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Doodling favorite characters from Lawrence’s screenplay. I really like Bo’s pretty legs and stockings.

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I think I may have finally found the moleskine for me. The watercolor paper is really nice.

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Sketches of the Shanghainese mafia head I drew last week - I really like him. And a Chinese opera actor with and without make-up. I think the two are involved somehow, probably because the man basically owns the opera company through his patronage.

They need names.

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A little illustration I finished today to accompany the article “Talk Like a Flapper, Don’t Be a Cakie Part II: Slang in the Prohibition Era,” By Kevin C. Fitzpatrick, in the upcoming 7th issue of Zelda magazine. I believe it will be dropping, as usual, around Halloween.

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Shanghai, 1928. I was inspired by this drawing of my boy’s, Vertinsky’s songs that made me think of the Russian diaspora in Shanghai, and Emily Hahn, the writer and opium addict who broke the unspoken segregation convention between the expat Western and native populations by having an affair with the Chinese poet and publisher Sinmay Zau.

When we woke, the sky was leaden and the streets were soaked with the rain that poured overnight. Even as we left the house apprehensively, loaded with picnic baskets and, laughably, parasols and fans, the rain drizzled. But by the time we got to the Jazz Age Lawn Party, the sky began to clear and the afternoon dawned gorgeously fresh, cool and only slightly cloudy. In fact, the rain led to a very civilized development - picnic tables that kept us comfortable and well off the damp grass. I think this may have actually been the best lawn party yet. And lostsplendor brought the most incredible scones and Devon cream!

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A little detail of a sketch page I’ve been relaxing on today. Inspired by German torch songs and Christian Schad.

A few photos from today’s Jazz Age Lawn Party outing. My head and feet are killing me right now, but all that charleston, St. Germain and lipstick kisses were worth every damn minute. And I got to meet one of you Tumblr peeps! Thank you again for saying hi!

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I haven’t drawn Ella in way too long, and I’ve been working out the next chapter in my head, so here we are.

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I’ve been feeling a bit stuck in a rut with my art lately. I have plenty of inspiration, but the execution feels like a continuous regurgitation of my comfort zone. I am not trying to change my style, but at the moment I’m just feeling bored. I want to see some change - even if it’s not apparent to others, I’d be happy as long as I perceive it. 

So I decided to do some practicing by imitating the style of Otto Dix, since the ugly loveliness of his work is what’s getting under my skin the most these days. Not really sure about the overall result of this page… The ugly is there, I guess. We’ll see.

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A holiday pin-up from Zelda. I really can’t wait for the new issue to come out.

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Naughty salts, child! Miles Malpractice is the only way to break in a new sketchbook. This one is somewhere between the film version and what’s in my head (though, really, Michael Sheen is flawless in every way).

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It’s November, I’m homesick, so here are some despondent exiled Russians - Ella and Alex.

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I have been sketching Ella, Alex and Valliet III to get ready for the next chapter in Baritarian Boy. I am so excited about it,  just wish I had the time to work on it now! But I have too many other projects that need taking care of first.

Not completely satisfied with Alexander (I have been having problems with top hats lately), but Valliet III is spot on. Aww, narcoleptic king in exile turned gossip columnist!