Out of Line

"Sweet Nothings" for 2012 Sketchbook Project World Tour

2012-02-01T11:03:00.000-05:00

This video shows my finished sketchbook for the Art House Co-op's 2012 Sketchbook Project World Tour. I sent the book in yesterday, right at the last minute! This is the first time I put together a video, so bear with me! The music is by my son, Alexander Olsson, who took piano lessons growing up , and who briefly studied digital music production in Norway. Now he makes music in his free time, mostly digital stuff. Lucky for me, he lets me use his songs as soundtracks to my videos!

For more info on the Sketchbook Project, go here.

Sketching in Boston and Brookline

2012-01-06T00:41:00.001-05:00

I bring my sketchbook everywhere, and there is nothing I enjoy sketching more than cityscapes and buildings, preferably with people in them. Landscapes and cityscapes alike seem lonely if there isn't at least one living creature in them (a squirrel will do, but I prefer people, and most of all people with a bit of a personality or attitude that I then want to capture). Or maybe the way I draw people says more about me and how I view the world than the people in my pictures? You be the judge.

Kenmore Square. A made-up billboard ad promoting "romance, marriage and financial security" a toned-down CITGO sign and a crowd of indifferent students (how could they not be indifferent?).

The Koo Koo Cafe across the Brookline Village station. I used to come here all the time with friends, because there are toys for kids to play with at the back. Now that my kids are all in school, I only stop by when they have lemon poppy seed muffins (which is only once in a while).

On the C-line (which is more like a sluggish trolley bus than a subway train), a day in November. The quote is from Thich Nhat Hahn, and one of my favorites.

On a bench overlooking the Boston Commons. At lunchtime, there were people everywhere, spilling out from office buildings, the State House, schools and subway stations. They crossed the park to go who knows where to have lunch, to meet up, or, as the elderly (probably retired) guy on the right, to go for a run. I was listening to music, and some lyrics from Bob Dylan's Abandoned Love ended up on the pages as well.

Sunday at the Arboretum in JP. The brutal-looking concrete building housing the Mass State Laboratory was at once a contrast to the nature of the park, but also seemed to belong there, in the surrounding city with its eclectic architecture.

Steampunk-inspired illustration

2011-12-30T00:44:00.000-05:00

This is my first steampunk-inspired illustration. The foreground is done with ink and watercolor pencils on bristol board. The background is a manipulated photo of the BU Bridge, that I took this summer on one of my excursions to Cambridge.

Projects

2011-12-13T20:32:00.000-05:00

There are exciting things waiting to happen in the near--or not too far off, at least--future. Around March, Brookline writer Kim Girard plans to publish her children's book, and it will be full of my black and white illustrations. I can't say too much about it now, except that it is a lot of fun working on this project, and that it is an awesome story!

I have just been accepted to exhibit my drawings (mostly black & white comics and illustrations) at the Brookline Town Hall for a month in 2012 (probably May-June), so that will be fun too! I have to go through my submissions and weed out the darkest pieces, though, because since this is a public space, the images can't be too explicit or disturbing (and a lot of my stuff, I have realized, is either dark, bloody or topless)

I still do illustrations for Spare Change, and the last one appeared in the last November edition. It was a portrait of Gary Johnston (aka John Doe), which I drew sometime in September or October. He was a very impressive and interesting person, and I enjoyed sketching him as he worked on an article in his "office" as he laughingly called it, in Central Square. Another illustration that I just finished last week is due to come out in one of the next editions, but I am not going to post it here until it has been in the paper (so buy the paper!).

I signed up for an account on the website Behance, so be sure to swing by and check out the projects I post there.

Gothista: Alternative Fashion Illustration. A project that I am not doing for a client, but just having a lot of fun with. Plus, I could use a lot more color in my portfolio!

Idea for a graphic novel set in Copenhagen. Thanks to Copenhagen based photographer Thomas Christensen, who takes awesome photos of his city, and whose bird's view photograph I used for my top panel reference.

Spare Change illustration of Gary Johnston.

Hellbound and More Comic Art New England

2011-10-31T10:39:00.000-04:00

Happy Halloween! Above is the result of some playing around with pens, paper and Photoshop last night. Otherwise, I have not been very involved in Halloween preparations this year. However, several members of The Boston Comics Roundtable got together to create a horror anthology, Hellbound 2, which is out now. To purchase a limited art edition, order your copy here. To read some Hellbound 2 press coverage, click here.

