Bloggy McSketch

REDIRECT!

2008-01-12T14:11:00.000-07:00

Thanks for visiting Bloggy McSketch! For all-new posts, comics, and news, please visit my new site, here.

Have a great day!

Illustration (Last) Friday: "The Blues"

2007-10-06T08:37:00.000-07:00

Haw, haw...get it? Blue jeans! This is inspired by my one-and-only trip to a higher-end jeans store. I was lucky enough to get a gift certificate from my husband for our second (cotton) anniversary. The jeans are great -- and the looooong process of surveying and rating your butt's appearance in scads of different jeans in the mirror with a very helpful but perfect stranger is a surreal experience not to be missed.

Oh, and that's not my butt. It's a stunt butt.

Illustration Friday: "Juggle"

2007-09-21T17:01:00.000-07:00

Hello all! Behold my jester-harlequin-unicyclist...

Yes, he's very talented.

A New Review of my latest Mini-Comic...

2007-09-12T18:18:00.000-07:00

...peruse at your leisure here.

Crap!

2007-08-22T11:11:00.000-07:00

I didn't post anything yesterday. Sorry, Loyal Fanbase! I'll post 2 today if you promise to forgive me. First, here's a basketball player, from back in the day when men were men and athletes were not only 'roid-free, but barely nourished!

Next, a golfer ponders that universal question:

Um, hello... you're a golfer. Of course you are!

'Til tomorrow...

He is not Jesus, but he has the same initials

2007-08-20T13:55:00.001-07:00

Here's a teeny-tiny snippet of a work in progress, a one-page comic in my Rules of Romance series. It's called "Don't Let Him Waste Your Time" -- which also happens to be a Jarvis Cocker song, hence this cartoon of him from the intro.

Come here often?

2007-08-19T15:52:00.000-07:00

Here I am at the bar with a hot date.

Don't tell my husband!

The Two Coreys

2007-08-18T18:16:00.000-07:00

Amazingly, not inspired by their new reality series -- which, ultimate unforgivable oversight on my part, I have yet to see. This is actually an illustration for a poetry chapbook that my sister and a friend (PressBodyPress) are putting out. Poetry can be about anything, even has-beens of the 80's. Viva Los Coreys!

Illustration Friday: "Captain"

2007-08-17T11:07:00.000-07:00

Can you believe it?! I'm posting a sketch... on my sketchblog! Revolutionary concept, I know. I'm going to try to post something every day-- for a while, at least. No more excuses! So, like, watch this space.

Anyway, here's my extremely studied and emotionally wrought Post-It portrait of a Ahab-esque captain. Ha. Enjoy!

Run, Molly, Run

2007-02-26T11:21:00.000-07:00

I ran the Colonial Half Marathon this weekend in Williamsburg, Virginia. The course was hilly and tough and probably really pretty but I couldn't really tell what with all the rain and hail in my eyes. Yeah, the weather was miserable. And cold.Here I am posing with my post-race bagel. Post-race beer not pictured. Also not pictured, my long-suffering husband (yes, we've only been married a year but he's already 'long-suffering'... poor thing) who somehow managed to get us to Williamsburg and back without crashing the car in the snow and ice. Thanks, Carlton! Yes, the entire day was an exercise in insanity, but is was totally worth it for the t-shirt. Seriously, in spite of the fact that I almost got us killed and I couldn't feel my face for about an hour afterwards, the race was lots of fun and I finished faster than I expected - 1:42! Whoop-dee-doo for me.

Illustration Friday: "Gravity"

2007-02-17T14:11:00.000-07:00

Sir Isaac Newton, contemplates a snack, laws of physics, and his fabulous mane. It had to have been a wig -- I mean, who would have time to think, never mind sit around under a tree, with all that hair to take care of?

Illustration Friday: "Crash"

2007-02-09T16:34:00.000-07:00

Here's a page from a little comic I did on the Trinity (from my "Katholic Kids: Savvy Sacraments" series). It basically consists of the Holy Spirit (the dove, for those of you who didn't have the pleasure to grow up Catholic) explaining the Father, Son, and himself to a clueless and inattentive kid. Here's the Holy Spirit insisting, somewhat desperately, that being part of an all-knowing and all-powerful trio leaves plenty of time to, you know, just hang out...
From left to right: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Oh, and of course there's Mary's portrait on the wall behind them. There - what more religious education could you possibly need?

