Small study of Frederick Varley’s Canadian Soldier, 1942. — Studies such as this one (of Varley’s original painting) inform my research and development for my large, multi-year graphic novel project, “Occupation: The Long Shadow.” This project centres mainly on my Norwegian grandfather’s written accounts of his time as a POW from 1942–45 in Norway, Germany,…
Category: China Marker Portraits
“… colors in a parched landscape.”
“Summer […] was a thousand colors in a parched landscape.” — Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird A contemplation in china and alcohol markers on newsprint. 16.5″ x 16.5″ (42 cm x 42 cm).
Sketches in Secret: Drawing, Resistance, and the Human Spirit
My quick study of one of Gunnar Bratlie’s sketches in his book, Skisser i smug: Glimt fra livet på Grini [Sketches in Secret: Glimpses of Life at Grini]. Oslo: Gyldendal Norsk Forlag, 1945. Gunnar Bratlie (1918–1990) was a Norwegian illustrator known for his book covers and illustrations, including the complete works of Selma Lagerlöf. —…
Micro-peek at Potato Nose: Narratio Retrógrada
“Everything has been thought of before, but the problem is to think of it again.” — Goethe Here is a micro-peek. Final art is nearly complete for Potato Nose: Narratio Retrógrada. Next stop: scanning, printing, and finally mailing copies to the Kickstarter backers! Potato Nose: Narratio Retrógrada is a 24-page, self-published, midi-size comic with a…
Rowan tree studies, Stanley Park
Rowan tree studies, at Park Lane and Lagoon Drive, Stanley Park, Vancouver, Canada I always stop for Rowan trees. They are particularly glorious right now in the park. Rowan reminds me to stand quiet for a moment in awe of all the magic both seen and unseen… to contemplate the whole world in a single…
Studio play: dance studies, cutouts, choreography
Today’s studio play: human figure/dance studies –> cutouts -> choreography while listening to The Catherine Wheel (David Byrne)
“The end is where we start from.” — T. S. Eliot.
“The end is where we start from.” — T. S. Eliot. As I enter cave time to work on a number of projects – with initial focus on completing the 24-page midi-size comic, “Potato Nose: Narratio Retrógrada” – I say “see ya” by sharing the back and front covers. The story starts in 2026, moves…
I sing [to my] body electric…
“I sing the body electric… To be surrounded by beautiful, curious, breathing, laughing flesh is enough…” – Walt Whitman My edit: “I sing [to my] body electric…To be surrounded by [my] [-], curious, breathing, laughing flesh is enough…” Why did I delete that one particular word in my edit? — This is one of several…
Temporal ambiguity…
The MRI, March 17, 2026. “Illness narratives do not always begin at the beginning.” — Catherine Kohler Riessman, “Ruptures and Sutures: Time, Audience and Identity in an Illness Narrative,” Sociology of Health & Illness, Vol. 37, No. 7 (2015) Experimenting with “temporal ambiguity” and messing around with imagery for my upcoming 24-page midi-size comic, Potato Nose:…
Ars longa, vita brevis (art is long, life is short)
Two years ago (July 2024) around this time, I was finishing up the artwork for my first graphic novel, Salt Green Death, which was released by Conundrum Press in May 2025. This past weekend, I completed the artwork for my second graphic novel, Full Bleed (a very special collaboration with writer Sea Conlin, scheduled for…
Unraveling knits… a recurring theme
“Pull a thread here and you’ll find it’s attached to the rest of the world.” — Nadeem Aslam Unraveling knits are a recurring theme in my work. Drawing them is a comforting, meditative process where perfection isn’t the goal. The realism is simply implied, leaving space for imagination.
… what the alcohol markers have left behind.
“To paint is to love again, live again, see again. To get up at the crack of dawn in order to take a peek at the water colors one did the day before… is like stealing a look at the beloved while she sleeps.” — Henry Miller I’m in the FINAL STRETCH of a collaborative…
“For these dead birds sigh a prayer.” – Shakespeare
This is my 12th year living a block from the heronry in Stanley Park. Each year cycle is a profound joy and awe for me. I love the hunched adults showing up on the apartment buildings in the neighbourhood, I love the gorgeous bare trees silhouetted against the sky and spotted with the stick sculptures…
Art is Practice. Practice is Art.
A contemplation on colour. Today I am playing with china markers, alcohol markers, and dabbing of ultra soft pan pastel (on my go-to paper choice, newsprint) as I explore how to colour pages for my upcoming self-published limited edition 16 page comic, “Potato Nose: Narratio Retrograda” (the prologue to my larger graphic novel project, Potato…
Listening Across Time: Portrait Studies for Occupation: The Long Shadow
As I sink deeper into the delicious research and development phase of my next large-scale non-fiction graphic novel, Occupation: The Long Shadow, I find myself using again quick portrait studies. These sketches are more than exercises in likeness. They become conversations with the dead, a way of listening across time. Recently, I completed studies of…
Spring Update: Endings, Beginnings, Explorations
Happy spring! Here in Vancouver’s West End, the ducklings and goslings are out, and the heron chicks are chirping away in their nests. It’s a beautiful season to be deep in creative work. Before I share project updates, that on May 4, my kids and I sadly said goodbye to our beautiful old Queen, Reina….
