Nora Thompson's Faves

Window, drawn with pencil in my A6 sketchbook

Pencil drawing WIP

This bird is very late for a meeting. Yes, he is wearing a flying bow tie.

Drawn with pencil

The old city gate (the 'Sassenpoort') in Zwolle.

Ink & watercolor on 12x10 Arches watercolor paper

Black and colored ink.

An article/rant/annotation to an illustration. A #Hackney bar and its flies. This picture is not as sad and blue as it might at first seem, I promise. It is early in the week and the pub becomes the territory of the most outspoken drinkers. Raised somewhere between Churchill and Harold MacMillan, a night such as this is time for them to spin out a yarn of nostalgic fantasy. Encouraged by the lack of a crowd and with space to fill, statements start to fly. In the opening rounds the barman athletically hits back with factual blocks and reality-check haymakers; statistics and personal experiences are given. Two histories cross examined, one where 1982 means Thatcher and the Falklands, the other renders Reagan and the AIDS crisis. Stoicism and national pride vs mental health and realism. In the latter rounds the barman is fatigued, swaying on the backbar, glasses begin to stack up as form begins to drop. The older men seem stronger than ever. The barflies come in close now, they scrutinise his generations work ethic and make wild political comments on poverty, immigrants and the minimum wage. The barman is close to sheer bloody despair, he maintains his defence and focuses on breathing while maintaining his professional stance. But at the end of the night the barman knows HE will ring that bell, they will politely leave and they will return again in a week and maybe, just maybe there will be a change, common ground or maybe at least polite silence. But what these interactions have given despite the salt in the eye is community and an exchange between generations, culture and class of those participating. No home is ever straight forward, no relative without their good and bad traits and in a world where we often slide into echo chambers online or in our physical environments, the pub is still a place where society is family, face to face, pint to pint. Or maybe it's just a room with alcohol on tap?

Pen & Ink on vintage paper.

Just some random doodling in my Moleskine. It never gets old.

Skip James is the man. I’ve been wanting to do something music related. I sketched this a year or two ago. It was fun to bring it into Procreate and add doodles, lettering, color and more elements like the guitar neck. I’m always looking for a way to combine my pencil with color and have it look like it really goes together. This one felt right.

I intended to do quick little spot illustrations for Inktober this year, but nooooooo! Now Jimmy is drowning in digital ink and lots of doodle details. This was way too much fun to go simple. I also included the original sketch this time.

Sketchbook, sharpie markers

It's cool how the internet can bring people together from far away places to make things. "Graham's Up the Tree" is based on a true story from the life of author mbpardy ... He's in Australia - I'm in Seattle area. When he posts these images at his page I see comments from people who grew up with real life versions of these characters I drew -- People that actually looked out the window and saw this little guy high up at the top of a tree... where no one else could go.

Pen doodle started in work finished at home.

7" x 9" pen and ink drawing from my sketchbook

Ink on clayboard.

Portraits of authors, actors, and directors connected to the theme of horror/suspense. A few from the series made during a past Inktober event.

One of my pen and ink drawings on antique paper. 6"x7"