10 life lessons we should learn from Frozen.

Frozen has been one of the most talked about animated movies in a long time. Why? Because it was well created with a great story, but Frozen also was quite different from your traditional Disney stories. Frozen is a film for every girl. While you have your classic elements there are major life lessons to be learned in movie.

1) A true love's kiss.

How Disney has changed, and for the better. Remember that one dramatic kiss? The one that led to 'true love'? Every fairytale had it, but Frozen takes a different route. Rather than ending with a very romantic kiss between Anna and Kristoff, true love here was about Anna choosing to protect Elsa, even though she shut her out for years. We all need to learn that 'love' isn't just about finding a dashing man who ends up being your Prince Charming. Disney, who probably started this stereotype of 'true love' have taken a different and ironically, more realistic route and I commend them for that.

2) That one prince

It is a stereotypical belief that the perfect man is required for a story or movie to be complete. Whether he is the perfect villain, a true love or the friend-zoned sidekick, he has to lead the entire show. False. Frozen proves otherwise. Of course, men can be a great addition to a great plot, whether it is for comic relief or just a twist, but girls and women can carry an entire story by themselves and make it work. In this story, instead of Elsa waiting for a man to rescue her, realizes she can save herself and that is something we all need to learn in life.

3) Just like a good story, everyone needs a funny side kick in their lives.. and some people are just worth melting for.

More than depending on a boringly smooth prince, you will find yourself having a better time with a funny sidekick. Everyone needs a little laughter in their lives and if you meet that one person who makes you laugh keep them around. It doesn't have to be a man, it could be that special women, or even and animal... but remember to keep that smile on, always. You never know, love could stem from uncontrollable laughter too.

Olaf's optimism is something we must all take away from this movie. Sometimes, sacrifice and compromise is just worth it, regardless of the situation. Some people just need warmth and love and love, strong enough to melt your heart, and we all need to be an Olaf in someone elses life.

4) Parents play a big role in how you perceive yourself and the world.

Elsa's parent's may not have been physically abusive, but they clearly stunted her emotionally. It was them who instilled fear in her and made her conceal her true self. After they realized that Elsa had powers and what she was capable of, they tried to hide her in, secluding her from the rest of the kingdom as well as her sister. While this came from a good place, a need to protect their children..this isolation led to Elsa believing she was dangerous, and to her, love meant sacrificing herself to prevent those she cared about from being hurt. They make her wear gloves, inadvertly suppressing herself as well as her powers, leading to Elsa never truly knowing what her real capabilities were. This abuse continued long after her parents died, with Elsa continuing to shut herself out and still putting into practise what she knew from back when her parents were alive. She lived in constant fear of herself for a long time after. Elsa's isolation not only affected herself, but Anna as well. Separating two sisters who were really close to each other, as well as taking away a younger girls role model served as a punishment for Anna , for something that had absolutely nothing to do with her. Anna was so affected by the lack of attention that she decided to marry the first man she meets. How true is this to real life?

Remember, the person who immerses herself in romantic notions with the first, or every man she meets, is the one who craves a love she never had.

5) Fear will always be your enemy

Never let fear control who you are. Elsa's fear crippled her powers and stopped her from being herself, fear took her away from her sister and fear made her feel unloved and dangerous. It didn't stop there, Elsa living in constant fear affected those around her too, with her sister Anna growing up craving the love and attention every younger sister desires. She pushed away everyone around her, until she eventually was isolated and alone. Sometimes, you can be your own worst enemy.

6) A princess is always graceful.

It is a stereotypical belief that princesses should always be elegant and perfect at all times, and Frozen like very few other movies (hint: Brave) disproves this completely. Anna was outspoken, clumsy and always speaking her mind. She has flaws but she is strong. Elsa, on the other hand is stubborn, and complex. Both these princesses are relatable to every girl. Perfection isn't all that everyone assumes it is, and in the end, a princess can and should be herself.

7) Prince Charming isn't always the dashing man you hoped and most people are more than they appear to be.

