outgrabes

Spring of things.

2012-01-31T10:38:00.002-05:00

Post-proj. Pre-pencils. William Morris style.

Theophany.

2012-01-06T12:48:00.006-05:00

Prophets abound in the wind today. Met a woman with coffee in her mouth and fistfuls of golden paper. Hallooed Echo rattling around on a doorstep. Skirted a ragged Old Man with a large dog but no sticks. Followed the Three Kings for a long while--pale hands and robes of green, black, and purple easy to spot. We parted at the Summit. They headed South after a watery sun, and I turned North, as I've always preferred the moon.

Haps.

2011-11-17T00:19:00.001-05:00

To all the grannies in the house.

All Souls' Day

2011-11-02T09:50:00.002-04:00

For the poor sods languishing in the spiritual queue.

Amongst the brambles...

2011-10-30T10:26:00.002-04:00

...sharing the loot.

Look straight at the common disaster.

2011-10-25T00:00:00.000-04:00

Realize what you've lost.

Light it up.

2011-10-19T19:41:00.001-04:00

The Wick Man. For she who illuminates.

Dangling.

2011-10-13T13:30:00.003-04:00

Never hang something from a tree you don't want much made of.

Gingerly

2011-10-12T11:24:00.001-04:00

trying out some new pens.

Life's no fun without a good scare.

2011-09-21T13:42:00.002-04:00

Set to Elfman's Serenada Schizophrena.

Mooning about.

2011-09-15T11:02:00.002-04:00

The Man in the Moon came down too soon

and asked his way to Norwich.

They sent him south and he burnt his mouth

By eating cold pease-porridge.

English nursery rhyme

Up.

2011-09-10T20:27:00.002-04:00

Skirts tucked under, shoelaces wound about, hat on firmly, and a good besom in hand.

In Threes.

2011-09-06T09:42:00.002-04:00

Nibbins

2011-09-02T10:15:00.003-04:00

"Well, we've time while they're at this song: it has nine times nine verses; but you ought to stay for some more Whoo-hoos. Doesn't it give you the feel of the moon in the tree-tops: 'Whoo-hoo-hoo, says the hook-eared owl'? Come along quietly."

The Midnight Folk, John Masefield

Our veins is thin.

2011-08-08T10:26:00.001-04:00

Last of the waterbabies for a while.

Boat, 2

2011-07-29T10:51:00.002-04:00

Yar.

Take a good, hard look.

2011-07-27T16:01:00.000-04:00

A weekend of wind and water.

Scissor happy.

2011-07-14T09:09:00.004-04:00

Infinite possibilities for less shit.

Spooky Old Tree

2011-07-05T18:19:00.003-04:00

One with a light.

One with a stick.

One with a rope.

Entering Moriae territory. It was all I could do to not drop three, huddled figures under those boughs.

And a bit with a dog.

2011-06-16T17:53:00.000-04:00

The theatre. Doodlings and doings-on.

Ship to Shore

2011-06-09T09:32:00.001-04:00

Belay that.

In the hedges.

2011-05-18T12:13:00.002-04:00

A swarm of bees in May

Is worth a bale of hay.

A swarm of bees in June

Is worth a silver spoon.

A swarm of bees in July

Isn't worth a fly.

May all your swarms prove worthy.

Stuck in my head.

2011-03-23T10:26:00.004-04:00

They are the Choirmasters of Faery. The literal Un-sung. Melodies come to them in tight, ravelled packages and leave deconstructed through bright beaks. Exit confounded through blazing nostrils. Fall to the ground in shards.

The broken remains are collected and scribbled down by the maestros, then played with the backwards, hobbled artistry of the fey. They limp back to us in the pre-dawn, garbled and sad, displaying their pieces, desperate for a rendering. And the codebreakers? They tease out the strongest strains and pipe the old tunes, and they come back to us, altered but true.

Ino what you're thinking.

2011-03-05T14:49:00.003-05:00

A retooling of the bluegirl after some (s)trident opinions.

After the Fall.

2011-02-25T12:57:00.001-05:00

Having a hard time shaking the feeling that my post-fall inventory missed some key injury.

Nobody.

2011-02-17T17:28:00.002-05:00

There's a long history of giants sleeping past red letter days tip-toed through by red-headed scoundrels.

Fantastic Voyage.

2011-02-08T18:32:00.001-05:00

With the Blue Lady, and all her incarnations, in mind.

Rewind

2011-01-03T12:27:00.001-05:00

A little out of time, but the holidays were a little out of joint this year.

2011

2011-01-03T12:25:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year's from the inmates of cell block Gadra.