Illustration Friday: "Sprout"

2007-02-02T16:18:00.000-07:00

The sprouting of a seed is generally a gentle, gradual process: the coaxing forth of that first little bud of life from the soil by water and sunlight...

...and then sometimes it's not.

Illustration Friday: "Red"

2007-01-29T11:55:00.000-07:00

Oh, Red. So very naive. Watch your back!

And I know it's a little early for valentines, but here's an image of the card I was selling along with my comics at the DC Conspiracy's Counter Culture Festival on Saturday:
A shamelessly romantic cyclops with a bouquet of red roses...who could resist?

Illustration Friday: "Super Hero"

2007-01-19T18:01:00.000-07:00

Yeah, I don't know what my latest thing is with Children In Non-Peril lately (see "Buzz"). Here's my superhero, slowly lowering himself off not-terribly tall first-floor porches in a single bound.

Illustration Friday: "80's"

2007-01-12T20:02:00.000-07:00

The Eighties! Woo-hoo! What a decade. As you can see, I made the most of it: (circa 1987)

My hobbies during that heady decade included sporting high-water jeans, abysmal posture, exhibiting maximum social awkwardness at all times, and the Red Sox.

But let's not to neglect the 1880's. Here's a portrait of Johnny Evers, of Tinker-to-Evers-to-Chance double-play-combo fame, born in 1881.

Oh, and if you're so inclined, check out some reviews of my comics here.

New Infandum! Review

2007-01-09T08:15:00.000-07:00

Greetings, rabid fans! (snicker....)
Take a peek at my Sleepwalker page for a link to another Infandum! review. (Thanks, Rob!)
Also, I'll be hawking my wares at the DC Counter Culture Festival on January 27th - more info at the link above.

Barbara Stan-WIG

2007-01-08T10:31:00.000-07:00

So last night we watched Double Indemnity. Great movie... but Barbara Stanwyck's bangs should have received a supporting credit. Yeah, Edward G. Robinson was cool and all but those BANGS! I mean, come on. They stole every scene they appeared in. To be honest, they were actually showboating a little bit. I found myself distracted from major plot points and missing chunks of dialogue because of them: I'm not doing them justice. They were truly staggering.

Illustration Friday: "Buzz"

2007-01-05T19:57:00.000-07:00

When I was a kid the prospect of being stung by a bee was, like, the most horrifying thing imaginable. I have memories of being outside playing and some kid spotting a bee and everyone completely going mental and running around everywhere. When a bee did finally get me it was a a bit of a letdown, actually.
It didn't live up to all the hype.

Sleigh bells ring....are ya listenin'?

2006-12-21T08:11:00.000-07:00

Happy Holidays, kids! Check out my Sleepwalker page for some new reviews, then go have some eggnog/spin a dreidel/whatever floats your boat.

Illustration Friday: "Wind"

2006-11-01T18:21:00.000-07:00

A little outdated, sure...but I can't help it, I just love me some Halloween:

Illustration Friday: "Ghost"

2006-10-20T17:52:00.000-07:00

Heeeere's "ghost"..it's a four-parter.

And a bonus, in the spirit of the Halloween season...

Illustration Friday: "Smitten"

2006-10-19T06:55:00.000-07:00

We all remember those heady first weeks of college-- tons of new friends, your first glorious taste of independence, tons of parties...and, of course, first loves: This is my sister Carol, college freshman, and her beau. You might recognize him as Borat Sagdiyev, Kazakhstan's sixth most famous man.

New(ish) Stuff!

2006-10-17T21:08:00.000-07:00

Click on the Sleepwalker link to the right to see all two heart-stopping/rending installments of Great Moments In Baseball.

Illustration Friday: "Safe"

2006-09-01T20:22:00.000-07:00

Here's a quick drawing of my sister Amy and me when we were little playing our twisted version of Strawberry Shortcake -- remember those dolls that each smelled like different fruits/desserts/whatever? Anyway, ours were stored in an airtight chest so they all smelled exactly the same (like a chemically sweetened airtight chest, I suppose), but I digress. I won't get too specific, but our version of playing "Strawberry Shortcake" cast the eponymous character as a ghost, only consulted in emergency situations...a sort of deceased oracle. Amy's playing the part of the apparently distressed Lemon Merengue here; I'm doing the creepy Strawberry Shortcake graveyard voice and being my controlling big sister self.

