A very short story.

 

drypoint etching on Rives BFK paper. 3" x 3"

Feral Town

For the past two years, I've taken up drawing on post-its notes.



The original idea was to do something creative with little passing thoughts I had, in an immediate context, with the time I had available. I would scribble them out between teaching obligations, for the most part.



The whole thing hinged upon working on something that wouldn't turn into work. I've so far thought up and drawn over 400 of them.



So much for not turning it into work.







So I began making drypoint etchings of the series. I'd previously tried doing little gouache paintings of them, but they just took on an air of seriousness that worked against them. In paint they became meaner, and their cynicism turned into outright pessimism.

But the drypoints, for some reason, seem to work, and seem to retain a sense of directness without being too heavy. This is important in my little suburb of animalian dysfunction; I'd like it to be clear that I'm not wishing any of these little guys any ill will. I'm glad Maureen and Tom can work things out in their own hamster way.

A few have been making their way into the Monday edition of The Atticus Review, an online literary magazine edited by author and photographer David Olimpio.

You can also see most of the whole ongoing shebang on Instagram.

More to come... and maybe a shopping option.

There's a new Charlie Bumpers book coming down the pike...

...and while I can't tell you much more than that about the upcoming Bill Harley title, these three little things may happen somewhere in it. 

The Groom Is Figaro

There goes inverted Frosty.

Tryptophan Generally Induces Fatigue.

TGIF.

Tapdancing Goblin Idolizes Fosse.

Tremendous Grunting Issued Forth.

TGIF.

The Gavial Intrigued Florence.

TGIF, folks.

Twisters Generally Involve Funnels.

TGIF.

Tossing Gophers Is Foolish.

TGIF.

Things in the works.

Finishing up the paintings for a new book with the fine folks at Charlesbridge. I won't tell you what it's about yet, but it is written by Darrin Lunde and it does not prominently feature giraffes at any point in its 32 pages.

In other news, it looks like Fab Four Friends, written by Susanna Reich, is just about ready to print. To be published by Christy Ottaviano's eponymous imprint at Holt, it tells compelling story about the early days of an obscure British pop group that you've probably never heard of.

 

The latest installment in Bill Harley's Charlie Bumpers series is out from Peachtree Publishers, Charlie Bumpers vs. The Really Nice Gnome.

I recommend you get caught up before this one comes out in Fall.

And lastly, it looks like we're in the home stretch of the road to release for Rock & Roll Highway: the Robbie Robertson Story, written by Sebastian Robertson for Christy Ottaviano Books. 

Who's going to Vegas?

These guys.

To take part in the Vegas Valley Book Festival exhibition, "Imaginings through Illustrations."

I'll be there, too, appearing in the company of this humbling list of high falootin' literary types. 

Holy flying sneakers, It's June!

Well, that happened all of a sudden. Aside from the usual "where did Spring go?" business, June also means I can finally talk about how I spent my winter. Whew.

As it turns out, I spent a stretch of it on a new collaboration with two-time Grammy winning singer/songwriter/storyteller Bill Harley:

A brief synopsis in the words of Peachtree Publishers: 

Shortly before school starts, Charlie Bumpers learns that he will have the strictest teacher in the whole school for fourth grade. It doesn't matter that she's been named Teacher of the Year. He s still afraid of her. Last year when he was horsing around in the hall, he accidentally hit her in the head with his sneaker (don t ask). How will he survive a year under a teacher who is just waiting for him to make another stupid mistake?

Telling you anything beyond that would be violation of all sorts of illustrator ethics. And yes, illustrators do have ethics. I'm just not going to tell you where we keep them. 

I will tell you, however, that Charlie Bumpers vs. The Teacher of the Year is the downright funny and genuinely heartwarming first book in an upcoming series, is available for pre-order now for September delivery, and contains some of the following people doing some of the following things. 

 

  

And now I've told you too much.