The Husband Wife Draw-Off

Yesterday I painted Rocket Raccoon:

This afternoon Ryan drew and inked his own Rocket Raccoon. 

He posted it to my facebook with the challenge: "I'll see your Rocket Raccoon, and raise you one Dr. Strange".

As I replied to him, too bad I was born to draw Dr. Strange!


Oh, it's on.

Puck and Sam

We had a bit of a sad evening. Our rather old and very hateful mouse Agatha passed away this afternoon. We take comfort in knowing that wherever she is, she is happier than when she was with us. She even disliked other mice, when we had other mice. She spent her days brooding on the wheel, patrolling the walls of her cage, and avoiding us at all costs.

She enjoyed the company of only one creature in our home, and that was Puck.

Puck is like some kind of feline ambassador to the rodent kingdom. Either he has no idea he is supposed to dislike rats and mice, or he has no inclination. Agatha was the first animal friend Puck made in our apartment during the early days when Elvis didn't know what to make of a three legged kitten.

She would follow his paw and he would follow her, back and forth, very gently through the bars of her cage. When anyone else approached she'd duck into her green castle, but she always came out for Puck. Despite his missing limb, he quickly learned to climb the bookcase to sleep on her cage. He'd pass an entire afternoon this way, and for her part Agatha would usually climb as close as she could and lounge on the level beneath him.

Puck sleeping on Agatha's cage. She was the white puff on
the level below him, next to the water bottle.

Tonight we moved her empty cage from its usual spot on the bookcase. Puck settled into the space and laid with his head over the side, clearly not his usual spritely self. Ryan put on "Overboard" and when it was over and the credits were rolling I noticed our rat Sam had gone over to Puck. Puck had turned himself around, and the two were being very sweet. I snuck the camera over and shot this short video, with the Overboard credits still rolling in the background.

Later when we watched the video on the computer and heard the audio, Ryan and I couldn't believe how adorable the music from the Overboard credits made this scene! 

Halloween is in the air! (Yes, it is still August).

It's the end of August and that can mean only one thing: I'm already far too excited about Halloween.

I would be dragging out my spooky decorations now if it were socially acceptable. As it stands, when September dawns in two days I will be dressing the apartment in all its orange and yellow leaf autumn finery. Pumpkin wreaths galore! Then we'll see how long I can go before I drag out the ghosts and skeletons (last year I made it to the last week of September! Not too bad).

Since I can't plaster our walls with my paintings of zombies, ghosts, and werewolves just yet I decided to hang them in my Etsy shop instead. I plan to add more as the season blooms (or withers. Withering is much, much spookier!) and I may paint a few cute Halloween illustrations too. Perhaps a raccoon trick or treating.... 

Right now if you visit my shop, you'll find these haunting prints for sale!

 

Werewolf Family Portrait

You can find the Werewolf Family Portrait  print here.

Ghost Lady (mother of the family
from the Werewolf Family Portrait, actually).

You can find the Ghost Lady print here.

Zombie in the Woods

You can find the Zombie in the Woods print here.

Enchanting Zombie

And you can find the Enchanting Zombie print here.

This is the first time I have sold any of my scarier stuff in my shop. Halloween felt like a good time to test these prints out! And as always, you can find my zombie paper dolls for sale here.

Rocket Raccoon

Last night I did another video game related painting for the North West Majors, as my friend Frank is doing his best to have an art show coincide with the event. A couple of weeks ago I painted Quan Chi from Mortal Kombat for the majors, and last night I painted Rocket Raccoon.

Wait, who's Rocket Raccoon you ask? Only one of the most absurdly adorable heroes Marvel comics ever created, that's who. A raccoon in space who pilots a starship and wields a laser pistol? What's not to love?

Technically he's not in a game just yet. However, in November when Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 drops, Rocket Raccoon will be added to the list of playable characters. I'm really excited to see him in action!

