nancy muller - kiss a bug

Circus Folk Paper Dolls

2011-10-26T19:04:00.000-04:00

Hello all, this is my first paper doll post!

I designed these dolls some months ago, based on drawings of circus characters from my neatbook, and I cannot begin to tell you how much I love them.
Click to enlarge!

In preparation for the Craft Carnival on November 5th, I've ordered some lovely glossy 5x7 postcard prints of these paper dolls that can be cut out and assembled with provided brads. Each doll takes 30 to 45 minutes to carefully cut out and put together. I'll be selling them both as DIY paper doll postcards and pre-assembled dolls.

Also note the Etsy shop address on the front of the doll sheets: kissabug.etsy.com!

I'm planning to begin stocking up my Etsy shop this Friday, so run over there and bookmark it, heart it, add me to your circle, and keep your eyes peeled, because this Etsy shop is happening!

I've also got new postcards and business cards, a nice fat stack of postcard prints of other illustrations, and my stickers should be arriving any day now. I'd like to make some fine art prints available too at some point, but that will have to wait for the time being. Right now, I'm sewing plush!

Little by little, everything is coming together.

**EDIT**
I've decided I need a bit more time to launch the Etsy shop. Wednesday or Friday, I think.
Some time between November 2nd & 4th, kissabug.etsy.com! I'll keep you posted.

Handmade Miami Craft Carnival

2011-09-21T14:46:00.000-04:00

Fun news friends!

This year I will be participating in the Handmade Miami Craft Carnival! I'll be selling prints, paper dolls, stickers, and plush goodies, so if you are in or around Miami, FL when November 5th rolls around, please stop on by! I'll be posting often in the coming weeks with updates. AND since this event has lit a fire under me, I'll be setting up an Etsy shop soon as well. Stay tuned!

Lorenzo and Lynda

2011-09-19T18:13:00.001-04:00

(Photo by Elizabeth Stemporzewski, used with permission. Thanks Elizabeth!)

Here is a portrait that I painted for Lynda and Lorenzo, friends of mine that I have known since elementary school. They just got married! I was so happy to be asked to do a portrait for their wedding, which was used for the cover of their guestbook. Congratulations Lorenzo and Lynda! All my love! ♥

Old Forgotten Things

2011-09-15T18:05:00.002-04:00

Here are some things that I forgot to post! They are all precisely one million years old.

First up is the forgotten monster that I painted years ago along with the other characters of this flickr set.
I somehow I managed to overlook him, poor thing.
Next are two color studies for the Telephone Series. I love them, they are as loose as it gets.
Then is an old but not too old page of colors from the messbook for the Tarot Journal notebook cover.
And last is the painting of a trio of goldfish, which is probably one of the first paintings that I made upon rediscovering gouache, ever so many years ago.
So many old things. My, how time flies.
And there are newer things to come.

So Many Swatches

2011-09-15T16:32:00.000-04:00

I uploaded 12 pages of swatches to flickr today! Yikes, 12! I think 12 is a pretty pretty overwhelming number for a blog post though, so please visit the flickr set if you want to see more. I mix a lot of paint y'all. I have so many of these pages now that I feel like I need to do something with them... but what? Ideas?

Drawing Lines in my Sleep

2011-09-02T17:22:00.001-04:00

Click for big.

I keep a journal by my bed to jot down my thoughts, and sometimes to record my dreams when I wake. In the back of the journal, I draw patterns and lines, mostly to calm my mind or to occupy my hands and eyes while I listen to an audiobook, podcast, or some music before bed. I find making this kind of freehand drawing very rhythmic and soothing.

The first page above is a collection of a few snippets from my late night drawing sessions by lamp light, cut and arranged to fit my neatbook. I thought it was a lovely coincidence that the sheet music matched the color and feel of the drawings.

The bottom image is of a neatbook page that I'd begun ages ago, just wavy lines and wobbly diamonds in orangey red, and I never knew what to do with it. It recently occurred to me that it might make a nice abstract nature backdrop, and that is how the goldfish came to live there.

Some Long Overdue Neatbookings

2011-08-31T16:29:00.000-04:00

Here are a few pages from my neatbook that I have been meaning to share for some time now.
Click to view larger!

Speaking of the neatbook— forever ago, Miss Mel Chao of To Boldly Fold, who made this book for me, took some lovely photos of it while I was in Boston this June. Take a look at her blog post about it here.

