From the Sketchbook: Halloween

Also, I Cried at a Haunted Hayride

Halloween ain’t my vibe, really. I’ve always hated people having an excuse to wear a mask and act creepy in public, and only this year did I start to change my tune about it. This was only after encountering a treasure trove of decorations from the 1920’s-60’s that my brother-in-law scored at a sale. In these decorations, Halloween was cute––it was all smiling pumpkins and black cats, witches, moons and skeletons, owls and scarecrows and for whatever reason pirates.

A few days ago we went to go on a haunted hayride with some friends, which I figured would be lame and for babies (but also “fun” in that regard), but I ended up not even being able to bring myself to get into the truck of hay bales. After getting scared waiting in line by a very tall guy in a scary mask brandishing a (non-functioning) chainsaw at us, I knew it wasn’t for me. I waited for everyone in the food court where my brain began flipping out: there was nowhere for me to sit that wasn’t exposed and vulnerable to being scared by another costumed employee. There was no way for me to leave the park without having to go through the middle of it and encounter the chainsaw guys all over again. Thankfully we found a way out through an emergency exit, but I went into full panic when I realized I was trapped in the park, so to speak. I don’t know when Halloween made the switch from being haunted to being horror, but honestly I’d love for it to be lame again.

Here’s some sketchbook drawings (hastily colored in) to get you back in the cute sided spirit of the holiday. Technically these are from the little newsprint pad on the kitchen table and not my actual sketchbook, but hey, there’s no rules about where you can and can’t draw.

Ok technically these are autumnal, not Halloween. Those are quince ripening in the window.

Forgot what a seagull looks like

Clay often “requests” drawings. Here was “a bat carrying Seymour carrying a jack-o-lantern” and “a bubbling cauldron and also a spider”

IN OTHER NEWS:

2024 Calendar season is upon us. I’m happy to report that I’m in good company illustrating a month in Floss Editions’ Floss + Friends calendar. You can pre-order a copy for yourself here, and it will ship out in December.

Clay and his brother Wiley’s calendar is also available for pre-sale here. Don’t snooze on ‘em.

Back in touch next month with news of new holiday wares for sale.

-Liana