Here is my painting of Rocket Raccoon:

He's ready to invade your trashcan.

The pen and pencil sketch
before I added watercolors.

Folks may be surprised to learn when it comes to drawing critters, raccoons are my favorite creature to sketch. They're so jaunty in their little bandit masks with their little not-quite-people hands. They're sly, fluffy troublemakers who only want one thing: our trash. 

Three playful raccoons I painted
about 4-5 years ago.

The Christmas card I painted for our loved ones last year.
The inside read: "Santa found that raccoons--loving
garbage as they do--were really, really easy to shop for."

This little guy was on the back with the words:
"May all your Christmas dreams come true!"

My only issue with drawing raccoons is once I start, that's pretty much all I want to draw for days!

Mom and the Great Gallon Water Scheme

My entire life my mother has collected water in plastic gallon jugs.

There's even a system for this. She typically has between 2-3 gallons of drinkable water in the kitchen she buys from the store. Every Friday when she goes grocery shopping, she restocks whatever has been used. As the jugs are emptied she fills them with water from the tap and writes the date on the bottle with a black sharpie. The full jug is then carried down into the basement, where it is placed on shelves with 50-60 other plastic gallon bottles.

This sounds absolutely insane, right? I already know you're expecting me to now tell you that she scrawls government conspiracies on the walls or wears tin foils hats. (She does not. In fact she's the respectable sort of person who is president of her labor union and sometimes seated on the town council).

I don't blame you for thinking it. Everyone--including myself at times--has found this to be nuts. Plumbers have laughed at the tidy rows of gallon jugs, the sun shining through the water, the dates casting shadows on the walls. Friends have raised an eyebrow, especially when the jugs outgrew the shelves and were lined against the bottom wall. I called it my Mom's "Water Bottle Hall of Fame" when I was a kid.

Then hurricane Bob hit and the power went out. We were the only house in Charlestown that could flush a toilet. (If you open up the back of a toilet and pour 2-3 gallon jugs manually, it flushes). Mom could rinse our dishes, the cats had plenty of water, we could both bathe sparingly and be comfortable. Mom was one of the few the clean people to show up to work in Rhode Island that week. The basement kept the water naturally cool, and the dates let us know how old it was. And we had plenty of fluids until the power came back on because she always had the 2-3 gallons of freshly purchased water for drinking. 

Hurricanes hit during the hottest, most humid months of the year.
And now imagine you can't flush this for 3-4 days.
That's right: Super gross.

And the bottles didn't just save the day after storms. Later in high school our pump broke and during the two days it took for the plumber to arrive, we were once again comfortable. Being the overly self conscious creature that is every teenage girl, I was elated I could wash my hair and brush my teeth. I'm not going to tell you I stopped teasing my Mom about the water reserve, but I did begin to carry the bottles to the basement with significantly less griping.

Hurricane Irene rolled up the east coast this morning, thankfully much weaker than predicted. I called my Mom and she reported that sure enough the power was out and the water was off. She had already brought some of the jugs upstairs. "It seems sometimes like I'm the only person who knows we live in New England," She has mused before. Now reading about the panicked folks hunting for water in the stores a few days ago, I'm apt to agree.

As a kid her water bottle collection was embarrassing because other parents didn't do it. As an adult I realize: Why don't other people do this? Huge storms hit New England every few years. People know if they own a well or not. It's incredibly easy and affordable to save the bottles over the course of those safe 'in between' years. Mom replaces the old bottles after a few years in case the plastic is breaking down, it only takes her a few moments in the spring to read over the dates, pour the unused water into the bushes, and recycle the older bottles. It's not like they even take up a lot of space. We save other far more useless things in our basements. You can't drink a magazine stack or a basket collection.

Folks never save water. We might have battery operated radios and flash lights ready for a disaster, but you can't drink those either. Maybe some folks save canned goods, but I'll venture not many. We don't stock the things vital to our survival anymore, we just assume they will be there. We save money for emergencies--but what about when the money can't buy us something because it's just not there? I admire how self reliant my Mom is, this afternoon especially. For as much as I teased her every time she tightened a bottle cap and wrote a date, she gets the last laugh whenever the power goes out.