I realize that it has been 5 months since my last post. Will you ever forgive me? I hope you will. I am making things all the time, and have more to show, as well as some projects in the works, I promise you.

I just need to be better at sharing.

Because sharing is caring.

And I care, I swear.

xoxo

Their Hearts and Eyes are Golden

2011-03-31T20:00:00.000-04:00

For a while now I've been keeping record of all my Tarot readings and interpretations, written in a notebook that I use specifically for Tarot. I think Tarot reading is pretty fun and useful— I read the cards to clear my mind and to sort my thoughts, much like guided introspection. A journal for secret little internal explorations deserves a special cover, so I painted an alternate version of a favorite Neatbook page, Tree Children.

By the time the first Tarot journal was filled, I'd grown so accustomed to the cover that I didn't want to let it go. I decided to paint the same image on the next two, with varying background colors. I think it's interesting how differently the covers came out, considering they came from the same initial drawing. It was a fun and frustrating experiment, though not one that I'll be repeating any time soon!

Happy as I am with the copies, the first is still my favorite. Someday I hope to take a screen printing class, and once I've learned and gathered what I need, this will be the first thing on my screen printing to-do list.

I actually painted a different and redrawn version on a larger notebook, but after some consideration, I decided I didn't like the size for a Tarot Journal. I have other plans for that notebook, so I'll save it for another time.

On an unrelated note— Let's pretend that I did not completely miss a full month of blogging.
Technically, today is April 1st, but if I pretend this is March 31st, will you promise not to tell?
Shh... It will be our little secret.

In Circles

2011-02-25T18:33:00.001-05:00

Another from the neatbook, portraits in circles. The bear and the freckled girl in the upper right are my favorites. Click the image to enlarge.

King of Newts

2011-01-18T17:27:00.002-05:00

Above, I present to you the good King Edmund-- the great and gentle giant bearded newt, lord of all newts, and protector of rivers and rolling hills. Often on warm days he can be seen emerging from the waters to bask in the sun and watch children play in the shallows. Click the image to view larger.

Doodles of this fellow have been in my sketchbooks for quite some time now, and I am happy to have finally done something about it. This was a fun one, with a few experiments along the way. The tree and the water are things I tried to tackle differently from how I normally might, and I am pretty proud of them. There is nothing so satisfying as the completion of a new painting.

Below, you can see the sketch to final. Start from the bottom left.
As always, click the image to view larger.

It has been too long since my last post, again not for lack of things to be posted. For some reason I always wait, I hold on to things before posting them. That, and I have a terrible tendency to all but forget/ignore the existence of the internet for long stretches of time. A few of many New Year's resolutions: blog more often, don't hold back, have no shame or fear, find balance, get it together.

See you soon, friends. All my love.

Happy Halloween!

2010-10-27T16:36:00.000-04:00

Here's a new painting just in time for Halloween!
It's the time of year for scaring, sharing, costumes, and candies!

My plans for this weekend: Watch something fun and spooky, eat things with pumpkin in them, and hand out sweets to all the cute little witches and devils of the neighborhood. I'm so looking forward to all the costumes! Happy Halloween 2010!

The Telephone Series

2010-08-15T19:47:00.001-04:00

Looks a bit familiar, doesn't it?

It's the third and final part of the Telephone series!
I'd been meaning to make a third piece from the very beginning, while working on the first and second parts of the series, over 2 years ago. I put the project off to the side for the longest time, but now it's here and finally, the Telephone series is complete:

Secrets, Telephone, Tangle.

It's strange to think that this is really the only sequential series of paintings in my entire portfolio... Perhaps there will be more in the future, who knows.

Looking at the three together, there's a small but noticeable difference in style over the years, though the basics of my sensibilities and style have not much changed. I tried to match the third piece to the original two, but little differences in the faces in particular came up that I didn't noticed until the end. I also had to do a bit of digital color correcting after I scanned it in, as I'm apparently a lot heavier handed with my colors than I used to be. Differences and all though, I am thrilled. I feel a nice sense of accomplishment now that this series is complete.

I love it, I love it, I love it.

Lads with Long Locks

2010-08-15T19:42:00.002-04:00

Have a look at these lads with their long luxurious locks!

This neatbook page has been coming around little by little for ages-- a botched and dirty free-style watercolor page that I adopted as a place for mindless doodling of tons of gloriously flowing hair.

