Life With Girls - The Empire Strikes Back

In 2012, I created a calendar featuring the characters from Life With Girls dressed as characters from movies that I loved and still love. Calling it my "poor man's portfolio, it was a way that I could offer 12 high quality illustrations for a very reasonable price. The concept behind this personal project was that the kids would have super high quality, movie authentic costumes, and the parents would have the kind of crummy "mom and dad made these" costumes. Each scene had to make sense in a setting that we could reasonably be expected to set this up if we'd done it for real. It was a lot of fun researching the real costumes, as well as figuring out a way to make the parent's knock offs and settings. 

December 2010

December 2010

Television would have us believe that on Christmas morning all kids (after having dreamt of sugar plums and such) come tumbling down the stairs to pillage the tree. All the while, mom and dad watch the carnage while sipping cider, hot chocolate, eggnog, or whatever...

Spending Christmas morning with my parents is important, and in many ways similar to this, but it starts off in a very different way.

I wake up early, before the sun rises, put the kettle on and wake the kids. As we're getting some breakfast ready and packing up the car, mom comes shuffling down the hallway like an extra from a zombie movie.

This is where I get some measure of retributionfor our Fourth of July shenanigans...driving across the state for Christmas morning and cinnamon rolls with my folks.

I started keeping track of my life with the girls in 2009, in a series of illustrated status updates called "Daily Life"...As I finish up collecting some of these stories for print books, and catch up on some freelance work, I thought it would be a good time to post some of these older stories, so that everything is collected here on the blog. I hope you enjoy them as much as I have. :)

Daily Life 023: Drawing

October 8, 2010 - Daily Life 023: Drawing

A couple of months ago, we gave Abby a spiral notebook to use as a journal. She likes to draw her name, her hands elaborate, multicolored, scribbly compositions... We gave her a sheet of stickers which she happily used to fill the pages of her journal with a fascination combination of neat rows and layered smiley faces, stars and dogs saying "GOOD JOB!". The point is, she draws in the book, and (usually) not on the walls or bills.

Sometimes when shes sitting at the table drawing, I'll get my book out and draw too. Abby will lean over the table, balancing precariously on one foot and ask "What you drawing, daddy?" in her little voice. This particular time I was drawing her, drawing. "You drawing Abby drawing... daddy?" Yes, most answers are repeated as new questions. This is a sign that she will soon be shoving her journal toward me and demanding drawings of cars, or animals, or Shrek. Which results in a mad dash to get down a passable likeness before she turns the page and demands something different.

And you complain that your boss wants stuff done fast?

I started keeping track of my life with the girls in 2009, in a series of illustrated status updates called "Daily Life"...As I finish up collecting some of these stories for print books, and catch up on some freelance work, I thought it would be a good time to post some of these older stories, so that everything is collected here on the blog. I hope you enjoy them as much as I have. :)

Daily Life 011: Shopping Cart 2

October 26, 2009 - Daily Life 011: Shopping Cart 2

Abby has a playschool shopping cart that she loves to push around... everywhere. And there's not really any rhyme or reason to what is actually IN the cart. The only consistent thing, is that usually either Woody or Kermit is riding in the seat.

I started keeping track of my life with the girls in 2009, in a series of illustrated status updates called "Daily Life"...As I finish up collecting some of these stories for print books, and catch up on some freelance work, I thought it would be a good time to post some of these older stories, so that everything is collected here on the blog. I hope you enjoy them as much as I have. :)

2009 was a great year, and working on this project helped me learn a lot about the craft of drawing and painting, as well as the dynamic of our family's life. Over the course of the year, I developed a small core cast of characters. I'm excited to go through 2010, starting later this week. It was a big year for us, as we got ready for Olive to be born, and I prepared to be a full time freelancer and stay-at-home dad. In the fall of 2010, I began work on the 2011 calendar, which looked back on the year before, as well as highlighted our typical days during each month. I'll be using those illustrations in between the normal Daily Life illustrated status updates. 

Daily Life 003: My Bike

August 17, 2009 - Daily Life 003: My Bike

"My Bike is now functional again! The plan is to drop me and the bike off at work every day, and then I will ride it in the afternoon to pick up Amy and Abigail. It's like getting back in touch with an old friend."

I started keeping track of my life with the girls in 2009, in a series of narrated illustrations called "Daily Life"...As I finish up collecting some of these stories for print books, and catch up on some freelance work, I thought it would be a good time to post some of these older stories, so that everything is collected here on the blog. I hope you enjoy them as much as I have. :)

100 Themes: Gray

 

And so concludes the first story arc of the Dragon and the Witch. As is often the case with imaginative play, things get pretty crazy in a hurry. Ha-ha-ha! I'm looking forward to exploring this story and characters a bit more in the future, as I think I learned a bit about how they tick over the last couple of weeks. Especially the dragon, as he's seeming to not understand how people work at all, and is more excited/curious about what's going on with Abby's arrow wound.

I'm going to the S.P.A.C.E. small press expo in Columbus, Ohio in a couple of weeks, with my friend Leighton Conner (Fuzzball & Scuzzball, Laser Brigade), so I'm working frantically to get my books ready in time. Amy's editing while I'm finishing up the cover, doing freelance work, and making comics. It's really hectic right now, and I think the next theme "Fortitude" will talk a little about it.

Travel Naps

Part of the Christmas day plan is to get up, have some breakfast, open the girl's present from Santa (and one more as a family). Then we drive across the state to see Grammy and my family for Christmas. In a perfect world, the girl's will all sleep in the car...As it turns out, usually it's only mommy who sleeps. Luckily, both Abby and Olive are really good car riders.  They read books, draw, and play games in their seats so I can concentrate on how awesome the new Metallica album is...Just kidding, lately I've been listening to books on tape. Neil Gaiman is SUCH a great reader.
     So, the girls are super excited when they get to Grammy's and are just too busy to be bothered to take naps. Which means that in the late afternoon, we end up with cranky kids who fall asleep at the dinner table. Ha-ha-ha!

Paper Airplanes and Kids Crafts

This morning we watched some "Sid the Science Kid" on PBS. One of the really cool things about Abby's age is seeing her put things together in her head. Her enthusiasm for learning new things and making things is just great. I have to try real hard to be ready and willing to stop what I'm doing when she wants to make something, because I like to make things with her. Today, Sid was learning about airplanes, so Abby wanted to make paper airplanes too. We made three one for each of us, thought only Olive's really flew.
These sketchbook pages are an excerpt from  what I'm contributing to The Sketchbook Project.

Stargazing

 

December 04,2012 - Life With Girls

Abby drew this picture of Amy today. It's always a little amazing to me which details are important to kids. She added the three scars from Amy's gall bladder surgery, but nothing else. That's all she needed to know who it was.

During dinner, Abby told me she wanted to go stargazing. I told her it was probably cloudy and wet, but that we'd go check just in case. We all went out and layed on a quilt in the grass, and looked up at the sky. There were actually a lot of stars out...

These sketchbook pages are an excerpt from  what I'm contributing to The Sketchbook Project.