynch Eraserhead way. Again. Loved it.

Not so much my preferred art style, but the plot, scene building and characters were very engaging.

I’m still reading this one. But so far, it’s funny as hell re: subject matter that isn’t supposed to be so funny. My favorite kind.

Art style is happy contrasting greatly to the subject matter inside. Again, my favorite.

Loved the art, loved the monkey’s paw type storyline.