Okay, I've already said enough. What, you may ask, does this have to do with "safe"? Uh... good question. I guess we were safe in our little world of bizarro child fantasy? Yup, I'm stretching it. I just drew this and wanted to do something with it. Feel free to confess your own bizarre childhood games in the comments.

Illustration Friday: "Play"

2006-08-14T14:17:00.000-07:00

..or lack thereof, as the case may be.

Illustration Friday: "Capture"

2006-08-05T05:42:00.000-07:00

Here's a closeup of the snail:

Illustration Friday: "Clean"

2006-07-31T12:27:00.000-07:00

I'm back on the Illustration Friday wagon, folks. Here's my drawing for "Clean":

Remember the good old days, when parents would wash their kids' mouths out with soap if they swore? Yeah, me neither... but I've seen it in the movies!

"Sleepwalker" preview

2006-07-31T11:50:00.000-07:00

Here are a couple of images from "Great Moments In Baseball", first in a series (hopefully) now appearing in my new minicomic, "Sleepwalker" (see new link to right):

Illustration Friday: "Sacrifice"

2006-07-15T18:55:00.000-07:00

Here are two quickies I did today for "Sacrifice".

First, here's a drawing inspired by Margaret Atwood's "The Handmaid's Tale" , which I just read. Nothing like a little future-dystopic fiction to get the creative juices flowing! Anyway, this is "Offred" (shudder) in the Commander's study, getting her Scrabble-and-handcream on (both contraband in this society, of course). For those who haven't read it, she and the other women in the novel are basically living in a constant state of enforced sacrifice.

Anyway. On a lighter note, here's my husband, recent (and continuing) victim of a self-imposed exile: the South Beach Diet.(those are supposed to be french fries, his favorite)

The Worm

2006-07-11T19:27:00.000-07:00

Here's a little snippet from what's been keeping me busy lately. This is Jeff, celebrating a sweet find.

Illustration Friday: "Dance"

2006-06-19T08:41:00.000-07:00

Charleston...charleston....etc.

Illustration Friday: "Jungle"

2006-06-14T08:24:00.000-07:00

..Gym, that is.

Illustration Friday: "Portrait"

2006-06-05T08:36:00.000-07:00

Do I have portraits for you!

Portrait 1...

(random framed portraits makin' eyes at each other)

Portrait 2:
In honor of my recent obsession with the Washington Senators, here's Walter "The Big Train" Johnson, second-most winningest pitcher ever. Suspiciously regarded for his good manners and distaste for alcohol.

And finally, Portrait 3:

Here I am with a loving portrait of my husband.

Illustration Friday: "Cake"

2006-05-26T18:49:00.000-07:00

Here's some cake. And a super-loud tablecloth that has competely taken over.

Illustration Friday: "Sorry"

2006-05-22T08:45:00.000-07:00

My first wedding anniversary was yesterday, May 21st. I know, I know.. and they said it wouldn't last! Anyway, not only has it been exactly one year since my husband and I got hitched, it's also been exactly one year since I almost killed both of our families, close friends, officiant, and photographer. You see, I just had to get married outside. In New Orleans. On, I believe, the hottest (98 degrees, give or take) May 21st on record. I had my chance to move the ceremony indoors, but oh no...that wouldn't do! Because then no one would nearly succumb to heatstroke or suffer wretched sunburns-- and the butter on the table may have remained solid.

So, to all who attended that sweaty, blindingly sunny, chokingly humid, fairy-tale ceremony... Sorry! And, thanks.

The Word On The Street

2006-05-16T07:22:00.000-07:00

If anyone can tell me what this chick I passed on the street was talking about, I'd really appreciate it. I've never claimed to be an expert on the mating habits of the Viennese, but now I'm curious.

"I mean, she was dating him for less than a year. In Austrian terms, that's not even a relationship!"

Illustration Friday: "Angels and Devils"

2006-05-13T14:54:00.000-07:00

Yeah, I don't know where they are....some shady bar in the afterlife?

Illustration Friday: "Fat"

2006-05-06T16:41:00.000-07:00

So I came upon this sight while walking around my neighborhood yesterday....

Two twins (they often come in pairs, I'm told), being pushed down the sidewalk very slowly in their double-wide stroller by their understandably exhausted-looking babysitter. Keeping pace just ahead of them, coincidentally, was a fat fluffy grey cat -- and the twins were ecstatic. Creepily and twinnily they took turns crowing "Meow!", reaching their grabby toddler paws towards it.

