Philip's Book is Hitting the Shelves!

Today we are sitting outside Comet Coffee (best coffee in town...sorry Zingerman's. You still have the best beans.) in honor of Phil and his book that is coming out (officially) tomorrow. Here are some images from his book, Creamed Tuna Fish and Peas on Toast, to pique your interest.




The cover.


and the last page. You'll have to buy it to see everything in between.


And as a bonus, here is an image from the book he is working on now.


Click on the images to see them up close.

On the same exciting date, my friend and very talented colleague George O'Connor's (co-penned by Adam Rapp) graphic novel, Ball Peen Hammer, hits the shelves, too. The 29th is a talent earthquake.

'Til next week! Congratulations to Philip! Congratulations to George!

Art changes and chaos ensues.

Happy almost Fall! The leaves are just beginning to turn and there are apples at the farmers market. I am still leaving the window open at night when I sleep- but some nights I need a wool blanket. My little 7-year-old dog is acting like a puppy again since the temperature has dropped, too. Our tiny family seems ready for the change.

The weather isn't the only thing changing around here. I am in the middle of trying to rethink the process I use for my picture making. If you like what you've seen on this blog before, don't worry too much. In the end, the pictures probably won't look like anything drastically different. But it is difficult for me to rethink the way I make a picture.

Since everything has been in flux, I haven't really made anything that I've felt like I can share. I've made a mess, though. I'll share that.

Above is my very sad desk as of late. I keep drawing and painting and redrawing the same picture over and over again. I feel a little like Edvard Munch (well, maybe. I mean, he made the same picture over and over again.).

So why the ugly pastels?


Why the sketch of a boy over a defunct print from my first book? (that green shape is a turtle shell from a bad print from A Sick Day for Amos McGee...if you can see it)

I'm rethinking the way I apply color in the next two books I'm working on. I'm still using wood blocks, not the ugly pastels. Somewhere in all of that mess on my desk I am solving a color problem. I think.

Look, I even tried markers! Where did my snooty traditional art schooling go?

It'll all work out into a lovely print. I think.

Artful piles of stuff.

Hello! This week the sun is out again and there is the tiniest hint of fall. I know most elementary schools opened the doors this week to their teachers and I swear I can smell it. I love fall. I hope it really comes around soon.

I'm finding that the coming fall is influencing my latest sketches. I'm thinking a lot about trees. Fortunately and unfortunately this week, I hit a small art wall. I've decided I need to reconfigure some of my process. That's good, since it might lead to something new. But it's also not so good, since this can be a hard problem to solve. So for the next few weeks, I may have trouble showing the public what I'm working on. But I'm sure I'll post something.

For now though, I'll put up a couple new sketches. I know, sketches again, but it's all I really have.




'Til next week!