Duet

Last week I got to see a presentation at the Museum of the Moving Image by one of my idols, legendary Disney animator Glen Keane. He gave a talk about his career and his new short film Duet. It was an amazing experience. He's been one of my heroes since I was a kid, and he's certainly one of the biggest influences on my drawing. I left feeling so inspired!

-Anna

Mahler

Quick little warm-down doodle. Over the past few weeks I've been going through all of Mahler's symphonies while working and it's been wonderful. They're super long, so it's taking me a while to digest them all.

-Anna

Pixie

Quick sketch dailies!

-Anna

Mistletoe

Christmas is coming! But before that, I'm off to England for a week. Jolly good!

-Anna

Anne Bonny

For sketch dailies! Fun fun.

-Anna

A Day with Neil and Amanda

I haven't updated in a month! That must be a record for me. I've been so busy with work that I haven't had much time to draw for fun, and since I can't post my work stuff I have nothing to post. I have done some doodling though, so here's a recent drawing for Sketch Dailies.

Last weekend I had the weird and wonderful opportunity to spend the day following around Neil Gaiman and Amanda Palmer. Neil has been one of my artistic heroes for years. I read Neverwhere just before starting college, and since then I've read nearly all of his novels. I used Stardust as the basis for a handful of illustrations in school. And last year he chose one of my pieces for his Calendar of Tales project (which of course I didn't mention to him, because AHH). So to say I'm a fan is... well, accurate.

It was surreal to get to spend a day with him. He's the quiet, introverted artist type, which makes it even more impressive how much he pushes himself to be appreciative and kind with his fans. And Amanda is super fun. I went in not knowing much about her (though I had watched her awesome Ted Talk when it was going around a few years ago and I had vague knowledge of The Dresden Dolls), so I wasn't sure what to expect. She's hilarious and fearless, and immediately puts you at ease... I came to really admire her. Plus, her eyebrows are excellent. Here's a photo I took with her phone.

Meeting your heroes doesn't have to be a disappointment! Sometimes, it's just wonderful.

-Anna

Exhibit

Some of my artwork is currently hanging on the walls at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology in Ithaca, NY. Design director Diane Teglassia-Hymes did a great job setting up the display... it's pretty cool to see my art on the walls like this!

-Anna