Your hard work opened the world for me, like it did for many of my friends. Most importantly, it led us all to meet each other and inspired us to create. Owe you the world, Kristiina! 

 I'm still quite dazed after Stockholm International Comics Festival. As it turned out I had so much to do the month before the festival that the question shifted to "will I be able to go?" more than "Will I have time to draw something?" Thus my corner of the table I shared with Tomas Antila felt like a piece of shame, lacking anything new and more or less scattered with stuff I found in the attic. I even had to go home and edit pictures when everyone else went to parties, just to meet a deadline. But everything was still a blast. Tomas tried out an aggressive vending style that was very amusing to watch, and "Häxkatten", my scruffy xerox printed zine from last year ended up getting a honorable mention in the fanzine contest. What do you know?

I also drew commissions for a couple of furries, and one picture for myself. I need to draw more for myself. Let's ascertain that.

Digging out the fine liners

Jolene, arrived at the house where she's going to spend summer.

Suddenly, an apparent gap in the work schedule where I'll have the opportunity to focus on a personal project what's been taking shape on sticky notes and in various sketchbooks over the weeks! It's going to be a multi-chaptered graphic novel with an adventure game structure, sort of. So far I have drawn two pages out of 30-40 and Stockholm International Comics Festival, where I obviously want to unveil it, is one month away. :'D 

I still feel better now that I've started. If I work hard and don't get too caught up in other things I might be able to do this.

It is said that we obsess about the weather in this country...

Bookmark-sized golden acrylic and indigo watercolour doodle.

I know I do. A bit of sunlight in the face this time of the year and my mood can change completely. It appears that I sort of sacrificed my polar bear (sunken through the moss a puddle of dirty ice is the only thing left) to bring spring to the city. The weather has been lovely these past few days. It's the first time I've been able to have breakfast on the balcony since we moved here and the Awkward Cats have, ever so skittishly, started to explore the surroundings. I certainly wouldnt mind an early spring, although I'm sort of' half-anticipating another snow bomb before we're through...

Work-wise I'm plenty occupied as is usual in March. Currently sketching out the pictures for a fourth book about Alva. Last week was all about painting flowers and pixies for a thing in KP:s mid-summer issue. And Stockholm International Comics Festival is sneaking closer and I already have a table booked.

Somehow I am also knitting a sweater in the midst of it. The urge to knit and crochet usually surfaces when I'm stressed over something. It's a very therapeutic pastime.

...The Basketball Mystery on Ghost Island!

I guess that these kinds of posts are what tumblrs are for but alas, keeping more than one blog reasonably active at a time is not my talent. Without further excuses, I'm going tp display a thrift store find from today:

Scooby Doo, What Did They Do To Yoo?! Oh what a gem. I mean, look at the characters (in full view, for the full experience)! I know Anders HJ has this same record on the wall at home. I wouldn't know which side to display. They're equally fantastic. Great story too. Seems rather improvised...

Ah, while on the subject of vintage Hanna-Barbera I might as well post this:

"Tokiga katten" (Silly Cat) is NOT what they decided to name him when the Top Cat cartoon aired on Swedish television, 20 years after this book came out! The illustrations in this one are adorable though. A funny detail is that it's Gösta Knutsson (better known for a different fictional cat) and his wife who translated it.

Titta det töar

Ruckelslottet har fått en isbjörn. Tyvärr håller han redan på och smälter bort i vårvädret. :C

Idag damp det ner en låda till mig på posten i vilken gömde sig den senaste boken i serien Cirkusdeckarna. Oturligt nog tecknade jag den månaderna innan jag fick tillfälle att gå en riktig dykkurs. Många småfel som jag nu går och stör mig på hade gått att undvika.  Det här är i allmänhet det omslag jag varit minst nöjd med, medan förlaget har kommenterat att de tycket det är det bästa hittills. Det är också det sista tecknat jag gjorde på Pochiputern. Redan då var datorn krasslig och seg, och jag var så rädd för att den skulle stanna att jag inte vågade stänga av den på natten. Bilderna hann lyckligtvis bli klara innan det slutgiltigt hände.

Med den lilla ritmana jag kan skrapa ihop mellan uppdragen (Februari-April är fullproppade) tänkte jag försöka göra en djupdykning i digitalt måleri och se vad jag kan utveckla. Tycker att mina digitalt framställda bilder saknar personlighet i jämförelse med de jag gör med pensel och akvarellfärg. Har pillat lite i Artrage, som är ett mycket trevligt ritprogram. Jag återkommer väl när jag har något som är värt att visa upp (kan dröja ett tag, som allt annat jag blogg-lovar).

Ramshackle Haiku

Shrouded by the door

Boy George sees the wall paint flake

Where a girl once lived

Strangely awake

This jetlag is apparently sticking with me. I don't mind. I love long breakfasts and now I can take them without feeling guilty. On the flip side, I fall asleep at ten... which nesessarily isn't a bad thing either. Just strange and unusual.

Artistic plans for the week:

• Finishing another Alva illustration. I started it last Thursday but it's 8 characters cramped together so it takes some time. Need to get new watercolour brushes at some point. They wear out so quickly.
• Start rebuilding my website. I have a pretty clear idea of the design, just need to sit down and draw the graphics and then... learn to build websites all over again. I'm thinking about ditching "leaftwig" for Imaginary Tickets or some other fancy title as the site name too. I find that people don't make sense of the former. It's just my surname in english. I thought it was so clever! But no.
• Get my internets together. *internet dinosaur* I'm sure there must be a way to auto update the Facebook and Twitter pages when I make a new post to the blog, because I keep forgetting to do it myself.
• Granted that my new computer arrives, make a Philippines post. Gosh, I hope it arrives soon! Editing pictures on a tiny, dysfunctional netbook is becoming increasingly frustrating. It's also starting to hit me that I will be able to do things that I couldn't do before, like streaming video in good quality. Sure opens for possibilities.
• Also, granted that i get my computer, scan and post some art! This blog has been so texty lately.
• (edit) Just heard back from Alfabeta about my sketch for a book cover. It's ready for colours so I guess I'll be doing that aswell!