DELAYED UNTIL FURTHER CHALK DELIVERIES

Gah. I know. I'm late on the Halloween posts.

Sadly, I'm running low on vital colors (esp. black) and as I live in a remote wasteland devoid of all art appreciation (South Side wat upppppppp!!!!), I can only get more chalks if I go downtown to the big art store. And it's cold outside.

I'm hoping that perhaps tomorrow I can make it to the store to restock, but maybe don't hold your breath for a new muralcle until Monday (but why would you be holding your breath about new drawings? That's just weird).

Until then, enjoy this personification of pastels I wish I had!

Dia de los Muertos

Congratulations on making it halfway through this ridiculous journey of mine!

I'm still out of black chalk and I won't be able to make a run to the art store for a few more days, so I'm continuing my "large swaths of white space" drawings! Today: a skull for Dia de los Muertos!

I remember studying this in Spanish class in high school, eating sugar skulls and watching a documentary about people partying it up in a graveyard. Good times!

This muralcle was a lot of fun. I started with a badass skull drawing by the crazy-talented Thaneeya McArdle, but after I outlined and did the eyes and nose, I decided I wanted to decorate the rest of the skull completely freehand. I got to try out my totally awesome new neon Crayola sidewalk chalks and two hours later ended up with this technicolor beauty. Those eyes...mesmerizing...

Dave's first-view reaction: Spooky!

Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark

Continuing my theme of scary stuff, books, and wildly-inpropriate-but-still-intended-for-children material, here's Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark!

The book kids read when Goosebumps just wouldn't cut it, Scary Stories was legitimately terrifying. I mean, one of the stories is where a girl wakes up with a pimple and then SPIDERS CRAWL OUT OF HER FACE.

And the illustrations. Oof. So, while I was drawing this, first I laid down the white background, and then I went back and highlighted a few parts again in white, so that the weird skeleton ghost face was juuuuust barely visible. It was the first time during this whole project that something I drew actually terrified me.

Dave's first-view reaction: [silence. walks away. "No reaction? I slaved over this and you don't give me anything?"] Wha?

The Walking Dead

Did you watch? You watched! DON'T TELL ME WHAT HAPPENED I'M STILL CATCHING UP.

To celebrate The Walking Dead's season premiere, today's muralcle is for the zombies walkers! I LOVE this show, although I just got into it a few months ago. I used to watch it while doing cardio exercises in my living room because every time a walker showed up on screen, I'd start going faster. I am one season behind and saving the next one until Dave and I can actually sit down and watch together.

This muralcle was soooo fun! Also: very long. I started with the white background and lettering, which took me, no joke, an hour. Rick and his guns took half an hour, and another half hour for the walkers. This is, of course, the cover to the very first Walking Dead comic, slightly simplified by my chalks. The walkers, for example, are a lot more detailed in the original image, but here I made them simpler and sketchier, which I actually like a lot.

Okay, I'm off to start season threeeee!!!

Dave's first-view reaction: WOAH. It was a book?

Witchy Pin Up Girl

Halloween pin up! This is the most risque the chalkboard wall has gotten since Les demoiselles. But also: how cute is she?! I would like someone to find me a pair of those swoopy black heels. Also, navy blue bustier dress. Also, sheer black puff-sleeve coat. (also, flying broomstick)

I tried my hardest to get her saucy look just right, but a time crunch plus the usual limitations of chalk meant she looks a little less devious than in the original image.* Still: so witchy! 

Dave's first-view reaction: Hey, sexy lady. ["Is that all you have to say?"] Hmmm... Very sexy lady.


*Which was itself a painting of an actual photo. That lady is someone's grandma. Just sayin.

Goosebumps

Happy Halloween, millenials! Today's muralcle is just for you!

Yes, it's GOOSEBUMPS! The best middle grade bump-in-the-night series ever. I can remember the fights and sobbing at school over who would be the first to take the latest Goosebumps out from the library. And they're AWESOME. I especially love how increasingly ridiculous the monsters got, as though you could literally see R.L. Stine looking around his house at random objects. I mean, camera? Typewriter? Expired tanning lotion? These are all 100% true villains of various Goosebumps stories.*

Side story! When I was twelve years old, I went to a fancy children's costume party (at Embassy Suites!!!) dressed as Kat from It Came from Beneath the Sink! What's that you say? You don't remember Kat? That is correct, because she is in fact not a monster, she is a 12-year-old girl who discovers an evil sponge beneath her sink, otherwise known as the worst costume in existence. I dressed as...a 12-year-old girl, which is to say, myself, and I carried a sponge around in a plastic container marked "evil."

I wish I could say I was making this up. Or even doing it ironically. I am not, and I was not. For two hours I heard every iteration of "Ooohhh... Did you forget your costume?" imaginable. Still don't know what I was thinking...

Dave's first-view reaction: Goosebumps! I'll look at your drawing in one day. [???] Because I used to read these books in one day. [?!?!] Get it? GET IT?**

*For those who don't have an encyclopedic knowledge of the series, that would be Say Cheese and Die, The Blob That Ate Everyone, and My Hairiest Adventure.

**Nope.

Dracula

Long before there were sparklvamps and Buffy, there was Bela Lugosi as Dracula. Admittedly, my Bela Lugosi knowledge mostly comes from old timey YouTube clips and that movie version of Plan Nine from Outer Space with Johnny Depp, but with all the vampires biting (pun!) through pop culture these days, it's nice to know the roots.

