What a wonderful Kirkus review!
(Paired here with my favorite improper contraction.)
"A thoughtful look at life, in all its beauty and strangeness.
...
This delightfully deadpan musing on life urges compassion for others. Howden’s straightforward text is on the philosophical side, though also rooted in the absurd. Hahn’s spare black graphite pencil watercolor, mostly set against a white background, are imbued with humor and empathy for the pickle, with the foodstuff’s expressive eyes conveying many emotions at once. "
https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/sarah-howden/the-wise-pickle/
THE WISE PICKLE
by Sarah Howden ;
illustrated by Sabina Hahn
RELEASE DATE: June 23, 2026
I didn't know what to draw but I know Valentine’s Day is this month so I decided to draw hearts for today. This month Im going to try to stick to two mediums painting and sketching with graphite pencils to build my skills with them.
As usual I struggled to get a true likeness, but that notwithstanding, I was still pleased with the result.
HB, 5B and 9B graphite pencils on smooth cartridge drawing paper, size A3.
This is a graphite pencil drawing of a hunting hawk somewhat loosely based on a photo. The reference photo is from: Birds of Prey by Paul D. Frost (Paragon Books Ltd 2006) and credited to Martin B Withers/FLPA. I found the book in the Goodwill a couple of month ago and was much inspired by the beautiful photographs.
One of the scariest characters I've ever seen. The most frightening of the vampires from the movie "Fright Night" (1985). I had to draw her as a form of therapy. Thumbs-up for the art department on that movie! If she had had white eyes instead of the red eyes in the movie, I would've been irreparably damaged! :) (Pencil on paper, size A4).