Back from Santa Monica!

Hello and greetings from the newly married Mrs. Faillace! (Although for my illustrations, you'll still know me as Georgia Dunn).

We returned from Santa Monica a few days ago, and we've been easing back into reality. The wedding was beautiful! We had gorgeous weather, blue skies, puffy clouds, and lots of sunshine. My hair didn't go (too) crazy and I didn't get (all that) sunburned!

Our ceremony was hilarious and really heart felt, Nathan Barnatt did such a fantastic job. He is such a great guy, we were both so thrilled with how friendly he is in real life. He went above and beyond to make certain the wedding was sweet and memorable. Not only is he talented, but he's an exceptionally nice person. We enjoyed spending time with him and his friend Jenny during the weekend.

It was grand spending time with some of our loved ones in Southern California.Our photographer Mike Bucchino, the man behind VII, just showed me a sneak peek of our photos. I cannot wait to share some of them with you! 

Here we go....

Tomorrow we fly out to Santa Monica to prepare for our wedding on Saturday! And yes, it's 3:30 in the morning. I can't sleep. I have a case of the "Christmas Mornings", I'm really excited for the clock to get with the program and be tomorrow already!

Insomnia is nothing new, the women on both sides of my family are confirmed night owls. Mom and I were on the phone tonight until well after one a.m. east coast time. Often when I'm wide awake after two a.m. I can check social media and find my aunts Lizzie, Renee, and Catherine stirring. My sister regularly posts observations in the middle of the night and my Nana Dee Dee nurses a diet coke and reads mystery novels until dawn.

Ryan is awake too, neither of us can sleep tonight. It's nearly four, I'm going to try again.

A Most Lovely Guest Book

My buddy Tim is one of my bridesmaids. His lovely girlfriend Sara can't make the wedding because she has just about the coolest job on earth, performing at Storyland in New Hampshire! Naturally, the summer is a big deal for them and getting time off is next to impossible.

Sara is one heck of a sweetheart, and great with crafts! Just check out these Valentine wreaths she made on her own blog here. She asked if she could do something for the wedding, since she would not be able to attend. (This is how nice she is). And so she made a guest book for us!

When you open it up, there are little envelopes. She sent us cards for folks to write a message for us to read on our first anniversary! She not only included little heart seals, but her father--also a creative person--has made us a wood turned pen special for the occasion that Tim will be bringing with him across the country tomorrow!

How cute are these hearts?

Sara's own message to us arrived in this
soft hand stitched envelope.

How adorable is this guest book? We are just thrilled with it, and it's already got us looking forward to next August. Mr. McMahon, you better hold onto this one!

My Big Fat Wedding Updates: The Brooch Bouquet, A Delicate Disaster

As recorded in a previous post, I decided to create a brooch bouquet for the wedding. I started out with about 20 brooches that once belonged to my Great Nana Irene, who loved to add a little sparkle to her sweaters even as a cute old lady. Since March I collected about 30 more from my family, Ryan's family, friends, vintage shops, etsy, and Good Will. Little boxes have been arriving in the mail from my Mom's dear friend Linda, my Aunt Renee, and Ryan's Aunt Joanie. Last week I finally put it together.

My brooch bouquet finished.

I had planned on more before and after photos, but I'm going to level with you. "Before" was basically me surrounded by a massive tangle of wires convinced I had gotten myself in over my head. I have an art degree, I've taken actual sculpting classes, so when I read the easy-to-follow DIY steps of brooch bouquets in March I thought, "Pssssht, this will be a snap!" Absolutely not, no snap was heard. It was hard. Wiring antique brooches with delicate parts is complicated, and once you have wired them all (it took me a day and a half) the brooches are so heavy that each movement of the bouquet sends them all drooping south. Soon I was holding a handful of 'wilting' metal flowers in one hand and my head in the other.