The Comic Art New England exhibit (the art exhibit that opened in connection with MICE and went through October 16th) has been extended until November 19th. This time, the works are on display at NEIA Gallery 303 (New England Institute of Art) right here in Brookline! I am very excited, because this is literally right down the street from me. Opening reception happens this Thursday, November 3, 6-8 PM. New England Istitute of Art is that ahem...modern building across from the Brookline Village t-stop, 303 Boylston Street in Brookline. BCR has a write-up on the exhibit on their web page. I hope to see you there!

Line Art & Illustration is Open For Business: www.lineolsson.com

2011-10-21T09:25:00.000-04:00

My portfolio portfolio website encountered some technical difficulties, but they are resolved, and here it is: www.lineolsson.com

Above are the images I am using for my business cards. No, they are not pathetically flattering & unrealistic self-portraits! ( I wish...:-)

This is Where You'll Find Me Tomorrow: MICE 2011

2011-09-23T09:52:00.001-04:00

I will greet you in the front lobby of University Hall between 10AM-1PM. Later, I participate in my first panel on writer/artist collaborations. 4-5PM, I think. Should be fun! I am looking forward to all the great new stuff this year, I can't wait to get inspired! I only have one thing at MICE this year, which is a page in Leann Leake's zine, Hot Tea, Cold Water, #3. I also have a few framed comic book pages in the exhibit. Follow the link to see a list of exhibitors, then come to Porter Square tomorrow and secure some copies of their awesome work! It's free, it's fun, and you'll be supporting local writers & artists in your community too!

MICE, The Massachusetts Independent Comics Expo

September 24, 2011 10am - 6pm

1815 Mass Ave., Cambridge MA (Porter Square)
Illustration by Jerel Dye

Bad Hair Day? These Ladies Can Help...Chapter 5 Of The Ragbox!

2011-09-19T16:28:00.000-04:00

Finally...or almost! Chapter 5 of Dave Kender's graphic novel, The Ragbox will be out soon, and there will be more on that at this year's MICE. I really took my time illustrating this chapter, since I've been pretty busy this last year, but I did enjoy every minute of the process.

The Ragbox is unique in the sense that a different artist illustrates each of its chapters. Kender published the the three first chapters in one volume, but printed chapter 4 as a mini, as will be the case with chapter 5. You do not have to have read the first volume to enjoy the subsequent chapters, as they also stand alone as slices-of-life stories, but it is fun to compare the different illustrators' individual style.

Kender has matched illustrators with chapters that would specifically interest them, and I really enjoyed drawing the people (stylistas, both young and not-so-young) and the setting (dilapidated hair salon) of this part of the story. I am not quite sure why, as I don't really follow fashion trends (I'm much too cheap to pay the price of designer stuff ), and don't spend much time in salons either (once or twice a year, just to get some peace and quiet, and because my hair has reached the point when it's so bad, it's not even funny). However, I do love looking at stylish people, and all the going ons of the salon are sort of fascinating. Also, my artistic mentor in the 1980's, combined his studio with a hairdresser salon in the basement, so I guess I have sort of spent time in that environment after all...that's an entirely different story, however, that I'll tell you all about later. Maybe. For now, get your first four chapters of The Ragbox at MICE and familiarize yourself with the characters of this neighborhood (which is loosely based on San Francisco's Mission district). To read more about The Ragbox, click here. For information on MICE, click here.

Enjoy!

Destination: Thieves Paradise

2011-09-18T14:55:00.000-04:00

This is the last page for now. What meets Captain Scarlet and the crew at this eerie place? Stay tuned, cross your fingers and find out!

Overboard

2011-09-15T19:28:00.001-04:00

The Captain's Quarters

2011-09-14T12:11:00.000-04:00

And a Bottle of Rum...

2011-09-11T12:05:00.001-04:00

Parrots, Rum, and a Zombie Called Regan's Corpse

2011-09-03T23:35:00.000-04:00

Roman Scarlet, Dandy Long Legs & Doktor Sock

2011-09-01T18:09:00.000-04:00

Bloody Mutiny

2011-08-31T12:49:00.000-04:00

This is page three, and when I drew this one I learned the following about myself: 1) Drawing blood & gore is not as disturbing as I had thought it would be, but actually a lot of fun. Probably because it's really just ink... 2) I kind of like drawing men, when they're as handsome as Dandy Long Legs (according to Troy's script he is very dandy, and I modeled his appearance on a romantic portrait of one of my favorite English poets, John Donne).

