London Nostalgia

Last month, I had the joy of going back to one of the haunts of my youth. I spent nine glorious days in jolly ol’ London. It has changed a great deal since the 80s and 90s but I’m glad the people and their colloquialisms are the same. It was also very nice to have a bloody proper cup of tea for a change!

And I realized that, home is never where your hat is- it’s where your heart is. And that a vacation is never a getaway- it’s a sense of being found . . . A bientot!

 

New Paintings

Hello Everyone:

There is a thread of a story behind these images. . . But I'll keep up the intrigue and say these characters are trapped and have their roles to play.

Enjoy!

I've Been Blogging for One Year

Gym Sketch

Shapes Exercise

I quickly penciled this wonderful exercise from Matt Madden and Jessica Abel's newest publication. You can find Mastering Comics just about any where.

In a nutshell, the exercise is this:
1- start with a page full of 6 panels. Draw abstract shapes in each panel. Don't think about it too much.

2- Next, carve out a scene and a story from each panel. Use the abstract shapes you created to guide you.




3- Add details and voila!



A bientot!

*Yes, the narrative in the first two panels are from Pink Floyd's Comfortably Numb. To be specific, the song came from the collaborative genius of Roger Waters and David Gilmour. Why I started thinking of them while I did this, that's another post . . .

Dolphin Spice

I've done some more spice paintings and this time, I tried to do something slightly representational. And, instead of using spicy spices, I used up an old bottle of Chinese 5 spice mix. Which, with the cinnamon and everything, smelt wonderful.

If any one has any spices they'd like to donate to my cause, I would greatly appreciate it. Right now, my best source is the Indian market, which is a lovel visit, but really, quite a drive!

A bientot!

ps- to find out how I create spice paintings, go here: http://writeinkpaint.blogspot.com/2012/03/letting-loose.html

Tomie DePaola Award

I recently entered the 2013 Tomie DePaola Award Contest. The criteria was to pick an excerpt from either Little Women, Huckleberry Finn or The Yearling.

After I read Little Women, I did some preliminary sketches based on some scenes I liked. I focused on what I thought the character would look like.

But I didn't want to go for the obvious- Jo in her attic working away, the sisters gathered around sewing and chatting, etc... I wanted to capture a moment in the story that reflects deep emotional bonds between the characters, the sincere joy of the story and the charm of the era in which Little Women was written in. The Christmas party when Laurie and Amy fall in love I thought the perfectly seasonal moment.

After a little research on late 1800s costumes, I drew. I inked. I painted.

Here's my submission:

You can view the unofficial gallery of incredible entries from the contest here: http://scbwicontest.blogspot.com/

What a talented group. I wish we could all win. Bonne chance to everyone!