While we've all known this brave, dashing man, who saves the princess and gives her a happily ever after, that is ALL we know of him. It is the reason Disney ends a lot of their stories at the kiss, because you don't want to know the rest of it. Perfection, in reality, doesn't exist. Frozen teaches that the dashing prince, might not be all that great. He might be a sleazy, lying person who isn't worth your time, but the one who seemed to be the source of trouble, maybe the best fit for you. No one is what they seem to be, Elsa, the princess, has magical powers, Prince Hans, the dashing prince, is a sleazy villain and so on. One major lesson that we need to take from the movie Frozen is that we shouldn't judge a book (well, a person) by it's cover. While Elsa and Anna are princesses, all is not perfect in their world however it may seem on the outside. Even the snowman, Olaf, doesn't love the cold, but prefers warmth, even though it means he could melt...

8)Your first love is hardly ever going to be your last.

Britney and Federline, Kid Rock and Pam Anderson, so many famous couples have rushed into marriages without knowing the other person and the outcome is no surprise. Failure. While some lucky people are fortunate enough to marry their first love, for a majority, it takes a long time. Take heed to Frozen and remember, that first gorgeous man you ever fell in love with might just not be a dashing prince after all.

9) Sisters before misters!

What truly saved Anna's life, was the decision to pick her sister over her first true kiss. The depth of love for her own blood was stronger and turned out to be the reason for her survival. Not everyone maybe in a life or death situation, but sometimes the love we can have for our sisters, or friends who are like sisters, can be bigger and better than a romantic kind of love. Even after Elsa leaves her room for the first time on her coronation, and meets Anna, they get along immediately as if nothing ever separated them. That is a bond stronger than all others. Girls, remember, romance isn't life, get over those stupid love stories you read and watch all day. Thanks, Frozen.

10) Don't hide, let it go.

“Conceal, don’t feel, don’t let them know,"
Keeping things within you can make your life so much more harder than it should be. You end up doubting yourself, or living in fear. Elsa grew up in fear of her own powers, instead of embracing herself and what she is. This led to her missing out on a lot of important things. Sometimes we all need to let it out to move on, if you take nothing else from the movie, take this and move on. Don't conceal, just live as you are, and be yourself and something magical could come out of it.



If you take one movie and incorporate it into your life, may it be Frozen in all it's honesty.


xoxo

My Secret Tips & Tricks for Drawing and Painting.

Ever since I could remember, I would draw and paint. I was that little child kept alone at home, distracted with colour pencils and paints. It was all I needed, from childhood scribbles, to my work today. It all has been a gradual process of building technique with practice.

Here are few things I've learned over the years that might be of some help to you. Or not.

Say NO to boring white backgrounds

Bring out a new canvas, and all you see is white. A smart trick would be to use white gesso primer mixed with a hint of ocher or yellow to give the canvas a tint, or a light colour as a background. This gives a lovely tint to your canvas, and you might not even have to paint a background. Lazy artist, high five!

Sandpaper and its mighty effects

• When you use pencils, pastels or crayons to draw, constantly sharpening will lead to a lot of wastage! We all have that set of pencils that are too precious and expensive to just waste. Use sandpaper to sharpen the tips of the pencils and make most use of it.
•  Sandpaper can also be used as textured paper for pastel work.
• Have you tried pressing sandpaper on a wet waterolour background? It gives wonderful texture and a some detail to your work

 Grid it out!

For beginners or people who are having difficulty with drawing or replicating images, fret not! Just draw grids all over, and focus on sketching each square at a time. That way you won't find yourself with a wonky, or unbalanced image. Awesome stuff, right? Just try it out!

Pencil-tastic work!