So, I went the whole month of July with out updating this blog, but not for lack of art-ing. July was pretty great: There was the starting of a full time temp job, a house guest, an amusement park trip, my birthday, and various other fun distractions. Because of all that goodness, I have just plain been neglecting the internet. I am working on so many things at once right now so it may be some time before I have anything finished to post, but I will attempt to update here more often.

Up next (in a few short moments, actually), a new painting to finish an old series. Stick around.

Mimes and Rainbows + Owls and Flowers

2010-06-30T02:11:00.002-04:00

I wanted to dabble a bit again in digital coloring, and of course this is what I come up with. Mimes Upon a Rainbow.

I love mimes and for some time I've been telling myself "Nancy, if you insist upon drawing mimes, at least have them expressively miming some sort of action." Obviously that has yet to happen. I consider mime to be a highly under-appreciated art form, and I'd like to show my appreciation appropriately, yet I always find myself drawing them as passive and wistful romantics... probably something to do with the lack of color and speech. Perhaps next time will be different, but for now I give you these calm and slightly sultry creatures to look at.

And here is another somewhat-sultry-eyed, digital, candy-colored confection for you, Owls Among Flowers.

Birds and flowers...two more things that I can't helping drawing over and over! This is actually taken from an old sketchbook page of aimless doodles in black rollerball pen. Seemed like it might be a nice drawing to practice digital coloring on, and here we are. I actually started and nearly finished this one months ago and then forgot about it for some time.

For anyone interested in seeing a simplified version of the process behind things, I've created a new set on flickr called Process: Sketch to Final. I think it will be a fun thing to update from time to time, so please do have a look!

Here's today's Sketch to Final:

Visit the Flickr page for a larger view and description, yes?

That's all for tonight's middle-of-the-night post. Off to bed I go!

Circus Folk No.2

2010-05-31T15:58:00.000-04:00

More circus characters, I couldn't resist!

Sherbet Boy and Girl

2010-05-29T01:30:00.000-04:00

A pair of youngsters in warm and sherbetty colors.

Nayana

2010-05-26T19:53:00.000-04:00

A portrait of Nayana, painted for Helene (Biscuitbear), a member of the Enchanted Doll Forum.
Thanks Helene, it was a pleasure to paint your lovely girl!

Something Simple

2010-03-30T00:20:00.000-04:00

Simple and sweet in red and magenta, that is all there is to it, really.

My Enchanted Doll Obsession

2010-03-21T03:13:00.003-04:00

Enchanted Doll, by Marina Bychkova, have you heard of this? Have you seen these amazing dolls? Go on and take a look. For the last few months I've submerged myself in this world, getting to know the wonderful people on the Enchanted Forum, and feasting my eyes on those beautiful porcelain (and now also resin) ball-jointed creations. I want one so badly that it hurts, but it's such a wonderful obsession.

For her birthday this year, Marina held a contest— we sent in Enchanted Doll inspired handmade gifts, and she chose a winner to receive a free nude Enchanted Doll. Naturally, with such a fantastic prize being offered, tons of people participated with truly lovely submissions. Here's my entry:

Hooray!
An excuse to use silver gouache, and to paint elaborate hair, hands, orchids, and pretty doll-ladies!

Looking at it now, there are so many things I wish I had done differently— like I wish I had come up with a more interesting background, and that I hadn't painted in that strange looking dove. Hindsight! I do still like the way things turned out, and I am very glad I participated, even though I did not win. I like how her face turned out, and her hair, and I want to paint a million more orchids now! I love them!

And as long as we are talking about Enchanted Doll fan art, a few weeks back we had a little gift swap among a few members on the Enchanted forum, and I did a painting for that as well:

This painting now belongs to my forum friend Jayne, all the way over in the lovely land of Australia. It's her dream Enchanted Doll, Roisin. This painting was completed before the ED B-day contest painting, and the face is very different— I didn't know how to properly translate an Enchanted Doll's face into my own style, but I like the way she turned out all the same, I think she is sweet.

Anywho, I hope I haven't weirded any of you fine people out by admitting to this obsession! It's just such a strange and wonderful thing, finding something interesting to love and communicating with people all over the world with that same interest. It's a great feeling, I highly recommend it.

That's all for now!

