Theo Ellsworth's Blog, page 80

In the house

I just finished these two drawings that are soon to become a postcard. I'll be giving them away with my book at conventions and including them in orders from my Etsy shop. The book itself is slowly making it's way to stores at this moment! I don't have my own copies quite yet, but you can get copies at the Secret Acres Emporium right now.  I'll have a list of bookstore appearances and conventions I'll be heading to over the next few months soon!

A History of Nonviolence

I've been meaning to write about this for awhile, but time keeps getting away from me.  A few months back, comics writer Caleb Monroe asked me to illustrate a 5 page comic for the Occupy Comics Anthology . It's being put out as a series of digital downloads, and will later be collected into a hardcover. I thought it would be a fun challenge since i've never illustrated a comic that wasn't written by me (with the exception of the Nursery Rhyme comics I did, which was written my "Anonymous"). Caleb Came up with the idea of doing a brief history of nonviolent movements, and I thought it was an exciting subject to cover. A lot had to be left out of course, but I got to learn some interesting things that I had no idea about. My wife helped me put together 14 pages of visual references (for a 5 page comic!) and I usually just draw from my head. It was both fun and difficult. Anyways, the story is in the first issue, if you want to see it. An art gallery in NYC called 41 Cooper Gallery  doing a show called Ruptures: Forms of Public Address, and they asked to use our comic in the show somehow. After thinking it over, we decided to have a zine version of the comic printed up and given away free to anyone who comes and sees the show. I thought that was pretty cool! The show runs from September 3rd to October 13.

I'm Back!

I'm back from my insane and wonderful adventures in New York and Maryland! Thank you everyone at Bergen Street Comics and The Small Press Expo for treating me so well and to everyone who came out to meet me.  I drew so many little characters in so many copies of The Understanding Monster, Book One and Capacity that I'm still seeing them every time I blink. It was definitely encouraging to meet so many people who read and think about comics. It was excellent getting to spend time with Barry and Leon, the good folks at Secret Acres. You can read a run down of the show over at their scuttlebut blog here.    

hundreds of miles

 I'm flying out really, really early in the morning for NYC. By the time I'm at the book release party at Bergen Street Comics, I'll probably look just like the logo design I made for them. Serious Mind Weather is in the forecast!

I'm thrilled to finally be making it back to SPX. It'll be the second time ever. The plan is to release each of the following installments of The Understanding Monster series at the next few Small Press Expos, so if all goes well, attending this show will become a new tradition for me. It'd be fun way to get to see the excellent folks at Secret Acres on a regular basis too.

Drawing Energy panel discussion!

This Sunday, 3pm at SPX I'll be taking part in a Panel discussion alongside cartoonists Michael DeForge, Hellen Jo, and Katie Skelly, headed up by the awesome Jim Rugg. They're all artists I admire, so it's going to be interesting  and fun to see where the discussion goes.

Cubee Craft Ghost Doctor

Secret Acres asked me to design a Cubee Craft paper cutout toy to go along with my book release. Anyone who picks up my book at the Bergen Street comics release party in Brooklyn this Thursday and at SPX in Bethesda, Maryland this weekend can take one home with them, assemble it, and enjoy the company of a cubed Ghost Doctor! It was a fun challenge making this. I want to make more now!

log bridge walking

Monsters, feeling good.

Book Release Party!

I'm flying out to New York City for  a book release party at Bergen Street Comics on September 13th! I'll be signing books, meeting people, and drinking various beverages all evening. If it's physically possible, please stop by! I've heard great things about Bergen Street Comics, so I'm excited to finally get to pay them a visit.

The house built itself