lucky leafy
I began working on a new project for Charlesbridge a few weeks ago. I broke the ice by drawing a pine cone found in the Presidio two summers ago, during a trip to San Franscisco. I can still smell the eucalyptus….. Then I worked it into a leafy sorta self-portrait. My favorite month may be over, but I love the melancholy nature of November. Even getting soaked in yesterday’s rain couldn’t bring me down. And there’s always something at MECA that makes my day. Here is a cheerful installation in the Joanne Waxman Library. Gotta find out who did this. There were masses of...
Read Moresuddenly 5-0
Time flies. Suddenly, you hit that half-century milestone and wonder, how did I get here so fast? This birthday card from Marty says it all. I’m no daredevil, but there are days when it feels like I am jumping a chasm of self-doubt. A good couple of laps around the island on the bike usually gets that stink blown off. It was a day of simple pleasures after an evening of potluck partying down the street, where Scott Nash presented those of us celebrating codgerhood with a satiric trophy. Finally! Something worthy of the mantel! This one says: Take big bites. Indeed, an affirmation to...
Read Morepeachy teach
I had the good fortune to spend an otherwise thunderous and goomly Tuesday with my always sunny Kittery Kousins. Wanda is one of the first locavores, always harvesting something grown in her yard. She gave me a bag of these sweet peaches to take home. Her daughters, Jessie, Mati, and I enjoyed a tangy tomato soup while catching up on life, Facebook, coots, and back-to-school. I showed up to mingle and deliver a belated wedding present, a pastel called Navarro Love. Here Hugh and Mati wade into the waters of devotion. Their wedding was in Philo, CA last August at a rustic retreat center along...
Read MoreIsland to island
People wonder why an islander goes to another island on vacation. Hmmm…curiosity? Every island has a unique character, yet in Maine they do share the elemental qualities of coastal edges. We headed to Deer Isle on a recent moto-adventure, easier to get to than Peaks, in that a bridge connects it to the Blue Hill peninsula. From Portland, Mapquest said it would be a 3.5 hour drive, but for bikers prone to stopping frequently (for lunch, photo ops, gas, ice cream, donning rain suits…) it was a 6 hour ride. And that’s the fun part! We stayed at the Pilgrim’s Inn, a...
Read MoreMermaids on my mind
Finally, I am back at my drawing table. And charged with the delicious task of illustrating a month for next year’s NPR calendar. Yay! The piece must show my public radio listening experience. While I was sketching, I heard an interview on WMEA 90.1 with an author of a new book on biodiversity. He mentioned horseshoe crabs, critical to testing the toxicity of antibiotics. Who knew? There are so many species we know nothing about yet our very survival depends on them. I started drawing an underwater scene, which had to include a horseshoe crab and a mermaid. Plenty of mermaid folklore...
Read MoreWhatever floats your boat
It probably comes as no surprise that boats keep showing up in my work. This piece is currently at the Gem Gallery in the front room exhibit of the members’ collective. I have drawn this boat several times. Just love the color and shape. Even illustrations seem to feature boats pretty often. This was an unused cover for last year’s Cast Off bookjacket. Peg knit the boat piece for me, since I don’t knit. Had fun drawing lots of yarnish things, though. And I drew several boats for Greater Portland Landmark’s Activity Guide… This one is refers to Captain Lemuel...
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