Get your freshly printed Demons!

I have a new printing of We Will Never Leave You comic/coloring books. It's very exciting to think that I actually sold (and gave away) all the copies I printed this spring!

I thought I would show you the "behind-the-scenes" for creating this comic, but, if you are short on time, here is the most important part... you can now get your own print copies and/or download a PDF version, from my Etsy store. I've also added a pack of 5 comics for a reduced price - for those of you who would like to give the comics as gifts. And if you want the fabulous, deluxe, Thesis-edition - there are a couple still remaining (from the Kickstarter).

Here's the description for We Will Never Leave You:

This is no ordinary, relaxing, meditative comic book/coloring book. Oh, no - this one is actually quite stressful, but will leave you feeling reassured... in the end. 
Perhaps.

We Will Never Leave You is a comic interview with my Inner Demons. With special guest appearances by OCD, Anxiety, Creativity and others - We Will Never Leave You is a fun romp through the lovable mess in my head. 
And perhaps, your head too?

This print version features 12 B&W interior pages printed on lovely paper perfect for markers and colored pencils. You can color on both sides of the paper with no embarrassing show through.

About 7" x 8.5" in size.

The Evolution of My Inner Demons

Well.. I think the Demons have always been there, but this is how these particular representations of My Demons happened.

It began with a big anthology project during my first year at The Center for Cartoon Studies. The theme for the anthology was "Speak of the Devil" and I created a comic called "The Little Devil" (which I really SHOULD turn into a mini-comic...)

The character sketches were based on some drawings my daughter and I created - a little boy with a devil t-shirt - he gets struck by lightning and becomes the devil creature...

The character stuck with me and I found myself drawing it in my class notes...

During a summer program with Alec Longstreth... on the first day of class (Monday) we were given the assignment: Create an 8 page comic, inked, and printed, due Friday morning.

I spent the first day getting to know my characters and what they wanted, what they were afraid of...

Then I started sketching out the plot line and some dialog... the blue pencil grouped the images, etc. that I thought belonged together on each page.

On Tuesday, I rearranged those bits and pieces into panels and thumbnails. The thumbnails are tiny representations of each page's layout. I quickly realized I needed extra pages to tell the story. My 8 page requirement grew to 12! (With this kind of project, you have to work with pages in multiples of 4. A sheet of paper folded in half equals four pages.)

Here's a close-up of pages 10 and 11:

On Wednesday, I blew up the thumbnail sketches and started refining, adding details and text. This is the same page shown above (page 10) but in full-size pencil sketch form...

This is a full progression for Page 1, from blue penciled sketch layout, to pencil sketch, to final inked page.

On Thursday I finished inking all 12 pages, then scanned, cleaned up, and laid out the pages in InDesign.

Friday morning, I printed and assembled the comics! I used the original class doodle-drawing as the cover, but I redrew it quickly in marker to match the style of the comic.

Normally... I would have used gray marker to add shading and depth to the pages, but there was NO WAY I would have had the time to do that for this four-day comic! So... it is a "coloring book" and you can add your own colors. I started playing around with colors and was surprised to learn that my Demons are purple-y!? I'd still like to do a version all in grays...

Meanwhile, back in the Thesis... the Demons had started creeping into my daily comics - not all my Demons look like little devil creatures! The Heart (Self-care), butterfly-bug (Creativity), Lilah Beans (yeh, well, they're Lilah Beans!), Dragon (my inner Bitch... more like "Puff" than "Godzilla." I need to work on that...)

It was getting pretty noisy in my head! Everyone had their own opinions...

But the Demons could also be very helpful and I was starting to take comfort from the fact that, well, they would never leave me.

I decided to feature them in the second issue of BEGIN AGAIN, "The Issues Issue" (ha ha!). I think it took longer to design the cover than it took to create the mini-comic! But it felt really good to "flesh" them out in watercolor and gouache.

I hand lettered the title - tangled "BEGIN" and used a folded cola pen to draw "AGAIN" with all the great splatters.

I added the rest of the text in Photoshop. I think it really looks like a magazine! (There are still a couple of these left on my Etsy site.)

Group Portrait with my Editorial Staff!

Nov. 18th - Open Studio at CCAC!

Did you miss my Open Studio back in September? Well, you have another chance to see my new Studio (Art Closet!) at CCAC - the Concord Community Arts Center - at 40 Thorndike Street in Concord, NH.

This Saturday, November 18th, from 9-5pm the CCAC will have lots of Open Studios AND a big Crafts Fair!

I'll have my Zentangle books and cards, Comics, Holiday cards, tattoos, some other stuff... and I'll have a few buckets filled with my rubber stamps that you can bag up for really cheap - great stocking stuffers!

PLEASE come and visit me! You know how crazy these things make me - give me a hug, tell me something encouraging - and I'll give you a sticker or tattoo. ;-)

Alternate Realities Comic - Halloween 2017

Four different ways my life could have manifested itself today - if I had made slightly different choices along the way. I can't... and don't want to... explain it any more than that.

Here is the original ballpoint pen comic I drew - I'd love to hear your thoughts...

