Planning for Blake’s London: Final(ish) Plan!

Related Posts: Planning for London!, Planning for Blake’s London!, and Trying to Figure Out London!

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Monday

1. Arrive Heathrow at 5:05 p.m.
2. Take the Heathrow Express, and then taxi to hotel.
3. I think I may get to my hotel around 8 p.m. Hotel is near Russell Square. Check into hotel and get situated.
4. Ask the concierge for a dinner recommendation near the hotel. Or…
5. Simon of shipscooksstuff.wordpress.com has kindly offered to “show [me] some of Soho’s pubs and give [me] some background on [his] home city.” So sweet! Hopefully, we’ll meet up either Monday or Thursday.

Tuesday: Special Event Day!

1. Before 10 a.m., explore Russell Square and surrounding neighborhood.
2. 10 a.m.: David Bowie is at the Victoria and Albert Museum. Afterwards, explore the V&A. Ask information desk about the “…four of Blake’s ‘fresco’ paintings on display permanently” as well as Arts & Crafts/William Morris and other must-sees.
3. Lunch: The Queen’s Arms and/or the V&A Cafe.
4. After V&A, Tate Britain: The new Blake room will open on May 6th. Ask information desk about the Pre-Raphaelites. Perhaps take a 45-minutes free collection highlights tour at 11, 12, or 3. 
5. Leave some time to relax and possibly nap in the late afternoon.
6. 7:30 p.m.: G. E. Gallas Invited to Speak to The Blake Society! at 17 South Molton Street.

Wednesday: Touring Around!

1. If exhausted from Tuesday, sleep in a little bit.
2. 10 a.m.: National Gallery, National Portrait Gallery, or return to a museum from the previous day.
3. Lunch: Eat somewhere near/in museums.
4.  1 p.m.: Harrods Vintage Bus Tour of London with Champagne Tea at Harrods – Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, The London Eye, Westminster Abbey, Downing Street, Trafalgar Square, Nelson’s Column, Hyde Park, the Houses of Parliament, The Royal Albert Hall, a cruise on the River Thames, and tea/scones at Harrods (until 6 p.m.).
   
5. 7/7:30 p.m.: Jack the Ripper Tour (option #1, option #2, or option #3).

Thursday: Blake’s London!

1. My friend Elena may come up from Barcelona for the day to see me! 
2. 10 a.m.: British Museum –  Department of Prints and Drawings, Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece, etc.
3. Lunch: Tea and Tattle (41 Great Russell Street) or London Review Cake Shop (14 Bury Place).
4. Blake historical sites: (a) St. James’s Church, (b) Royal Academy New Somerset House, (c) St. Mary’s Battersea, and (d) Bunhill Fields.
5. Either National Portrait Gallery (open to 9 p.m.) or  pubs with Simon.

Friday

• Depart: Back to San Francisco!

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For more updates, don’t forget to follow me on facebook, tumblr and/or twitter.

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Copyright 2013 by G. E. Gallas

Brief Update

★ Don’t forget to check out my graphic novel, The Poet and the Flea!

A new page every Wednesday!

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Here is a brief update on my current creative projects and endeavors…!

Monday, January 28th

1. Received package from Elena!
2. Went to travel agent to finalize plans for Cannes and London!
3. Went to Britex to buy supplies for The Flea plush toy!

Tuesday, January 29th

1. E-mails, e-mails, e-mails…!
2. Worked on Elias & the City of Cats.
3. Prepared for tomorrow — the first day of my new internship!!!

Wednesday, January 30th

• Zest Books Internship, Day #1: Wonderful first day! Having an easy time getting into the flow of everything.  Staff is extremely friendly and excited to get to know them better. Get awesome sneak peaks of upcoming titles. Friday, will be working on Tumblr and possibly doing some image research — can’t wait!

Thursday, January 31st

1. Not ready to announce anything yet, but amazing news (from January 20th) continuing to develop!
2. Received e-mail from follower Hannah Meiklejohn (bellusmundus.wordpress.com) asking if she could write an article for a magazine about The Poet and the Flea, yay! Excited to learn more details about the article and magazine. (^-^)
3. Worked on The First Reich.

Friday, February 1st

• Zest Books Internship, Day #2: Worked on historical-themed image research for most of the day, which was mostly a lot of fun! Started working on Zest’s Tumblr (zestbooks.tumblr.com). Ate lunch in nearby park, which is very pleasant and relaxing and will definitely be repeated.
  

Saturday, February 2nd

1. Happy Groundhog Day!!
2. Filled out the rest of Cannes paperwork and made a checklist for what to bring (I’m Going To Cannes!!!).
3. Went to see Warm Bodies with Wes! Not the most brilliant movie, but adorable and a lot of fun. (︶ω︶)
   

Sunday, February 3rd

1. Worked on The First Reich.
   
2. E-mailed Gabe a number of photos to show him my progress on Elias & the City of Cats.
   

Monday, February 4th

1. Worked on The First Reich.
2. For those of you watching the new Netflix series House of Cards, I highly recommend watching the original BBC version starring the brilliant Ian Richardson also available on Netflix.

Tuesday, February 5th

1. E-mails, e-mails, e-mails…!
2. Worked on The First Reich.
3. Worked on first zine.
4. Worked on Elias & the City of Cats.

