S'more draws

A few more random drawings from the weekend. I've been thinking about the whole "sell drawings" thing and I realized that I'll have to invest money in thick paper to draw on (or at least a separate sketchbook) before I can start making them to sell. A bit of backwards progress in an endeavor that is not even certain to make me a single loonie. Bleh.

On the plus side, I finished one page for my newest 10 page project. I'd been procrastinating/dreading that first page for a while because I was treating the comic like a school assignment. If I was working on something serious I'd have to draw out all 10 pages first before inking. But since inking is fun, I'm impatient, and this is just for kicks, I'm drawing/inking each page sequentially (after doing all thumbnails of course). Psyched but I need to work faster.


(Embiggen these)

Fairmount Bagel, my muse and a main feature in my next comic. Bagels here are lighter and more delicious than the new york variety. Sesame is king. Supposedly St. Viateur is also good, but they have eggs in them :(

Tam Tams! It was the first time I even stopped by tam tams and I was not disappointed. The vendors are not of much interest to me (seems very tourist-oriented...I saw a man giving a white girl dreads which was pretty symbolic of the whole sale) but the actual drumming part is really cool. They go on FOREVER.

Places I've Sat

I've never been one for drawing environments too much, I'm much more of a figure person, but lately I've been enjoying sitting in one spot for a while and just drawing my immediate surroundings. It's kind of like a puzzle - trying to make all the perspective and proportions line up on the fly in pen.

I'm hoping to get a little faster at these and maybe try to sell some drawings in my free time (while making other drawings?) to tourists, since my internship is sadly unpaid.

(embiggen em)

Park St. Viateur...there is a very shallow moat sort of thing that creates a small island in the center (this is where I am sitting)

looking out the door at Le Cagibi, my favourite cafe so far.

Rue saint viateur and avenue de l'esplanade, not far from my apartment. Behind me is a cafe/bar where all the italians hang out to argue and watch football

Teef.

I can't recall if I'd already mentioned this, but I'm organizing the creation of two more RISD zines for production at the end of the summer. Since we're adults with important things on our mind, the topics are "teeth" and "poop" respectively. I can't take credit for the topics themselves...but I can't say that I don't approve. Talk about relate-able subjects, right?

Anyway, here's my contribution to the teeth side of the equation. It's partially based on an unusually clear memory I have of wiggling loose a tooth in bed as a kid. I can still taste the blood and feel it in my hand. I wonder how much of this memory is constructed and how much of it actually occurred. I heard on radiolab, I think, that every time you revisit a memory in your thoughts, it loses some accuracy to the true event...until eventually it is just an abstracted collage of other ideas and events made to resemble the original memory.

But, oh, that kid isn't supposed to be me. Would I be so foolish?

Hopefully the other risdoids will start making their things in the coming month and I'll be able to link 'em here (with permission).

Embiggen em.

Things in my hands

Get ready for a bunch of mediocre-quality digital photos! I have no work on Fridays (so far...) so I decided to take some pix of things in my immediate vicinity, and then to upload them with limited explanation. Explore results below.

Bonus embarrassing photo of me trying to stuff everything I own into two suitcases in my new room back in Providence.

View from the front porch of my Montreal apartment. It's  really nice, I swear.

My room here opens out onto a second floor balcony sort of thing. It looks like a pretty grim scene from this photo, but actually usually this area is filled with happy little hasidic children arguing and playing (i think it is a Hasidic elementary/day care). I swear, every jewish kid in this neighborhood is required to travel by A) bike B) scooter C) tricycle at all times. When school gets out, you have to keep aware or they will steamroll you in packs.

Proof that I'm still making things.

Yesterday was a beautiful day for comics. I received my copy of Battle Ass  from a trade I did with the artist. It's very Mat Brinkman / Brian Chippendale inspired and bound in some crazy zig-zag way that I need to learn. 

But the real excitement came when I found that my Pre-order of Happiness Comix #2 arrived as well!  And damn, look at all those things that came with it (note pogs!!!!!). I don't really feel like writing up a review right now, but hopefully it is good enough to say that if you have a few bucks you should send them this way instead of blowing em on yr starbucks. Also, it features A.T. Pratt, a fellow RISDoid.

This is what greets you upon opening Happiness #2. Convinced yet?

The third reason it was a triumphant day for my comics collection.  I am working on adding the sound effects to another Shigeru Mizuki manga that D+Q is putting out  in english next year, Kitaro. The letters for the sound effects in Nonnonba are the same that are being used for Kitaro (see below), so I've been looking at Nonnonba for reference. I asked if I could take it home to actually read for the weekend, and my boss actually said I could have it for free. LOVE THIS JOB.

The aforementioned sound effects

A sketchbook comic from Thursday, my long day of transit and finally arrival in Montreal.

 So in conclusion, errything is pretty okay. D+Q is the best and I feel at home in the city already. Here we go...

Montreal!

Still here, except here has changed to a strange and wonderful place where people speak french with silly accents and the bagels are better (montreal). I have a bunch of things waiting the presence of a scanner, some of them are inane travelogue type sketchy comix/thangs and the other bit is a few pages for one of the upcoming zines i'll be putting together with the submissions of my fellow risdoids (there are two: "teeth" and "poop." we are adults.)

Hang tight! But if I get too impatient I'll just take crappy digital camera pics, whoop. For now, a picture of the D+Q office door. Hooray!

A couple fall remnants

While packing up my room I encountered a lot of my fall semester work. Some of it made me a little embarrassed but I found several things that I can still feel good about. Below is a random gouache figure painting on top of some transfers of a vintage sears catalog and the interior of my final for artist's books. Boop! (as always, theyre better quality when full-viewed)

Roh

Roh is my 24-page final project for Paul Karasik's comics class, made in about five weeks. It tells the tale of a girl who was born looking like a frog. There are several elements that would probably make it unsuitable for the younger crowd. I don't want to force my interpretation, but I would like to say that it's a little about gender, a little about sexuality, and a little about how much I liked drawing frogs as a kid.

If you would like your very own copy with a FULL COLOR COVER, mail me $5 and your address and I will send one your way! It may take a while since I will be in Canada this summer and my mail must first be rerouted once or twice before finding me...So you can also email me if you'd like one sooner.

Again, my address is:
Maddy Trower
2 college st #1699
Providence RI 02903
or you can send me things online @ m.r.trower at gmail...

Enjoi (it looks better if you click on 'em)

(Cover)

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