Use an HB pencil to do your outlines. It is light, easily erasable and doesn't smudge very easily. Be smart and avoid harder pencils like 2H and 4H because that's going to leave an indentation on your paper, Yes I've learned this from experience, it's not pretty when you have dented lines on great art work. (All that ruined work)

Sketch it Black

Often when you're sketching and observing tones, you tend to go more grey than you do black even when it is black that you need. The dark portions of the art work are more shades of grey instead of black, it reduces the vibrance and intensity of your work. Imagine all your favourite clothes, fading from a jet black to a dull grey. Boring right? Simple solution: cut a piece of black paper from a scrapbook or a magazine, and use it to compare the areas that have to be black with it. Use an 8B pencil to achieve a similar shade.

Handy tip: Sometimes, I tend to use a thin brush and go over with light strokes of black paint.

 Black & White

Instead of using a coloured reference photo, print it in black and white. Colours tend to distract you from tonality, lighting etc. that way you can observe the shades correctly

Sketch Journal

The best advice anyone ever gave me was to keep a sketch journal next to me at all times. Now, keeping the sketch journal isn't enough, you need to use it as well. Yes, if you're lazy like me, at first you're hardly going to use it, but TRUST ME, once you get started you won't stop. It doesn't have to be perfect and some of my work has been utter crap, but use it to draw. Draw what you see, draw what you feel, keep it near your bed and even draw what you remember from your dreams. We have heard the saying "practise makes perfect" a little too much, I know but trust me, it's true.

 Patience is not always a virtue.

When it comes down to art, I have heard a lot of people say to me "I don't have that much patience" well, neither do I. If you're drawing, and don't have patience, spend on 15 minutes on it. Leave, start again another day. I like my work to take 30 minutes at most, which is why you'll notice a lot of it is incomplete. But it doesn't matter! Art is art, no matter how much time you take.

Brush Talk

Short, simple advice? Never, ever, EVER leave you brushes in the stand after you're done painting. The bristles will spread out and ruin them. (RIP brushes)

Hairy Tales

Hair is the most complicated thing ever, and over the years I have faced a lot of difficulty in perfecting hair. Bad hair can ruin a drawing, but great hair can save it! The most important thing to remember is direction. Make sure your strokes are not all one length, or one long bold stroke, but small lighter strokes in the direction the hair falls. FOCUS ON DIRECTION. Use a sharp tip of the eraser, and erase lightly in the direction the light falls to give highlights. Remember, if there is light on the subject, there will be areas of light on the hair as well. Once again, you just need to focus on the highlights and direction

Starting at the top...

I like to start my drawings/ paintings at the top, to avoid smudging it with my hand. I've learned the hard way, and trust me, it's happened way too
many times, the ill effects of my hand smudging my drawings and messing things up. If you want to start with the ears, or eyes or maybe even lowers on figure study (hint hint), then place a paper or clear sheet underneath where you hand touches the paper. You'll regret not doing this when you see grey smudges all over your paper.

Stand up, Sit Down, Walk Around. Work it out!

While painting, you tend to lose perspective if you stare at your work too long. Get up, walk around, take a break and return back to it for a fresher look. Also, try looking at your painting in the mirror to find things you may have missed out on in normal view. You could even check yourself out while doing so! Trust me it works!

Eyes!

They say it's all in the eyes, and I am restless until I have perfected the eyes on my portraits. After finishing painting or drawing the eyes, I love to add some white paint on to it, to make it pop a little bit more. Find the areas that are meant to be highlighted and dab some white paint onto there.

Texture Me UP!

 

• After a water wash on your water color paper, throw some watercolor pencil shavings on it for vibrant, stunning texture
• For wood textures, use a fan brush and lightly scrape across the paper
• Salt: Once you've applied a wash of colour on your paper, add some salt to it and let it dry. Scrape the salt off and check out that super cool texture!
• Get wrapped- After a wet wash, use wrapping paper or plastic wrap to                                             lift paint of your canvas or paper and observe the effect!

Scribbling is fun

 


Finally, your art doesn't have to be perfect, it doesn't have to be great. Scribble your way to great artwork with simple strokes!

Enjoy and feel free to share some of your awesome work with me!


xoxo

Katie Holmes Painting

Lady Gaga Pencil

Figure Study- Renaissance Style

Annoying People We Meet At The Movies (Cinema).