Wednesday, February 6th

1. Ran into a neighbor on the bus to work today, and she’d like to hire me to help her with her WordPress. We’ll see what happens… (^-^)
2. Zest Books Internship, Day #3: Worked on creating prom tips for Zest’s Tumblr as well as a mailing project. Getting to know everyone in the office better — everyone’s super easy to talk to. Took home a copy of Zoo Station to read.
3. Wow, I adore this new FX show The Americans! Amazing character development and really scary/exciting. Can’t wait for the next episode.

Thursday, February 7th

1. Meeting with Shannon! She is so sweet and was so incredibly excited to see what I had drawn so far. For more details, check out “The First Reich”: Behind the Scenes (Part 1).
2. Doing some research on webcomics.

Friday, February 8th

• Zest Books Internship, Day #4: Continuing work on Tumblr! Sat at Ann’s desk today — she happens to have a David Bowie paper doll (with multiple outfits) taped  to her computer, which brings me endless joy.  Got to know fellow intern Olivia a bit better. Extremely excited to proofread/edit the back cover blurb for an upcoming book. Also got to share my opinion on some cover art!
  

Today’s constant companion: David Bowie!

Saturday, February 9th

• Went to see Lewis Black with Wes and the folks! Stomach hurts from laughing so much!

Sunday, February 10th

1. Finally got to talk with my good friend from high school Tina! Talked on the phone for over 2 hours! (^-^;;)
2. Worked on TOP SECRET project.

Monday, February 11th

1. Went downtown today to pick up some more supplies from Britex for The Flea plush toy.
   
2. As I mentioned before, one of my followers Hannah Meiklejohn (hannahmeiklejohn.wordpress.com) asked to do an article about me and The Poet and the Flea for an online magazine called Lemonade: Freshly Squeezed Art & Culture Magazine – so exciting!!! Today, I’m working on answering some interview questions from her. Can’t wait to read the finished article. ヽ(°◇° )ノ

Tuesday, February 12th

1. Did a little shopping in preparation for Cannes. A lot more shopping to do in the next few months.
2. Finished writing responses to Hannah’s questions. Just have to edit a bit and then send them to her.
3. Worked on TOP SECRET project.

Wednesday, February 13th

• Zest Books Internship, Day #5: More historical-themed image research and Tumblr. Asked to do some brainstorming for book ideas. Ended up walking all the way home today since the bus skipped a lot.
  

Thursday, February 14th

1. Worked on The First Reich.
2. Worked on first zine.
3. E-mails, e-mails, e-mails…!

Friday, February 15th

1. A few days ago, e-mailed the Tate Gallery about information on their William Blake collection. Today, received response with good news. Will talk about this more in upcoming post.
2. Received e-mail from Hannah! She sent a draft of the article, and it looks really wonderful so far. Just have to answer a couple follow-up questions. \(^-^)/
3. Zest Books Internship, Day #6: More historical-themed image research and Tumblr. Also, talked about a potential book idea I came up with, and some of the staff seems interested! Next week, will be attending the Teen Advisory Board on Wednesday and a staff meeting on Thursday. Very excited!

Saturday, February 16th

1. Ordered a beautiful dress to wear at Cannes. I needed a maxi dress for pool parties, etc. and couldn’t find the right one in stores. So I browsed Etsy and found the talented Nicole Lebreux! Not only does Nicole have really fun designs, but also she was extremely helpful in answering my questions. So go ahead and check out her shop!
2. Went to see a simulcast of the new Met production of Verdi’s Rigoletto. The opera is usually set in the 16th century, but this production cleverly reimagines the story in 1960s Las Vegas. Wonderfully creative and engaging production with incredible singers! Preview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-zXLKd76fk.
   

Sunday, February 17th

1. Worked on some upcoming blog posts.
2. Date night with Wes!

Etcetera

• The Poet and the Flea: 63 pages of written script (1 page of script = 4-6 illustrated pages), and about 36 pages (1-24, 27-30 completed, and 25-26, 31-36 in progress) of illustrated work.
• The First Reich: about 1-10 pages of illustrated work in progress.
• First Zine: about 6-8 pages of illustrated work in progress.

To Do:

• Add more information to my Behance.net profile.
• Add more information to my Coroflot.com profile.
• Continue adding blog content to The First Reich.
• Continue to work on The First Reich.
• Continue to work on Elias & The City of Cats.
• Complete script for The Poet and the Flea.

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For more updates, don’t forget to follow me on tumblr and/or twitter.

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Copyright 2013 by G. E. Gallas

I’m okay, but…

Hey everyone:

Just wanted to tell you that I was in a minor car accident yesterday. I’m okay, other than a little bruising and soreness.

After a wonderful date with Wes (we went to the San Francisco Zoo and had so much fun), I got a taxi home. The taxi wasn’t paying attention and crashed into the back of a stopped bus.

I was a little shaken up, but thankfully there was a wonderful lady named Tricia there to help and comfort me. A fireman checked to make sure I didn’t have any broken bones.

I’ll be taking a little time off from illustration, just until the soreness in my hand and shoulders goes away. But the premiere of The Poet and the Flea on Wednesday, November 28th is definitely still on!!

Anyway, I hope everyone stays safe (and makes sure to wear a seat belt, even in a taxi)!

Best,

G. E

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For more updates, don’t forget to follow me on tumblr and/or twitter.

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Copyright 2012 by G. E. Gallas