Classic story: vampire guy and werewolf guy start a basketball team; a dog joins; a clown comes after him. It's your archetypal Air Bud Situation. If you've heard it once, you've heard it a million times.
While doodling, I was thinking of my characters Dipsy Diddle, Peggy Bark, Chubbsly and Markley and imagined another dog character to the group. Ladies, gents and cartoon lovers alike. Meet Twizzle "Twizzy" the Basset Blood Hound.
Due to financial/logistical reasons, I can't do literal linocuts as often as I'd like, so I draw my illustrations in reverse, flip them digitally, have them printed, and then color them in by hand. The result is basically an "artist's print". I only make one of each. These were watercolor, but I've recently discovered gouache, so keep an eye out for future pieces that incorporate that.
Neal has found another Labrador – her name is Bella. He has also met Peter. Peter is worried about Neal. He thinks the boy might be a runaway. He is also about to patiently explain to Neal that when a dog is wearing a nametag with their owner’s info on it, then that dog is not an unwanted stray, as Neal seems to believe, but just a missing dog.
I'm working on a series of childhood stuffed animals versus child monsters (i.e. the safety of home vs the real world and its bullies). I haven't done the monsters yet, but here are the stuffed animals. I drew them from memory as opposed to referencing what Cheer Bear and Rainbow Brite's dog looked like. I looked after. I didn't get them quite right. That's OK; I think the wonkiness adds to the charm. These are drawn in reverse for a woodcut effect, then scanned and printed and gone over with gouache and watercolor.
I drew some dogs on commission for a friend (the simpler Corgis), then wound up messing around after I'd scanned them. Dogs dogs dogs. As far as the snout can sniff.
I am delighted to share that I Am a Dragon! has been named to the Pennsylvania Center for the Book's 2024 Baker's Dozen: Thirteen Best Books for Family Literacy!
Here is the list
( I am in such a good company!):
- “10 Dogs” by Emily Gravett
- “ABC and You and Me” by Corinna Luyken
- “Bear with Me” illustrated by Kerascoët, Sebastien Cosset and Marie Pommepuy,
- “The Concrete Garden” by Bob Graham
- “How to Count to ONE (And Don't Even THINK About Bigger Numbers!)” by Caspar Salmon and illustrated by Matt Hunt
- “I Am a Dragon! A Squabble and a Quibble” by Sabina Hahn, published by HarperCollins.
- “If I Was a Horse” by Sophie Blackall
- “The Kitten Story” by Emily Jenkins and illustrated by Brittany Cicchese
- “Mr. S” by Monica Arnaldo
- “Night in the City” by Julie Downing
- “Ruffles and the Cozy, Cozy Bed” by David Melling
- “Simon and the Better Bone” by Corey R. Tabor
- “You Go First” by Ariel Bernstein and illustrated by Marc Rosenthal
Satch’s perhaps the most resourceful dog on the planet. His legs are fast, his nose is keen, his mind is set, but the world has grown too complicated for a dog even as well-equipped as Satch. His owners got lost and he does not know how to find them in this never-ending maze of smells and sounds.
Thankfully, he stumbled upon Neal. He will know what to do.
