Back To The Clouds

Trying to get work done so I can get back to Maddy Kettle. What a struggle. So many little things to do, mostly very small commissions, but it seems like an uphill climb. Also, we're in the gap between summer and daycare for Henry. Julie has started back teaching again so I'm the primary caregiver for the next while. Which means creative ways to keep Henry occupied while I draw. But that's just how things go and I wouldn't have it any other way. It's all worth it.

Skeleton Monday

Most of the weekend was spent editing stuff and having major disagreements with my computer and having one family related crisis after another. Henry had one of his worst spills yet. So I'm taking a deep breath and hoping this week I can start fresh.

While waiting for Photoshop to think I doodled skeletons in a watercolour sketchbook that was laying close at hand. Strangely calming.

What I'm Reading

The Woman In Black  by Susan Hill

The Seance by John Harwood

The Spell of The Sorcerer's Skull by John Bellairs

All fantastic books. I've had very good luck and finding the books I really want to read lately. And I'm discovering all these dark, gothic tales I'd vener heard of before.

The Curse of the Sorcerer's Skull is maybe my favorite Bellairs book so far. 

Bat Hunting

Last night the family sat out on the porch and watched a tubby little bat flit from tree to tree, presumably hunting. Lots of fun. couldn't get a picture though. too far away.

Having an unproductive day. Parenting stuff keeps coming up. I'm desperately trying to complete two projects so I can return to Maddy Kettle, which I'll be doing full time again hopefully in a week or two. Right now I'm only able to get to it between other things.

Now, back to making sure Henry isn't destroying the house. 

London Moon

A sketch done for a project but not approved. This was done on the Cintiq. This came out of looking for a design for a chapter header.

Off downtown today. I need some art supplies to finish up a project for Tor.com. I haven't been downtown Toronto in a while. I also haven't been to the barber in a while, which I will also do. 

Back Home

Arrived back home a couple of nights ago. Here are some pictures of Quebec from the road between the New Brunswick border and Montreal. This is a place I really love, so moody and beautiful. The St Lawrence is a dramatic swath of the ocean cutting into North america. I'd consider moving here if I could actually talk in French. 

So, soon after arriving home I tore apart my studio. I decided somewhere on the road that I needed more space and I'm very happy with the results. 

Today I'm working on an interior illustration for a Victorian mystery. A little drawing I've been looking forward to. after that I have to complete some work for Tor.com and then the last few profile pictures. And finally back to Maddy Kettle.  

Road Ghosts

Reading lots of Gothic and ghost stories on the road. Making the trip even better. Nothing improves the landscape better than spooky tales.

Staying in Montreal tonight and then on to Toronto tomorrow. And back to work a day or two after that. I think I'll rearrange the studio when I get back. 

Through Quebec

Just arrived in Montreal. It's as though the rural landscape gradually and grudgingly gives way to the sprawl that starts in Montreal and makes it's way along the Canada US border through to the west. It's something you notice more in a car than in a plane, I think.  Read ghost stories most of the way, which suits the landscape. 

As The Crow Flies

Heading back to Toronto this morning. A good 2 days traveling ahead. 

Lobsters And Blueberries

We squeezed in a lot of vacation yesterday! First we went to a quiet little pond in a more rural part of Windsor and had a picnic of lobster and beer. It was nice, slightly creepy place. Henry and I hunted for the muskrat that reportedly lives in the pond. No sightings, though. And then we went blueberry picking, which was a blast. Henry had a great time.

We're packing up today, leaving for Ontario tomorrow morning. A long drive. I'll miss Nova Scotia but it'll be good to be back on a normal schedule in Toronto. And so far our plan of the working year in Ontario and summers here in the East seems to be working better than I thought. 

Beneath The snow

I'm officially taking a few days off. Artwork is all packed up, except my sketchbook and pencils etc. And we're heading out on the road again in a few days. The timing is pretty good, I'm starting to feel stressed and over worked. So a few days with a book and a glass of wine will be good for me. Today we're going blueberry picking and having a picnic with lobster.

The above image is in homage to the gothic greatness of Susan Hill's Woman in Black. I'm really enjoying this book and can not wait to see the film. I'm suddenly in the mood for some ghostly stories and have a pile of them waiting to be read. 

Old Werewolf Drawing

Packing up here in Halifax. Getting a last little bit of work done. Promised to take Friday and Saturday off. Currently drawing and watching Curse of the Wererabbit. 

Bera and Friend

Just posting this old drawing because I wrote a story with Bera in it.

I'm packing up now and struggling to get a last bit of drawing in before we leave here and things get disrupted again. I've also promised to take a couple of days off before we leave, so I'm panicking a bit. 

Rat Perch

A tiny little corner of a drawing I'm working on. Part of the Loop Groo picture. I've gone through a number of pens on it so I'm going downtown to buy more. I'm starting to wonder if I shouldn't just have these pens delivered periodically. 

Josh

Joshua is a character I've been working on. He's kind of pudgy, has a wooden leg and he's 12.


I'm just about at the end of my trip here, getting work done just before I leave. It's been really tough to work during the past month but I've done OK. I'm looking forward to having my studio back. 

High Above Bedford Basin

A photo I took while visiting friends in Bedford. I'm really happy with this picture, it captures how I feel about Nova Scotia quite well without any stereotypical imagery. The sky here changes a lot in Nova Scotia, more than it does in Ontario. You really live with the weather here. It's always shifting and changing around you. Mist, rain, sun, clouds, wind, the weather is always moving.

So, I tried the Freedom app yesterday, shutting myself out of the internet most of the day and I think it's great and well worth the 10 dollars for me. I worked without distraction most of the day and loved it. No online discussions all day, no shocking emails, no accidentally spending hours researching something that has nothing to do with anything at all. Highly recommended!