I love watching movies, hell, don't we all? But of recently, I've begun to hate visiting cinema's. Yes, I do enjoy the caramel popcorn, Maltesers and large coke but the entire experience of a movie can sometimes be destroyed by an annoying bunch of people.
A few years back, the final Harry Potter movie released and as anyone who knows me is aware, it was a big deal . I was looking forward to it, yet dreading that it was going to be the last movie, so when I booked my tickets to go watch it, I did not expect the tears of frustration to be from the experience, rather than the fact that it was the last Potter movie ever.  There were loud girls giggling in front of me, there was an old man munching popcorn loudly right next to me and there was a girl talking on her phone. I could hardly watch the movie and all the major scenes were thrown off by the loud noises of super annoying people around me.
Over the years this has gotten worse, so here is a list of the most annoying people I have met at movie cinemas

Lets start with the Loud Mouth. Loud Mouth is the guy who eats popcorn or nachos really loudly during really quiet scenes. The sound of munching really doesn't compliment movies and it can get very annoying. Confession? I sometimes pray they choke on it. Yes, I do.

Next, is the cellphone addict, the one person who you want to throw your own phone at. This is the guy/girl who either texts or talks on the phone during the movie. Recently, I decided to go watch Thor 2  and there was this one very high pitched girl who kept talking on her phone, and when we asked her to shut the hell up, she looked at us angrily for interrupting HER. Don't you wish there was a special place in hell for such people? Also annoying is the person who doesn't put his or her phone on silent during the movie and you can hear it ring through out.

Baby Obsessed. Parents who bring their loud, crying, whining children or babies EVERYWHERE inappropriate should be sent to prison. I don't think a baby knows what movies are or what's happening in them, so either keep them with a sitter or stay at home and let us watch the movie we have paid to watch. I did not come to hear the constant crying of a scared or hungry child.

PDA- The Love Bugs. There are top row, and corner seats for those so in love, they can't contain themselves. If you're going to sit infront of me, please, please don't swap saliva and make loud noises while making out. If I wanted to watch porn, i'd stay at home and make use of the unlimited internet access I have.

The Seat Stealers- Now here's a crime that deserves jail time.I don't get people who can't sit in their own seats. Are you blind, or do you think you could get away with taking someone else's seat in a nearly full cinema? What gets even more annoying is after politely asking them to piss off, they argue with you or get mad at YOU.

The Cool Cats- Recently I went for The Conjuring, which was a pretty cool movie, ruined by assholes who thought they were the coolest things ever, because they laughed, clapped or acted witty during scary or silent scenes. I want to get scared when I go for scary movies, because that's the whole fun of it. Please don't let your insecurity and need to cover up your fears, ruin it for me. We know in all honesty you'll are just preventing yourself from getting scared and jumping outta your seats. You're nothing but wusses on the inside. I hope you get haunted by the devil for the rest of your lives.

The talker: 'Who is he", "What did he say", "What just happened?" "What happens next"-  Just shut the hell up and watch the movie, maybe then you wouldn't have to ask too many questions.

The walking spoiler: This is the person who has seen the movie, read the books or read about it online and spend the entire movie ruining it for the rest of us by telling us what happens next. Thanks a lot, now how about you tell us everything that happens and we just go home?

Lets end with The Late Comer : Sometimes you do tend to get late, stuck in traffic and what not... but it is annoying when a group of people enter 20 minutes late and hunt for their seats, cause a commotion and disrupt the movie. If you're walking in late, do it silently or try to avoid creating chaos. Maybe this way you could avoid being killed, and live a little longer.


Have you faced such issues at movies and how many times have you wanted to murder someone?

xoxo

Mischief Managed: Why did you get a Harry Potter tattoo?

This one is for all of you questioning my tattoo. Why, in the world would I get a Harry Potter tattoo? A tattoo after a book/movie of a 'magical' world. Something fantasy, something that doesn't exist.
Any Potterhead would tell you 'Its Real For Us' but let me explain it to you. Firstly, I will never, as long as I live, regret this tattoo. If at 24, I'm still in love, I will be hooked forever.

