Poor blobfish!
(For this series, I'm trying to hone my beginner skills by focusing on the architecture of each strange creature through reference photos, while also using it as a log for interesting animal facts.
Really happy with this one. I was in a bad mood, strange that the drawings get better when im not so happy. Got some Acryl stuff done, but have to wait for a good friend who brings his camera. Stay healthy and take it like a silver back!^^
(HB pencil on a 139mm x 87mm postcard) It's not surprising that the pandemic would inspire me to do a work such as this. How could it not? It shows both the growing need for social interaction people have in isolation, along with the need to protect themselves. These two things have come together in a piece depicting a strange group of gate-crashing party-goers.
Imagine trading your soft bed for a deflating mattress.
Imagine food cooked under ash, a fire that smokes more than it warms.
Imagine waking at dawn with stiff muscles, yet finding yourself strangely alive.
This sketch is not just about tents, cars, and campfires.
It is about the in-between—where inconvenience and beauty wrestle, and something deeper sneaks in.
Camping reminds me: comfort is overrated, but presence is priceless.
As far as things that I can’t seem to shake off are concerned, it’s this fact that a place like Edinburgh where I live is akin to a village where everyone (artist folk in particular) seems to know everyone, and the patterns or quirks that emerge from this said thought process. In most collectives I’m a part of and/or are associated with, there’s what seems like an endless sense of crossover and overlap with fellow artists etc for lack of better words, which is lovely as it is insane... you know? All in all though, even if it drives me mad it does so in a strangely positive way and I’ve learned to live with that. So yeah, make of that what you will. :-)
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
Journey presents a surrealist setting where a man is rowing his boat through a wondrous landscape, surrounded by buildings and stones with strange symbols and runes. A bright heavenly light illuminates the traveller's origin while a stark contrast is made with the vibrant blue light, from behind the walls, of this mysterious sunken building. This artwork is for sale on inkywinky.com.au
"The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice." - John 10:2-5 (NIV). And, apparently, they really do: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e45dVgWgV64
A young woman tossed into a strange world in an attempt to prevent harm to hers, discovers she is connected to it in ways she never imagined. Violet is declared to be a new Archfey Queen and budding goddess of Magic. Having been raised in a world where magic was thought to be an archaic belief, to suddenly being it’s master throughout the eons was needless to say, a terrible shock.
(HB pencil on 110mm x 78mm paper) When doing this form of automatic drawing, strange characters and weird objects do take shape, leaving the rest of the image as dream construct.
