My comics and illustration group is holding two Valentine’s Day shows this month, because we are wildly ambitious, and because a single building’s walls are not enough to contain our artistic greatness.

The first is at Cafe Racer, and it opens Thursday, February 10th, 2011. Better, prettier information and flier to come once these things are in my hot little hands.

The second is at the Fantagraphics Bookstore. It’s called Lovesick, and you can see more, including the rad flier drawn by one of our number. It takes place Saturday, February 12th, as part of the third anniversary of the Georgetown Art Attack.*

I’m working on some complementary pieces, and I think I’m going to aim at making them into a set of prints. Here are a couple of my wee sketches for these.

I’ve been doing a fair amount of drawing lately. I’ve passed the halfway point of penciling Furlough 3 (AT LONG LAST, OH MY GOD, IT’S HAPPENING), and I’m doing a lot of other art too. Other art. Sounds a shade sinister when put that way, no? Here’s a pencil drawing I did at my art group last week.

So that’s me. Day job work + exercise + comicking + the occasional gulp of air – adequate sleep = the life of Breanne Boland, urban sophisticate and gal about town.

But you should have a larger life, one that includes going to galleries for fabulous-as-hell art shows. I hear it’s nice; report back.

*Doesn’t it sound like I’m inviting you to a vigil? I’m not, though.

I’m working on a mini for an anthology my cartooning group is putting out later this summer. Here’s a preview.

This actual image will not be in the mini. Look closely and you’ll see why. Did you know that there exists, somewhere out there, bristol that is meant only for dry media? I have some. I discovered this when I looked at this drawing and went, “Why the hell is it drinking the ink like that and getting all spidery?”

I need to make a new category called, “Breanne relearns to read labels,” apparently.

As for the commitment, I signed up for this. I doubt I’ll do much of the hullabaloo on the page itself, so I’ll content myself with writing something here every day this month. As I don’t like posting without showing things I’ve drawn, that should mean lots of pictures for you all. And I have a lot happening this month – events and shows and other things as yet unmentioned – which I’ll spool out to you over the next four weeks.

My spam has been really boring lately – all lists of drugs and linkorrhea. I cannot illustrate these things. C’mon, jerks, be more funny when you’re leaving your little droppings on a person’s website.

The original comment. (Click to embiggen.)

The artistic interpretation.

I’m working on a couple of short stories for the anthology my cartooning group is putting out this summer. I’m not saying much, but I will give you this hint:

Helpful, no? It’s a nice break from Furlough. I’ve never purposefully wrote one- or two-page stories before, and it’s making me concentrate more on being deliberate and slow. I’m drawing larger for the first time – the book will be 5.5×8.5, a la Furlough, but my layout is 8.25×12.75. Got that? I’m also drawing clean inks onto a sheet of Bristol, using a lightbox so that I can see my pencils. It all looks very arcane when I do it, and it has led to me closing the blinds on some very nice, sunny days lately. The things I do for art.

…you know, the sister region to Poland.*

What am I talking about? Why, look:

And just like that, I was registered for the Jet City Comic Show, which will be held here in Seattle on September 25th. This has been added to my appearances page, along with some other updates.

*Weirdly, this is only perhaps the second time someone’s made a pun based on the similarity of my last name to the anglicized name of a certain European country. I used to try to use its similarity to Poland to tell folks how to spell it, but I gave up because it just confused people. So cheers to the administrator who made the connection.

I ink. I ink and ink. I’m somewhere between a quarter and a third of the way through now – I’m inking a panel here and there throughout instead of going linearly. As this is my first long project, it seemed better that way, so that page one wouldn’t look substantially different than page 23. I got that suggestion somewhere some months ago; I wish I remembered where, I’d link it.

Here’s what’s on my little drawing pedestal thing right now.

As my gaps get smaller, I’m finishing whole pages more; I think I’ll finish this pair tonight. Along with others.

Yesterday, I went to an Artful Investigation class at my friend Jenna’s studio. It was a lovely break – I’ve been mostly alone with my art lately, and mostly following a pretty strict process. Yesterday, I got to be elbow-deep in sequins, paint, glitter, collage material, china markers (my new favorite), tape, and all manner of other supplies. There were six of us plus Jenna; I forget sometimes (but try to remind myself) of what a lovely, nourishing experience it is to be around a table with other women and just create. There’s a feedback to it that’s completely friendly and not at all competitive – oh, how did you get that effect? How did you make that bird? That’s just amazing, I’m so glad to be here while you’re making such a beautiful thing. There’s an intoxicating gentleness to it. I came home and slept four hours last night, just because I’d used this very specific muscle for a good eight hours.

Here’s a peek at what I made.
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I’ve added two new projects to the About Me page. Both are zines. Both will be completed in the next few months. I’ll add details and previews about them as those things begin to exist.