A Northampton Fairytale.

Just a typical night on the town, I guess.
I kind of wish it wasn't like this, but it seems like it is.
Noho, September, 2009, of course Tuesday night.
& (drawn in my random stolen moments at the grocery store the next day.)
Grocery Comics, Part Four.
WHAT HAPPENED LAST NIGHT.

Peace. I wish it didn't always turn out like this.
But at least we always have real good dancing in this town.

A Blue & Orange & Completely Abstract Afternoon

A September Moment.
Yesterday was a breathtakingly beautiful day, & Rin & I both had the day off from the grocery store.

So we sat in various places & looked at things & thought about them & how gorgeous they were & talked.
(& did NOT fall into the waterfall, thank you very much)
We didn't even draw, we just looked.

But this is how I remembered it later last night.
P.S. I was carrying around a coffee from Woodstar the whole time, so this definitely counts as DnD.

More Grocery Portraits

A bit late as usual, but still I completed this challenge.

Amy & Cait, from today, 9.29.2009, yes at the grocery store.

These two people make me laugh more than you could possibly imagine,
& also save my life every single day.
I wish these were better drawings, because these are such awesome people, but the goddamn customers kept wanting me to wait on them, for some reason.
I have this funny feeling that I'll get a chance to try this again though...like maybe tomorrow, back at work.

I Can Has The Eggplantz? & The Broccolizzz?

This is what happens when you stop living your whole life at the bar.
(not that there's anything wrong with that)

Apparently you become a crazy cat lady obsessed with drawing your gorgeous vegetables acquired at the Noho farmer's market that morning.

This equals: more DnDLOLCATZ.

dustyrose would not get off the table...

while I was creating this drawing of my vegetables from "farmer's marketing" (yes, I just invented a verb) this morning:
baby bok choi, various hot peppers, patty pan squash, broccoli, tiny japanese eggplants, & aged seven months Caprino goat cheese from Hillman Farm.
(I'm eating many of these delicious things right now),

What I did last night after work instead of Cirque du Coq.
But at least the late night meals thing persists.
Where I was drawing rather than out with the rest of DnD.
Sounds like it was fun, but hey, my midnight dinner was pretty delicious, & Dusty Rose is pretty adorable.

& I felt this should be included,
since this is a
"hey what we can all agree on if nothing else at the very least is that we all love kittens"
post. what wade folded my rent rent check into this month.

I WISHES I hazd A Cheeszburger right now. Or ten moressss kittenzzzzz.
(DnD truth #36789: when things are sad, we get silly & laugh anyway.
FUCK YOU, BAD THINGS. KITTENZZZZZZ).

Grocery Portraits, Part One.

After drawing Hillary yesterday, I realized that secretly drawing my co-workers at work is pretty similar to secretly drawing the person sitting next to you at the bar.

Such was my challenge for today then:

Carol, Cassie, Chris, & Thomas, drawn while I rang up 214 transactions on the express register on a September Saturday.

Don't worry, this challenge will totally be continued tomorrow...

"Of Course There's Tequila In The Cupcakes!"

Yes, as rumored, I recently celebrated my 31st birthday,
& I did it DnD style, aka with sloppy art, good food, & my incredible friends
(both absent & present)(yup, I stole that).
Some scenes from my first day of being 31:

A very late breakfast/lunch with Melissa at Woodstar = two different versions of smoked salmon on an everything bagel with coffee...

mine, (bagel sandwiches 2009 series)

& hers. (plus another birthday truth)

& a gorgeous thunderstormy dramatic sky above one of the views that makes me want to keep living here.

Then Rin, Melissa & I went on an adventure north, many very important objects were acquired from both food & thrift stores, & we unexpectedly found Ali in Greenfield.

The night concluded with a dinner party
& Rin winning the cupcake competition.
Yes, Rin officially wins at cupcakes.

These margarita cupcakes really did included tequila, & were rolled in salt, in homage to our favorite book. Wait until you try the bourbon cheese straws. An unexpectedly awesome birthday, all around. Thanks once more for all the birthday love. XOXO.

