This is an illustration from a few months ago that I forgot to post. It was for a short fiction piece in LA Magazine. If I recall the story was about taking the Metrolink train with a babysitter and passing all the rough parts of Los Angeles.

I volunteer weekly at a place and there were always two very cute little boys running around causing havoc. A strange bit of life imitating art: during the week I was working on this illustration the kids were abruptly uprooted by their mom who moved the family to Los Angeles– by train.

AD Byron Regej.

UM. Someone made the Sexy Hungry-Man Dinner from the Sexy Halloween comic! Kate Thornbery, I SALUTE YOU!

To be honest, I kind of had gotten a little sick of that comic. All that linking, reblogging, reposting, tumbling, commentary, re-appropriating (and flat out rip-offs)… it’s cool how something can be disseminated so far and wide so quickly, but it can leave you feeling a little “consumed”. It’s nice to see stuff resonate with someone beyond the 2 milliseconds it takes to push the “like” button, you know?

Kate, email me and I’ll send you a print!

Oh! And Happy Halloween.

First off. I’m going to apologize in advance for the BOMBARDMENT of Penguin Threads related news you will hear in the next month or so. The response to the project has been completely insane, and lots of interviews and stuff are in the can and should be coming out soon. I’m aiming to be rather prudent with the coverage here as to not bore you all. There WILL be a launch party, details to come.

Here I am in the current issue of NYLON magazine. The photo is by Nadirah Zakariya, who is very delightful.

I’ve been trying to appliqué, but have had limited success. It’s too fussy and seems to lack the intuitiveness and spontaneity of embroidery and quilting, to my mind. Anyway, I made this thing as a bit of a test. Not terribly happy with it, but I’ll share some more successful appliqué experiments later this week.

It’s a little piece for the people I know that are sick, going through break-ups and are obscenely pregnant in July.

Everytime I think about giving up on the appliqué technique, I think of the Folk Art Museum’s Bird of Paradise quilt.

Hi all,

I’m on vacation until July 13, but will periodically checking email.

Here’s something to read while I’m away: a Comics Journal interview I did when I was at TCAF a few months ago, by Chris Randle.

[Did you win something in today's contest? I'll be sending out things asap when I return. Sorry for the wait!]

-J

Welcome to the Results Show!

People, I am OVERWHELMED by the response to this very humble contest. I received over 60 entries (pictures and donations) from across the globe and we raised $800 (!) for Unicef! (Remember to write that off, donors.)

And without further ado:

The winner of the Walrus tote/Indoor Voice prize pack is Juan Carlos Solon! Juan donated to Unicef and was chosen by a random draw. I met Juan at last year’s AI party. Nice guy. Congrats, Juan!

There were two Irish Myths books to give away. I decided to divvy them up to a pro and non-pro. I can honestly say I received some work that many a legitimate publication would be happy to print.

The winner in the “Pro” category is Andrew Schick for his picture “The Clam-Diggers”. Mr. Schick sez, “I had the idea while sitting on a beach near my house and watching a family dig up gooey ducks and clams.” Great story and I like the dichotomy of Observer and Participant in this picture.

The winner in the “Non-Pro” (which I defined as amateurs/students/someone who makes less than half of their living from illustration) is Maryanna Hoggatt, who drew her inspiration from the old yarn about watermelons sprouting in your stomach if you swallow watermelon seeds. Keep up with the coloured ink + charcoal, Maryanna. To me, this feels like the start of something sophisticated and fresh.

Choosing only one per category was so hard, with such varying personalities and approaches. Unfortunately due to volume, I can’t run all of the entries, but here are a few of my favourites (both pro and non-pro). If you like what you see, go visit the artists’ websites!

Philip Hall: “I like the myths that famous musicians aren’t dead, Elvis been abducted – or that Paul McCartney didn’t died years ago and that he doesn’t use a lookalike…ha yeah right. Lennon spends his summers jamming in greenhouses.”

Roman Muradov submitted this charming picture and explains: “It depicts an ancient Poldevian tradition of burning post-it drawings of curious creatures accumulated through dull summer jobs. Usually performed on August 28th (29th if you’re left-handed).”

Next, another bit of summer whimsy, perhaps a little closer to home? Seo Kim not only has a beautifully light touch and sense of character, but a very amusing URL (www.instantdoodles.com).