I even laid out the pieces all cute.
This was time I should have spent wiring.

After wiring the flowers they tell you to wrap them in floral tape for strength. I got about four flowers in and had to stop. One: It did not add strength, they still bent in half. Two: Floral tape is horrible. I have what you might call a tactile sensitivity (read: I'm a weird person). I intensely dislike being sticky. And the increasing stickiness of the left over floral tape guck on my fingers combined with the drooping flowers mocking me lead to a 'Gone with the Wind' moment when I stood against the sunset and yelled to the world, "AS GOD AS MY WITNESS I'M NOT TOUCHING ANYMORE OF THAT GROSS TAPE!"

That hand is in a fist
because it's too sticky to open.

And so I tossed the tape and began wiring flowers together. That was a bad idea, because they turned into a jumbled mess. So I carefully picked them apart, and...began wiring them together again. WAIT! It was the same bad idea. I did this several times before I gracefully wadded a thick pile of cloth hydrangeas and lace together and began stabbing the wires into the top and pulling them through the bottom. This was not only very satisfying, but gave the heavy flowers something to rest on. My victory was short lived though, as they continued to all drag downward.

Silas Skunk gazes from a bed of wires as if to say,
"You just couldn't get a $15 bouquet from the grocery store, could you?"

Sometime around one in the morning, as I sat stabbing and pulling, stabbing and pulling, and the whole thing was creeping further and further to the bottom, the answer suddenly hit me. It was as if the Heavens opened up to give me direction and a choir of angels trumpeted, singing two words: Fishing Line.

The bouquet was already entirely metal, pins, and wire. Why not go all out dainty and lash the entire mess together with fishing line? And so that's what I did, because I keep a spool handy for just such an emergency.

Here are the results. You'll see I added some sprigs of fishing line with little faux pearls for baby's breath.

Because every bunch of flowers needs a bee.

The ribbon stem.

And Ryan's boutineer.

Sometimes the creative process is not a straight line, sometimes it's a zig zag to the end result. I love my bouquet all the more because it was so stubborn and difficult. The prettier a thing is, the harder it is to come by easily, I suppose. The original artist of the brooch bouquet offers to put them together for brides here for $350. I used to think that was expensive for a DIY project, however since you couldn't pay me enough to make another one, now I think it's a good deal.

Or remember: There's always fishing line.

A visit to the Vintage Mall

Of all the areas in Seattle, my favorite is Fremont. To give you an idea of how delightful it is, in the 90s they faced a problem of drug dealers hanging around beneath the large bridge that crosses the artsy neighborhood. The Fremont Arts Council held a competition to solve the issue and the citizens offered up a simple solution. Like any respectable bridge, it needed a troll to guard it. And so, naturally, they built one.

No, seriously.

We forgot to say hello today, and I regret it. When I first came to Washington the Fremont Troll served as a sign that the west was very different. It's my dream to one day tell my children this is one of the trolls Gandalf turned to stone when he tricked them into waiting for the sun. ("The city had to move the others when they built the bridge," is my plan to explain why he's solo).

Another reason why Fremont is a magical place is the Vintage Mall. Part record store, part clothing boutique, part antiques extravaganza, the Vintage Mall is all awesome. It's full of unique finds in beautiful condition somehow reasonably priced. I've been stalking its cowboy boot selection for a few months now, which are always gorgeous and usually priced between $25-80. Why buy plastic knock offs when you can score broken in beauties? (I'm sure there's a double entendre in there, but let's move on). I bought my wedding dress at the Vintage Mall in March, and a rare Japanese model of a Nintendo robot for Ryan there last Christmas.

We call him Rob. 

Today yielded more great finds! Including a sleeveless "RATT" tee-shirt. After bragging about their prices, I have to confess this one was a little too expensive--but, be fair, can you ever really put a price on a sleeveless "RATT" tee shirt?