And the fat cat, as cats often do, totally ignored them.

Illustration Friday: "Robot"

2006-04-21T07:14:00.000-07:00

That was quicker than usual, huh? I've tried to make it a rule to draw something new for Illustration Friday but since I hadn't posted this yet, and there happened to be a robot featured.... voila!This is an illustration I did recently for the Boston Latin Spring Bulletin. The article was about an alum who's put together a website that can actually enable you to reach a human on the phone when you call a customer service line...imagine that.

And if that's not enough robot for ya, here's another from my vast and storied (cough) blog archives.

Illustration Friday: "Spotted"

2006-04-15T17:47:00.000-07:00

I saw this completely black dog the other day with a single white spot on its foot, not unlike this:

So, there it is. "Spotted" - exactly once.

Illustration Friday: "Speed"

2006-04-11T16:31:00.000-07:00

(Or, "Portrait of the Artist As An Extremely Amateur Athlete")

This weekend, I ran my first road race. I am not at all speedy, but did better than I expected. Five WHOLE miles. That's, like, a lot, right?

Anyway, according to my friend Sherry, my "running face" (everyone's got one, and it often ain't pretty) consists of half-closed eyes (like I'm half asleep)..a little something, I imagine, like this...

I'm all, "Feets don't fail me now!"

Here's the close-up of The Face Of Sleepy Determination, if anyone needs inspiration to get out there and bust a move:

Illustration Friday: "Spring"

2006-04-04T13:54:00.000-07:00

Hey, remember me? Apologies for the hiatus, I had to pop over to Budapest and Vienna. Important business, you know...forcing husband to drink coffee...

...putting away a little Unicum..

Anyway, where were we? Oh, yes... Spring.

I swear, I've seen tons more robins this spring than ever before. Maybe because there's actually a spring here, unlike Boston? Only time will tell. So I'm always staring at them all, "Wow, an actual 'robin of spring'!" And they look back at me like, "Yeah, and...?"

Illustration Freitag: "Tattoo"

2006-03-11T06:34:00.000-07:00

Someday I swear I'll post something here besides Illustration Fridays. Until that special day, here's "Tattoo" (the ballpoint pen variety, of course):

She's thinking, "I am sooo badass!"

Illustration Friday: "Insect"

2006-03-05T08:34:00.000-07:00

I admit it: when it comes to bugs I am a giant wimpy girl (no offense to all you girls out there). So surviving the sighting of the most gigantic millipede I have ever seen in the mirror behind me in my own bedroom was no small feat. You see that accordion file on the little table on the right? It's filled with "important papers" of my husband's, or something. Probably drafts of the divorce documents. Anyway, I somehow managed -- without disturbing the giant beast on the wall behind me -- to grab the accordion file, spin around, and with deadly aim throw it across the room, killing and smearing the millipede all over the wall. And the floor. And the file. I know "killing innocent creatures" is wrong, but I consider this self-defense. No jury would convict me, etc.

(...and a millipede is probably not an insect... too many legs, right?)

Illustration Friday: "Tea"

2006-02-27T09:17:00.000-07:00

At long last! Here's my dad schooling me on how to make green tea. On a recent visit home he made some and now every time I make it I hear him in my head ... "Just two to three minutes..." Hence, this drawing. My mom taught me how to make apple pie from scratch last time I was home, so if that's ever the word-of-the-day, she'll get her moment in the Illustration Friday sun, too.

Illustration Friday: "Song"

2006-02-19T19:35:00.000-07:00

The Russian national anthem is just so darned catchy!

Illustration Friday: "Simple"

2006-02-11T14:36:00.000-07:00

Rather than draw something simple and elegant - god forbid! - I turned this concept into a set of instructions on how to do something ... wait for it ... simple. I don't know what the peanuts in panel 2 are so excited about. They look like they're tripping on acid. "Hooray! EAT US!"

This would be a great clip-and-saver for the less culinarily talented among us, don't you think?

Rejiggering

2006-02-07T12:27:00.000-07:00

Slight changes to my website... actually, just the first page. No, not terribly exciting.

I was going to draw something new today but I'm in too crummy a mood. Instead, here's my latest self-portrait. I call it "The Look of Love". Haw, haw.

Illustration Friday: "Chair"

2006-02-04T16:58:00.000-07:00

So, I drew this chair, right. And it was just a really boring picture. Not my most compelling work. I decided it needed some drama.

