Lucy Bellwood – Page 36

Nautical Postcards Round 1: Swallows!

Getting boxes from the print shop always feels like Christmas — the excitement, the possibility, the wondering whether that thing you asked for is really as cool as you think it is in person.

The answer is yes: it is.

These are my first proper postcards and I have to admit I went a little bonkers putting them together. If there was a bell, I added it. If there was a whistle, that too. These suckers are printed on silky smooth 16pt matte card stock with rounded corners and they look and feel SO GOOD. I couldn’t be happier. Here’s a closer look at the art:

As someone who tends to have a lot of art on her walls, I wanted something that would look lustrous and beautiful enough to display with or without a frame — even after going through the rigors of the postal service. These cards definitely fit the bill. They are both attractive and BEEFY.

I have packs of five available in my store, and I’ll also be throwing in a free card with any order for the next couple months! Shop around and stay tuned for the next installment of these prints — I’m hoping to roll out a whole sequence of nautical cards before the year is out. Have something you’d like to see? Drop me a line in the comments.

Art

Patron Saint: VanCAF Promo Card

Had a lot of fun illustrating this exclusive postcard for the Vancouver Comic Arts Festival last week. It’s funny how certain pieces really showcase the concept that “Everything’s a Remix”. There are a couple influences here that I’d feel remiss not pointing out: the concept for this piece is totally a spin on a shoot my photographer friend Peter Chee did a couple years ago. His original subject, my pal Tess Myers, is a metalworker, so the halo featured all her tools. I loved that photo and have always wanted to do something similar for illustration or comics.

The second influence is definitely Erika Moen’s saintly portraits, though they have the benefit of real gold leaf (shiny!). I love Erika’s comics, but I’ve also been really inspired by her mixed media collage illustrations. I have all this fancy paper at home that I never really play around with anymore (I used to be more of a book arts gal), so this was an excuse to try something a little more illustrative.

Anyway, keep an eye out for these at VanCAF 2014! I’ll be exhibiting there in May.

Art

Zombie in Love at Oregon Children’s Theater

Last weekend I was super thrilled to visit the Oregon Children’s Theater to live sketch their production of Zombie in Love — a world premier musical based on the children’s book written by Kelly DiPucchio and illustrated by Scott Campbell.

OCT invited Mike Russell and I to come draw one of the performances, and it turns out they also invited Scott Cambell himself to visit and see the show! Watching all the kids in the audience just mob him to get autographs in their zombie books after the show was super cool, as was watching their eyes widen while Mike drew for them.

I also got to show my sketches to Scott, which was a big thrill considering I’ve been reading his stuff since I was in middle school. The first time I met Scott I was a little babby comics fan at the Stumptown Comics Fest in 2009, and somehow here I am five years later introducing myself as a cartoonist. It is unreal.

So not only did I get to say hello to Scott, but he also brought Graham Annable (another longtime inspiration) along for the ride, so I got to meet him and hear about his upcoming feature with LAIKA (The Boxtrolls!) and see his beautiful live sketches as well. You can see Pat Moran’s lovely photos from the meet and greet after the show right here, and Mike Russell’s hilarious live sketches right here.

Aaand here are mine!

The show was totally charming — I even enjoyed the musical numbers, which usually aren’t my thing — and the actors were all astonishingly good. Also: so many groaner puns. It was great!

Thanks to OCT for inviting us. I look forward to seeing more of their productions this season!

Comics

New Comic: The Medal

At last! I’m so happy to finally share this story I drew for Paul Tobin and Colleen Coover last month (was it only last month?) for their all-ages, Eisner Award-winning series Bandette. The main issues of the comic have been interspersed with these short stories showcasing various supporting characters from the universe. I picked Commander Pippins — how could I not? — because his sideburns are fabulous and his mustache is vast and I have a soft spot for characters with silly names. Paul wrote this lovely script and I had a ton of fun bringing it to life.

Be sure to check out Bandette on Monkeybrain Comics, and read the rest of the Urchin Stories, drawn by various artists, right here.

