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After working all day on commissions, I rewarded myself by drawing porn. Husband requested Victorian schoolboys, and voila.

The four pin-ups together. Now to put together the calendar and print it!

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YOU GUYS. The issue of Sherlock Holmes Mystery Magazine that I illustrated the cover for? IT’S FINALLY OUT! GO BUY IT! IT IS EXCITING AND AWESOME! YAY!

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Funny story - until I got this commission I had never actually seen The Night Porter. In fact, despite everyone telling me how much I’d love it and its cult popularity, I didn’t even really know what it was about. I have to admit that while I adore Dirk Bogarde and the film definitely had its moments, I didn’t think very much of it - weird, I guess, all things considered. Still, I’m glad I finally saw it! And I’m really pleased with what I got out of it for this illustration.

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Enjolras and Courferyrac - the first in the pile of commissions I just completed this week! This was a fun one, and since a few people did express an interest in a step-by-step of my process, I’ll make a post using this picture later in the day. Get ready for a lot of photos of my cat. Because getting distracted by my cat is like 75% of my artistic process. The rest is getting distracted by making cups of tea.)

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Did the most therapeutic drawing at work today - I think that must be what Andrei Rublev felt like when painting icons. The thing I wanted to capture the most is how impossibly kind Mr. Fry’s eyes are. 

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Weird crappy sketch for a weird crappy mood - Hans from Tom Waits’ “Reeperbahn” again. I can’t tell if I love it or hate it. I like the colors and the expression. The anatomy is bizarre even for me and I can’t even begin to tell what the fuck is up with that background. I’ll just tell myself I was channeling Otto Dix as consolation.

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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 don’t know why it didn’t occur to me earlier that I could, in fact, conquer the ridiculously yellow pages of my sketchbook with things like this. I wish The Yellow Book was still around. I should publish my own.

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There’s no love story quite so tender as that of a young man and his carnivorous plants.

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Bought some new ink to play with and quickly discovered this sketchbook is way too absorbent for ink, so I just stuck to my usual pens and a bit of watercolor while drawing some gents. I also accidentally Basil Hallwarded all over the boy on the bottom right.

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I started thinking about Miles because of that gif I posted, so I had to draw my baby.

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Working on fun commissions.

Silhouette demons - another set of 2.5 by 3.5 inch miniatures. The one in the Elizabethan ruff and the two Edwardians (middle) are my favorites.

Also, hello, recent followers! Where’d you babies come from?

Some stress had built up over the last couple of weeks and jumped out at me suddenly at the end of last week, so I decided to not work on anything serious and just make some self-indulgent little drawings. The result was these 2.5 by 3.5 miniatures. I haven’t worked on watercolor paper in literally years, and I don’t really know how painting tiny details on paper I haven’t had practice on since forever is relaxing, but it worked for me.

The silver fox ended up looking like Vincent Price, and the brunette in the red waistcoat is sporting the haircut I described to my husband as “the hair that was the downfall of public school masters for centuries.” He told me the blond was grown-up Tadzio. 

I’ll be selling these babies at MoCCA! Maybe I should do portraits of ladies too.