Six More Things

Here's another exciting instalment of 'Six Things Happening in My Life Right Now'

1. For the first time in my life I own a sandwich maker, and it's everything I was hoping it would be and then some. My favourite sandwich that I've made so far is banana, peanut butter, and chocolate.

2. My daughter, Maddy, has a bunch of blocks that she likes to play with, but I'm pretty sure I like playing with them more than she does. Also, I build way better towers than she does.

3. Last summer I bought and painted a rocket ship bird feeder. This summer I finally have a yard to hang it in. The birds have been a apprehensive about it; they obviously don't realize how cool it is.

4. Next week I'm heading back to Hong Kong for work. I'll miss my wife, daughter, and sandwich maker. 
(update: By the time I actually posted this, I'm already in Hong Kong. It turns out that I don't miss the sandwich maker as much as thought)

5. I noticed on Google Maps that there's a place near my house called 'God's Chair' in the middle of a park, so Maddy and I went to check it out one afternoon. We had to walk through a forest and climb a hill, and finally we were standing atop God's Chair, overlooking a natural rock formation where I guess God could sit if he wanted to, but I don't think it would be very comfortable.

6. I bought a child bike seat attachment for my bike on Craigslist so that Maddy and I could go on wild adventures together. We've been out biking a few times, and I think she enjoys it. I enjoy it too, but I don't enjoy the fact that the seat juts into my chest, makes it hard to get on the bike, and makes it hard to turn. I think I'll eventually have to get a better one.

the Buildings of Hong Kong

Today is Hong Kong's National Day, so I thought it would be a great time to finally finish up a project that I started a few months ago.

Inspired by the work of Roger Hargreaves, the Land of Le Beef presents the 'Buildings of Hong Kong'. One thing that fascinated me about Hong Kong when I lived there was forest of great architecture that made up the city. Together they create the shape of the city, but individually they are each contain their stories. This is far from a complete list, but it contains a some of my personal favourites.

If anyone happens to be interested in owning piece of illustrated Hong Kong, prints of this will be available for purchase for a limited time -www.landoflebeef.storenvy.com

Six Things

Introducing a new Land of Le Beef segment: Six Things Happening in My LIfe Right Now

1. This summer my wife and daughter and I moved from Hong Kong to Vancouver. Since being here I have re-established my love of trees and mountains.
2. I have been growing my hair out for the past year or so. I don’t have any plans for how long I’m going to let it grow; I’m just going to enjoy the journey and see where it takes me. Part of me has always wanted long hair.
3. My neighbour offered to lend me his stepladder so that I can install an electric door opener in my garage.
4. Madeline (my daughter) has been getting very close to taking her first steps. She also just learned how to wave, and she loves dancing to funky music. 
5. Most of my electronics don’t fit in Canadian outlets. I might try pounding them in with a hammer. (update: I went to Chinatown and finally found some adaptors. Life is a little bit better now) 
6. I bought a composting bin. It lives at the end of my lawn, and loves it when dump my food scraps in his mouth. We have a good relationship.

Doodles & Stuff - a Javier Perez Inspired Class Project

I host a weekly illustration class with students at a school in Hong Kong, and last week I had the brilliant idea doing a class inspired by the work of Javier Perez. Basically we just grabbed a bunch of random stuff and turned them into other random stuff. Here's some of their pieces:

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Octographer

I recently watched a video online of an octopus taking photos at an aquarium in New Zealand. His name is Rambo (I really regret not drawing him with a red headband on), and he is now known as the Octographer. My first thought when I saw this was, 'where do get one of these?' (as you know, my full time job is as an award winning wedding photographer). As it turns out, not only do most pet stores not sell octopuses that can take pictures, most of them don't even sell octopuses! I had to buy a goldfish instead, but without tentacles it lacked the capabilities to operate a camera. Oh well, I guess this cartoon is going to have to do.