Art

Figure Drawing Dump

In keeping with various artistic resolutions, I’ve been making an effort to drag myself back to figure drawing on a weekly basis this year. So far so (semi-)good! Here’s a selection of pieces from the last couple sessions:

I’ll try to upload batches of these periodically as I keep dragging myself in. It’s hard practice, but I’m really glad I’m going. Onward!

Art, Comics

Cartozia Sticker Sheets & Issue 4 Preview

I was beyond stoked when I found out that our “fun bonus” feature for Cartozia Tales Issue 4 was going to be STICKER SHEETS. I go nuts for stickers — who doesn’t? So I spent all day Tuesday drawing this sheet of some of my favorite characters: a Philosopher Bird, a Mask Bear mask, Master Cyrus, Wick the Wind-up Man, Lila the Sprigster, a Tickle Crab, and Minnaig the Otter-girl, star of my most recent story for the series. They’re gonna be printed in little 5”x7” sheets and paired with a second batch of characters illustrated by my co-contributor Lupi McGinty.

I cannot wait to stick these all over everything I own.

Also: have a preview panel! This last weekend in Portland was all snow and chaos, so I took the opportunity to hunker down at home and churn out my story for Issue 4: The Rite Choice.

Where’s Minnaig going? Who knows.

News

“The Secret Life of Gitmo’s Women” Featured on Narratively

In-depth, human-interest news platform Narratively featured a comic of mine this week. “The Secret Life of Gitmo’s Women” collects the two interviews I illustrated for Symbolia Magazine in collaboration with writer Sarah Mirk early last year. These two stories haven’t been free to read online before now, so head over and take a look. (Note: these comics deal with issues of harassment and sexual assault. Please read with awareness.)

The comic has also been accepted to this year’s Open Engagement conference in New York, where Laura Sandow (one of the veterans we worked with) will be presenting it in May. Unfortunately it sounds like I won’t be able to make the conference due to conflicting convention arrangements, but I do hope those of you in the New York area can go check it out. More on the Open Engagement homepage.

Art

31 Days, 31 Outfits: COMPLETE!

It seems my daily efforts for the month of January have borne tangible fruit. Behold: 31 Finished Outfits!

(If you want to see the little people all lined up in a big ribbon — my favorite, but it doesn’t display so well on the site — you can check out that full-size image right here.)

Before anyone asks: Yes, I did totally space that January had 31 days when I started, hence the first post being 30 Days…But it all shakes out because I did a couple drawings in December and missed two in early January. PHEW.

This project was a blast, but I’m glad to be moving my creative energy towards more comics-related gigs in February and beyond. Look for them on the web soon!

Comics

Hourly Comic Day 2014

Another year, another edition of Hourly Comic Day! For those of you who aren’t familiar, cartoonists all over the world draw a panel or short comic for every hour they’re awake on February 1st. It’s a fun way to see how folks spend their time (spoilers: mostly drawing comics) and churn out a finished thing in a relatively short period.

These are a couple days late, ’cause I didn’t have access to a scanner over the weekend, but I did manage to finish all the drawing on Feb. 1st. Wish I’d had time to color ’em too, but that’s the nature of the game. Also: it has been traditional (see HCD 2013 and 2012) for me to eat salami on February 1st — I have no idea why — but by the time I realized this year it was too late. Shame.

Conventions, News

Wizard World Portland This Weekend

Stumptown Comics Festival 2013 — Photo by Kai Hayashi

It’s that time of year again, friends: Con Season is upon us! So come say hello at my first convention appearance of 2014, Wizard World Portland. I’ll be in Artists’ Alley at Table C57 slinging comics, watercolor birds, buttons, shirts, and other goodies. In addition to Baggywrinkles, Cartozia Tales, Waterlogged, and Grand Adventure, I’ll also have limited copies of Rock Ink Roll, the anthology containing Mr. Tambourine Man!

The show runs 3pm-8pm Friday, 10am-7pm Saturday, and 10am-5pm Sunday at the Oregon Convention Center. Tickets are ten bucks cheaper on the Wizard World website, so be sure to check out their ticket portal before you go.

See you there!