January Bottleship
Hey friends,
Long time no see! It's been a busy couple months—lots going on in the world, at home, and everywhere else. I hope you're all fighting the good fight and still finding ways to care for yourselves and each other. I've been on the road since December 2nd, and somehow my dedication to a less travel-ful 2017 isn't shaking out how I'd planned, but I'm feeling grounded and determined and nourished, even if I'm far from home.
I just wanted to share some things real quick before I drop off the map for the next five days and catch a bit of a break to explore the island of Hawai'i proper. Here's what's up:
- The biggest piece of news is that I'm in Hawai'i right now because I crossed a massive chunk of the Pacific Ocean on a research vessel! I had an incredible time learning about ocean floor mapping and playing with multibeam sonar and experiencing three weeks of open ocean. The comic from that trip is up now, thanks to my supporters on Patreon. I'm super delighted with how it came out—especially considering it was all drawn on a moving ship at sea. PHEW.
- [Sub-Item: if you're in Honolulu for whatever reason, my original artwork will be up at The ARTS at Marks Garage in Chinatown through February 3rd, along with pieces from other Artist-in-Residence participants.]
- Speaking of Patreon, my fantastic pal (and fellow Lady Washington tall ship sailor) Chris Schweizer is now on there, and in honor of his page launch I'm releasing an interview I recorded with him a couple months ago. We talk about all kinds of things including finances, living in rural areas vs. big cities, crafting historically-accurate comics, and what it takes to make it as a hotelier-turned-cartoonist. Chris is one of the smartest, kindest guys I know, and he's a huge boat nut. Do yourself a favor and check him out.
- After much demand I've opened a print shop where you can get lovely, high-quality prints of my tall ship paintings, tattoo guides, and other art pieces. They even come in all sorts of different sizes for all your nautical art needs.
- This Isaac Newton biography review by Maria Popova of Brain Pickings keeps rattling around my head. The notion that "knowledge progresses not toward the definitive but toward the infinite" completely captures my relationship to developing an artistic practice. (And, for that matter, to the challenges facing our planet today.) In the same piece, though, we grasp that "knowledge builds upon itself, incrementally improving upon existing ideas until the cumulative adds up to the revolutionary." Every step matters.
- Finally, I've been visiting a lot of school groups on this trip and talking about how I got where I am today in my career. This has cumulated in a couple essays on Tumblr about How I Convince People to Let Me Adventure on Their Boats and the bigger picture behind artistic development. It's so easy to just look at the present and neglect the fact that all these skills and opportunities comes from years of practice and luck and privilege and labor. Stay motivated, keep practicing.
<3
Lucy
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