Kelp is cool. It's a combination of two of my favorite things, plants and the ocean. I was out at Dana Point, and found this floating in the kiddo swimming area. I popped it in the cooler, took it home, and painted it. I tried to do that earlier in the summer, but I left it for a couple of days in a bag in the fridge, and I don't recommend that. It got really really stinky. If you're going to paint kelp, do it while it's fresh. I have been searching the internet, trying to figure out what kind it is, but to no avail. There is plenty of info on Macrocystis pyrifera, which this is not, but not a whole lot of help if you're trying to ID anything else. Hmmm... maybe that could be a project... Anyway, I've been doing a lot of exploring of native California species for Surfside Girls. I've been sneaking all sorts of cool things into and onto my pages.

Hey there, I've been cranking away at my graphic novel pages, trying to get as much done as I can before my freelance hits.  I'm amazed at how much there is to think about in trying to tell my story this way!  I've been checking out other graphic novelist's websites and have been very inspired by what I see.  Boltcity.com has a great tutorial.  I don't know if I want to post my pages yet, because I may put them up on their own website.  I will post some character sketches I did of Sam, trying to get my technique of watercolor and sepia pen down.