The Fairy Fighter
For years, I’ve said I wanted to write my own books. And I’ve made attempts at this with results ranging from passable to flat-out dreadful. But ultimately, nothing ever quite resonated. Whatever this is, however, has clicked. So since September, I’ve been working through an outline. Plot lines would get jettisoned when walking the dog, character quirks added when sitting in traffic. I began scripting this month, and then began writing, because I second-guessed the scripting. Which is a round about way to say that I am trying to make a book and it’s more like hiking up a vertical cliff in a snowstorm than traipsing through fields of unicorns and daisies. This story has gotten under my skin and I hope that this time around, that counts for something. Also the main character’s hair is all wrong and her look is proving elusive in all things but the determined glint in her eyes.
What else?
I’m knitting the DRK Everyday Sweater at the moment. I’ve been on the hunt for a top-down knit pullover for awhile and this pattern ticks all the boxes. I’m on the first sleeve and have knit through with zero modifications (other than lengthening the torso by an inch).
Spy thrillers set in the 60’s are generally catnip for me, so it seemed like a foregone conclusion to stream The Courier. It’s a gem of a movie — what really struck me was its affirmation of the fact that it’s often very average people who do very remarkable things.
Local to Seacoast New Hampshire? The Artists of Salmon Falls Open Studios is this weekend. I’ll be open for at least part of Saturday and potentially Sunday. If you’d like to check on hours before coming, drop me a line here and I’ll do my best to be open at a convenient time. And on Saturday, down the road a bit, is the Winter Farmers’ Market at Wentworth Greenhouses and the Christmas Fair at St. Mary’s. So if you have a hankering for original art, fresh veg and homemade cookies, the town of Rollinsford, New Hampshire has you covered this weekend.
Anne Dares
She’s here! Anne Dares is the latest installment in the Anne of Green Gables inspired series that I’ve been illustrating for Tundra Books. Written by Kallie George, this is the fifth title in the collection. There’s ridge pole walking and puff sleeves in this one. And a certain Josie Pye makes an appearance…
Frodo and Fall
The Lord of the Rings was supposed to be my summer read. It looks like it’ll also be my autumn read. My reading speed would probably be enhanced if I stopped trying to read so many books at the same time. But whenever I want a bit of Middle Earth escapism, Frodo and Co.’s adventures are providing a much needed respite. Anyhow, I figured it was high time I drew some Hobbits.
It was a grand summer and I’m sorry to see it go. But my pumpkins are finally turning orange and I like sweaters, so I’m prepared to make peace with the arrival of fall.
And if you’re anywhere near the New Hampshire Seacoast, I have a show at the Rollinsford Public Library that’ll run through mid-October.
Athnowen
I made it back to Ireland (previously here), so a sketchbook comic. Also, if your last name is “Healy” or “Leary” and you live anywhere in or around Ovens, Cork, please, please write. My grandmother kept in touch with cousins through the 1960’s, but her dementia and subsequent passing have left us unable to track down her correspondent. To eestablish communication would be a treasure.
Gilbert
This week I finished the very last painting in the very last book in the Anne of Green Gables adapted series. It’s bittersweet saying goodbye to Anne Shirley, but she gets a wonderful send off in this final book. It’ll be a year until that title comes out, but this fall Anne Dares hits shelves (here’s a preview on NetGalley). In the meantime, here’s a bit of art from the third book, Anne’s School Days, in which Gilbert helps get Anne out of a pickle. It’s hot and humid here today, so that river is looking mighty fine at the moment…
And the illustration model for Gilbert? My great-grandfather, John.
I’m in the middle of artwork for the final installment in the Anne of Green Gables series that I’ve been illustrating for the past six (!) years. But I wanted to pop in and share that the Salut! 8 Coaster Show at Nucleus Portland is live. Unfortunately, the above maiden has found a home, but I have two other coasters still available (here and here).
"And caught a little silver trout.."
Because this has been looping in my head all week, an attempt at a faux linocut in photoshop. Life is mostly deadlines right now, so I haven’t had a chance for any printmaking. I love carving blocks. Nothing beats the smell of ink. An ideal day for me would be cueing up an album or three and running a block through a press for ages. My biceps would be five stars if this was, in fact, my daily routine. But most of all, I love having something tangible in my hands, not just a collection of pixels stored amongst wires and uploaded to the ether. So maybe I’ll get around to turning this into an actual print, when things quiet down a bit.
But:
Please, someone, turn into a book this story of the 500 pounds of mystery pasta in the woods of New Jersey. I don’t want to know the real ending: all the imagined possibilities are too delightful to be ruined by anything prosaic.
While hunting for a reference photo, I stumbled on the Vintage Norway Tumblr and it is grand.
A LEGO version (!) of the Flannery O’Connor short story, A Good Man is Hard to Find.