Ink

2010-03-11T17:14:00.001-05:00

Slowly playing catch up with all the little things that need posting, like these b&w inky bits I did a lil bit ago.

I was in a foul mood when I did this. Now it makes me laugh -

Some freehand inking -

K! See you later.

The Messbook

2010-03-11T01:53:00.003-05:00

Sketchbooks! I love them. I have a lot of them, and I use them for a lot of different things. I assume some people wonder why all my sketchbook work is so neat and tidy, and if I ever doodle or actually sketch or anything like that. Of course I do!

I have a few different kinds of sketchbooks, and the ones I'm especially fond of and work in regularly are the ones I call my messbooks and neatbooks.

The kind of sketchbook pages that I've shown thus far have been from my neatbooks, where the goal is to get each page to a finished state, to practice working in different media, and to be spontaneous and well thought out at the same time, in varying degrees. It's an exercise/experiment/workout/practice sketchbook, and everything is pretty tidy. Hence the name, neatbook.

Now, what most people would call a sketchbook, I call a messbook, because I go wild and make a mess. In it, I plan out illustrations and compositions, draw ideas and plans for toys and puppets, write, draw from observation, and of course, doodle endlessly. If I like something in there enough, it becomes the starting point for a new neatbook page, a painting, a plush toy, etc.

So, here is a little sampling from my messbook sketchbooks, just to give you an idea of what I mean.

So! There you have it. I've made a new collection on flickr called Sketchbooks, and in it are the sets for my Messbook and Neatbooks No.1 & No.2. Well, from here on out, I'll be posting sketchbook images both neat and messy!

Brand New Sketchbook

2010-02-22T21:49:00.003-05:00

It's about time I posted some new things, yes?
Well, here are a few of the first pages from my new sketchbook.
Click 'em to view larger :)

It's a very different feel working on this paper, in this new sketchbook. The first few pages have all been joyously done up in watercolor. Watercolor behaves very differently here than it does on watercolor paper, but the paper is so heavy and it takes the color so nicely, so I love it.

Ex Libris for To Boldly Fold

2009-12-21T22:48:00.004-05:00

New things have been a-brewing.

I mentioned in my last post that it was about time for a new sketchbook, and I went with something different this time around! It's a gorgeous, handbound, leather softcover sketchbook made by a good friend of mine, Melissa Chao (To Boldly Fold), who sells her books on Etsy. Let me tell you, it is a dream to draw and paint in. You'll be seeing some new things from that sketchbook in the near future.

So! Melissa recently asked me to create some creature & nature themed illustrations to use as 3x4" bookplates in a limited run of her books, and of course I agreed! Nature, creatures, beautiful sketchbooks, need I say more? I came up with some sketches, Mel chose her favorite 5, and I took those 5 to final.

Have a look!

And for fun, I've put together all the images from sketch to finish! Click the image below to view larger:

From sketch to finish, the whole project took about 2 weeks. It was tremendously fun! Maybe in the future I'll do a few more paintings based on some of the sketches that weren't used.

Anyway, if you'd like to support a talented independent crafter and buy a handmade book from Mel Chao, visit her Etsy shop! And of course, I'll keep you posted on when those bookplates will become available!

Paper!

2009-09-18T15:47:00.005-04:00

I've been in a collage kind of a mood lately.
Here are some paper pictures from my sketchbook.

This guy is based on a sketch I did for a puppet -

And a pair of singing sirens -

I can barely close my sketchbook now. Almost time to start a new one!

Snake Battle

2009-09-09T00:33:00.005-04:00

Another digital experiment. Didn't turn out quite the way I wanted, but that's the nature of experiments, isn't it? You never know how things will turn out!

Isn't life exciting?

Box Boys and Gals

2009-09-03T22:53:00.006-04:00

We had a bunch of empty boxes lying around and I doodled on the sides of a few with a sharpie. I figured why not scan and color them in? So here they are. I drew them in no particular order, so feel free to read them up, down, left, right, diagonally, randomly-- anyway you please!

So there you have it. I am playing with digital coloring for a change. It's pretty fun.

Oh and here are some of the boxes -

Tiger Babies

2009-08-08T00:37:00.002-04:00

Ballpoint Parade

2009-08-06T22:54:00.004-04:00

Some more sketchbookin'.

This one's new. I think everyone feels like this sometimes.

These are old/new, drawn little by little over time.
I've decided to finally just polish them up and post them.

