boston blast

The whales have made their journey to Charlesbridge at last. If I didn’t deliver my illustrations for Here Come the Humpbacks a minute sooner, I might still be obsessively redrawing them all. There wasn’t even time for me to lay them all out together until I arrived at their offices.

I’m proud of these! I have the dusty blue sneakers to show for it, too. I wasn’t at the publisher long enough to take off my coat. But I sported my whale t-shirt by Miles to Go with pride.

With business complete, we visited my nephew, Garrett, who graciously gave us his two cent tour of Emmanuel, an institution of higher learning and angelic proportions.

Here’s an old angel of mine, dropping some snowflakes. We saw a few in our travels while in Boston.

We ventured alongside the mobs to the Museum of Science. The geckos are a wondrous marvel!

So many varieties, and each with unique personalities. I was envious of this contented sleeper.

It would’ve been fun to sketch these fellows, but there wasn’t room, or any sitting place. Here’s a skink I drew for Nest, Nook & Cranny. Can you tell the difference?

The MOS has fantastic permanent displays and live demos, too. We enjoyed Mind Games, all about the mysteries of perception. Love this vintage optical illusion.

Ever since art school, I can’t resist a good skull. I did the below as a freshman, layers of self from skull to skin.

There’s also a fantastic display of taxidermy. Where was this marmot when I was working on A Warmer World? He could have posed for me!

Here’s the illustration I did, without him.

There’s critters all over Boston. Spotted Lack and Mack crossing a major intersection, bringing to mind Robert McCloskey. They still ignore the signs!

We headed to the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, where we waited in a line outside to stand in a line inside.

The new wing has brought plenty of buzz, but it’s still the old courtyard that remains the best draw.
Again, too many people for contemplative sketching. There is so much to take in, my mind melted.
Never too tired to browse the bookstore, though!

We found these exquisite orchids in the Living Room, a chic retreat from the collections, where you can relax.

I drew an orchid and a golden toad on the last page of A Warmer World, two examples of fragility in our changing world.

That reminds me: today is Leap Day! Happy hopping, everyone.

I’ll be making two school visits this Friday, which is Read Across America day, in honor of Dr. Seuss.
In the morning, I will visit the Peaks Island Elementary School down the street. Hooray!
And in the afternoon, Yarmouth Elementary, across the bay.

O, the places we will go!