More Pirates...

2011-08-28T19:31:00.000-04:00

Open Fire!

2011-08-20T22:40:00.000-04:00

This is the first page of the pirate fantasy comic, Open Fire! (Written by Troy Minkowsky) Is the editing in photoshop done? Is this the final look? No, probably not. But it will be something along these (crosshatched) lines.

Just A Few Sketches from June & July.

2011-08-04T15:08:00.000-04:00

I just realized that I haven't updated my blog since June! How time flies! I am not on summer vacation, just keeping very, very busy! Among my projects: a pirate comic, illustrations, and of course, job applications. In the meantime, here are some pages from my sketchbook to look at...

Below: Inspired by a relatively new picture book about Audrey Hepburn, Just Being Audrey, written by Margaret Cardillo and illustrated by Massachusetts-based artist Julia Denos. I found the book at the Curious George store in Harvard Square (which we will miss very much now that it is closing!), and wanted to buy it for my kids. Unfortunately, my boys did not share my enthusiasm on Audrey Hepburn; they took one look at the pictures and decided that the lack of monster trucks, dragons and epic battles did not interest them. So I ended up buying the book for myself, just so I could look at all the gorgeous illustrations. Well, it was so worth it!

Next: More random pages from my sketchbook. I must admit I prefer to draw women rather than men.

Spare Change Illustration

2011-06-08T09:33:00.001-04:00

Recently, I had the opportunity to do an illustration for the Boston alternative newspaper, Spare Change. With this assignment, I really got the feel of what it is like to do creative work under a very tight deadline, and I must admit that such pressure tends to work well with me. I spent about an hour and a half sketching Marc Goldfinger, part-time vendor and writer for Spare Change, during his interview with freelance writer, Micah Stahl. It was a nice, warm day in Cambridge's Central Square, and time flew by as I filled my sketchbook pages with observations. I love to draw people in person, rather than from photographs, and especially while they are not paying attention to me, but focused on a conversation with someone else. This situation draws out a person's personality that I then try to capture in my drawing. I also like to bring the surroundings into the portrait, in this case the area outside the 1369 Coffeehouse. To me it seemed like a nice, busy place that I could have spent the whole day in, had I not had to rush home and take care of kids and their school pick-ups, park playdates and karate lessons (yesterday, however, a Spare Change vendor complained that I had made Central Square look 'too nice,' since in his opinion it was the worst #%*!! neighborhood in town! :-)

In-between picking kids up from school, packing for a weekend trip, etc. I had to draw the illustration with ink, based on my pencil sketches, then scan it, clean it up in Photoshop and send it off by around 7-8 PM. Thanks to my lovely friend, Sowmya, I was able to make it, since she brought my kids over to her house for a few hours to play with her son.

Hopefully, I will be able to do more assignments like this one. In the meantime, I am working on the Open Fire! project (see previous blog post), and as the July 1 deadline for that one comes closer, my productivity seems to go up!

The Pirates Are Coming!

2011-04-27T22:17:00.000-04:00

Here is a cover and a preview/promo page for the upcoming comic, Open Fire! It is not a new project for the writer, Troy Minkowsky, but it's a new one for me. In fact I don't think I have ever drawn a comic about pirates, zombies and other fantasy figures before (except mermaids). I definitely have not drawn a comic that features a sock puppet, that one is a first! I really enjoy doing the artwork for this story, though. The characters are interesting, and there are at least three female characters in the story, which appeals to me. I also enjoy drawing seascapes, sea creatures and all that good stuff, and it's always fun to do something that is entirely new to me. I hope this won't be the last you hear of this story! There will be more to follow...

An Education

2011-02-23T13:03:00.000-05:00

This the first page of a 3-page story that I submitted to an upcoming anthology on education. The anthology should be published in time for a conference on comics and education (for more info check out this website: http://necac.net/46/)

I chose to do a story set at Balfour House School, a British private school in Wales that I attended for a few years in the late 1970's. I was the only non-native English speaking student at the time, and although I learned English quite quickly, I would not recommend anyone to learn a new language in that sort of setting. Balfour House was a very strict school where corporal punishment was practiced regularly, an aspect of the school that I tried to work into my comic.

