Not Yet
I started spring cleaning earlier this month. Then I started moving furniture. After single-handedly moving a couch, a coffee table, one chair and a houseplant that weighs more than me, things are looking up. There is far less dust and much less inertia. In the process, I unearthed a few sketches and assorted book ideas. I loosely based the sketches above on an autumnal road trip my grandparents took us on, as teenagers. The highlight of the trip was definitely eating fried chicken and brownies outside the legendary Willey House on a glorious October day.
Other things:
I am itching to get my hands on a copy of The Book That No One Wanted to Read.
The Atelier Forum Podcast is great.
Working on book sketches, the mental bandwidth for music with words just isn’t there, so I’m back to adding things to this Television/Movie Music playlist. Any and all suggestions are welcome.
I’m taking my relationship with coffee to the next level and planted coffee tree seeds this weekend. This coffee plant tutorial is helpful. The good news is they’re comparatively easy to grow. The bad news is I will not be perking any of my own beans for years and years. Patience, young grasshopper?
The Piratess
Imaginary labels for imaginary libations. Although on second thought, pirates seem more like rum aficionados than G&T fans.
Testing, Testing
It’s exactly a month until the release of Mouseboat, written by Larissa Theule. It feel like final artwork was just turned in for this yesterday, but the calendar reminds me that was close to a year (!) ago.
I’ve begun sifting through early sketches and art tests, ahead of the book’s release. It’s always fascinating what remains and what is done away with during this stage. Here’s a few early pieces of art from the book.
And I’m over the moon that Mouseboat has a starred review from both Booklist and The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books.
A mossy pattern and a fairy maid. The above-average-temperatures have me prematurely thinking spring. And while that’s a ways off yet, the longer days and the brighter mornings are very much welcome.
Assorted Things:
I just finished watching the first season of Astrid et Raphaëlle and it’s absolutely charming (streaming stateside on Amazon and airing on PBS affiliates).
If you’re local to seacoast New Hampshire, Two Bees Café is splendid. I popped in for a carrot cake and a coffee this week. Days later, I’m still obsessing over the wallpaper.
Wildcat, a new Flannery O’Connor biopic is in the works.
This London-loving sweater pattern went straight into my Ravelry queue.
Free Valentine Printable
Happy (almost) Valentine’s Day — here’s a free coloring card printable, to celebrate. Download PDF, print at high quality and break out the pencils and/or crayons. Enjoy!
:: Download Here ::
And previous year’s free Valentine printables:
Hourly Comic Day
Because I needed a creative kick in the pants, I decided to give Hourly Comic Day a whirl. I had a free day Wednesday and thought it would be a good challenge to work in a format I don’t typically use. All in all, it’s pretty mundane, but Miley Cyrus and homemade turkey soup do make an appearance (just not together), so there’s that.
Snow Maidens and Mishaps
A linocut I did of the Snow Maiden in December, back when snow made me think of Narnia and Turkish delight and not 24+ hour power outages. And shoveling. So much shoveling. I’m writing this, though, while listening to a chorus of chainsaws dealing with downed tree limbs. Let me tell you, it’s a sweet, sweet sound.
A year’s worth of Bargue plates. I have a long way to go in improving accuracy, rendering technique etc., but it’s been hugely helpful working through these. A couple of these are second attempts (and even third attempts in the case of the drawing of L'Inconnue). But more of these in 2023, for sure.
Other things:
I love Hattie Kerr’s Instagram feed (and especially her fingerless glove knitting patterns).
The true story of one woman’s circuitous return to the Aran Islands, Miss Folan’s Last Wish is a splendid listen. Stranger than fiction and decidedly heart-felt, I hope it gets optioned for a film. Quickly.
I picked up Magpie Murders to read after having seen the television adaptation last month. It’s a fun, cozy mystery, making it the perfect antidote to the winter blahs. I read nights until my eyes were literally crossing from fatigue, I was that determined to plow through to the reveal.
The cover for Anne Dares just popped up online, part of the Anne of Green Gables inspired series I’ve been illustrating.
