Category Archives: Comics

DIY: Monsters painted into thrift store paintings

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Have you ever drawn on a second-hand print? One of my favorite recent developments in upcycling thrift store finds is painting monsters into old landscapes. Here are two of my favorites:

by Chris McMahon (source)

by Chris McMahon (source)

by Thyrza Segal (source)

by Thyrza Segal (source)

I recently found a framed landscape at Goodwill for $5 and decided to try it for myself! Here’s the painting before:

Before monsters print

And here it is after the cryptids arrived in the village:

FinishedCryptidPainting

If you’re curious, the creatures are (clockwise from the left): a hodag, a Jersey devil, a large yeti, and a small Loch Ness monster.

Monsters painted by Aubin Thomas

I used Sharpie paint markers for this project. I hadn’t used them together like this before and I’m extremely happy with how it turned out! If I waited for the previous application of paint to dry I got a clean line for the next layer of paint, which is wonderful to know when you’re working in a space so small. If you try this on your own thrift store painting, I absolutely recommend Sharpie paint markers (and Sharpie didn’t even pay me to say that, I just like them that much!). It’s also a good idea to sketch out what you’re going to draw beforehand so you can get an idea of how big the monsters in the painting will be and where they should go.

Aubin Thomas yeti in painting with Sharpie paint paints

Maine Comic Arts Festival, May 20, 2012

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I spent this past Sunday morning at the Maine Comic Arts Festival at the Ocean Gateway here in Portland, Maine. As far as comic enthusiasts go, I would probably be rated a 4 on a scale of 1 (being people who think Watchmen is about a team of guys who fix Rollexes) and 10 (being people who have a room dedicated to their favorite comic with memorabilia that includes the comic’s creator hermetically sealed in a glass case). I am in love with Neil Gaiman’s Sandman to the point where I have a tattoo based on one of Jill Thompson’s drawings of Delirium on my right arm, but I have yet to find another graphic novel or comic series that really grabs my imagination in the same way. I do, however, draw single page comics myself and there are several web comics I read on a regular basis so I have enough interest to get excited about a comic festival, even a small one. Here are some of the people I encountered at MeCAF

Cathy Leamy

The first artist I met was Cathy Leamy. She was more than happy to talk to my friend and me not only about her art but about Portland, the weather, and my own comics. It was fairly early in the day and I wasn’t sure if I’d have enough money for everything I wanted to buy at the convention so I took her card and said I would find her work online later. I did, however, send my fiance to her table while I was at work to buy a copy of her book “Green Blooded: an introduction to eco-friendly feminine hygiene.” You can check that out and her other comics (like her series “Geraniums and Bacon”) at her website here: www.metrokitty.com/comics

Kori Michele Handwerker

What interested me at Kori Michele Handwerker’s table because of the 4×6 prints from her series “1,000 Idols,” in particular her portrait of Daria Morgendorfer (pictured above). I like the idea of a project like this because it not only makes you look at who you are and what influences you but it also stretches your creativity because you have to decide which aspects of your idols to portray. If you want to see more of her work, you can visit her website here: www.korimichele.com

Kate Leth

What drew me to Kate Leth’s table was the poster you see in the top right corner of her display: a plump cat wearing a crown under a quote from a Bikini Kill song. What kept me at the table was seeing that she had done a drawing of Death, the sister of Delirium from Neil Gaiman’s Sandman. I bought a copy of her book “Ultimate Kate or Die” (which she signed for me with a drawing of a happy looking taco) and she was nice enough to let me take a picture of her and her awesome set-up, which included a cute tablecloth with colorful eyes that she got at IKEA. If you want to look at her comics, you can find them on her site here: kateordiecomics.com

Kazu Kibuishi and Kate Beaton

I admit, my main reason for meeting Kazu Kibuishi was to get an autograph for my friend Brooke, who is a children’s librarian and a fan of his series Amulet. He was, as I expected, very friendly and more than happy to sign a piece of paper for Brooke in leu of a copy of his book and even drew a picture to go with it. His work can be found here: boltcity.com

The last table I visited at MeCAF was Kate Beaton’s. I won’t lie to you, meeting her was a big deal for me. I was first introduced to her web comic “Hark! A Vagrant!” in 2010 by a friend and seeing her translate historical events and stories into art inspired me to start drawing again after years of being discouraged for having a style that was usually described as “too cartoonish.” Like everyone else I met at the convention, she was personable and asked me what my favorite comic of hers was. I told her my favorites were her comics that elaborated on book covers drawn by Edward Gorey so she drew a character from one of those in addition to signing my copy of her book. You can find her comics here: harkavagrant.com

For my first comic convention, I consider this a success. I bought interesting art, met interesting people, and got the rather interesting inclination to focus more on my drawings so I can someday justify having a table of my own there. So explore the links above, enjoy the art, and be inspired- you never know what will catch your eye!

Cartoon Aubin goes to Goodwill

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I’ve always felt as though I’m a bit of a cartoon character so I was very happy this morning to see that someone else sees me that way too! My fiancé commissioned our friend Nate Oldham to draw a caricature portrait of us and here is the result:

Yes, that’s us at Goodwill doing what we do best- finding obscure records and over-sized suits. While I’m posting this on April Fool’s day, I’m not praising this drawing in jest- it’s difficult to capture someone’s personality with a pen, be it in writing or art, and I love the visual cues Nate chose to identify us. For example, even someone who has read my blog in passing knows I have a passion for rescuing strange records from sale bins so it’s perfect that I’m holding something literally labeled “Obscure Record.” Plus, there’s the added bonus of my clothing in the drawing being inspired by the outfit I wore for the first day of spring:

Thank you, Nate!

Now, to close this post, here’s the awesomely colorful video for the song “Rummage Sale” by Nate’s band Rotundo Sealeg:

If you want a Valentine I’ll draw you a bad Leonard Cohen pick-up line

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My boyfriend really likes Leonard Cohen so when it came to making him a Valentine this year I didn’t think twice about what the subject would be. If you’re confused about the reference, it’s a line from “I’m Your Man” that I turned into a bad pick-up line. In his defense, I had initially wanted to make a few different bad pick-up line Leonard Cohen Valentines but this song was the only one I could legitimately use to create one. The man has a way with words that can’t be easily subverted for comedic reasons. Anyway, happy Valentine’s Day, everyone! I leave you with the delicious caramel sauce sound that is Leonard Cohen’s voice singing “I’m Your Man”:

Bonus Leonard Cohen:

No one wears a hat (or a wall mounted hat rack) like this man does