Inspired, Ryan spent the next 20 minutes combing
the racks for sleeveless tee shirts.

Before you start to worry, Ryan didn't leave without a new shirt. Yes, Ryan walked away with a genuine Suburban Commando tee. 

Its only draw back are the sleeves.

And I fell in love with a 70s prairie print dress that absolutely refuses to photograph properly, but I promise you: It's lovely. The pattern is much less garish in person. There's no inside tag and the flowers in the fabric match my hair, so it can be safely concluded that it was sewn by my Fairy Godmother. It was $26 and in perfect condition!

They say dress for the job you want.
(I want to be a wizard).

Clothes of the past are better made and with finer materials. Bonus: You're not likely to run into someone wearing the same outfit. ...Unless they are a time traveler, in which case, you may indeed be wearing the exact same outfit (and they may want it back).

Why I dislike "The Knot."

I poke fun at the wedding website The Knot here often, but never explain why.

Pick up any newspaper and you'll see at a headline's glance our country is in trouble. Sometime in the last thirty years living beyond one's means became a way of life. (I'm looking at you, "The 80s"). Countless citizens do it, businesses do it--heck, even the government does it. From the overpriced cradle to the planned payments grave, American milestones are being replaced by moments of debt. Graduation has given way to under and unemployed students struggling to make loan payments to keep their credit score up for the move into that home they can't afford. And now the average American wedding costs $29,000, just about the cost of the average Master's degree, car, or down payment.

I promise you this cake costs more
than my current car is worth.

Now, there are plenty of responsible folks who have saved for the day, but there's plenty of people letting Uncle Credit pick up the tab and this is where I find offense. When did a $29,000 wedding become "the norm"? Why do brides and grooms struggle under the weight of debt rather than tell supposed loved ones "We can't afford to feed 250 of you"?

Sites like The Knot and shows like Bridezillas feed into the problem, sustaining unrealistic expectations and creating nonexistent demands (you do not need 250 tiny draw stringed bags filled with craft store garbage, your guests will forgive you). They echo the ugly, modern bridal mantra "This is my day! My special day!" When did this start? Can we stop it? We can't all be Veruca Salt, that's a lot of pressure. If you think a wedding is all about you, then you probably shouldn't be part of a couple. And if you find yourself throwing a tantrum over place cards, then you're probably not ready to get married.

Understated femininity and elegance.
Just like Grace Kelly. 

The situation is so bad that when brides don't give into this behavior, some wedding parties don't know how to respond. Right now there's a trend of bridesmaids picking their own dresses. I know several brides who tried this. Lovely, down to earth brides who had to give up on the idea when their bridesmaids bombarded them with panicked emails and phone calls to choose for them. They were all afraid of picking the wrong frock! These brides were trying to keep their weddings simple and affordable for their friends, but in the end they were foiled by women so broken by the Davids Bridal machine that they literally could not dress themselves.

Nine women who can pick their own dress,
like real grown ups! 

A wedding should be a personal reflection of the couple and their pledge to one another. (Clearly in our case Ryan and I are pledging a life of love and humor to each other). Don't adhere to what you think a wedding should look like. Think of the special times in your relationship, how often were they in the center of 250 people? How much fun do people really have at giant, serious celebrations? The best wedding I've been to was Preston and Kaela's circus themed wedding this past May. They enlisted their own talents and the skills of their friends and family to make the day unique, beautiful, and memorable. It was felt personal and intimate, and I've never see a more relaxed bride or groom. That's one real life example of love conquering the modern wedding. For a beautiful video of a modern couple eloping the old fashioned way click here, and for a fun and famous video of a bridal party that did it their way click here. 

My point with these examples is just do your thing, tell your story, make it about your love, and it will be beautiful. That's all the wedding advice you'll ever need.

But you'll never top this wedding....