Flora.

2010-12-08T11:27:00.001-05:00

The pink fairy in the Strawberry Quik wants your soul.

Hansel and Gretel

2010-12-07T12:44:00.002-05:00

For this season and for ever after, starring in the role of.

Changing the hue, but holding the line.

2010-12-04T18:23:00.000-05:00

Or, What you will.

2010-12-04T18:22:00.000-05:00

Now, now.

2010-10-18T23:42:00.002-04:00

Don't you cast your scrapbooking labels on me!

Complex.

2010-09-24T09:54:00.004-04:00

Lily's been causing problems in the Garden of the Gods. I found Ganesh upended, trunk in the dirt. Buddha's gone pallid with fright, arms in the air, ready for a frisk; and the luckcat has forfeited her turn. I've righted them, consoled them, brushed them off--and braved her resentful tortoise eyes--only to find them freshly dishevelled in an hour or so.

She does, however, seem to enjoy resting in the long dark shadow of Alexander the Great. But, really, don't we all?

I met a lady in the meads.

2010-09-23T09:12:00.003-04:00

Gaiman outlined it most recently, but it's just plain common sense. If you meet an old woman under an oak, answer her questions and ask her your own. Give her what food or water she needs, take whatever trinket she gives you and curtsey.

The Young Turtle at Her Studies.

2010-09-21T07:28:00.002-04:00

We're moving her onto Chaucer next week.

Oxides.

2010-09-17T10:21:00.002-04:00

I'm assuming that Gary, Indiana rests on some sort of layline. Eventually the iron bolts that hold it to the earth will rust enough to let the otherworlders over and then Chicago will have something to really fear.

I never drink when I fly.

2010-09-15T10:56:00.002-04:00

Stop the presses.

Dripping with the blood of his enemies.

2010-09-14T18:21:00.000-04:00

GOR! GOR!GOR!GOR!GOR!!!

On a roll.

2010-09-14T11:20:00.002-04:00

For Kevin who is "juuuuust right". Newfound cousin, dungeonmaster, All-Father to a redheaded host of Loki-like boys, writer extraordinaire, and founder of what I like to call the true Bathroom Reader.

Keep your eyes peeled.

Sicky

2010-09-11T23:32:00.003-04:00

Really for cranky granny annie as she lies abed, but I'll add my own grumblings to the convalescent mewl.

The shrieking of innumerable gibbons.

2010-09-03T15:13:00.002-04:00

Need to get a leg up over Insomnia. I've heard that if you bridle her with elm she'll race until morning.

Clinging onto bottles.

2010-09-01T12:58:00.003-04:00

Mighty fond of old school Mountain Dew.

Tad. Dah.

2010-08-28T12:35:00.002-04:00

The last year laid out in front of me. I feel like there should be more, but I suppose two to five rounds of revisions aren't represented.

Ho!

2010-08-27T16:22:00.002-04:00

The last of the mouse pics has been finished and submitted. Spent the day rolling with the felines. Absolutely unintentionally.

Quite Contrary.

2010-08-04T14:23:00.003-04:00

More from the Nightmare Maze. Though I buck against representing her as a hero-type.

Little Vespa.

2010-07-19T22:57:00.003-04:00

Keeping things as prosaic as possible. Vespa, from Alex's Waking Cassandra. K's optional.

LV

2010-07-16T08:48:00.004-04:00

Check out the site. littlevespa.blogspot.com

Art based on Winsor Mckay's Little Nemo in Dreamland.

Hellcat.

2010-07-14T13:03:00.002-04:00

The Japanese nekomata. Two-tailed, fireball throwing, soul eating, puppetmaster of the dead. One more reason to keep both the tails and lifespans of your felines abbreviated.

I say your, but really I mean our. I should own up to my weaknesses. Ennui has rent herself in two and is now making afternoon appearances as Foofy the Owlcat.

Spreeee.

2010-07-12T11:45:00.001-04:00

And what it's like to work in many colors.

Exacto.

2010-07-07T11:24:00.002-04:00

Everything nice.

Snakes and snails.

A little cut 'n paste experimentation that had me verging dangerously on Scrapbookland.

Artful Chaos.

2010-06-23T12:42:00.002-04:00

I was directed to turn this image around, and now my sense of linearity is completely thrown. To me she is moving backwards. Unbreaking that glass. Unswirling that jelly.

Immortal Waitress pt. 1

2010-06-22T09:10:00.001-04:00

Cat's Affection

2010-06-18T02:00:00.002-04:00

Thank you, Ennui, for the lovely gift of snuggles and dead baby rabbit.

