A little something I did for @halfy@mastodon.half-shot.uk 's birthday recently, and a kind of revamped version of a piece I did for them a few years back - this time featuring their wonderful partner ☺️
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Sweep
@Sweep@furries.club
mastodon 4.6.8+orcas2Red Panda chap | mid thirties | Aspiring artist | Enjoyer of Circus arts | Reliable source of baked goods and other cooking | Just trying to do my best, I guess?
46 Followers
42 Following
19 Posts
Joined February 11, 2025
Pronouns:
He/him (They/them are fine as well)
Location:
Scotland
Did a democracy and such, and I'm now posting some cupcakes I made.
Irn-Bru flavour! 🏴
It was my birthday on the Sunday just gone, so I thought what better reason to get into the kitchen to do some cooking and baking.
I made chocolate stout cupcakes with chocolate stout mocha frosting, and beef and red wine pie courtesy of @halfy@mastodon.half-shot.uk 's wonderful recipe. It made so much filling that I've still got a fair bit leftover 😅
After passing my FREC 4, I thought it would be a good idea to take my old counsellor's advice and actually celebrate my achievement, rather than move immediately onto finding what's next.
To do that then, I made dinner for my partner and I tonight - turkey saltimbocca and tiramisu. Two excellent uses of marsala wine 🤤
I've been pretty silent on here apart from my car woes earlier in the year, but the primary reason for that was that I was studying in order to take my FREC 4 (First Response Emergency Care level 4) as qualification.
I'm really pleased to say then that after about 6 months of studying and getting relevant clinical experience, I found out earlier in the week that I'd passed! :blobCat_blush:
I'm glad all the study and hard work paid off, and it paid dividends during Confuzzled just gone - I really felt that my ability to help patients in need has become stronger.
After all the ire at the start of the year, I'm really happy to finally be making some progress.
I finally drew an *actual* shower scene - something I've been meaning to do for ages, but have been far too scared to do 😭 Making sense of how to draw water trails on a body using pencils was hard, but I'm really quite pleased with how this turned out.
I did a little test sketch of this before Scotiacon just gone, and thought it would be cool to limit the background between the shower pipe and the proximal parts of Sweep's body. I'd like to do more pieces like this, as I really enjoyed it :blobartist:
It's our last night in Amsterdam tonight, and it's been a wonderful week overall. Really nice to get out of my usual routine and location for a bit.
A few things I thought it would be cool to mention:
- Holy crap people weren't kidding when they said there are bikes *everywhere*
- Why can't the UK do public transport like the Netherlands has? It's staggeringly good
- I tried to speak as much Dutch as I could, and was surprised when several people responded by saying "Sorry, I don't speak Dutch"
- The people willing to speak with me in the little Dutch I could manage were mega friendly and encouraging. That made me happy
- The canals, streets and buildings of Amsterdam are picturesque. It's an incredibly photogenic city
- A Turkish restaurant owner asked me to say "Butter, please" in a British accent. He smiled from ear to ear and cried laughing when I did so. That was neat
I'd definitely like to come back again in the future.
Replying to
@keys@meow.social Oh, this is rad! Hats off to you on building it yourself - that's mega impressive :dragnaww:
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@cryptidshadows@meow.social I feel that, I really do. For a lot of reasons, I've not had anywhere near as much time as I would have liked for art this year - hoping that changes for both of us!
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@cryptidshadows@meow.social Wonderful as always, Beck.
Also, it's so good to see you back here again - missed seeing your art :blobcatheart:
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Not me, barely in London 30 minutes, having not only made eye contact with someone on the tube
I've smiled at them
And had a pleasant conversation with them as well 😳
Out here breaking rules/societally imposed norms in the least cool way possible 😅
Replying to
@hugh Obviously dependent on where you're staying, but if you get the chance, I'd recommend going to Nara for a little day trip. Temples, forests and deer - what more could you want?
Meiji-jingu in Tokyo, near Harajuku in Tokyo is as wonderful as it is surreal. It's a gorgeous forest with a Shinto shrine right in the middle of a bustling metropolis, which to me at least felt bizarre, but entirely rad.
I'm biased of course, but I *love* Osaka. Doguyasuji is a great little corridor for souvenirs and awesome Japanese culinary culture, and Mt. Inunaki is mega peaceful hike. Though perhaps a little touristy, Osaka Kaiyukan aquarium is well worth a visit.
Kobe, just across the water from where I used to live, is pretty neat, too. Mt. Rokko is a highlight - it's not too bad hiking to the top, and you can get the cable car down for the views (or up, if you feel so inclined), which is a lot of fun.
Mega excited for you!! ☺️
Replying to
@hugh You're very welcome, and yes, please do come back with any questions you have - always happy to have a chat!
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@xanthe@furries.club Stellar work as always! I love the reflective glow of the monitor against the dragon's body - that's a lovely little touch ☺️
I try not to complain openly, but I've been having a rough time of it all recently. My car has been in the garage twice this year for a myriad of reasons (repair work, MOT, servicing, more repair work...), and I'm currently recovering from food poisoning. So in general, I'm feeling physically and mentally a bit crappy and sorry for myself.
Doing this drawing below cheered me up a little though. One of the owners of the cafe down the road from us found out that I do art (they're a very friendly and chatty bunch), and asked if I could do a little piece based around Sebastian Melmoth's 'The train of life' for her sister, and this is what I came up with.
If nothing else, I'm glad I can still do one point perspective pieces as well as work with graphite. Here's hoping the rest of the year improves.
Replying to
Everything about this is getting me down... The length of time this has rumbled on for, the expense, the cancelling of things in my weekly schedule, and now, the need to go to a different garage to get the issues fixed, the expense of doing that, and then needing to fight my case for a refund from the first garage. I feel like my time and finances are just being held hostage.
I'm desperately trying to not let this get me down, but after a crappy 2025, I'm really not feeling all that hopeful at the moment. It just feels like all my best laid plans are going to shit.
My partner and I are about to head off on holiday to Amsterdam for the week, so I'm hoping that helps to cheer me up a little, even if I know that coming back, my time has already been spoken for in getting this mess sorted.
2/2
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@Ninji@wuffs.org I'm glad to hear you're okay. I cycle that route on my commute to work, and honestly, some of the drivers I come across are horrendous 😒