A few years ago, I learned that Balfour House no longer exists, and that the building is currently falling down. It is too bad about the building, it is an old stone structure, and originally a monastery (or so the rumor went back in the 70's). I saw some pictures posted online, where the iron gates were rusty and the windows boarded up. Weeds and grass grew up through the exterior staircase. On the other hand, part of me is relieved to have outlived that institution, because although I remember most of the students and many of my teachers fondly, I really, really did not like that school with all its rigid rules, traditionalist gender views and violence against kids.

Comics in the New Year!

2011-01-06T09:57:00.000-05:00

In 2010, I started a new project, to illustrate chapter 5 of Dave Kender's graphic novel, The Ragbox. This is a really fun assignment that I love working on, but I also hope to finish up quite soon (it always feels good to complete assignments!).

The chapter is set in a beauty salon in the Ragbox neighbourhood, the setting for the novel. I love the characters in this chapter, especially Angel, the beautiful twentysomething hairdresser who I really enjoy drawing!

To read more about this graphic novel--the first three chapters have already been published--check out the blog for The Ragbox: http://www.theragbox.com/

Dreamers

2010-12-10T14:04:00.000-05:00

This is a pen & ink drawing I made the other day, inspired by one of my photos from Copenhagen last fall. Tivoli is an old amusement park smack in the middle of the city, a beautiful and magical place or a kitchy tourist trap, depending on your outlook. I tend to go for the first description myself, although the quiet (yes, a quiet amusement park in the middle of a city!) atmosphere with its million little lights, brightly colored flowers and fairy-tale feel is an illusion. It is definitely a place for daydreamers, which I've tried to capture in this picture.

Scenes From The Holiday Season in Boston

2010-12-06T08:53:00.000-05:00

This Saturday, I tabled at Bazaar Bizarre in Boston, an alternative arts/crafts fair that draws a huge crowd of holiday shoppers. Above are my pink ladies, which I displayed on one corner of the BCR table.

Eric Boeker planned and arranged the Boston Comics Roundtable presence at Bazaar Bizarre this year.

Things at our table: Independent work by Dan Mazur, Aya Rothwell and various contributors to the Left-Overs of the Living Dead, put together by Jay Kennedy.

A little untraditional holiday cards by Eric Boeker.

Bazaar Bizarre was held inside the Cyclorama, which is a gorgeous building. This is the ceiling in the middle of the hall.

Above: panel 2 of a short comic strip I worked on with Troy Minkowsky. Below: panel 1 of a short comic strip I worked on with Roho. Both may show up on some BCR holiday wrapping paper this season.

The Cyclorama is in the beautiful South End neighbourhood of Boston.

To be honest, I don't have a lot of skills as a salesperson (none, in fact), but I enjoy working at the holiday fairs--all fairs and conventions--nevertheless. It's fun to see what other vendors have to offer, and to be inspired. It's a great place to people-watch, and to chat with people who approach the table. I hope to be at the Holly Fair in Cambridge next weekend.

Canada, Comics & Cheesecake

2010-11-19T11:01:00.000-05:00

Cheesecake pen & ink drawing w/ pink frame

View from our hotel window in Montreal

Mural in Montreal

Expozine 2010

On most Friday nights (after the worst rush traffic has subsided), we drive up to Vermont for the weekend. Last Friday, we decided that we would stretch the weekend out a little, so we went on to Montreal on Saturday, spent the night there, then drove back to Vermont on Sunday afternoon, and finally came back to Boston Monday night.

Montreal is one of my favorite cities in the northeast for several reasons: it's in Canada, and since it's also in Quebec, where most people speak French, you really get the sense that you have gone abroad. Otherwise, going to Canada from the U.S. feels a bit like crossing the border from Norway into Sweden. Yes, you're in a different country, but it's not a drastic change (I know many Canadians--not to mention Swedes--will be offended by this statement. Try not to take it personally! :-).

Other things I really like about Montreal is good restaurants (French and Indian are among my favorite cuisines), the old part of town, even though it's touristy, and Chinatown, which seems bigger and has a lot more stores than the one in Boston. It is also the city of Leonard Cohen, Julie Doucet and Drawn & Quarterly :-)

When I was a kid, we sailed up the St. Lawrence river on the bulk carriers my parents worked on (for more information on this see my Inbound 5 story, "The Sardine's Tale") on our way to the Great Lakes. I don't remember much of these trips, except stopping further up the river, at Niagara Falls, where we went to see the falls and the surrounding kitch. I also remember falling down from one shipdeck to another, a fall from which I still have a scar on my chin. But that's all a different (comic book?) story.

