I did a summer workshop at the Center for Cartoon Studies a couple of years ago, and I found it just unbelievably densely packed with a mix of great instruction, illuminating history, and inspiring ideas. Robyn Chapman has just written a great blog post based on one of her lectures. It’s easy to get stuck in the idea of zines printed on letter-sized paper and then folded in half – it’s easy and effective, and it can be quite good-looking – but WOW, there are a lot more options out there.

I can be kind of staid with matters like this, and I’ve been considering form more for my next few projects, now that I’m feeling more practiced at creating content. Articles like this get that particular part of my imagination firing.

Step one: go through a tarot deck and see what strikes my fancy.

Step two: sketch arts based on said cards.

…

Step 11,403: profit.

(This will happen 98 years after I am dead. And Bolands are often long-lived.)

So the Muppet Rawk show was a blast. I haven’t found a great set of pictures from it yet, but I’ll add it here when I do. So totally worth it, and it was gratifying to see so much great art sell. In the meantime, here’s the full view of my piece.
I’ve done some digital coloring before, but this was the most ambitious thing I’ve done (gradients! so many!). I really like how it turned out, and it’s a great start to what’s going to be a solid couple weeks of processing and coloring. That would be for my comic from the 24-hour comic thing I did earlier this month. The prettified, colored pages are due at the end of the month, so guess what I’ll be up to this week? I’ll be the one in the corner with the bad posture and the Wacom tablet.

I’ll also have art at my drawing group’s annual Halloween show, which will be at Cafe Racer on October 27th. I’ll be telling fortunes too.

In the last month, I’ve gone from two jobs to one job to no jobs, so I’m going to have a lot of time for art (and bloggening) for the next while. Expect to see more, both here and on Tumblr, as I’m going to have a lot of wonderful, long-awaited time on my hands. I’ll have a process post up for the Muppet piece shortly, because I do seem to love showing off my pencils. And once I get any leftover prints from the show, I’ll be selling those on Etsy.

It has been proven twice, and tomorrow night, it shall be proven once again. I’ll have a piece in Muppet Rawk III (details here). What’s Muppet Rawk? Well, it’s when a bunch of extremely silly and often very talented artists do versions of classic album covers… with Muppets in them. I’ve seen a lot of the art that’s going to be in it, and I’m genuinely excited for this. It’s the kind of thing I’d go to even if I didn’t know anyone in it and I just happened to see a listing in the paper. And that is my favorite kind of event to be a part of.

Here’s a glimpse of my piece. I’ll post the whole thing later.

Do DO do-do-do. See you there! I’ll have prints! They’re an open edition, so they will be really rather not expensive. And they may end up on Etsy later on…

I’m tired, so that’s all the clever headline I have for you today. The headline’s irrelevant, though, because I have prints available in an auction for a great cause. My friend John Platt, writer, artist, and philanthropic type, organized an auction to benefit Fearless Nation PTSD Support. Learn more here.

The auction is here, and you have just shy of a week left to bid on prints, sketch cards, and other goodies from other artists and writers.

I have links for you. Nothing fancy.

John Allison shows a bit of Jack Cole’s cartooning advice. Solid.

A process post from Lucy Knisley, one of my favorites.

And a roundup of some art from my illustration group’s recent live drawing show. I have a few pieces I still need to scan. That’s not the only post I owe this blog, but it’s one I should really get to in the next few days. Apparently my work looked noticeably different from what people have come to expect from me, which was quite a surprise.

That’s all. I’m occupying myself with small, complete kind of drawings, with the intention of filling up a small, cute notebook I found at my favorite art store recently. Complete drawings, with few faces – that’s the current challenge. I get pleasantly envious of people who have these little books filled completely with their own work, so I’m going to make my own. I do have books filled with my own work – sketchbooks dating back ten years (!) plus 16 years worth of journals (which I’ve dedicated a half-finished post to, on the event of completing another book about me me me – I’ll post it soon, promise). However, they’re for my own use, which is quite different from having a beautiful little art-filled object of your very own.

And that’s that. I owe you many scans and a few stories. They’ll come.

On Friday, if you are near Seattle or easily able to get to Seattle (or not easily, don’t let me tell you your business), you should come to my illustration group’s next show, Economy of Line.

Look! I give you the information in two different forms!

Via the group’s site.

And also via the Facebook, where you can even say if you’re coming so as to make us feel better about ourselves.

I’m probably going to be doing small drawings – the idea is quick art sold inexpensively, and the best way I can do that without feeling like I’m making crap is to work small. So I’ll be doing wee ink and watercolor drawings, along with all the glorious output the rest of the group will be covering the walls with. Come on down! Bring the (well-behaved, funny) kids!

I have pictures to show you, but I have scanning to do, so you’re not seeing them now. Instead, I’m here to tell you to get yourself out of your house tomorrow and come down to the Punk Rock Flea Market. It costs one slim dollar to get in (which benefits low-income housing – come on, guys, just come), and you’ll see all manner of marvelous things. Including me, selling comics and offering unlicensed psychiatric advice, Lucy Van Pelt-style.

Seattlelites, it’ll be like 75 degrees out. You don’t want to be in your house. Come to the market instead and feel like you did something worthwhile with your day.

Thoughts:

1. The Olympia Comics Fest is one of my favorites. It’s small, but packed with great people as it draws from both Seattle and Portland – and Olympia itself, too. Chelsea Baker does a great, careful job of running this, and it always runs smoothly and enthusiastically. Seriously – everyone’s always so happy. The whole thing was put together and taken apart in just a half-hour, as the space was to be used for a couple other things that day. I’ve come to prefer comics fests that don’t charge admission – you get a better, wider crowd when you don’t charge $25 to come inside and buy things.*

2. I was too tired to stay around for anything afterward, so I basically vanished at 6:20. Yeah, well.

3. I sold some comics. It was good. I did an interview with a woman named Alison, and I found that, when asked what my advice would be for women who want to start doing comics, I would say the same thing to anyone of any gender interested in comics. Just do things, make things, draw constantly.** She’s going to compile her interviews into a zine. I’m looking forward to buying a copy.

4. This blog has an interesting roundup of the fest. I’m mentioned (well, pictured) here and here.

5. I need to make new business cards and handouts. Yes, yes I do.

6. I’m still tired. Just the state of things these days. I feel like I’m getting closer to starting my Next Thing, since I just have one issue left to complete for Furlough and since my brain is going to art and story things again for the first time in a while. I still don’t know what it’ll be. Maybe a big, found-fabric art sculpture that just functions as a cocoon for me to crawl into and hide. All hand-painted and hand-stitched. I think it’d be kind of nice. Hermit Nest, Breanne Boland, 2011. Roughly 400 square feet, made of mixed media and studio apartment.

*I get why those charges exist for some fests, but I still wish it wasn’t necessary.
**Ever have one of those weird moments where you realize you speak the truth, but know you’d benefit from taking your own advice? Yeah.

A helpful comic about drawing anatomy.