My Big Fat Wedding Updates: Our Rings

Ten days to go, and we're at the point where pretty much everything we're doing is wedding related. I've finally begun to wire my bouquet together and will soon share that story (Spoiler alert: wires are sharp and floral tape is gross). Ryan has been finalizing plans with the restaurant, the officiant, and the grooms ninja.

And we finally have both of our wedding bands! Mine was purchased a few weeks ago, but Ryan's had to be specially made to fit. 

Even though we began our search looking for antique bands to match my 1920's art deco engagement ring, we both fell in love with rings by modern jewelry artists. My wedding band is a Kamofie, created by Sofia Kaman. You may recall the name, as Lindsay Lohan famously visited their storefront in Venice Beach earlier this year. Ryan's band was crafted by Todd Pownell of TAP studios. Both artists draw inspiration from the natural world. While Kaman shapes precious metals and stones into gentle reflections of nature, Pownell emphasizes the raw, simple beauty of the materials he works with. In the end, I'm really glad we found these two wonderful artists and we couldn't be happier with our rings!

My ring, close up.

Ryan's ring, close up.
(Minus the diamonds).

Since I was a child and watched Robin give Maid Marian a waterlily ring in the Disney version of 'Robin Hood' (the awesome one with the foxes?) I have wanted a wedding ring with some kind of floral element to its design. I spotted this one as we were being shown much more elaborate (and expensive) flower styled rings, and it was the simplicity that I fell for. All the rings I had seen that day looked like stones in metal, and this looked like a frozen twig dusted in ice. It had that creative illusion of appearing to be what it was imitating, rather than trying to improve on the design of a flower with diamonds and gold. BONUS: The leaves in this ring perfectly hug the side of my engagement ring, which proved to be a tricky shape to shop for. 

As I looked for floral rings, Ryan explained time and time again that he wanted "whatever looks the most dwarven."  You see, he's a real big fan of J.R.R, Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, Dwarf Fortress, and dwarven culture in general. (Why yes, we are nerds, why do you ask?) At first he wanted a ring carved from actual stone, but they were difficult to find and we kept hearing they had a habit of shattering. Eventually we began looking for metals hammered to look like stone, and when he saw the cracks in Todd Pownell's ring he was delighted. "I can't wait to for people to ask about them." He told me cheerily as we left the store. "I'll say, 'There was this one time Zeus showed up, and he started acting like a total Olympian jerk, so I punched him right in the face. My strong, handsome fist was fine, but the ring got cracked'." 

We bought our rings right here in our very own Seattle in the locally owned and operated stores Twist and Facere. The folks in both stores were very helpful, I'd recommend either!

This concludes my break from wiring 40 or so flower brooches. Back to the grind. I'll leave you with the waterlily ring scene from Robin Hood, which just so happens to be our song.

Fair Treatment

Today I wrote the comment "So...will America go easier on folks with lower credit scores now that it's in the same boat?" Almost immediately I was sent a private message from a family member that I shouldn't reveal I have bad credit.

Not to get personal on this personal blog, but I have a great credit score. It's due entirely to the fact that I worked at a bank after college and was very careful with my finances because I had to be to keep that job. No surprise to learn banks won't let you give financial advice if they can see you're in the negative and missing payments. And so I was remarkably careful for a 23 year old. Where would my score have been otherwise? I like to think still high, but I'm friends with plenty of good people who made a few simple mistakes in their early twenties. We now live in a time where 18 year olds are bombarded with credit card offers. We also live in a time when employers are allowed to run a credit check on potential employees. I feel for people in that situation. How are they supposed to earn a decent living to fix those mistakes if they keep applying to employers who practice this?

For lending purposes I totally understand. And even sometimes for renting, because landlords want to know you can pay your bills. However it feels like that number is getting all the more powerful in an economy where the middle class is falling further and further behind. In these economic times we all know good, responsible people who have probably found Peter's pockets empty when it came time to pay Paul. And so my comment was meant to really say, "Is America going to help people on hard times now that it itself is facing hard times?" It's been no international secret that the US economy is struggling, but there's now a scarlet AA+ stitched to the front of Lady Liberty's gowns to prove it.

