Sketchbook things, St. Patrick’s Day on my mind. I had a great-great grandmother named Delia Delaney and it’s always seemed like a splendid name for a book character. That said, I have no idea if she ever did battle with malevolent fairies. Hopefully.
The Infanta
This Infanta has been showing up in my sketchbook for the past 15 years. I probably owe her a story, with that level of persistence.
Also, I’ve been updating my portfolio over the past few weeks. In addition to new book samples, there’s now a section for lettering and design, updated sketchbooks and some new surface design work.
The More Things Change...
Over the holidays, I thought I’d rearrange a few things in my bedroom. And next thing I knew, that simple task had morphed into a terrifying, post-modern version of If You Give A Mouse A Cookie, as I sorted magazines, bagged goods to donate and cleaned out the boxes of mementos I’ve had since junior high.
I ran across a sketchbook from high school in that box. 99.9% of it makes me wince, which I suspect is a good thing. Some of it made me choke up, like the drawing of my grandmother doing dishes. And some sketches made me laugh, particularly the drawings that included teen Abbie’s numerous self-critiques: “Good, but this angle is wrong” and “This doesn’t really look like my sister, so I need to practice more and do better.”
Occasionally I can see things that will spill over into the work I do today: historical costumes, a love of detail, a fascination with people. So when I was thinking of something to warmup with today, I thought I’d have a shot at redrawing something in that teen sketchbook, in my style now.
And maybe in the year 2045, when we’re all traveling about with jetpacks, I’ll have a shot at that illustration, again.
No clue what is going on with that kid in the tophat. No idea. Nope.
Pokeberry Ink
I’ve wanted to experiment with natural inks for ages and finally got around to it, making this magenta shade with the pokeberry that grows near the river. Oh my, what a color — it practically glows on the page before drying to a more subtle hue. While I suspect its archival qualities are poor to middling, that shade is really unlike anything I’ve painted with and I’m itching to see what else I can make inks with. Here’s a tutorial if you’re so inclined to try your hand at pokeberry ink. I also have a Pinterest board of natural dye and ink resources.
Et cetera:
Roadside Cake Fridges are a thing!
The Tundra Illustrator Gift Guide is out and I’m very glad to be included. There’s some amazing artwork available from the illustrators mentioned and well-worth a look. I snagged one of Ben Clanton’s Mermicorn shirts for my niece a few years back.
Owen Pallett covering Guided By Voices might be my very favorite internet discovery of 2021. Looping pedals! Violins! It’s musical catnip! What’s fascinating about that cover is how ultimately a melody can be made, broken and put back together and that while something remains, there’s a considerable amount that’s purged and purified. And that had me looking at old sketchbooks in a different light. Also, that bow technique, yasss….
Sketchbooking
I haven’t done a sketch dump in ages, so here’s bits from my sketchbook. In the interest of full disclosure, I’ve taken things from assorted pages and it looks nowhere this clean and orderly.
It’s funny the things that rise to the surface when you zone out and start drawing, but also what remains unanswered. I have no clue why the young lass is triumphant about chopping off a couple feet of hair. No idea. And for years I’ve gotten those Elvis Perkins lyrics wrong. Yawns are useless, not arms. But for anyone that’s shown up at a social gathering and agonized over what to do with their hands (fold them? put them in your pockets? keep them behind your back?), perhaps the misheard lyrics make sense.
And Happy (almost) Thanksgiving if you’re stateside! I’m wrapping things up here, ready to consume Very Large Quantities of Pie. I’m profoundly grateful for family and friends, work that I love and a roof over my head. I’m also specifically thankful this year for two new nephews, 90’s party playlists, a car muffler that works and Jaffa cakes. And coffee. Always coffee.
Due North
I disappeared for a few days up North. Here’s some of what I saw and sketched. Drawing the birch tree, I realized it had been eons since I’d just sat and been still. It’s been a year. Sometimes it feels like twenty. It seems that way for everyone? But there’s nothing like complete silence all around you, to regain your bearings. Bacon and egg sandwiches from this place don’t hurt, either.
Also, I’m pretty sure I saw a UFO. But that’s a story for another day.
Growing Things - 2021 Garden
Things I grew this year, in no particular order:
Jimmy Nardello Pepper: I haven’t had luck growing peppers before, but I did with this absolutely terrific variety. The seedlings were a bit fussy, but once they took hold, this plant took off and I’m beyond thrilled with the outcome.
Jack Be Little pumpkin and Sugar Pumpkin: I ended up with a handful of Jack Be Little, but not as many as the first time I grew them. And we won’t talk about the full-size pumpkins. It just wasn’t my year to grow decorative gourds. Win some, lose some.
Tiny Tim Tomato: A hardy, abundant cherry tomato, this was my second year growing these and it won’t be the last.
French Breakfast Radishes: I keep striking out on radishes. Large, leafy greens, lackluster tiny veg. I think this comes down to something I’m doing/not doing correctly — it might be an issue of fertilizing? The few full-size radishes I did manage, though, were good.
Rose Finn Apple Potatoes: Hands down, this was my favorite thing I grew. I used a few containers for growing, but next year, I’ll use trash bins to get a larger crop.
Mammoth Melting Sugar Snow Peas: This was my second year growing this variety and I give them a bazillion stars. Robust, fast-growing, tons and tons of peas: everything to love, nothing to hate. I did do a second planting in August. It might be too late for a second batch, but worst case scenario, the shoots will be nice for salads.
Basil: Another thing I grew from the Hudson Valley Seed Company. I grew a few rows of basil and was able to get enough to make and freeze pesto. I could have frozen more, but I ate a larger quantity than I set up, regrettably.
I also grew lettuce, which is doing far better now than it did earlier in the season. The onions were a colossal disaster. And I grew White Lace and Utrecht Blue Wheat (which looks wonderful dried). And the final thing I had a go at was Elephant Ear which took forever and a day to sprout, but ended up doing pretty well as the season progressed. I’m moving that indoors here in the next week or so.