Drawings from observation, pieced together from various pages.

And some animals.

Ballpoint pens are useful in a pinch when you've got nothing else on you. Plus, since they're mad cheap, they are just great for mindless doodling.

Space Bar - Part Two

2009-07-14T01:54:00.003-04:00

Once upon a time, a long time ago, I introduced you to Gunther, and told you about a stop-motion class group project called "Space Bar."
I never followed up because the semester ended and the project had to come to a halt before it was 100% completed. The sound and editing were never finished but I'd like to show you what we did manage to accomplish.

Welcome to the Space Bar, I hope you enjoy it!

In that earlier blog post, I mentioned that we built the set together, each made our own characters (mine is Gunther, the bartender), and had a great time shooting and editing. Our teacher, Juliette Marchand, was amazing, and it was a great pleasure working with my classmates, with especial thanks to Harold Brenkus, Anya Ewing (website), and Graham Wilson (website / blog). Thanks guys!

New Things and Old New Things

2009-07-14T01:29:00.015-04:00

First! I've update my website, nancymuller.com, which is now powered by Blogger. Hooray! Anyway, it is ridiculously convenient and I like it, so I hope you do too.

And Second! I finally put up the fish animation that I mentioned in my very first blog post. It was an in-camera stop motion experiment, and the lighting and color are terrible, so please forgive me! Anyway, it was a good time. I still have all the bits, so maybe I'll revisit it someday with a new approach. Here it is:

I've also posted all my other little animations to flickr, in the animation set.

Puppets!

2009-07-13T00:12:00.005-04:00

I've always been very interested in puppets, and have been set on making one for quite a while now. After a lot of research online, looking at various tips and tutorials, I finally got around to it.

His name is Tuck!

Tuck is actually my second attempt at puppet making. I had drawn up a ton of designs and bought new materials and was making excellent progress, but about 3/4 of the way through I got frustrated with the results I was getting, so I put the puppet on hold. I was trying too hard to achieve a certain look and shape, and just didn't know enough to get what I wanted. I took a break, used what I learned on the first attempt to start a new puppet (Tuck), and decided to come back to it later with fresh eyes. It isn't yet finished, but now that I have taken some time away from it, I have ideas for a new direction that I am pretty excited about.

Anyway, while working on that one, I took some pictures of my progress along the way:

For more images of Tuck, visit the Puppet Time set on Flickr.
For more images of the puppet in progress, visit the Puppet Progress set.

Rainbows

2009-05-28T23:54:00.010-04:00

This is what happens when I draw while watching preschool television :)

Just Because

2009-05-07T00:05:00.005-04:00

I'm making it up as I go.

Paintin'

2009-04-30T02:56:00.013-04:00

Alright, alright, we won't waste time talking about why I was missing for so long. Please forgive me -- I am here now, and I come bearing gifts! As promised, they are not from my sketchbook, for a change.

Dancing in the Night:

Watering the Flowers:

Also, I have updated my Flickr with a new Illustration set. Here's a piece from a long time ago (almost a year now) that I never got around to putting up, though I've always meant to. It's a follow up to Secrets. Click on it to go to the Flickr page and go to all sizes, where you can view it much larger indeed.

Telephone:

More later, and soon!

This is For You

2009-03-03T21:31:00.003-05:00

To all of my friends in faraway places (and you all know who you are) :
I love you, I miss you, I'm thinking of you, and I wish you were here!

Happy March

2009-03-01T19:22:00.005-05:00

I decided it was high time for a little bit of monster painting! Besides, March was made for monsters. Did you know?

I have a habit of naming almost every creature I draw or paint or sew. This sea monster is named Cyril and he has found a new toy. He reminds me a bit of my One a Day Sketchbook from ever so long ago.

Moving Right Along

2009-02-27T06:11:00.002-05:00

Good Morning!

I'm up way early with some more sketchbookin's! Like I said, it never ends.

More mimes, with so many things to say:

A little lady playing ukulele for a school of snapper:

And some musical frogs and friends:

(If you want more information on these, or just about any of the images posted on my blog, you can just click on them and it'll take you to the flickr page, where I've written a few little blurbs.)

I'm going to make an effort to post more often, instead of throwing a ton of things up at once and then disappearing for weeks and weeks. Hey, there will even be some new things and (a few old ones) other than sketchbook pages in the posts to come.

