Fantasy – C. Militar Writes

I’ll be honest–it’s been a while since a novel has drawn me in and excited me. Many of the books I’ve recently finished have all been three-star reads, interesting enough but not memorable.

However, when my friend recommended The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab for our book club, little did I know, this would become my first five-star book read of 2022.

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue tells the story of twenty-three-year-old French girl Adeline “Addie” LaRue who sold her soul to the darkness to gain her freedom. Unbeknownst to Addie, this exchange comes with a terrible price; because along with her freedom comes the catch of being forgotten by everyone she meets.

You see, when Addie talks to a friend or family member or makes a connection with someone new, she inevitably faces the future of them not being able to remember her. And even when she tries to leave her mark–via written notes or drawings–she will find them being erased and returned to its original blank slate. Because of this, Addie isn’t able to leave a mark, making her almost “invisible” to everyone she comes in contact with.

For 300 years since she made that deal, she has struggled with this type of existence… that is, until she meets bookstore seller Henry who is unfazed by her curse and remembers every little encounter and detail about her.

Describing it as a mix between The Picture of Dorian Gray and The Time Traveler’s Wife, I’d say Addie LaRue is a page-turner that will leave you feeling all types of emotions, from sadness about Addie’s situation to a sense of hope when she finally meets Henry. It’s a literal roller coaster ride that will have you experiencing “all the feels.”

I was literally crying by the end of this novel. Via GIPHY

Moreover, V.E. Schwab’s writing style is so descriptive and immersive that you will feel like you’re actually in the story. And with the time jumps, you, as a reader, can really envision that specific point in history wherein Addie’s story takes place and see how it’s affected her life.

Schwab also uses alternating viewpoints between chapters, so you’re able to empathize with these fictional characters and remember them for all their beautiful, messed-up, broken, and (very) human experiences.

In fact, Stardust author Neil Gaiman describes the book, “for someone damned to be forgettable, Addie LaRue is a most delightfully unforgettable character, and her story is the most joyous evocation of unlikely immortality.”

Lastly, I found a plethora of wonderful and relatable lines throughout the course of this novel, and I think this is a testament to Schwab’s wonderful storytelling. I particularly loved the following lines from the novel:

“Books, she (Addie) has found, are a way to live a thousand lives––or to find strength in a very long one.”

“The nicest days are always the ones we don’t plan.”

“Nothing is all good or all bad. Life is so much messier than that.”

It reportedly took Schwab ten years to complete the novel and her hard work really shows just how great the story came to be.

I really encourage everyone to go and read The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue and I can’t wait to read more books from the author moving forward.

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The months following May 2020 was a difficult time for me. Because not only was the country under community quarantine, but I was also unemployed and grieving the death of my beloved dog Kia. But one thing that helped me get through it all was spending time at home, binge-watching Netflix with my mom. And one of the TV shows that helped me get through this trying time was the 2008 BBC show Merlin.

Thanks to the streaming platform, I was able to watch all five seasons of this awesome series.

Now, there’s so much I can say to describe how obsessed I am with this fantasy show–but I’ll have to save all that for another blog post. This time around, I wanted to fangirl by creating a stylized portrait of the series’s titular character, Merlin (which was played by actor Colin Morgan).

Here’s how I came about doing it:

On sketching

First and foremost, I am by no means a professional artist; I just paint as a personal hobby. So given this, there are a few imperfections that I still have to improve on as a painter–many of which I hope to apply in future projects.

In this particular piece, I started off with a rough sketch of the character’s facial features on a sheet of A5 canvas paper. Then, I went on to mix different shades of acrylic paint to begin painting.

I started with the character’s face as it would require the most attention to detail. Then, I proceeded to do the hair and apply highlights to both areas.

The left image shows the rough sketch of my portrait, while the right photo shows my initial painting of the face.

I also decided not to follow my initial sketch and create a bigger set of eyes for a more “caricature”–like appearance.

On mixing colors

This was probably one of the hardest parts of painting because I had to try and get the closest possible colors to the one shown in the reference photo.

This is a photo of the completed stylized portrait beside its reference picture. Color of the image might look different due to lighting.

I admit, this required a lot of trial and error, but I do believe that I was able to mix the right light and dark shades for the skin, hair, and the clothing.

On shading

Finding the right tones to use on the shadows of the character’s face was a bit difficult to do, as well. I had to experiment with varying degrees of black and gray shades to get the desired color. Then, I had to blend those in with some light dabbing strokes using my paintbrush.

Here’s a close-up version of my stylized portrait.

The end result may not be totally perfect but I am definitely happy with the outcome of my painting. And hopefully, in the near future, I’ll get to paint other characters too like Arthur, Morgana, Guinevere, and Gaius.

Until then, I hope you give Merlin a try–and who knows, you may even end up enjoying it as much as I did.

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Tag Archives: Fantasy

‘The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue’ is a five-star read that you’ll surely remember

I painted a stylized portrait of Merlin–and here’s how it went down