Sound collage to inspire creative process
“November 21, 1948” As I was creating my graphic novel, Salt Green Death (Conundrum Press 2025), I made a list of sounds corresponding to events that were happening (sounds I imagined happening internally and sounds I knew may be happening externally) on November 21, 1948 when Joseph O’Dwyer walked in a psychotic state across…
She is filled with secrets…
Laura Palmer (July 22, 1972 – February 24, 1989) In honour of Laura Palmer, central character in Twin Peaks, who disappeared on the night of 23 February 1989 [based original SEPTEMBER 12, 2017 post] I process my obsessions through creativity. And there was a lot to process when we have reached “the end” of Twin…
Behold the handmaid of the moon…
Hanora (Norah) Morriss O’Dwyer (February 19, 1900 – September 19, 1963 Released in May 2025 with Conundrum Press, Salt Green Death is my 21-year journey into the documented life of Joseph O’Dwyer (1929 – 1963). My graphic novel pieces together patient files, archival fragments, and historical research. While the book is Joseph’s story, today I (re)turn to the…
Notes from the Studio: Projects, Process, and What’s Ahead
I won’t go too deeply into what last year was like. It was an extreme year, marked by both real hardships and real gifts. There were intense highs and lows and moments of scarcity, but also the grounding presence of family, friends, creativity, and a surprising amount of travel. The artist’s struggle is alive and…
“When Death Comes…” (embroidered drawing preparation)
Mary Oliver, Poem 102: When Death Comes When death comes like the hungry bear in autumn; when death comes and takes all the bright coins from his purse to buy me, and snaps the purse shut; when death comes like the measle-pox; when death comes like an iceberg between the shoulder blades, …
Thank you for holding space for my creative chaos.
Feeling deeply grateful for all the incredible humans I have met, collaborated with, and been supported by in 2025. To all of you, and especially to my endlessly understanding family and friends, thank you for holding space for my creative chaos. Taking some time from the socials to OWL: Observe, Wait, Listen… You can always…
My subway card, 1977, Stockholm #potatonose
Mitt älskade Storstockholms Lokaltrafik (SL) 35-kronorskort från 1977. Halva priset jämfört med 70-kronorskortet som vuxna fick betala för. Tjockt lager med månadsklistermärken. Jag hade ett extra kort som jag mekade med för att komma in på klubbar som minderåriga i årskurs 11/12 i Vancouver. Jag pratade bara svenska och de släppte in mig! — —…
Graphic Medicine. Drawing it out releases me… #potatonose
Potato Nose: 1977, the graphic novel What is graphic medicine? ‘The intersection between the medium of comics and the discourse of healthcare’. — My new Kickstarter Campaign is now live and runs Oct 24 – Nov 20, 2025 Potato Nose: 1977, the graphic novel A tragicomic memoir of pubescent anxiety and ecstatic delusion “If you…
“Potato Nose gets frightfully romantic…”
My new Kickstarter Campaign is now live and runs Oct 24 – Nov 20, 2025!!! Potato Nose: 1977, the graphic novel A tragicomic memoir of pubescent anxiety and ecstatic delusion “If you read someone else’s diary, you get what you deserve.” ― David Sedaris It was a shock to the system for me to move…
Chewing on the importance of diary keeping #potatonose
I was headed to a middle school in New Westminster yesterday on the Skytrain (to facilitate a dialogue session with teachers on their School Growth Plan as they explored creatively – with pens and paper – how to make the plan more engaging and meaningful in the classroom). On the train, I was chewing over…
Tonight’s diary sketch. “I climb the ladder…”
An image came to mind today as I walked in the park… An image attempting to visualize both my internal weight and a concept for a simmering project. Tonight’s diary sketch captures partly the final image that I want to develop. I let the lines and watercolour be what they needed to be, without thought,…
Chanterelles, Lily of the Valley and daisies were her favourites…
I dedicated my graphic novel, Salt Green Death (Conundrum Press, 2025) to my parents (Karin Thorsen September 17 1936 – November 8 2008. Roar Thorsen August 8, 1930 – October 25 2012). Not only did my parents shape me (sculpting me into the strange rag doll I am today), and not only did their personal …
Fredrik Strömberg: journalist, author and academic
In English: Journal sketch of Fredrik Strömberg [drawn from his selfie as he stands in the Comics Archives – Seriearkivet in Malmö, Sweden.] As I reflect on this wild rollercoaster ride of the past year since Summer 2024, I pause at the extraordinary experience of attending STOCKHOLMS INTERNATIONELLA SERIEFESTIVAL 2025 (SIS25) back on May 24-25,…