Since I wrote yesterday about how much I’ve been practicing and trying to level up as an artist, I thought I’d share the first page of my No Man’s Sky travel journal today, from all the way back in 2022. This was about a month after I started painting. For comparison, I shared more recent entries in this Moleskine here and here.
See you next week.
Here’s one last look back at Jasmodus Gamma, at least for now. I expect I’ll revisit the mushroom coast in time.
This one I saved for last because I wanted to get a few more drawings under my belt before I tackled it. It feels good to know that even just last year, this would have been beyond me. So I’ll keep at it.
Over in No Man’s Sky, I’ve landed light years away on the grassy planet Etbur and guys, it’s a good one.
See you there.
I’m wrapping up the detail today on this view of the vermilion globe, so I’ll have that for you tomorrow, but I wanted to share one of my progress scans in the meantime, from over the weekend.
This one’s really coming together, and I’m taking my time. I’m looking forward to a day when I can think less, flow more, but for now I’m still learning, and sometimes the going is slow.
Over in No Man’s Sky, I built a gate on the paradise moon Piporo, and I’m dying to warp to the next uncharted system.
Whatever I find there, I’ll be sure to bring you the highlights.
See you on the other side.
Still tooling around on the mushroomy coast of Jasmodus Gamma while I finish up the color on this one. There’s laundry chugging away outside the saloon doors, as usual, but now there’s a wild little puppy napping in there too. Slowly but surely, new routines replace the old, and life returns to normal, as if she’s always been here.
Slowly but surely, the garden is waking up outside, hints of buds are forming on the trees, and I am learning to care for this new family member, who enters her seventh month on Earth today. She is pure enthusiasm, and she is . . . yep, destroying my beautiful hand loomed rug.
Gotta run — see you next week.
Here’s another from the series of six No Man’s Sky travel journal paintings that I’ve been sharing the past few weeks, and here are one and six if you missed them.
I was intimidated by the geometric, egg-shaped mineral formations on this planet, so naturally I made them the focus. I love how the volcano turned out, and the little brush pen trees, and even the mountains in the distance are fine.
I’m working on painting this drawing of L. Sternketeus today, and so should have that for you tomorrow if I can stop overthinking it.
Okay, thanks for looking!
Until next time.
This week, we head back to the vermillion globe to take a look at L. Sternketeus — robot fauna with a handy built-in umbrella. Nice way to see the misty pink and seafoam coast of Jasmodus Gamma.
From there it’s back to Piporo to build a gate and then–
Well, you’ll just have to wait and see.
Is there a more beautiful tree on Earth than the palo verde?
Here’s an oldie from my travel journal, while I work on some new stuff for next week. I’d usually be with family in the desert southwest right about now, but this year I’ll have to make do with memories.
I miss the shock of green after spring rain, the tenacity of life in the harshest of conditions, the stars, the stars. But I can be patient, everything has its season.
See you next week, back in space.
It’s lemonade skies and fall colors for miles on the humid planet Ussendo Iosai. The sea is a murky green at night, streaked with navy blue shadows, but in the daytime it’s pale yellow, like a mirror turned at the sky.
I spent some time in the curly grass hills photographing charismatic robot fauna before I set out for the paradise moon Piporo 34/L1, intending to build a base. Been a while since I put any roots down, but I like it here. Pastel coastlines and cotton candy skies and flowering meadows abound. And Piporo is the jewel, though it leaves me wanting oceans.
I am anxious to build a gate and warp on, to see what circles the next star, but-
Oh! I miscounted the planets! So there’s one final stop. “Stellar corruption detected,” scans say. Huh.
Let’s go check it out.
I wasn’t long on the mechanical planet Tayne.
I packed up my mining equipment and my 1000 gold and left no trace — except for the handful of gravitino balls I stole. Left the rocky landscape, strewn with little konpeito machines, and set out for . . .
Humid Planet! Ah! Last planet in the system. And it’s robot fauna and curly grass again!
I landed at night and in the dark the grass is purple black, the flowers and ferns a juicy red. Beyond the crest of this hill lies the sea, and behind me the forest.
Can’t wait to watch the sun come up.
See you next week.
Checked out the mechanical planet Tayne while I finished up painting this curly grass hillside from Piporo 34/L1. I’m never 100% happy with the curly grass, but I’m a little closer every time, so I guess that’s the silver lining.
Speaking of silver, the metallic paint is soooo pretty in person but doesn’t scan well. Kind of a bummer. In the right lighting, you can see the glint of the sun.
On Tayne:
One creature, a ball of lightning, B. Granteuiamosa. “Encountered amidst the endless confusion of planet Tayne,” writes the algorithm. lol
Scans warn of malicious sentinels. In red instead of black, so you know it’s serious.
Not much to look at, although the sky is pretty; pale bubblegum pink with near translucent blue and silver rings arcing overhead like a rainbow.
And there are gold deposits, so I set up my four autonomous mining units and plunked down a save beacon so I don’t lose them — there’s a mistake you don’t make twice.
I was about to say I’m surprised the sentinels haven’t found me yet, but here they are, right on schedule.
Better run.
See you next time.
adventures 