Abigail Halpin 7/15/22 Abigail Halpin 7/15/22

Rosa Rugosa

A new pattern I’ve been working on, inspired by beach roses. At my first job out of school, I used to park in the free spots and walk the half mile to the office. Summer mornings, a stretch of the road would be lined with beach roses. If it was low tide, this helped improve the walk exponentially (the smell of the tide going out on a hot day isn’t for the faint of heart).

I worked in a windowless office and usually spent summers bundled up in sweaters, fighting a losing battle against the air-conditioning. But those roses always signified summer, even if indoors it felt like January.

And maybe that’s why I have a soft spot for Rosa Rugosa, even now.

Abigail Halpin 7/13/22 Abigail Halpin 7/13/22

Olga's Dream

I remember reading Robert Massie’s The Romanovs: The Final Chapter in high school, being obsessed with the idea that Anastasia could have survived. I was thinking of that when I fell down an internet rabbit hole this past weekend, reading about the last days of the Grand Duchesses. As my music professor used to say, Plus ça change, etc., etc., etc.

And because I can’t get those young women out of my head, I drew this. Given the time, I’d love to develop this one further, their whole maddening, heart-breaking, fascinating story.

Abigail Halpin 7/8/22 Abigail Halpin 7/8/22

"When in Rome, do as you done in Milledgeville"

I like typography. I like embroidery. So I decided to do an embroidered book cover, as a personal project. The process is slow going, stitching all that kudzu. But I’m always up for stepping away from the pixels to work on something more tangible, so this scratches that itch nicely.

Other things:

My Mom loaned me The Face of Russia: Anguish, Aspiration, and Achievement in Russian Culture and it’s fascinating, the juxtaposition of art, literature and film with the history of Russia. Very readable, definitely recommend.
The reboot of Why Didn’t They Ask Evans is a delight. I was underwhelmed (and slightly disturbed) by the 2009 version, but this go around is a far better adaptation. Also, with Hugh Laurie as writer and director, I don’t see where you can really go wrong.
A fun Canada Day roundup of books, including Anne Arrives.

Abigail Halpin 6/30/22 Abigail Halpin 6/30/22

Dystopian Daydreams

Earlier this month, I hopped my first flight in three years and headed out west for a family reunion in Oregon, near Crater Lake. There were lots of campfires, cups of coffee and catching up, after years of not seeing one another. All in all, it was 110% worth the 21+ hours of travel time to get home.

During the visit, my 13-year-old niece told me her genre of choice is teen girl dystopian novels. I applaud her taste. So the above is an attempt at something dystopian for her, which just ended up looking steampunk.

But who’s to say you can’t navigate the apocalypse in a hoop skirt?

Obligatory Crater Lake National Park snap. Snow! In June!

Abigail Halpin 6/27/22 Abigail Halpin 6/27/22

The Nineteen Hundreds

Doing a deep dive into some Edwardian photo reference and this wistful guy felt like he deserved a portrait. Cheer up, buddy, electricity and antibiotics are on the horizon.

Abigail Halpin 6/23/22 Abigail Halpin 6/23/22

"You don’t need your eyes to see"

I saw Wolfwalkers with my sister and her kids last week and oh my, what a movie. I didn’t think anything could possibly top Song of the Sea, but Cartoon Saloon absolutely outdoes itself with the art in Wolfwalkers.

So, I couldn’t resist doing a little warmup drawing of Mebh Óg MacTíre today. That girl has sass in spades.