This time in Montreal, I decided to go to the Expozine for a few hours, with a box of Inbounds, Outbounds, Hellbounds and some of my own minicomics for trade. I was only there for about 4 hours, but it was a really cool experience, and I got to meet a lot of nice and interesting people, and on my trading spree I ended up with some neat stuff (for example an illustrated version of T.S. Eliot's poem, "The Lovesong of J. Alfred Prufrock," by Julian Peters, a local artist. The drawings are really beautiful and accompany the poem really well. In addition, Peters used buldings and street scenes in Boston as references for his drawings, so it just couldn't be more perfect! :-)

Back in Boston, I am working on a project, which I should try to get done pretty soon (illustrating a chapter of someone's graphic novel), and otherwise drawing cheesecake drawings of pretty ladies (preferably with some pink involved, the color I love to hate, or maybe hate to love...), which has been my favorite hobby for as long as I can remember. There are lots of crafts fairs and shows coming up this holiday season, you might see me at one or two, if I'm tabling for the Boston Comics Roundtable.

Inbound 5: Release Party!

2010-11-04T11:44:00.001-04:00

Getting ready for the release party: hanging up the original drawings from the stories in Inbound 5

Atomic Bean Coffee Shop

The first six pages from my Inbound 5 story, "The Sardine's Tale." Pages 1 and 4 will be on display at Atomic Bean.

More on Inbound 5, the latest anthology from the Boston Comics Roundtable!

Friday, November 5 (yes, this Friday!) at 7-9 pm, we are having a release party for the book at the Atomic Bean coffee shop in lively Central Square (902-904 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge). The book will be on sale, artist and writers will be there to sign it, the artwork will be on the walls, and because it's hosted by a coffee shop, there will be access to coffee and pastries! Bring anyone you know who is interested in comics and/or food (Inbound 5 is the food issue, after all!).

Can't make it to the release party? Then order the book online:

http://www.bostoncomicsroundtable.com/inbound-5/

It makes a perfect gift for those foodie friends you have, who otherwise have all the kitchen gadgets you can think of!

Also: read our first review!

http://thirteenminutes.blogspot.com/2010/10/inbound-5-food-issue.html

Eat This: Inbound 5, The Food Issue

2010-10-30T00:25:00.000-04:00

The latest anthology from Boston Comics Roundtable, Inbound 5 came out just in time for M.I.C.E., and it is dedicated to food. I wanted to post a picture of the cover here on my blog, because the watercolor picture (by Ellen Crenshaw) is awesome, and because I want you to know what you need to look for at your local comic bookstore! Is your comic bookstore not in the Boston area? Then you can order it from the BCR homepage:

http://www.bostoncomicsroundtable.com

We are going to hang up some of the original pages from the anthology at Atomic Bean Cafe (Central Square in Cambridge) this weekend and have a release party next week. More on this later!

Fall

2010-10-19T21:27:00.000-04:00

Above is my Hellbound-poster, which you'll hopefully see around Boston, but in red, and with lots of information on it, like this: http://riverbirdstudios.blogspot.com/2010/10/hellbound-is-near.html Hellbound is both an event (Halloween -style party in Harvard Square, but with comics, sketch duels and lots of fun) and the name of a Boston Comics Roundtable anthology, dedicatet to New England horror stories. I submitted a story, Lady in Black, which you can read about here:

http://hellboundinboston.blogspot.com/2010/10/lady-in-black-by-line-o.html

Also, another Boston Comics Roundtable anthology that I've been involved in, Inbound 5 is out, which this time focuses on food. Read about it (then order it :-) on their website: http://www.bostoncomicsroundtable.com/inbound-5/ The book is in the same format as Inbound 4, and with gorgeous cover art by Ellen Crenshaw.

Other things I have done this fall: met nice, interesting people at M.I.C.E., where I had half a table, and strolled around Manhattan, where I for once had all the time in the world to do some sketching.

Pretty & Pink

2010-09-19T21:09:00.000-04:00

The first four paintings (acrylics on 4x4" canvas) that I've made of pretty girls with pink background. Hopefully, I'll have about six to bring to M.I.C.E., where I will have half a table this coming Saturday. I love painting these, it's so much fun!