You Could Also Say, "Don't Trust Lobsters."

& That Would Be Equally True. More in the spirit of recent collaborations: A page in Beth's sketchbook from my recent 31st birthday party.

The life lessons we all learned that night, & my incredibly abstract rendering of a lobster.

We Always Said We Wanted DnD To Become "A Thing."

But I never imagined it quite like this.
Sure I bet Cirque du Coq is all awesome & crazy & creative right now, but this is what us working girls got up to at the grocery store tonight instead.

It's an ART REVOLUTION at the registers, I'm not even kidding you.

Two drawings by Caitlin (top) & Hillary (bottom).

The labels are mine.
Notice they maintain the classic the DnD position on spelling.

A tree that Hillary drew for me, & me drawing her drawing it.

& Cait's amazing contribution on the end of a roll of receipt tape
(it's actually even longer than this in reality).

Art occurring in unlikely places & made by everyone has always been one of the core values of DnD , but I'm personally really impressed that we've managed to take it this far.
ART IN THE GROCERY STORE, PEOPLE. This doesn't happen just every day.
Or maybe it does.
We put the food in the bags, & we also do this. Right, Rin?

Fall Nights, & The Breakfasts That Follow.

A random assortment of old memories, magically made concrete through the wonders of the watercolour pen, brought on by a perfectly crisp September night, & by Beth's unexpected & delightful late night company & inspiration.

(I need to see that portrait of me on this blog lady!)

Here goes, with the memories:
Too many shades of brown to count, the particular golden colour of sunlight on fall leaves, chocolate chip pancakes & excessive butter & maple syrup, nina simone in the kitchen with an open window & a cool night, wearing our hearts on our sleeves & whiskey shots (ballantines) when nothing else works, whiskey in a tiny kitchen on a late fall afternoon & a mixtape & a carefully prepared hamburger seeming like love, & sunday breakfast seeming like forever.

All apparently captured by this drawing.

Damn, though, no matter whatever other shit is going on, how I love September.
THE BEST MONTH.
at least in Massachusetts.
Clear blue, clear brown, clear gold,
impossible to draw,
but oh so beautiful so I'll keep trying.

Every Once In A While, You Are Watching Someone & Then They Fall Over.

& then you laugh until you cry, & it makes the next five minutes of your horrible job go by rather pleasantly.
(at least until the next person treats you like crap, anyway.)

Today. the grocery store.

If we didn't crack each other up so much, I'm really positive they'd have had to lock us all up by now.
& seriously, sometimes you're hanging out looking at a person, & then they fall over. good times.

It's Important To Have Allies.

Yep, more hi-jinks at the grocery store.
When do I actually get around to the putting the groceries in the bags part?

Friends make all the difference.
(More on the why we haven't killed ourselves yet topic.)

LOLCATZ, DnD Style.

Because Kittens Make Everyone Feel Better.

When there were three.
(watching twin peaks with the roommates).

introducing Josue...

...melissa's gorgeous new cat...

...who likes to pose for the camera.
(or pen)
(quick, take a drawing)

& the current situation in my kitchen.

Expect more of this.
The small feline ladies of 133 are just that awesome.

Rin, Todd, Last Night & This Afternoon.

I'm Working On My Portraits.

Hopefully since Beth is really down lately with the DnD thing & appreciates my cooking, she'll give me a chance at future slightly better attempts than my first try & its follow-up.

Rin, drawing at Woodstar over some totally gorgeous mochas this afternoon.
(Drinking [Coffee] & Drawing Is Absolutely Allowed Here, BTW. Or Tea. Or Water. Or Juice. Or Soup. Whatever You Fancy.)
He claims he's going to post some of his always beautiful work here very soon.
I hope to god this is true, it's been way too long since the last time.