All the pages of our life.

2010-06-17T00:08:00.001-04:00

Great idea from a really cool-sounding couple.

Revisionist Folklore.

2010-06-10T12:25:00.001-04:00

...and the Journeyman bard that loves him.

Bookplate 1

2010-06-08T12:53:00.002-04:00

Playing an ode to Ti-Jean. Trickster and hero and diminutive farmer.

Queue.

2010-05-24T11:33:00.002-04:00

Wait your turn.

Getting a move on.

2010-05-19T14:09:00.001-04:00

Prequel.

2010-05-15T14:05:00.001-04:00

Back when hats were befeathered and toes were kept under wraps.

At her royal highness's bidding.

2010-05-12T10:38:00.003-04:00

Master Sergeant Plug of Her Majesty's Second Infantry Division

Look again. It's only the mildest of glamours. The trick is to start with the feet and work your way up. Even the least of Her servants has learned the art of stillness under scrutiny, but this particular fellow has a peculiar sensitivity about his toes. Peer extra hard and he will start to fidget. Lean in and you'll see the telltale blurring around the edges. The rest of him can be tickled out and cloven from his shade. But there's no predicting his mood, and a sullen Plug tends to spit.

Answer.

2010-05-11T14:21:00.007-04:00

Last of the armored guard.

Lonely? No. Mostly I just go around relieved there's no one near to observe the witless shit I do all day.

Subterranean by design.

2010-05-07T11:56:00.002-04:00

Slipping through the cracks.

Loftier purposes.

2010-05-05T19:21:00.001-04:00

A simpler riff on an older pic.

You really DO always come back!!!

2010-05-04T10:32:00.002-04:00

Droooool.

DeNotes

2010-04-27T09:18:00.002-04:00

Before you wreck'em.

2010-04-22T12:12:00.006-04:00

An eye-opening campaign from Canisius (Roswell supported) had me raising an eyebrow at a less than impressive mascot. Felt he needed a little improving.

Non G-rated version hidden under a stack of orchestra mice.

Lord, but the things I've done to rodents these past weeks.

home

2010-04-21T09:45:00.002-04:00

Making my due sacrifices to Hephaestus and getting reacquainted with my slippers.

Von Boyage.

2010-04-07T14:35:00.003-04:00

Well, in a few days.

Pterodactyl-sized butterflies whomping around in the pit. Strange for someone who clearly has no guts.

Oh, lord. Do I bring my pillow?

The Rose Garden

2010-03-31T09:11:00.002-04:00

The Rose Garden Early Childhood Center. Bookplate.

Neither here nor there.

2010-03-29T12:56:00.005-04:00

At the mouth of Purgatorio stands Queen Rat. Give her a bow and your shoes. Climb on her back and ride the whorls of her tail until she parts you from your senses and pitches you. And then stand in line, barefoot, wordless and without memory, until tea is served.

More.

2010-03-25T15:40:00.004-04:00

Hair on the A string.

(cont.)

2010-03-22T14:17:00.001-04:00

Put your money where your mouse is.

Hide and Peek.

2010-03-18T11:53:00.002-04:00

The first of the Horde. Figured I'd do a little spring cleaning and start airing out the bestiary. Sweep out the old straw, dump the pellets, straighten the spools that serve as chairs. Mice are hoarders and it's dirty work, but nothing compared to the recent business of clearing the Hertel Side. There will be chaff in my hair and dust in my teeth for damn days.

Take Two.

2010-03-16T11:10:00.002-04:00

Buffalo re-use in Amherst, NH. A multipurpose pic.

Aubergine.

2010-03-09T14:15:00.002-05:00

All Wild Woods touch at some point.

Psyche amidst the brambles.

2010-03-06T11:14:00.002-05:00

Possessive owners. Crabbed thickets. Questing sons of minor gods. Teary eyed maidens with dull shears. Flaking skin conditions.

They were rumored to eat human flesh, but if I was a golden fleeced sheep, I'd be hot-tempered too.

Little Candles.

2010-02-24T11:42:00.002-05:00

Started out as a racy birthday Victorian, but come hither turned quickly into get thee hence. Seems there's only a breath of difference in shading between the two.

Full of Grace.

2010-02-07T13:40:00.002-05:00

My answer to a day of imprisonment under Auntie ESPN. I get fanciful in the face of football.

All our dark deeeelight.

2010-01-21T15:20:00.002-05:00

Sigur Ros and Snorri Sturluson are making pretty pictures in my brain. Residual effects: ice cream headache.

"Neither weaker nor less firm."