Greenland & Iceland

2010-09-04T22:15:00.000-04:00

Sketches from Iceland

Nuuk, Greenland

Kapisillit, Greenland

This summer, I went to Greenland to visit a friend, via Iceland. I took about a million photos while I was there, the landscape in Greenland is amazingly beautiful, and reminds me of Norway, but--and I am reluctant to admit this in public--even more dramatic. Most of the sketches I did there were funny ones, describing what we did and where we went. In Iceland, however, I sketched as we drove around. We had rented a fourwheel-drive Lada (of all things!), that drove like a tank in the city, but was perfect for backroad driving. It was a bumpy ride on the unpaved roads, but I started the sketches in the car and finished them as we stopped along the way. The landscape in the interior of Iceland was very different from Greenland. The ground was barren, black, volcanic. Dramatic in its own way, and the clouds overhead seemed to be as much a part of the landscape as the ground, giving it also a shifting, restless character. This was not my first time in Iceland, but it seemed different somehow from when I first came here...probably because we took a tourbus back then, but drove around on our own this time. On those deserted roads, on a cold and windy Sunday, one can easily feel all alone in the world, lost in a strange and eerie landscape.

Postcard Project

2010-08-03T10:38:00.000-04:00

This is one of the postcards which is a part of a bigger project called "What Am I Doing Here?" where I explore expectations of traveling. This is not a scan, but a photo, thus the quality is not so good, but you get the idea...

Childhood Nostalgia in the Merchant Marines

2010-06-25T13:41:00.000-04:00

Right now, I am spending all the free time I have (and a large chunk of the not-so-free time, not to mention all the time-I-should-definitely-be-doing-something-else) inking the last pages of my Inbound 5 submission. Inbound 5 is all about food, and my story ("The Sardine's Tale") is a 10-page comic set on board a Norwegian bulk carrier in the mid-70's, told from the perspective of the chef's 5-year old daughter. There will be an abundance of food in the story (but no strawberry jelly), adventures in faraway restaurants, tall tales and cute pin-up girls. It's all a short-version tall tale of my own childhood in the Norwegian merchant marines, as seen through the typical nostalgic lens that seamen tend to remember those good old days.

Thumbs Up For Kindergarteners (Thumbs Down For Kinko's On Beacon Street)

2010-06-17T09:42:00.000-04:00

These are two pages I drew for a Comic Coloring book, a little book I made for my son's kindergarten class this week. It was a lot of fun to talk about comics with the kids, since they were very interested in the topic, and asked a lot of questions about drawing and making comics. Afterwards, they used their activity time to color in the books, since I had made a copy for each of them. They really seemed to enjoy the books, and that made my day!

(What didn't make my (previous) day, however, was the trip to Kinko's on Beacon Street in Brookline, because their black & white copy machines are so awful. My copies turned out to be of such low quality, that I had to use the color copier instead (a lot more expensive!). The staff was not very helpful about the problem, either, although I pointed out that Staples have great machines that make high-quality b&w copies, so why don't they do something about it? Really, I think I'd rather burn my comics than copy them at Kinko's on Beacon street! )

Doggie Stroller

2010-06-05T23:05:00.000-04:00

Today, we went for a daytrip to the cape and I saw (for the first time in my life) a doggie stroller. And it wasn't just an old-fashioned baby stroller used for a dog, no, it was an actual doggie stroller, designed for dogs (!) I have lived in the U.S. for ten years now, and I thought I had seen it all. But no...The funniest thing was when the dog caught sight of a rottweiler and an intense growling emerged from the stroller. I wanted to grab my camera and take a picture, but that would be rude, so I sketched the scene instead (and posted it on the internet). Maybe that's rude too. Oh well!

Evolution

2010-05-17T12:07:00.001-04:00

Barcelona Souvenir

2010-05-10T18:20:00.000-04:00

Another page from my sketchbook, this time inspired by my trip to Barcelona last summer. I fell in love with the city and the surrounding area (we went to two of our friends' wedding in Tortosa, a couple of hours by train down the coast, then to festivities in a mountain village nearby). I plan to do some lager drawings, cartoonish style, of interesting cityscapes, as soon as I have finished working on current projects (story for the upcoming Inbound anthology, #5 is the food issue, and stories for a webcomic).