& Todd, in my kitchen last night, over broccoli & garlic & brown basmati rice & mesculin mix salad.
(the girl who loves bacon & cheese the MOST, cooking for a vegan. But at least I'm creative & I do love vegetables).

I'm still the food artist around here, but I think my people skills are improving.
Slightly.
(yep, the irony in that sentence was intentional).

Ok, Ok, So You Really Don't Suck That Much.

Plenty Of Perfectly Fine Things DO Happen In South Deerfield, It Turns Out.

Like this breakfast sandwich, previously seen taking on a starring role in this comic, from the lovely Go Nomad Cafe.

& Then there's the beauty of a drive on 116 through Sunderland on a perfect mid-September afternoon. That's good too.

I think I'm going to be taking a bit of a break from the bar, so my content for at least foreseeable future may be a lot more of the sandwiches, coffee cups, & mountains variety & less of the PBR & dancing.
But I'll still try to keep things interesting.

What's The Subtext?

Sometimes there really isn't any.
You may be imagining the messages laced into the drawings. A drawing is just a drawing is just a drawing is just a drawing.
To explain it too much makes it a novel.

A drawing that doesn't mean what you think it does.

(this drawing is complicated) & what I ate while drawing it, from DnD dinner 9.16.09 with beth.

(I was crying while I ate this, but not about what you think)
Seriously, we all got our shit,
but you dance, you cry, you breathe, you try to be open & accept things, & you appreciate the people who let you cry & also are thrilled by glitter flowers.
& you draw, above all else.

Are You Way Too Picky When It Comes To Guys?

Answer= Hells, No.

Another lovely DnD dinner with Beth.
(broccoli, cream sauce, papparedelle)

Here are her spectacular, much appreciated contributions:
(this from the girl who says she can't draw, no way)

the whole thing about the whole thing

(happy birthday, lady)(glitter flowers)

thanks to the modern wonders of the hairdryer & the scanner, both located currently in my room,
this fabulous drawing is now on the internet.

& my contribution this evening, beth drawing.

& then we did a COSMO quiz, that classic DnD activity.

I still don't think we are too picky, just awesome.

Not A Care, This Teenage Queen.

It's Not Always Fun & Games Around Here At DnD, But It's Always An Adventure. (& By ADVENTURE, I Mean We Can Find ART In The Worst Of Situations,
THAT'S WHAT WE DO.)

A recent nightmare.

My version...

...of this list.

Then Johnny Cash plays pleasantly in Woodstar on a perfect September morning,

& some valuable advice upon which to conclude a sketchbook begun in
Asheville, NC.

Instead of bad decisions,
just DRAW SOMETHING.

Look Out. This Could Happen To You.

See, I told you DnD was contagious.

Now Hillary's doing it too.

It's Getting Very Interesting At The Grocery Store, If This Is What We Do There. First Beth, now Hillary.

ARE YOU NEXT ?
LOOK OUT.

This Is A Bad Place To Be With Something To Think About.

(Yes I Borrowed That Title)
Still More Comics From The Grocery Aisles.
Yup.
Work just hasn't gotten anymore interesting.
So certain old memories are being relived,
in the classic "comics on old sales flyer scrap paper drawn in between transactions" format.
Today's version:

"What Happened A Year Ago:
A Story Not Unrelated To The Grocery Store"
a shared favourite song plays miraculously while ordering sierra nevadas at the iron horse & sharing origin stories.

A conversation goes on too long & is way too meaningful, two nights in a row & a trust is built on a shared love of particular condiments.

the first time, & then again. & a birthday party that really wasn't but at least there were sparkling lights, a corsage of sorts, & rock music back when I enjoyed that sort of thing.
& late night diner visits almost never go wrong for me.

a day together & a beginning, or at least the promise of one. & where I met one of the best breakfast sandwiches I have ever known. & had a pretty perfect birthday.
Even if you still suck, South Deerfield.

a leap of faith, & a month or so of perfect sundays.

there was definitely more. is definitely more to come.
this is where "this is different this is special" came from.
this is what I think about at work.