LET ME BE FRANK

tUnE-yArDs in New Zealand!

Sarah Laing — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 20:06:43 +0000

Here is a clip from Tune-yards if you want to get an idea of what they’re about. Otto really loves this clip because ‘you can see the kids growing up.’

The sound of butterflies and crocodiles

Sarah Laing — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 08:53:19 +0000

Have you read Rachael King’s The Sound of Butterflies? It’s very good. So is Helen Lehndorf’s beautiful collection of poetry, The Comforter. And if you want a taste of what kind of music Mariani is making, here’s the link to her album of children’s music on Bandcamp. I had a look on Canta Conmigo’s facebook page and I realise she looks nothing like how I’ve drawn. I really have to take a drawing class… it’s been 16 years since my last one.

Comic, interrupted

Sarah Laing — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 06:41:38 +0000

The Cat

The library

The pimple

The writer

Jonathan has gone back to work and I am now looking after the children full-time. I don’t have much time to draw comics, nor to hold a continuous thought in my head, but today we all grew comics together. Violet did a series of scribbles (that’s Mr Big! There’s Violet!), Gus did a couple of speech bubbles which said ‘how long do cats live?’ and Otto did three issues of ‘Ninja Old Days.’

The Katherine Mansfield movie we saw was great – written and directed by Fiona Samuel, called ‘Bliss’. Although I now see from link searching that I didn’t need to rent it from the DVD store!

Bras and loathing in Newmarket

Sarah Laing — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 09:32:44 +0000

I am posting this comic at the risk of over-sharing, but let me assure you that I never draw myself accurately – it’s all ‘artist’s impression’ around here. Talking of bra shopping, graphic novelist Vanessa Davis has the opposite problem from me, as she so delightfully illustrates in the Tablet.

Insomnia

Sarah Laing — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 09:21:51 +0000

I was reading an interview with Casey from Fleet Foxes in Frankie magazine today, and he said that he was saving sleep for when he was older. I realised that although I am seduced by pictures of pretty frocked girls riding old-fashioned bicycles, I am not Frankie’s target demographic. I am ten years too old. I wanted to say ‘No, Casey! Sleep now! You might have kids later and then you’ll be wrecked. My mother says she hasn’t slept properly in 38 years!’

Talking of Fleet Foxes, I have a comic about them in the latest Metro magazine. You should buy it, or linger in a magazine store that stocks it. Here is a snippet:

Neighbours

Sarah Laing — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 09:22:08 +0000

You might notice that this post has an interesting effect. It’s because I thought it sucked and I tore it up. Which was very therapeutic at the time (those resonant ripping sounds! That slight resistance before my work was destroyed!) but I regretted it afterwards. So what if it sucked. This is a blog, a first draft, a thinking-out-loud, not a polished piece of work. I pieced the paper back together, which was also a satisfying act, then taped it and scanned it. I still think it needs work, but what the hell. Happy 2012! Expect more messy, half-finished work from me this year!

A trip to the café

Sarah Laing — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 23:26:27 +0000

Aah, school holidays. I’m not cut out for this. But luckily Jonathan is home for a few weeks now to take the pressure off, and he just got Violet to pick me a bouquet of dandelions. I hope you guys have a great break over the Christmas/New Year season! I will probably have to draw a comic or two as some kind of therapy.

A small tribute to Carmen

Sarah Laing — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 00:54:45 +0000

A few days ago, after I posted Drawing New Zealand cultural icons, my friend Drew suggested that I draw Carmen, the ‘Iconic New Zealand drag queen’ who died recently. So here she is. Not in her full technicolor splendour (come on, it’s the school holidays) but as good as I can draw in a few stolen hours.

In other news, Mike Peterson, who has the fabulous Comic Strip of the Day blog, has featured me today, along with his own story about people at parties giving him career advice.

What New Zealand needs

Sarah Laing — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 06:10:48 +0000

At the fair

Sarah Laing — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 01:18:47 +0000

I had the best of intentions of setting up a little online shop and selling my comics – but as you see, I have no aptitude for commerce. If you want to buy some comics off me, please email me (sarah@poppyshock.com) and I shall work over the weekend at that little shop idea. Here’s a picture of Otto’s monster comic – it’s a steal at $4 plus postage!