(Tri-corner hats are harder to draw than I expected.)
Anyway–Inktober is just around the corner! I’m looking forward to drawing (and laughing) my way through October! I have ideas for most of the prompts, including several comic strips, a couple of Dysautonomia awareness comics, and an art parody. And I can’t wait to be inundated with other artist’s amazing work all month!
Something a little different for the (bonus) final day of Inktober…and a little story.
It turned out that the prompt “farm” coincided with a special trip I made during the last weekend in October, to the family farm where my grandpa grew up. My great-great grandfather started the business in 1922, and Kercher’s Sunrise Orchards is still owned and operated by my cousins, the children and grandchildren of my grandpa’s brother. They celebrated their 100th anniversary in business this year.
Although my grandpa decided to pursue a career in engineering rather than farming, and ended up living far from his family home, it was always an important place for him. He passed away this year, at the age of 92.
I moved across states this summer, and discovered that I now live much closer to the farm. So my husband and I, along with my brother’s family, spent a beautiful, sunny morning at the orchard taking a hay ride, picking apples, choosing pumpkins, and reconnecting with our cousins and their families.
I wanted to make a drawing from the orchard, and the Gold Rush variety apples were glowing in the trees that morning. When first picked, the apples are both sweet and tart, just the way we like them. We picked as many as we could fit in our bag, and I took a photo for later reference.
The trip could not have gone more perfectly, and we hope to visit again…maybe for the 101st anniversary.
The final week of Inktober 2022. I made it through, and posted every day!
22. Heist
Not even a crumb was left.
Had to get the white-out for this one, but it was fun anyways! And snuck in a little tribute to Angela Lansbury.
Detail from “Booger”
24. Fairy
I don’t know what inflation has done to the going rate for teeth these days, but as a kid, I got a quarter per tooth from the tooth fairy. Though I’m sure a $5 bill is much easier to airlift.
25. Tempting
Da-dum… Da-dum…
Danger lurks below the serving counter at Amity Island’s bakery.
26. Ego
Sigmund Freud at breakfast, c. 1929.
My time at college was bookended by reading “Civilization and Its Discontents” by Sigmund Freud, in two different history classes. It’s the only one of his works I’ve read, but I came away both times with the impression that Freud was perhaps among the chronically annoyed.
27. Snack
Me making popcorn.
28. Camping
We are just ghosts.
29. Uh-oh
Harley got devoured by the undead Lurking down in some old wizard’s tomb You can say you don’t believe in zombies But that’s how Harley Warren met his doom.
This comic is the brainchild of my husband, who is an H.P. Lovecraft fan. He’s slowly turning me into one, too, by reading me Lovecraft’s short stories, but so far most of my familiarity comes from listening to Solstice Carols (parody Christmas carols) by the H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society (you can look the carols up on youtube).
This comic is drawn from Lovecraft’s short story “The Statement of Randolph Carter,” published in 1920.
Detail of “Uh-oh.”
30. Gear
This idea came about when my husband was reminiscing about his time in the army. When he had all of his gear on, it weighed more than he did (though he did not actually fall over). It reminded me of the old myth that medieval knights needed to be hoisted into the saddle with a crane.
Also, I have no idea how the modern military functions without pockets.
31. Farm
How to make instant applesauce….
31. Farm, part 2
Something a little different for the (bonus) final day of Inktober. This one will have its own blog post.
A post for Dysautonomia Awareness Month! Last year I was diagnosed with POTS, a blood circulation disorder and a form of dysautonomia. POTS patients are often encouraged to include lots of salt in their diets, in addition to drinking lots of water. This helps regulate our heart rate and blood pressure by increasing circulating blood volume. I suppose this would be one way to eat more salt….
18. Scrape19. Ponytail
…Or the lack of one.20. Bluff
Remember the hang-gliding mouse from #3 Bat? Well, please wish him luck.21. Bad Dog
Perhaps not so much “bad,” as “extra-extra-well done.” Please pass all the ketchup.