Imagine a 5 year old, with nothing to do except watch television, staying alone in an apartment when her parents were at work all day, someone creative but with no idea how to use that creativity. Imagine her growing up, hanging out with friends, going for movies, still no ambition. Imagine her in college, trying to figure out if her major is really what she wants to do. Imagine her searching for a job, still no idea where she's going, with so much creativity she doesn't know how to use it.  That girl could have been me... but it wasn't. At 9, I was given a book I hardly knew would change my life. That book didn't look too appealing, and it was quite big compared to my usual reads, but once I got started I couldn't stop. I was drawn into a magical world, sucked in, and I began to forget that it was just a book. As I moved on to reading the next few books, I was completely lost in this world. I fell in love.
Then followed the waiting game, waiting for the 4th,5th and following books to be out, but I couldn't get over this addiction I had, so I began to read the books again. And again, and again. Each time, I began to notice new facts, observe new plays on words, understand more about the writer. Once again, I was in love, but this time not just with the Wizarding World, but with the writer, J. K. Rowling.
Now, lets pause for a moment and let me tell you about life going on around me at that point. I was NOT a happy child. There were ups and downs, family fights and the separations, a lot of drama that would cause the happiest of children depression, but those tears? They didn't come, because my life was not the trauma that went on around me, but the world of Harry Potter. It could possibly be the only thing that has ever kept me sane.
Now, as the next few books of the series released, I began to notice the writing, the English, the way this amazing author built an entire world with nothing but her words. Remember, when I said I was a child with too much creativity but no idea how to use it? Well, I began to use it to write. J.K Rowling taught me how to create beautiful stories... but that isn't where it ends. With the movies not being out yet, I began to imagine characters, like my favourites, Fred and George, but imagining wasn't enough, so I bought out the pencils and began to draw, character after character. As I grew older, that creativity increased to more serious writing and serious works of art.

Today, I am who I am because of these books, I'm a writer, am I'm artist and most of all I'm sane. I don't believe in getting random butterflies, random dolphins or cupid either, but this means a lot to me, it's close to my heart, which is why I got it tattooed so close to my heart as well ;)
So next time before you judge me, maybe try to get to know me a little more. And to all those Harry Potter obsessed who've had to deal with similar issues, 'Don't let the Muggles get you down'.

Books are proof that humans can create magic.



xoxo

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Annoying People We Meet At The Gym

It's no secret that I love the gym. It's my favourite place to go to, and the outcome makes it worth it. I love the burn, I love to sweat and most of all, I love getting stronger.
Lets face it though, the gym is also a fun place to watch people. Subtly, of course. Today, lets introduce you to all the lovely characters I have met at the gym over the last couple of years. Trust me, I'm sure you'll have met them too!

Lets start with Grunts-A-Lot. We all know this man, who tends to make very loud and sometimes very sexual noises at the gym while lifting sometimes heavy, sometimes mild weights. Yes, I have one of them at my gym. He'll roll up his sleeve, pick up his dumbbells and grunt as if he is being raped. Loudly, while looking around to see if anyone is checking him out while he lifts what he considers to be "heavy" weights. This guy is no Dwayne Johnson or Kris Gethin in size. This man is shapeless, round and looks pretty odd overall. If you met him outside the gym, you wouldn't believe he worked out.

Next, Sir-Stares-A-Lot. Now, gym exercises can put you in very compromising positions as a girl. Hamstring curls, squats and splits leave you in positions that can often catch the most decent mans eye, but this one type of gym goers will spend his entire time at the gym staring inappropriately at girls working out, even if they're just running on a treadmill. Sometimes it can get pretty uncomfortable, sometimes they don't even hide it. One man stood above me watching for 15 minutes while I did my weekly ab exercises, not looking away for a second. Fun? Not at all. Don't even getting me started on the men that stare at a girl doing hamstring curls.