But, whoops, Ryan Haywood is here to set the record straight: “Losing weight for summer continues to be, year after year, a big fat myth.” Thanks, Ryan! (P.S. Your work is so gorgeous, dude.)

I would say that most entries dealt with the idea of mythological beasts and legends. Emmanuel Tavares gets down to brass tax: Summer is about goofing off and neglecting responsibilities.

Actually, you know what? Forget about it. Summer is about hot dudes and beefy centaurs. By Ana Benaroya.

Anthony Wislar submits this piece titled “Mating Season”. Very “New Yorker”!

M.S. Corley created his own Summer myth: “It is said that you should never stare directly into the sun or else you will give up your sight. This is of course only a half truth. You will lose your earthly sight yes, but you will gain a heavenly sight to see the true workings of the earth. If you are lucky enough to lose your sight upon the solstice you will truly see when summer comes upon the land, the King approaching from the east carrying the sun high in the sky. The rest of us blind to heavenly things can only know of him by watching the movements of birds in the sky or notice his passing when they feel a summers breeze.” Epic! And just the picture to go along with it:

Emily Hughes also made up a myth, The Sunburn Goddess: “It seems like she’s especially prevalent this summer, though her ‘blessings’ with pigment are different for everyone- sadly mine is a red curse.” Emily is a 2nd year illustration student but seems well on her way to finding her voice.

Chau Nguyen submitted this subtle piece with a rhetorical question: “Mine was inspired by summer nostalgia—maybe the myth of end-to-end recreation?” Spoken like a true freelancer. Chau, do you have a website? [Update: YES!]

And last but not least, here is a picture from the youngest entrant, 12-year-old Madison Wilker. 12-year-old or not, this picture is just cool. A sphynx has animated itself to run away a fire-breathing mermaid! PEOPLES’ HEADS ARE ON FIRE! Don’t lose your flare for drama, Madison!

That’s it, folks! Juan, Maryanne, Andrew, email me your addresses. Others who received an honourable mention above, please also email me your addresses, I’m going to send you a little somethin’ too.

Thank-you EVERYONE who entered, whether your image appeared here or not. Your emails brightened my days for the last few weeks. We shall do it again.

Over on Twitter, @walrusmagazine asked readers to take photos of their new Summer Reading issue. Above, a few contributions (used with permission!).

One of the most thrilling things about the most recent TCAF was seeing the poster I designed tacked around Toronto, where for a few weeks it was part of peoples’ workplaces, commutes, and daily routines. While it’s always cool to see your work printed, it is even more exciting to see it in an even-larger context: the world!

When I teach, I’m often struck about how jaded students seem to be about Illustration, often by 3rd year. Perhaps it’s a defense mechanism? A response to the classic “embittered illustration instructor” syndrome? Perhaps it’s a scapegoat: that if that student fails to find success as an illustrator, she “didn’t really want to be an illustrator anyway”. Perhaps it’s legitimate anxiety about the economic feasibility and the creative constraints of being a working, practicing illustrator. Whatever it is, the jadedness is very exasperating and strange to me. Lots of things that are worth doing require sacrifice, confidence, and a little healthy self-delusion. But to me, the payoff is so exciting: you’re not just a consumer of culture anymore, you’re a contributor. Illustration, at its best, injects a bit of beauty and insight into a visual landscape that is often so vapid, crass, and garish.

When I was living in Edmonton in 2004, I started seeing extremely lo-fi silkscreened band posters around town. I’d rip them down and hang them up in my apartment (now THAT is effective advertising!). The simple beauty and attention to detail was so sublime. It made life in the city a bit better every time I found a new poster quietly affixed to a telephone pole. It was a little thing, but life is kind of made up of a lot of little things, isn’t it? (I later found out they were made by Raymond Biesinger, who has since gone on to much illustration success himself.)

Illustration is powerful precisely because it is commercial. People interact with it in a way that is very distinct from other art forms and to me, that’s the upside, not the downside. Illustration is for the masses, but that doesn’t mean the masses deserve crap. Most people could probably describe to you their favourite comic or cartoon or album cover or picturebook from childhood, regardless of whether or not they are “creative”. The things people encounter in their daily lives are not inconsequential and they have an impact. Perhaps those jaded students can think back and remember the things that enticed them to pick up their paintbrushes and pencil-crayons in the first place.