2010-01-14T10:18:00.005-05:00

At the coming of Ragnarok, the maidens will burn when the Rhine runs with flame, the gold will be found anew, and the Helm of Dread will be worn by one far greater than Hreidmar's son.

Halve nots.

2010-01-08T13:14:00.005-05:00

For the Aurora Waldorf School's Winterfest poster. There were some surgical repairs to be done with this scan, but grafting is easy when the cold slows sap to an ooze. It's the folk who tend to be the problematic--dwarves are traditionally prickly about their beards, and brownies have the tendency of crawling through even the most carefully knit seams.

"Octavius!"

2010-01-05T21:32:00.000-05:00

But for short, we'll call him 'Gus'.

Aubergine in Kensington Gardens.

2009-12-28T13:35:00.003-05:00

Or the Punjab equivalent.

Warp and Woof.

2009-12-19T13:28:00.004-05:00

Greetings from American Dogthic. These two got lost in bucolia on the way to the poolhall, but if the cat's away and the calico fits, set up residence.

Blush and Bashful.

2009-12-17T12:14:00.002-05:00

It's time to bring back bloggery.

Mus-ings.

2009-10-28T13:55:00.002-04:00

Starting to dream in fuzzy ears and whiskers.

Chemistry 101.

2009-10-19T14:14:00.005-04:00

And it was done. He broke her from the earth, and breathed warmth onto her tiny leaves, and he swore a brahmin's promise under an immediate sky. Under the watchful eyes of her netherworld nannies.

But they swore promises too. To take her back when the need arose. And it would. Because the evil wives of lovelorn kings tend to be women of science, and flowers tend to wilt in the lab.

Go figure.

2009-10-14T18:11:00.002-04:00

A sketchling.

I've only seen a mouse in a house once, but I can seriously say that the voices of a screaming female and a squeaking rodent will combine to achieve a certain gestalt that can turn reality on its head. We're talking about the ability to twist time and send planets careening into each other at the slightest change in pitch.

That being said, the small brownish pellets I found on the counter this morning were only burnt pizza crumbs.

Long live the Queen.

2009-10-09T13:08:00.000-04:00

She is risen! All hail Regina!

Suit up.

2009-10-06T10:35:00.001-04:00

Grappling with the eternal question:

If you put pants on one anthropomorphized character, must you put them on all?

I have a crush on every (hoplite) boy.

2009-10-03T12:04:00.005-04:00

Now when radiant Dawn with bright eyes looked forth upon the high mountain-tops of Pelias, and the headlands of the tossing main were swept into clear view before the breeze; in that hour uprose Tiphys, and at once he bade his comrades go aboard and make ready the oars. And strangely did the harbour of Pagasae, yea, and Pelian Argo herself cry alound, urging them to set forth.

Apollonius Rhodius, Argonautica

A sight to behold.

2009-09-30T12:15:00.005-04:00

If you're having trouble with the main course, just remember that eggplant is subject to flattery.

Where the story ends.

2009-09-23T11:01:00.004-04:00

Book elves are merciless and macabre. Last night, this particular fellow descended on the small hamlet of Right Bottom Drawer. He toyed with them for a few hours, racked 'em and cracked 'em, then strung the inhabitants' pale, dry viscera across our bedroom wall. Pins and clothesline have never been used with such grisly efficiency.

Fostering.

2009-09-19T10:49:00.002-04:00

By all accounts, she was pretty. Pretty as a little eggplant could be. But sometimes they'd catch her with mouthfuls of clay--cheeks bursting, eyes streaming from pain. Or mistressing tiny classes of ants and grubs and drooping swampflies up her arms, around her wrists in inky patterns. Or on rainy days with her feet inches in the mud, lips and fingers angled skywards. So they said their prayers, fashioned a wardrobe of waterlogged skirts and earthen slippers, leaked news of her beauty in the direction of the nearest palace, and waited for the story to run its course.

"Lost to sight in the Danube."

2009-09-16T10:15:00.002-04:00

They've turned U/Ondine into a movie. Thank god for the barnacled sea hags that grant little wishes.

BYOB

2009-09-14T08:39:00.004-04:00

Summer fun's nearly done and now the first dilemma of homeownership hits us squarely:

OVEN or BALLPIT?

Dainty dish.

2009-09-02T11:14:00.003-04:00

"The king is in his counting house, counting house, counting out. Counting."

Now inextricably linked to King Haggard. But a thousand and a half unicorns breaking themselves against the shore was a little much for one lone sharpee. I couldn't even capture four and twenty.

Give pause.

2009-08-31T10:15:00.002-04:00

A background nymph that survived the Great Purge of August '09.