I've also updated my website with a few things that you've already seen on this blog. I've given the website a tiny redesign, so while it looks almost exactly the same, it's got a bit of a cleaner look now, which makes me happy.

Anyway, I think it's time to kick things up a bit, right? Here we go!

Neverending Sketchbooking

2008-12-10T20:20:00.001-05:00

Holy smokes, I was featured on Drawn! Many thanks! To show my appreciation, let me share with you a few of my most recent sketchbook pages.

As always, in my sketchbook, I don't give myself any rules when it comes to style and media. Mostly, it's all experiments and play.

Oh! And thank you, thank you very muchly for your comments, I really appreciate them!

Camp Cigma: Magician's Camp

2008-11-12T01:24:00.002-05:00

I recently had the great pleasure of designing the new website for Camp Cigma, a fantastic magician's day camp in Sarasota, FL. Today is launch day, and the new site is online!

The owners / creators of the camp—Elia Chesnoff (aka Ilan), Josh Corn, & Lydia Corn—are all kind and amazing people and very good friends of mine. Naturally, I was excited to work with Camp Cigma, both as a camp counselor and as a web designer this summer.

For the Camp Cigma website, I not only designed and created the website, but I also got to do a fun background illustration, filled with camp-related imagery and inside jokes. Here's a screen shot of the site, with the full background illustration:

And here is a close up of the left and right halves of the background illustration, side by side:

And, in case you are curious, here are the original inked images, before digital editing:

Anyone in the Sarasota area during the summer should definitely look into sending their children there. Check it out. It's an amazing experience, and I was glad to be a part of it!
And if you are ever looking for a magician/illusionist for any sort of event, anywhere, I can recommend no one better than my talented friend, Ilan, whose website update, incidentally, is my next web project.

For news and updates about Camp Cigma, be sure to join their Newsletter mailing list!

Sketchbook Time

2008-10-02T17:15:00.002-04:00

Howdy Strangers,

It's been a long time, I know. You might find yourself saying: "Oh my goodness, Nancy! Where have you been? And why oh why have you abandoned this poor blog just as you were getting started?"

Well, the excuses aren't good enough. But here I am, I am back, and I do have many things to share with you, my darlings.

Let us begin with my sketchbook.

I love sketchbooks and carry one with me always.

I have different kinds of sketchbooks where I work in different ways: In my mini sketchbooks (above), I tend to think of each page as an experiment, which I then turn into something like a final illustration; In my big mess books I plan out illustrations, design characters, write and doodle ideas, and just plain go crazy; In my pattern sketchbook I lay down my color swatches, play with textures, and paint patterns. And then there are also my notebooks, where I doodle and write ideas. Maybe I have too many sketchbooks and notebooks floating around, but that's how I like it.

Anyway, this is a little piece of what I have been up to these past few months.
You can also find some earlier sketchbook pages in my Mini Sketchbook set, over on my Flickr Photostream.

Until next time!

Space Bar - Part One

2008-05-07T01:48:00.002-04:00

Meet Gunther.

He hails from the planet Slugulon, and is the bartender and owner of a great little place in outer space, the SPACE BAR, an Intergalactic Liquid and Comestible Consumption Center of Sector 7Z-5, Orbiting the 3rd Moon of Zentrilox 4, the Rogue Planet.

It's a rough job but an interesting one. You never know who will walk in and what will happen in a bar in outer space.

As a group project for stop-motion, a couple of classmates and I worked to put together this fun little animation. We built the set together, each made our own characters (mine is Gunther, the bartender), and had a great time shooting and editing.

It was ridiculously fun to put this project together, from start to finish. Our teacher, Juliette Marchand, was amazing, and it was great working with my classmates, with especial thanks to Harold Brenkus, Anya Ewing, and Graham Wilson. Thanks guys!

Here are a couple of behind the scenes images:

^Anya, animating while Harold watches.

^Graham, waiting to animate.

The final project will be up soon!

Why, Hello There...

2008-04-24T04:59:00.004-04:00

My name is Nancy.
I am an illustrator/animator/crafter, and this is my new blog.

I know we hardly know each other, but if you'll let me, I'd like to introduce you to some very friendly fish:

These little guys are painted in gouache, cut-out, and laid over a watercolor collage background. They're part of an experiment in stop motion animation, still in progress.
Someday I will polish it up and share it with you.

Expect a lot of new developments in the days to come.