The Spidey Code

My friend Debbee and I were leaving a really lively SCBWI illustrator's crit group at BAM! last week. We were the last ones out of the store and we stepped out into a cold, wet, dark, empty parking lot. Some passing headlights glinted off what I thought was a flattened, bloody, rain-toad. With a weird combination of shock and recognition - I realized it was actually a flattened Spiderman action figure!

Squatting on the wet asphalt to photograph Spidey's tiny... corpse... I was overcome with sadness and the futility of striving for greatness.

I left the body there. Although I had the beginnings of a graphic novel forming in my head...

Last year, at CCS, we were challenged to use a popular film, and a randomly chosen theme, as the inspiration for our own graphic novel. I combined Maze Runner with Trailer Parks to create OSFO PARK. OSFO PARK is still in the Only-Partially-Formed-But-Potentially-a-Great-Story realm.

Looking at the corpse of Spiderman laid out so carefully on the ground - I had visions from Dan Brown's The DaVinci Code! Just as Saunière's body was laid out to form a clue... what is Spidey's body trying to tell us about his killer?!  The positioning, the hand gestures, the tilt of the head... Instead of the Brotherhood of Sion, we've got the Brotherhood of Avengers! And set in the world of Marvel and DC? You think the Bible is controversial - you ain't seen nothing yet!

Gory Daze Parade in WRJ

The Gory Daze Parade in White River Junction has become a tradition for me and my daughter.

Walking around in the dark with a thousand other freaks - many who GLOW! - is my idea of the best halloween ever!

This weird musical instrument runs on FIRE!

It's very very dark tonight, but that suits the Huntress and the Bat!

Wish you were here with us? Take a look around:

And giant BUBBLES blown by Bubble Santa floating over everyone...

 Flaming pumpkins on the roof of the bar!

The T-Rex made us laugh so hard!

Next year I hope to make it to the "Ball" held after the parade!

Back to WRJ

Lilah and I lucked out with the first sunny day in a week as we headed up to White River Junction for a mini-escape.

We spent most of the day at the Montshire Museum of Science - there's a new exhibit about the engineering inside toys.

Before the sun disappeared, we hiked down to the waterfall which was a bit of a slippery challenge with wet leaves and mud. I was really surprised to see the lake was mostly empty, must be a dam somewhere? We could walk right out onto the lake bed!

I was mesmerized by this sand machine I found near the back wall. I spent about an hour adjusting the dials and watching the sand bubble up, then fall. It was like a volcano. I was trying to make the sand in the center fall in without taking all the side walls with it. I had it figured out when a kid walked up and started randomly turning the knob... AAAAHHHHH!

I really want one of these in my studio. I felt so calm... I wonder if there are instructions on YouTube. All I can figure out is it has different weights of sand granules, between two pieces of glass, lit from behind (just a strong spotlight in back) and the dial controls the flow of... water? air? that sends bubbles through the lighter sand.

I hope to get back up here again soon - and, fingers crossed, work on some more science kits for the museum!

It's that time of year again... RUN AWAY!

Sitting on this beach for an hour - or maybe longer (?) - the sounds of the ocean start to soothe me and wash the pain and fear out of my brain. I wanted someplace new - and yet familiar - to escape to.

 I've never been here before. In the past, I've run to Ogunquit and walked the Marginal Way until I felt at Peace and could return to the real world.

But the people walking on the Marginal Way were couples. Pairs. Holding hands. Foreign to me. If they even noticed me, we'd nod very slightly and walk on.

On THIS beach, there are a few older couples in beach chairs facing away from the water, towards the fading sun. Everyone else is on their own. Like me. Mostly women, around my age. With dogs.

Walking back and forth through the still warm waves, we smile at each other and laugh at the dogs - romping in the surf. "What a beautiful dog!" and "Ah! He licked my hand!?"

I don't have the greatest social skills, but I am quite sure if I tried to compliment the Marginal Way Ladies on THEIR companions, I'd get a black eye! "What a beautiful man!" and "Ah! He licked my hand!?"

A book by Lisa Scottoline just popped into my thoughts... "Why My Third Husband Will Be A Dog." I say - Why wait for number three? 

There is definitely something to it... 

A beautiful golden retriever was dashing up and down the beach chasing a tennis ball. Suddenly, he swerved and headed right for me. He skidded to a halt and dropped the ball right at my feet! He smiled at me (he DID!) until I picked up the juicy thing and threw it down the beach, towards his owner. A little while later, I felt water splashing me and he was back. Grinning. Plop. ThROOOOOOWWWW! Run run run. And repeat...

It's been a really long time since I've had a dog. I'm more of a cat person... but this one - out of the many dogs on the beach - really tugged at my heart. Friendly. Social. Beautiful. Joyful.

Someday - this will be me...

I will live in an unusual, pretty little Victorian cottage (with a tower!) on the cliffs over the ocean. My studio will have a happy cat, a joyful devoted dog, and HUGE windows looking at the sea. We will walk on the beach everyday and visit with our 2 and 4 legged friends and then draw late into the night.

And it will be Good.