First Snow!

I send a weekly walrus painting to my college-attending daughter. We had our first sticking snow here at home today, and she will be excited to hear the news :)

Harts Pass no. 720

Another haiku comic. Another double-entendre regarding the recent election... and the onset of the near darkest month of the year. Onward and upward!

Harts Pass no. 719

I tried to be hopeful and optimistic heading into election night and the creation of this comic (usually a Monday night activity)... but I was sadly NOT "surprised" and overall disappointed with the results. This IS the democratic process at work (except for all of the gerrymandered redistricting,) but a backwards-looking fear-mongering campaign that produces this kind of result seems sad and decidedly un-American - despite all of the chatter that would try to tell you otherwise. There is all of this talk about "life" as well in our political discourse, but I worry for sure that TOO many lives of immigrants or trans and LBGTQ people will likewise be destroyed or irrevocably harmed by this result.

Harts Pass no. 718

Happy Halloween people! A little #haikucomic for you on this all hallows eve. Enjoy!

 

Harts Pass no. 717

Many chances to see the northern lights these days... and yet another way to appreciate living in the north cascades. PS I missed my deadline last week, while prepping for and traveling to the Humbolt County Authors Festival, but will post the comic for 10/16 a little later this week. 

Harts Pass no. 715

A little solace in the open spaces. The air is thinner. The air is cooler. Clearer heads prevail!

Harts Pass no. 714

Ezra makes a return appearance... and helps Kit to ponder the nature of time, relativity, patience, AND the notion that looking deeper at things can often reveal unexpected understandings. Sometimes good, and sometimes not so much :) GRRR!

Harts Pass no. 713

 

I saw a headline in the paper regarding Thor Industries (THO) beating their Q4 estimates. That seemed like a funny premise just to start, but it turns out that Thor Industries is very much a recreational vehicle (RV) and motorhome conglomerate that owns everything from Airstream to Venture RV (and 14 other brands in between.) It is DEFINITELY the kind of business that an entrepreneurial wolverine would want to own :) GRRR!

Harts Pass no. 712

Another haiku comic and it feels like this one nicely suits the week ahead. On Sunday we will officially transition into fall, and in typical fashion Melanie is also trading out her summer flower for some fall foliage. The days are getting shorter and the days much darker, but this is one of my favorite times of year. 

Harts Pass no. 711

I started with the left-side "pose" of a casual marmot... and I pretty much just liked the shapes and the idea of these shapeless little critters striking a pose. That, plus the juxtaposition of an innocuous little marmot and a totally ripped and no doubt "juiced" body builder. Totally comic gold! 

Or at least that's what what I was thinking :)

Harts Pass no. 710

I like to start the school year with a couple of "creative brain" exercises in the Art Room. LOTS of ways to do this, but a few years ago I came across the idea of "synectic" triggers and it makes a great but simple starting point for expanding upon your ideas. Distort things. Scale things. Repeat things... and the list goes on. Just having a little fun with that AND continuing to force my life into my comics :)

Harts Pass no. 709

A bit of a re-tread here from the comic that I posted last week (with different characters!) That being said, this was also our first week of school for the new 2024-25 school year. I was trying to be efficient with my time. Onwards and upwards!

Harts Pass no. 708

I totally agree, Kit. Wolverines are amazing!

Haiku Comics :)

The end result of a haiku comics workshop that I enjoyed attending over the weekend. If you scour my instagram you can see that I occasionally work in this format for my Harts Pass comics as well. John Burgess did a nice job of detailing some haiku/comic history, and David Lasky conducted a small workshop on creating a strip.

Harts Pass no. 707

Ugh. The fire season is slowly coming to an end (although not really yet), but this Pioneer Fire in Chelan has been burning since June. It was started by some careless act, and has now been burning for 2+ months and forced an entire to evacuate. Such things are "wild" in their behavior and impact, but not in their origin. The world teeters on a precipice already due to SO much "civilized" activity... please don't give it a push!

If I Were a Fox!

 

Earlier this spring, I signed my first new illustration contract since I started teaching. Wahoo! This summer I've been working on the art for "If I Were a Fox," written by Shelley Gill and published by Sasquatch Books. I've done quite a few books with Sasquatch over the years and it's great to be adding a new one to the "If I Were a..." board book series :)

The illustration above is not in the book, but it was one of several little practice paintings that I've been working on to test out colors and textures. It also became a postcard and journied to a friend in Alaska just a few days ago!

Harts Pass No. 706

Not to rain on anyone's parade here, but the end of summer is fast approaching. Personally, I'm good. I've made nice progress on my book illustration project (see next post), we took a summer road trip to retrieve the kiddo from WI, and I took a break from being at school. I feel refreshed. Bonus: the smoke season is ending soon as well!

Harts Pass No. 705

I like this one. Drawn on a summer road trip. Collecting snapshots on the way.

Harts Pass No. 704

The double entendre that is making comics. You have to look closely. You have to "read" the drawings. SUPER glad that the heat has subsided - even if it's temporary. GRRR!

Harts Pass No. 703

Yep. The weather and politics. So often what we talk about... I truly hope, for the sake of my daughter and the kids that I teach, that this country can find its Democratic soul again and stop with all of yelling and screaming about stuff. I mean it's always been that to a certain degree - albeit now QUITE a bit less civil or veiled - but people who have chosen to govern should realize that they serve an entire COUNTRY of people - human beings from all walks of life. We need to talk about solutions. We need to talk about money for those solutions. The corporations and the money-makers will be fine.

 

Harts Pass No. 702

It's summer in the Methow and water is a HUGE part of what makes any of this work! July (and especially August) are FAR from my favorite seasons in this place, but the rivers and lakes make it bearable -- not to mention their impact on agriculture and fish and all of that jazz :) 

Harts Pass No. 701

Happy Fourth of July! The stream of cars over the mountains in the last few days was unsettling but predictable. Enjoy the woods. Be nice. 100% no fires please!

Harts Pass No. 700

It is curious, I think, that SO many people seem to have opinions about these reclusive mega fauna. Sure, it will be an adjustment to our normal way of jaunting off into the woods if/when a reintroduction of Grizzly bears should ever take place, but as is true of so many other things as well, most people's opinions on something like a new world of Grizzlies in the woods are supremely under-informed. GRRR!

Harts Pass No. 699

On the cusp of 700 comics!!! so perhaps this one is just about the grand idea that you just never know WHAT might happen if you give it half a chance :) And on a second note, I'm super happy to have entered my first full week of summer break. A few more clean-up things to do at school, but a summer of more art, comics, and time in the woods awaits.

 

Harts Pass No. 692

I can say this now, but there is something about this comic where I was trying to express the constant juggle of teaching and coaching and making art. I am, after MANY years of coaching, removing that hat and giving my chance a self to refocus again on my art and writing. I will miss coaching immensely -- just like I have missed having a little more time for art over the last 6+ years since I started teachings. Onwards and upward!