Here are some images from a Folio Society collection of Irish Myths and Legends. I did these images about a year ago, and am just able to release them now. I actually haven’t seen the book yet, but the cover alone is blocked with gold ink and is bound in leather… lush!

Irish mythology is fascinating and very strange. From the FS site: Here is a world of fierce battles and hunts, high kings and druids, brave horses and famous hounds, told in language of great lyricism that retains all the richness and romance of the oral tradition. I tried to think beyond the typical sorts of imagery and “styling” we are used to associating with these sorts of stories… also, by a complete stroke of luck, Sam and I had visited Ireland just the year before, and I definitely drew upon that experience while creating these images.

Here’s further info on the book and how to join the Folio Society. [There are 13 interior images. Only a selection is presented here.]

The Walrus, aside from being one of my favourite magazines to read, has been very good to me professionally. It was one of the first magazines I worked for and remains one of those (increasingly rare) editorial outlets that offers bother compelling content and artistic freedom for illustrators. The concept for this Summer Fiction issue (on newsstands June 13) is simple: pretty girls and reading on the beach. Is there anything better?

This image will be available for *purchase* soon. Meanwhile, in the market for a new tote? Of course you are! You don’t have 10,000 already… OK, maybe you do, but do any of them have a sexy underwater reading theme? DIDN’T THINK SO! Only $10, free shipping in Canada, and all proceeds benefit the Walrus Foundation. Buy now!

For some reason people have wanted to ask me questions lately. Firstly, here’s a short Illustration Mundo interview. Secondly, here’s a more in-depth, mostly-comics-related interview originally conducted for the Sequential blog that was in a print handout at TCAF a few weeks ago. The interview, with q’s from Dave Howard, is pasted below.

_____

Did you have any favourite comics growing up?

I read a lot of Archie comics, plus the comics that were in the newspapers. My parents really liked The Far Side, Calvin and Hobbes, and Herman, so we had some of those anthologies in the house too. I copied the “Punk Accountants” Far Side cartoon for my dad’s birthday (he is also an accountant). When I was a teenager, my sister and I liked to cut up Archie comics and make collages with the balloons or sticking them on new images. It’s still a fun thing to do.

Growing up, were comics a kind of guilty pleasure, was it something you embraced openly, or not that important to you.

I didn’t really analyze it. In fact, when we were promoting Skim in 2008, people would ask what comics I read as a kid and I was just like, “eh, I didn’t really read comics”. I had completely forgotten that I read a TON of comics and I really enjoyed them. I just didn’t view them as important or significant at the time.

I’m sure there are many, but are there any particular cartoonists or artists or designers or illustrators or writers or directors you admire, whom you can say had some influence on your work or approach?

I became interested in comics at the very end of my degree at the Alberta College of Art and Design, where I was studying Design and Illustration. I became obsessed with Tomer Hanuka’s work and that included Bipolar, the comic he makes with his cousin Asaf. Later, when I made the conscious effort to educate myself on making comics (2004), I learned the most from Chester Brown, Michel Ragabliati, Julie Doucet, Will Eisner, and Dan Clowes. I got most of those books out of my local library branch.

When you signed on to doing Skim, wat there any prep work you did, any comics-related research or other artists you looked to for inspriation or guidance? Any artists you went to or whom you read when you found yourself in a jam?

I was never “signed” to doing Skim. Skim started off as a 24 page collaboration between myself and my cousin… there was no book deal. It was initially released by a Toronto zine called “Kiss Machine”. But to answer the question… probably, but I can’t remember now. My ignorance and lack of formal training was probably a good thing, actually. I just did the best I could, and approached it with the skills as I had… as a designer and an illustrator. I just read tons, as I mentioned. That was my education.

Can I ask about your use of photo-references in the production of Skim – did you take pictures and draw from them, especially in Scarborough [a suburb of Toronto]? Your work is wonderfully flowing, is there any advice you can give about drawing from photo-references?