Hellbound--A New England Horror Comic

2010-04-30T09:55:00.000-04:00

If I've been absent lately, it's because I've been really busy. April just flew by, and now we're almost in May. One of the projects I worked on is a one-page story for Hellbound, the Boston Comics Roundtable horror-anthology, which I think is scheduled to come out in time for Halloween. I don't want to spoil things and post my whole page, but here's a panel:

Not scary? Oh, just wait! Besides, there will be plenty of awesome pages from local artists and writers that will make your skin crawl! More on this subject later...

(For more information on Hellbound: http://hellboundinboston.blogspot.com/ )

Drowning (in Boston)

2010-03-30T14:30:00.000-04:00

This is a page from my minicomic, Dog Season, which I am posting because it just seems so appropriate with all the rain & floods we're having in Boston right now...

Overly Sweet

2010-03-25T09:32:00.000-04:00

I'm not a big fan of cuteness, but I was inspired by a site, www.girlsdrawingirls.com that has all sorts of cute pin-up types on it. You just can't help being drawn in (literally).

Skiing & Sketching

2010-03-15T11:38:00.000-04:00

This was my weekend: skiing & sketching @ Mt. Ellen in Vermont. Mad River Glen was closed because of the 50 mph winds on top of the mountain, but because it was relatively calm at the base, Sugarbush and Mt. Ellen kept some of their lifts open. The five of us packed our gear back into the car and drove to Mt. Ellen, my husband, my father-in-law, the two little boys and me. It was Thor's first day of downhill skiing, and we rented the tinyest little skis for him (so adoreable, I didn't even know they made them that small). Unfortunately, he started to feel sick after a short while, and Josh and I took turns watching him at the lodge while Bjorn practiced with us on the beginners' slopes. At one point, Thor fell asleep while I was at the lodge with him, so I took out my paper and pens & pencils and started sketching (and making up stories about people at the lodge) to pass the time.

Art of the Boston Comics Roundtable at the Marblehead Arts Association

2010-03-07T22:53:00.000-05:00

Comic books and DVDs for sale, displayed in the wine cellar.
My mermaid-page

Marblehead Art Show & Minicomic

2010-03-05T14:52:00.000-05:00

Don't forget this Sunday: The Boston Comics Roundtable are showing comic book art at the Marblehead Arts Association until March 28. Come to our reception 2-4 pm! Check out MAA's page for directions, http://www.marbleheadarts.org/ and check out my mermaid-page that they have posted on there. She (the mermaid) will be hanging at the MAA with lots of awesome comic book art from BCR members, some of it from Inbound 4 which, by the way, will be for sale at the MAA's gift shop! In the gift shop will also be the last version of my minicomic, Dog Season. I have added color to the front page, used glossy cardpaper for the cover and heavyweight ivory paper for the inside pages.

Amerika

2010-02-11T13:32:00.000-05:00

Ten years in this country, and it has been...interesting, for sure, and not a single boring day! :-) PS This is not me!

Valium, p.2

2010-02-08T10:30:00.000-05:00

My scanner is not big enough to scan the whole page, so this is just a detail of a page from the story I am working on right now.

Copenhagen Street Scene

2010-01-31T14:08:00.000-05:00

Bibliography for "The Gahdner Heist," p.120 in Inbound 4

2010-01-27T09:14:00.000-05:00

Since Inbound 4 was pressed for space and could not include a bibliography page for the individual stories, I am posting mine here on my blog.

Ulrich Boser's book, The Gardner Heist was particularly helpful. It gave me a complete overview of the events, investigations and theories concerning the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum heist, and an insight to the personalities of the people linked to the case. Also, I used the photo of Rembrandt's Storm on the Sea of Galilee as a reference when I drew my pencil version of the painting on my splash page. I also used the color photo of Harold Smith to draw a cartoon version of him (which I did with all due respect).

Bibliography for Line O: "The Gahdner Heist"

Boser, Ulrich. The Gardner Heist. The True Story of the World's Largest Unsolved Art Theft. Harper Collins: New York, NY. 2009

Goldfarb, Hillard T. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. A Companion Guide and History. Yale University Press: New Haven, CT. 1995

Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. Guide to the Collection. Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum: Boston, MA. 1997

Life After Inbound 4

2010-01-22T11:48:00.001-05:00

Now that Inbound 4 is out there, living its own life in various Boston bookstores and comic book stores, people ask me if I am working on something else...Well, I am, sort of...I'm just not sure if "work" is really what I have been up to until now. But I guess it's time to really get started on what I have defined as my new project. I have been playing around with an idea for a while, and have conducted research (I took 400+ photos of streets and buildings in Copenhagen for this purpose), and done a fair amount of sketching. Whatever it will turn out to be in the end, it's definitely girly stuff, no testosterone-fueled guys-in-underpants-saving-the world sort of thing...Not something my boys would want to read, in other words.

