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.
A strange beast . It sits by the lakes and plays tunes. Luring all who hear into its maw. It has four arms, And, typically, six fingers on each hand. Its mouth is located at its lower abdomen . I really like top imagine that it plays old 30's and 40's jazz and such ... "you keep a Nokken but you can't come in... I know you been drinkin' gin ... You been cheatin' round with other men, I'm busy and you can't come in... "
I got a pack of loose watercolour paper from eBay in 2018. The side this was painted on had a really strange pitted texture on it. I thought it might be interesting but I didn't like the way the paint gathered in the pits. I just use it for sketching and testing colours these days.
(HB pencil on a 138mm x 88mm postcard) It's more than just a strange laughing cat wearing a monocle. The full description of it is here, on my main art blog: https://www.skavart.co.uk/2020/08/the-laughing-monocled-cat.html ...Although you might regret reading it!
A window into the strange and colorful world of wonder .... ............... https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKXBKF6a2BWVDy_SgMvk8GQ?view_as=subscriber
Mighty satellites crashed to Earth. Oceans swallowed up the lands. The World became new . Planet Earth became Illoniri . The people who were not crushed, tried their best to survive, and they did . But what was that like? Living in a world where everything has been taken from you ? Everything but your own life ? No communication, except with the people right next to you. Your own friends and family mutating and changing before your very eyes. Imagine ... gaining magical powers, riding strange and fantastic beasts, forging your own destiny from the ruins of the old world. Exploring the world you thought you knew. A beautiful and pure and young world, born of the ashes of the old one . What will we do to protect this new Earth? What lengths will we go to ? How can we keep our Mother Illoniri safe from evil ? I will fight . We all must fight. We cannot chance our world to be destroyed a second time. But maybe... maybe we don't have to fight? Maybe the reason Earth died and became Illoniri is because all we ever do is fight ? Is the answer so simple? Have humility and understanding, and we may all live? Keeping peace is easier said than done . Maybe we all just need to be kind and our Illoniri will be saved? Only time will tell... Until there is peace, we venture onward. Ever onward, my Untitled Heroes. Ever.
Only took like 2 hours. Honestly, this is the hardest I have EVER worked on a digital piece. Surprised I even got this finished in one sitting because I have been pretty nauseous today. @Hirsch I hope I didn't mess up qwq. By the way, are we friends? Sorry if I seem weird for a stranger but I just need a quarantine buddy. It's ok if we aren't, I understand, I'm only a random kid on a platform of other strange people, so it's alright indeed. (P.S. I'm in a super good mood today because I got a new Furby :3 I'm so weird)
For May 10th, today is the day for bubbles.
For this day, I decided to make Equilor, who, while swimming, came across a strange oyster, which, when opened, released the bubble motor
Impalla, Wart Hog and Topi is a strange painting of a young doll like female puppet head with large intimidating eyes. The scary doll head puppet looks like a frozen predator. Her expression almost ferrel but still oddly innocent at the same time. I chose the vintage storybook background based on the mottled rich tones of the paper itself and the fact that the title refers to prey and predators in Africa. It is an excerpt from an old African adventure story. I love the arresting expression and bright colours of this painting. She has great stopping power and evokes all kinds of emotions.
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.