I mapped out generally what I wanted to do, then traveled to Toronto to shoot specific reference. Most of it is from around the St.Claire-Christie area, where my sister was living at the time and I was staying. That trip was pivotal to my own mindset and I’d never attempt to do a book about a specific place without visiting it. Photo-referencing should support the story and make the details vivid. That said, too-heavy reliance on photo reference is very bad and should be avoided.

On your blog you mention working with students – can you tell us what you are teaching and where you are teaching it? How has the experience been for you, does it interfere at all with your creative process?

I teach 2nd year drawing for illustrators at the School of Visual Arts in New York. It does not interfere with my creative process, in fact I have to admit that, as frustrating as it can sometimes be, it has made me a more critical, thoughtful, and inspired individual. To see people make discoveries about their own process (I try to stress that what one learns in art school is not a technique, but a process) is deeply rewarding. Plus, these are 19 and 20 year old kids… they’re showing you what’s new and cool before it becomes mainstream.

Are there any rituals or habits or processes or other things you go through in order to maintain your inspiration?

I have encountered this question often lately and I’m always a little confounded by it. Most of my creative friends are never at a loss for inspiration…. they are at a loss for time, resources, or struggle with the “business-y” constraints of the job. But if you gifted them a week of free time, they’d be able to fill it easily. It’s like that saying, “only boring people are bored”.

You say you are grateful your foundational year was spent in a Fine Arts environment, and has shaped the way you think about images, make images, and your understanding of Illustration — how is it you think about images, and illustration?

That’s a really huge question. I will only say that I do believe Illustration can be smart and have content, but Illustration is not Fine Art. They are different worlds, with different histories, communities, objectives, and constraints. The exist in the world for different reasons. I was trained as a commercial artist and I’ve long given up feeling conflicted about that. That’s my philosophy and that of my husband, Sam Weber. But we speak often about how that seems to be changing… the nature of Illustration and its place in society. Not even out of art school 10 years and it seems like our outlook is quite curmudgeonly and dinosaur-like.

Is there any advice you can offer other new cartoonists? Any experience you can share for even newly established cartoonists, maybe around contracts or keeping your vision?

I dunno, just make some comics! Seems like the best time ever to be a comics artist… think of all the ways you can get your work seen. If you want to be a cartoonist and are not making comics, you’re just lazy or crippled by fear. Which are two huge problems. As for established cartoonists, who am I to tell them anything? I’ve only been doing this for 6 years!

Your Penguin Classic embroidered book covers are amazing, can I ask how you came about with the job offer, can I ask where the inspiration came from for the concept?

I did some embroidery, because it was simply something I wanted to try, and put it online. I’d worked with Penguin’s Art Director, Paul Buckley, as an illustrator before, and he happened to see my embroidery just as he was pitching the “Threads” project. So it was fortuitous. The inspiration was simply my love for those books, the freedom assigned by the project and the stitching effects I had been experimenting with in the medium. Again, similar to comics… I’m untrained in that medium, but I think that ignorance has been beneficial, in a weird way. You’re a little more fearless if you don’t know you’re committing cardinal sins.

Do you have any favourite contemporary cartoonists, anyone you’ve read recently who you liked?

I’m drawn to comics for different reasons. Visually, I’m excited by weird comics that look strange and unusual. I like Jungyeon Roh, Sakura Maku, Dash Shaw, Brecht Evens, weird manga and stuff. But as I get older, I become less impressed with drawing and am more deeply moved by more straightforward narratives. To be able to tell a compelling story is so much more difficult than being able to draw badass pictures. So I’m in awe of people like Chester Brown, Lynda Barry, Michel Ragabliati, Seth, Hope Larson, or Tatsumi. I still do love me a fucked up art comic though.

Looking at your wonderful petite livre Indoor Voice, it seems lovely and freeing to sketch unabashedly – do you keep a sketchbook with you at all times? Do you sketch often? How vital is it to you?

I don’t sketch every day. But there’s rarely a day where I don’t make something. Right now I’m trying to teach myself how to quilt. But yes, the sketchbook is completely essential. As I tell my students, you rarely will make breakthroughs –lateral steps– on projects.

You have a new project with Mariko Tamaki coming up, is there anything you can tell us about it?

Mariko and I are working on a new graphic novel, Awago Beach Babies. It is no way related to SKIM– sequel, prequel, or otherwise. Mariko is in the writing phase right now and I’m just patiently waiting.