The hog. This person is very common, I know them and I'm sure you do too, they will find one equipment and hog it for a long, long time, refusing to share. At my gym, the elliptical machine is the victim of the hogs. They work out on the slowest speed, and lowest level for 35-40 minutes, often stopping to take breaks or answer their phone, while others have to wait their turn or move on to something else. They spend more time watching the television or talking than actually working out. You're not sweating, you're not really doing much, you're obviously obese, maybe put in a little more effort than pick the easiest machine with the easiest settings? This person also takes 3-4 minute long rests between reps and make you wait for the machines for a long, long time.

The interrupter. Now this happened to me today. You know when you're working out and you're totally into it and somebody comes up to you, just 5 minutes into your work out and asks if you're done with the machine? No, I am not, please don't rush me and please just go away. It happens more often when you're a girl in the weight section.  You scrawny little brat, I could probably lift double what you do, so maybe leave me alone till I'm done.

The fitness model. Here is someone who comes decked out in complete gym gear, branded clothes and expensive shoes, but does absolutely nothing. This is also the girl who walks in, in her tiniest shorts and sport bra, talks on the phone, runs for a bit, takes a selfie and leaves. Thank you for gracing us with your presence, we all love to see photos of your Nike shoes, Nike shorts, and Nike wristband.  Not.

The sweat sharer. THIS is my biggest peeve at the gym. These are people who sweat like pigs and leave drops of sweat all over the gym without wiping the equipment. That, is disgusting. You are almost as annoying as the lazy group of people who NEVER replace the dumbbells back to where they belong and leave equipment lying around everywhere. I hope you rot in hell.

The gossips - A social group of ladies to come to chat, gossip and check other girls around. Yes, I know what my diet should be, no I'm not married, and no I don't want to hear about your cousin whose wedding recently ended.

Wow, that was quite a list and I might not even be done.  So here's to all of you who just want to punch these annoying people in the face, I know I do! And if you fall under the categories of one of these people then please, please just, stop.

xoxo

Once upon a time...

Who knew where it would lead. It was just a first date. I wasn't thinking, he didn't care, in the moment it didn't matter.
The past was irrelevant, the future, was too unpredictable. All that it came down to, was that first moment. He was there, I was with him. Hours passed like minutes, minutes like seconds. We couldn't hear the clock ticking, or see the sun setting. Sometimes, I can't remember it, like a beautiful dream, fuzzy around the edges. Sometimes I remember everything, down to the last detail. I can hear the wind, feel the nerves, see those brown eyes...It was, magical.
But in this story, this "fairytale" has no ending and that's what makes it work. There is no riding off, happily ever after... there is no heartbreak. There is just the two of us. Rekindling that first moment, everyday. Each time, better. Each time, stronger with each new thing we learn about each other.
Perfect? It may not exist, the firsts may have come at us, first fight, first tears, first insults. Yes, perfect does not exist... what exists is the nagging thought at the back of your mind- It's worth it.
It's when two opposites in temperament, meet two similar personalities. He's angry, you're calm. You're  sad, he's funny and vice versa. When one falls down, the other picks them up. Opposite temperaments.
But together you enjoy laughter, sports, and silly dog videos. You found a guy who cuddles kittens, he found a girl who watches Rambo. You found a guy who writes you songs, he found a girl who knows her football.
Perfect, it doesn't exist. In a perfect world, a girl wouldn't beat you devastatingly at FIFA, in a perfect world a boy wouldn't look at you like you were a walking circus and find it cute. In a perfect world, dates wouldn't be at the gym and "Shut up, asshole" wouldn't be said lovingly.
Perfect? Who needs perfect.
I've met my match, and so has he.

Pencil Sketch- From Reference

Adriana Lima painting.

Artwork series

Butterflies.

Lately I've been chasing butterflies

Because no matter how far they want to go

Life allows them only a limited time

But they flutter, happily

Not concerned about where the journey ends.

Art Work 2013