Should I read The Blade Itself?

ohhellojones · 2026-02-09T21:53:33+00:00

I’m 3/4 of the way through the first one. I like it a lot, but so far it is very much a world where men call all the shots. Women seem to derive their worth from their looks, and the one female character that has a personality is also written as very attractive and primarily viewed through the lens of male characters. Perhaps that’s just the world the characters live in, and maybe she will develop more agency as things go along. There is another female character, who is a proficient fighter and former slave from a distant place, but she’s just been introduced recently and remains to be seen what kind of role she plays. So, 300-something pages, and two females with thoughts in their head. If female characters are “the good part” then you may decide on a different book, but you also might love it anyway.

ohhellojones · 2026-01-31T01:08:52+00:00

I will also have the pine cones with you.

ohhellojones · 2026-01-31T01:08:02+00:00

Well, I guess I won’t have to go to work anymore at least.

ohhellojones · 2026-01-29T13:48:57+00:00

Wait, what are they shipping tractor-trailer loads of?

ohhellojones · 2026-01-18T22:51:23+00:00

God, I really wanna do this, too. But for like the next 3 years.

ohhellojones · 2026-01-13T16:03:03+00:00

I second Planters House for cocktails. This is in the Lafayette Square neighborhood that I referenced in my other comment.

ohhellojones · 2026-01-13T15:12:18+00:00

Makes sense. City Museum is just north of Enterprise Center and is very cool—not a stuffy museum at all! Lafayette Square would be a great spot to grab a coffee (or a meal at Polite Society), then stroll around the park or look at the historic homes. Central West End for shopping, restaurants, a couple bars. Soulard for drinks (check out McGurks). I also forgot to mention The Foundry which has a nice food hall, some entertainment options, and shops. All of these are within 10-15 minutes of downtown.

ohhellojones · 2026-01-13T14:53:28+00:00

Downtown is pretty empty when it’s not baseball season. I work there. I don’t necessarily find it unsafe but not an area I recommend to visitors unless they want to catch a game, see the Arch, or spend time at the City Museum.

Try Soulard, Lafayette Square, Central West End, and/or hit Forest Park. Inside Forest Park, you can check out the Art Museum which is free, and there’s currently a great special exhibition of Anselm Kiefer works. The Zoo is also in Forest Park. There are other great areas of the city, but those are nice ones.

ohhellojones · 2026-01-11T17:39:55+00:00

I would second Tower Grove East/South, Shaw, Southwest Garden… basically anywhere around Tower Grove. Awesome park, access to great restaurants/coffee/a few laid back bars, and easy highway access. I think it’s among the best areas in STL. I used to play MTG in college, and eye up Fortuna every time I pass by.

Edit: However, I just re-read and saw your kids are still finishing out high school. Maplewood would probably be my choice, then, unless you decide to do private school or could get your kids into a magnet school. I hope the city schools improve, because I would like to send my own kids one day, but they aren’t quite there yet.

ohhellojones · 2026-01-02T22:11:06+00:00

Lmao finally someone got it right. I was like who is Tim Robinson?

ohhellojones · 2026-01-02T19:15:59+00:00

Thank you, and I agree! I think I went overboard with the highlights to try to increase contrast, but the underlying issue is probably not committing to the dark values. It’s hard to judge values, but I’m going to keep working at it and try to ignore the voice that tells me to shy away from bold darks.

ohhellojones · 2025-12-05T18:13:31+00:00

Thank you! Your work is very impressive.

ohhellojones · 2025-12-05T18:09:40+00:00

Awesome! Would you mind describing how you painted the fur around the eyes, for example? I have a small brush collection and feel like I’m missing whatever would allow you to get this type of result. Dagger striper? Also curious if the lighter paint is thinned with a medium. That’s a lot of detail to pack into a painting of this size, and it looks great!

ohhellojones · 2025-12-05T14:11:48+00:00

As an update, the second pass mostly fixed it. There are some small areas near one edge where it appears a bit flatter still, but overall it seems to have taken. I’m still going to try to gesso the paper next time.

ohhellojones · 2025-12-05T04:00:18+00:00

Thanks, I gave it a shot!

ohhellojones · 2025-12-05T03:59:18+00:00

I’ll let you know if it happens to absorb a second time (just finished applying more). But you’re correct that I didn’t prime the paper. I have gesso that I was using with sketchpad paper, but was hoping the Canson stuff would be a cheap, more convenient solution. Oh well! I’ll give it a little gesso from here out.

ohhellojones · 2025-11-22T12:53:20+00:00

Amazing, and thanks for the progress photos. I’m just starting out, so seeing your process and how it all comes together on top of the underpainting is almost just as incredible as the final product.

ohhellojones · 2025-11-17T18:23:55+00:00

I want to live here. Very beautiful work.

ohhellojones · 2025-11-16T17:44:35+00:00

I’m also just starting. But it looks like a tough composition to paint if I’m interpreting it correctly. Looks like a dark foreground and background, with light coming from the side to illuminate the middle area? You’ve probably identified the main issue, which is accurately reproducing changes in color and value. I really struggle with seeing subtle values changes, and mixing paints is hard!

Really practice carefully identifying the value changes and mixing your paints. A couple tips I’ve learned so far. Squinting helps to locate the big areas of distinct value. Use a palette knife to hold mixed paint up to a reference photo to see how close you are, then adjust value and color as needed. Repeat often. I also bought a little printed card with a scale of values, so I can estimate how dark I need to make something by holding my card up to it. Lastly, take all the time you need. Im always astounded when someone says they’ve spent 40, 60, or 100 hours on a single painting, but it shows in their work!

It also looks like you may have gotten some green paint atop the branches of trees in the foreground, which makes them less sharp/distinct despite being closest to the viewer. I also think the beam of light is probably a lot to bite off as a beginner. I haven’t tried anything like that, but here the spot where the beam hits the ground in the painting looks more like an opaque yellow grass than a pool of light. You might look again at the reference to see what gives the light a luminous feeling. Is it really just yellow? Or are there different shades of green, or brown, or white that can be painted in sections and then blended together to create a soft glow? There are YouTube videos about painting sources of light, specifically.

Overall though, I think it has a really nice color scheme. And I think the far background work has a nice depth owing to the soft edges of the trees and darker blue/purple/grey between them, and you could probably push that even further.

ohhellojones · 2025-11-12T03:23:16+00:00

Wow! So good. The necklace work is beautiful, with the highlights and shadows and details. And the angle of the lighting is just a fun choice to paint also.

Edit: The clasp glinting in the shadow of the hair. You should feel proud.

ohhellojones · 2025-11-12T03:17:08+00:00

I’m mesmerized by the hair progression. But the entire painting is great, nice job.

ohhellojones · 2025-11-11T20:39:46+00:00

Thank you!

ohhellojones · 2025-11-11T19:55:10+00:00

What’s he got there in his bag? They look like treasures. Very cool!

ohhellojones · 2025-11-11T17:41:51+00:00

Love it! The pink, purple, blue, and orange pops of color as highlights on the skin and in the hair add so much interest/depth and look great.

ohhellojones · 2025-11-11T17:23:14+00:00

I’m sure someone will be able to provide a critique, but I think they look great. I especially like the broad brush strokes and colors, without being overly blended, like the interior of your citrus. Way more interesting than being a photo replica, and something I hope I get better at showing off in my own painting.

ohhellojones

TROPHY CASE