The Far Off Places hot air balloon takes off!

American Adventures, Edinburgh Expeditions

Far Off Places, the literary magazine I cofounded with three friends from Edinburgh, launched on 9 March at the StAnza Poetry Festival in St Andrews, Scotland.

We’re currently selling single issues and subscriptions on our website. They’re digital copies, and coming soon, an iOS subscription as well (and we’re hoping to release a Kindle ebook version, starting with issue 2).

We hope to release a printed edition and pay our contributors! So that’s why we’re selling it.

Not content to take a break after our launch (or, more accurately, DURING production of issue 1), we opened submissions for our second issue, with the theme of the back of beyond. Submissions are due on 31 March!

Poetry should be no more than 40 lines (though we do accept short poetry as well), and short prose of 1,200 words. No serial novels/stories, etc, as the theme changes with each issue.

I did the graphic design/layout for the magazine! Like making our spiffy hot air balloon logo.

faroffplaces_logo

New Year, New Paintings…Morrissey

Sheer Art Attack

Before today, I hadn’t picked up a paint brush since July 24th. How do I know? That’s when I did my painting of TE Lawrence.

Sick of not painting, I decided to reconcile the situation. My folks gave me a moleskine watercolour sketchbook for Christmas, and I am determined to fill it before I return to the States.

I paint portraits primarily, and portraits of those who fascinate me. Given that I’ve listened to the Smiths pretty much non-stop since getting here, it was only logical that I paint their front man, Morrissey.

Morrissey

Morrissey, (C) Beth 2012

Needless to say, I’m thrilled with how this portrait turned out. There are a few issues, but considering I haven’t painted in months…pretty damn good.

I hope to share more paintings with you as I complete them!