So if my score was okay, why say anything? Not my problem, right?

Fair treatment is like dinner at a restaurant. You can't enjoy your plate until everyone at the table has a plate. If you're straight, defend gays. If you're white, defend minorities. If you're a man, defend women. If you've got cash, defend the poor. If you're in any position where fair treatment is taken for grated, earn it by earning it for others.

While we were at Evo a guy we knew was being loud and silly and heckling Mortal Kombat. This is a normal kind of thing, it's a boisterous crowd. This guy is outspoken and one to cheer and jeer his excitement. Someone in the audience called, "Sit down F--" at him. The F-- was the rude three letter slur sometimes used for homosexuals.

This heckling guy stopped everything, stood on his chair and called out to the someone and to the audience listening, "Oh no, no, we NEVER drop the F-bomb in the Northwest. You can call me a B----, you can call me an A--h---, you can tell me HEY! F--- you, buddy. But we NEVER say F-- because there could be gay people in this audience and we NEVER disrespect them!" Ryan and I and everyone around us broke into applause.

This young straight man didn't hesitate to launch into defense of our gay friends, and every gay person who might have been in range of his voice. To strangers he comes across as a tough guy for sure, and his voice still rang tough guy. His tone was not asking, it was telling. Here he was, a straight man entertaining a crowd and when the opportunity was presented to him, he used their attention to make a point. Some people listening may never have thought twice about using that word and now they were given pause to reflect on it.

There are people out there who think defending gays is up to gays. I'm not gay, so how it is my problem? Ah, but you are a person, and they're people too. It's not about defending your own, it's about defending those who need defending in that moment. There's been a lot of political attacks on funding for women's healthcare this year. Women are only one half of the vote, we need the men who love us on our side. My credit score is good right now, what if this nightmare economy strikes out at me next? The hand you criticize today, you may need to help you up tomorrow.

Think of it this way: Where would Gotham be if Batman only defended the people who dressed like bats?

100 Illustrations is at Barnes and Noble!

Good afternoon folks, I have happy news! An illustration project I took part in is now available for sale at Barnes and Noble--and other major bookstores as well. 100 Illustrations has been published! You can order it online here or you can hunt it down the old fashioned way in your local bookshelves. I recommend the old fashioned way. It's not only important to support brick and mortar bookstores, but there really is nothing quite like bringing home a new book. The only thing better is checking one out from the library. My favorite kind of book has a little card in the back covered in old date stamps.

I still haven't seen this book in person yet, I'm very curious to discover how it turned out. Luckily I had a list of errands today, and popping into Barnes and Noble just got sandwiched between 'pick up mystery package at UPS' and 'more cookie and cake supplies'. (Ryan's birthday is Tuesday, cake is going to be in high demand around here for the next few days).

UPDATE: Sadly, my local Barnes and Noble is not carrying the book in-store, so ordering online may be the only way to go!

Mortal Kombat Quan Chi Painting

My friend Frank is working on putting together a fighting game art show during the North West Majors, a tournament here in Washington. His brother Sean has been cranking out fantastic drawings of She-Hulk, Magneto, and Phoenix. I've got to catch up! Word on the street is Ryan and Matt are going to enter some pieces too. I'm really pumped for this, we've got a lot of talented people in the north west with many different styles and I'm looking forward to seeing what folks create. Today I painted Quan Chi from Mortal Kombat.

Quan Chi, pen and pencil sketch.

Quan Chi, painted

A detail of his face....

This way to the gun show....

My goal is to do two characters from Mortal Kombat, Street Fighter AE, and Marvel vs Capcom. I may also do a painting or two for Tekken and Blazblue, but I'm not as familiar with those games.