The snake, I now realize, adds a bit more 'confusion' than 'dram'a. But, what's done is done. And so I present to you: "Chair (Now With 100% More Snake)"

Illustration Friday: "Glamour"

2006-01-28T11:10:00.000-07:00

I'm finally posting a pic for Illustration Friday. Apparently my idea of "glamour" is poor posture and apparent shirtlessness. Or as the ball-and-chain puts it, "Olive Oyl's hot cousin".

New stuff

2006-01-27T10:39:00.000-07:00

New illustrations I did for the Brooks School are here.

Ashes to ashtray

2006-01-27T09:25:00.000-07:00

Haw, haw.
This is St. Dorothy. What -- martyrdom is hard work, you'd begrudge her a cig now and then? Jesus!

Prep

2006-01-25T09:01:00.000-07:00

All right, January! Wooo!

I just did some illustrations for a boarding school's alumni magazine (which I'll post on my site someday...how about tomorrow?) then read this book "Prep" by Curtis Sittenfeld (who I thought was a guy the whole time I was reading it, got to "About the Author" and found out Curtis is a lady, and am now confused), about- wait for it - a boarding school. So now I'm all boarding-schooled out.

But I did this dopey doodle of a scene from the book, anyway.

Merry Christmas To You And Yours...

2005-12-22T14:43:00.000-07:00

from Wilfred Brimley.

"Sigh."

2005-12-10T16:52:00.000-07:00

Aw, what's wrong, little Robot?

Ah, it appears the DMV denied his proof of Virginia residency. After he searched around for the documents, got up at 7 on a Saturday, studied for the permit test and waited in line for an HOUR.

Man, I can relate.

Isn't it aggravating...

2005-12-07T09:09:00.000-07:00

..how content JCrew models are? They're attractive, gracious, and their shirts always stay tucked in. In those outdoor shots where it's obviously freezing you'll never catch these fresh-faced lasses scowling in the corner to the tune of "when is this snowball fight gonna END, already, can't we just go INSIDE? I just want some cocoa!"

Okay, maybe it's just me.

Anyway, in honor of that sentiment....

Pout.

2005-12-07T08:12:00.000-07:00

Yeah, I dunno what her problem is. Maybe she's mad that I drew her on such cheap paper.

Ty Cobb's dead...

2005-11-29T11:17:00.000-07:00

..but he hates you, anyway.

Jump down, spin around..

2005-11-29T09:26:00.000-07:00

Pick a bail of truth.

dumb.

2005-11-28T16:10:00.000-07:00

I just put a new, totally idiotic cartoon here.

Enjoy, if possible.

What ho, Bertie!

2005-11-27T16:47:00.000-07:00

Oh, it's you, Dr. House.
Waiting for me to come down with a case of the sniffles so you can misdiagnose me for a few weeks, pushing me to the brink of death, just to pull me back at the last moment....because you feel like it.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2005-11-25T17:15:00.000-07:00

Tycho Brahe

2005-11-22T17:59:00.000-07:00

Thus begins and ends my series of portraits of deranged Danish mathematicians who may or may not have died of complications related to bladder explosion.

Best.Eyebrows.Ever.

2005-11-19T23:20:00.000-07:00

I'm totally doing mine like these. Okay, not really.

New stuff

2005-11-17T09:42:00.000-07:00

My first-ever published (as in, not by me) illustrations can be found here (bottom row).
Oh, the excitement!

"Yes, doctor?"

2005-11-15T19:11:00.000-07:00

Oops..wrong room.

2005-11-13T21:05:00.000-07:00

Lowest man on the trinity-pole

2005-11-07T14:07:00.000-07:00

(Long story.)

Love Is....

2005-11-06T11:20:00.000-07:00

2005-11-04T09:03:00.000-07:00

Mmmm....

2005-11-04T09:00:00.000-07:00

"Oh, hello."

2005-11-04T08:54:00.000-07:00

"'How does it feel to be genetically inferior to me?
Yes, I had that unfortunate experience with Ethan Hawke,but I'm on the rebound and back on the horse with hotelier Andre Baeasjszccz, apparently."

In the beginning....

2005-11-04T08:49:00.000-07:00

This will be the ugly appendage-- the redheaded stepchild, if you will-- of my illustration website. It was getting too annoying to update the sketchbook page over and over given my relative (read: total) inexperience with this whole webdesign thing.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Tom Cruise.