Stack Of Books

A panel from Maddy Kettle, drawn with a G Pen Nib from Jetpens and Micron pens. Lots of work ahead today. I bought the Freedom app for my computer yesterday, it locks you out of the internet for as long as you want. I hate to admit I need a tool like that but I think it's a good idea. The studio can get lonely and it's easy to get engaged in online conversation with people. And I'm always more productive without the internet. I use to use an app for Firefox that limited your internet time but that never really worked. I'll let you know what I think of Freedom. 

I Love Libraries

Henry had a visit to the library yesterday, the same one I went to when I was little (same library, different location). There are few places I love to take him more. There's something so great about going into a building filled with books and getting to borrow one. My wife checked in on one of my books there, The Terrible, Horrible, Smell Pirate and of the 20 copies in the system all but one was taken out. What a great feeling! I hope you have a wonderful library nearby as well.

Here's where you can get the pirate book. 

Dustcloud Gap

A photo of a panel from a Maddy Kettle page I finished yesterday (I'm sorry about all the fuzzy images lately, I'm without a scanner here). I thought this page would take a lot longer than it actually did. I think I'm speeding up a little. I do draw pretty fast but I don't push myself too much because I find my work can slide into sloppiness. But this page went pretty fast and I hope I continue to build up a bit of speed. I set a deadline for myself, and I think that really helped. I still feel a bit behind but I'm getting there. I'm still visiting the east coast for a couple of weeks and with other projects and interruptions I expect to get another 2 or 3 pages finished before we go back to Toronto.  

Blasted Tree

A stack of pages I'm drawing. I'm having an overwhelmed day instead of a "I can handle this" day. I like the latter kind of day best. 

Lumbering Alien

Alien sketch for an idea I'm working on with the amazing writer Will Shetterly. It's early on in the project and we're still working on where it's going, but it is so cool. I've been a fan of Will's work for ages, he creates some of the most amazing characters in genre writing. I was even reading his work on my Kindle as we were driving east a few weeks ago, I had no clue I'd be in contact with him this summer. I have never been so inspired by the work of a collaborator.

Working on Maddy Kettle today, doing one of the hardest pages so far but one I'm really proud of. 

Uniform

A sketch for a project I'm discussing with someone. Really happy with this one.

Only two weeks left in Halifax! I'm working twice as hard to get caught up. Still so much work to do. Will be going offline for most of the day in the hopes of fewer distractions. 

Ralph In The sky With Train Smoke

I still haven't decided how to colour Maddy Kettle. so occasionally I'l take a panel and colour it to see how it looks. This is Ralph, the Flying Spadefoot Toad, and a part of a panel from the first book. I'm actually not even ure what colour Ralph should be yet. Spadefoot Toads can be a pretty broad variety of colours and patterns. I coloured this from a photograph so that';s why it's a bit wonky looking. Er, more wonky than my drawings usually are.

Doing the last few profile pictures. I need to stop because I really need t get back to contract work but if I'm doing one for you it's still coming, I'll finish up al the requests I've received before I stop. If you've asked for one but not sent me reference photos please do so soon and if you've asked for one, sent reference photos and still don't have it please let me know, as I might have made a mistake.

Finally reading the fifth Song of Fire and Ice book. I'm trying to read it fast so that all the good bits don't get leaked on the internet before I'm done. 

Various Methods To Work Without Distraction

If you're on google+ I've been having lots of fascinating discussions about books and new media. A couple of discussions based on these questions/statement:

It seems there should be more obvious ways for illustrators to hook up with companies to create those interactive books for tablets. Right now it's like a shining city hidden in the mist. Or something.


And


A follow up to my previous post. Are illustrators and creators better off spending most of their time with their heads down creating work with less thought to the final media it will appear in or are they better off spending more time researching digital media and looking for people to help create content within digital media?

Navigator

A sketch for a possible project.

Working long days right now. Getting caught up. We're also in the midst of a 3 day thunderstorm. Which is actually kind of cool. 

Mushroom Moon In Colour

A repost of a picture but coloured now. This is a picture from a very exciting upcoming project. Still working away here. We are in the midst of a thunderstorm that is lasting days. Check out this photo of the storm from last night. 

Nursery Rhyme Comics

Here's a project that I contributed to and what a book! Filled with amazing talent. I'm really, really proud of this one. 

Check out the talent: Nick Abadzis; Andrew Arnold; Kate Beaton; Vera Brosgol; Nick Bruel; Scott Campbell; Lilli Carre; Roz Chast; JP Coovert; Jordan Crane; Rebecca Dart; Eleanor Davis; Vanessa Davis; Theo Ellsworth; Matt Forsythe; Jules Feiffer; Bob Flynn; Alexis Frederick-Frost; Ben Hatke; Gilbert Hernandez; Jaime Hernandez; Lucy Knisley; David Macaulay; Mark Martin; Patrick McDonnell; Mike Mignola; Tony Millionaire; Tao Nyeu; George O’Connor; Mo Oh; Laura Park; Cyril Pedrosa; Lark Pien; Aaron Renier; Dave Roman; Marc Rosenthal; Stan Sakai; Richard Sala; Mark Siegel; James Sturm; Raina Telgemeier; Craig Thompson; Richard Thompson; Sara Varon; Jen Wang; Drew Weing; Gahan Wilson; Gene Luen Yang; Stephanie Yue;

Can't believe I'm a part of this one. 

Buy it on Amazon. 

And Amazon in Canada

And check out this very nice early review on Publishers Weekly. 

Mystery Train

Still getting caught up on Maddy Kettle today while looking over a new script. Above is a panel from the comic.