These pictures are scanned straight from my sketchbook in their un-photoshopped nakedness, with uncensored babble, blemishes and all.

Inbound 4, it's here!

2009-12-07T08:35:00.000-05:00

Our comic book history of Boston is finally out! 141 pages of Boston history shenanigans. Get it at various comic book stores in and around Boston, or order it online: http://www.bostoncomicsroundtable.com/
(Cover by Shelli Paroline)

Copenhagen

2009-12-01T10:21:00.000-05:00

Line's First Minicomic

2009-11-23T08:33:00.000-05:00

So here it is, finally, my first minicomic! I spent the whole weekend in front of Photoshop and at my local Kinko's. Some lessons I learned in the process:
-Plan ahead and don't leave the paper purchasing until the last minute. In the end I had to go with cheap, plain white instead of the thick, wonderful eggshell I had envisioned. And don't count on your local paper store (in this case, Paper Source on Beacon Street in Brookline) for paper. They didn't carry any 11x17 paper (but they had plenty of ideas on how to decorate cupcakes and at least two books about poop...)
-On Sundays you can have the Kinkos store (also on Beacon Street) practically all to yourself. And it is possible to make 27 copies in the course of a weekend (assuming the art is already done), but you have to send the spouse and the kids out of town so they don't have to listen to all the cursing and swearing...

The mermaid Page

2009-11-20T11:08:00.000-05:00

This is the first page of the mini comic that I am scrambling to assemble (in time for the Holiday fairs around the city). This page took me a lot longer than the others to draw, because of all the detail.

More From the Sketchbook

2009-11-18T16:50:00.000-05:00

One More Page to Go...

2009-11-17T13:11:00.000-05:00

Some pages I have been working on lately...I have one more page to go before assembling the minicomic. I look forward to drawing the last page, but dread the photoshopping, printing out, copying, stapling, trying & failing & trying again...

Pre-order Now...Just in Time for the Holidays!

2009-11-13T10:04:00.000-05:00

Pre-order your copy(ies) of our awesome comic book anthology, where all the stories feature some part of Boston's history! If you pre-order now, Santa will be very pleased to see that you helped out in our publishing process and provide you with lots of extra presents. If you don't believe in Santa, at least you'll earn brownie-points with grateful cartoonists, struggling to cover their printing costs...and think of all the happy relatives who will be so delighted to find out that they have been given a copy of Boston Comics Roundtable's Inbound # 4 for (insert name of holiday here) this year! Priceless ($12, plus shipping, actually)! Order here:

http://www.bostoncomicsroundtable.com/inbound-4/

For a little sneak-preview, check out this radio drama-version of Cathy Leamy's contribution to the book, posted on Youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VmBYYGW0FbA

On the radio!

2009-10-23T09:04:00.000-04:00

If you are in the Boston area, listen to WBUR (90.9) at 1.00pm today or tomorrow! They'll be talking about our upcoming anthology, Inbound #4 (which will be out in December). Included is a radio drama version of Cathy Leamy's contribution to the book. Check out the youtube link on that, it's really neat!

http://www.radioboston.org/stories/2009/10/21/boston-the-comic-book/

Still on First Page: Ink, Pencil & Water Color

2009-10-07T09:25:00.000-04:00

Minicomic: A Work in Progress

2009-09-30T09:59:00.001-04:00

The first stages of a minicomic that I am working on. It will include three stories, the first a translation of a poem I wrote in Norwegian and published in a writer's collective anthology: Fra board til Baard

I have good quality paper (Bristol board), ink and nibs (and thanks to Dave M's demonstration at last week's Boston Comics Roundtable meeting, I know how to use them :-)

All I need now is some time, a bit of energy and lots of coffee.

The Dark Side of my Sketchbook

2009-09-25T21:06:00.000-04:00

Coming soon: Inbound # 4, fourth anthology from Boston Comics Roundtable. My contribution below:

2009-09-23T17:05:00.000-04:00