This muralcle was so fun! I've wanted to do a life size muralcle for a while, and as soon as I saw this photo of Lugosi, I knew it was perfect. Click through for a photo of Dracula menacing our dog!

Dave's first-view reaction: Whoa! Muuwahahah!!!

Young Frankenstein

It's aliiiiiiiive!!! IT'S ALIIIIIVEEE!!! IT'S-- okay. Here is where I admit  that I haven't seen Young Frankenstein. I know! It's terrible. What am I even doing drawing this muralcle?

If I really had my stuff together, I would use this as an opportunity to watch it, a la, Die Hard, which turned out to be the best decision of my holiday season. If I really had my stuff together, I would have watched it while I was doing this muralcle. And yet...

But I'll watch it! For real. Until then, I'm enjoying imagining various scenarios involving Gene Wilder as a mad scientist and a top-hat-wearing Frankenstein (some sort of Eastern European gala ball?).

Dave's first-view reaction: [slow claps] ["You know, I haven't seen it."] Oh, hey, me neither. Can we watch it? ["Sure."] [fist pump]

How Hallowe'eny!

Witch! Two cutie vintage babies! I am sleepy and want to do something else now.

Dave's first-view reaction: Good graysh witch! Graaayshush... Grshhuss... Good grshhh... Huh. That's hard to say.

Nightmare Before Christmas (Halloween Edition)

It's my second Nightmare Before Christmas muralcle! This time, focusing more on the nightmare than the Christmas. Since I already did Jack Skellington, I decided to do this muralcle featuring my favorite crazy trick-o-treaters, Lock, Shock, and Barrel!

I love these three, especially how they are so weird and immoral that they scare the already weird and immoral residents of Halloweentown. And although they are psychopathic monster children kidnappers (twice!), they're just so gosh darn adorable.

This muralcle was tough to pull off. Surprisingly, I couldn't find any great photos of these three,* and the only one I could find was weirdly cut off and so dark that I had to fudge the colors. But, I gotta love the clay-maysh: they always come out looking eerily 3D.

Dave's first-view reaction: Awww, they're so cute and creepy!


*Unless you count this borderline sexy fan reimagining...

The Gashlycrumb Tinies

A is for Amy who fell down the stairs
B is for Basil assaulted by bears
C is for Clara who wasted away
D is for Desmond thrown out of a sleigh...

I'm following up yesterday's Addams Family muralcle with another spooky cartoonist, Edward Gorey! I had a lot of great choices for a Gorey-themed muralcle, but ultimately I decided to go with the world's most inappropriate picture book, The Gashlycrumb Tinies.

So many adorable children! So many terrible accidents! Such deadpan little faces, subconsciously aware of their fates...

I really loved the grayscale on this picture. It's my first muralcle that was just black, white, and gray, and it was fun keeping things to such a limited palate, especially after the color-bomb that was yesterday. Also loved debonair Death with his umbrella and floating scarf. Not to mention the kids' perfect little Brit-tot outfits.

Dave's first-view reaction: Awww. That's so cute. ["Really?"] Yeah. ["Do you know what The Gashlycrumb Tinies is about?"] No... It's something bad, isn't it? Please don't tell me. I don't want to know what happens to those kids.

The Addams Family

Duh-duh-duh-duh [snap snap], duh-duh-duh-duh [snap snap], duh-duh-duh-duh, duh-duh-duh-duh, duh-duh-duh-duh [snap snap]

I could go on, but...you get the picture. Yes, they're all together ookie, the Addams Family! Although the 90s movies will always hold a place in my heart,* I decided to go with the original Charles Addams cartoon, which I actually used to read as a kid and which is actually very funny (and completely not appropriate for children).

This muralcle was soooo much fun! I thought it would be a quick, cute little drawing, but it ended up taking something, like, three hours from start to finish. Still, so fun! I think because it was colorful and yet still relatively simple, and because it turned out just the way I hoped. Plus, Lurch's expression made me laugh out loud.

Dave's first-view reaction: What a creepy family! [pause] That kid on the side looks like Bob's Burgers.**


*Wednesday Addams, you are my spirit animal
**He's got a point.

Norman Rockwell Halloween

My last foray into Norman Rockwell territory did not go well, but when I saw this uh-dorable Halloween-themed cover, I knew it had to have a place in the countdown. As usual, love all the details, from the peek of poofed-out pink dress under the sheet to the dog's happy waggy tail. The original, which feature more chalkboard-unfriendly details, is also worth a look, just to see the old guy's spectacles flying off his face (he is also decidedly less rotund than in this picture).

I also love this picture because it reminds me of an age-old saying: "When a little kid tries to scare you by dressing like a ghost and shoving a Jack-o-lantern in your face, you freak out."

Dave's first-view reaction: Huh. What's goin' on here? ["Well, there's a little girl, and she's dressed up as a ghost, and she's scaring that old guy. I mean, sort of scaring. He's being a good sport about it."] What about the dog? ["He's just hanging out, being happy."] Just like our dog!

Night of the Living Dead

"Baaaaaaarbraaaa... They're cooooooming for yooooou!"

Ah! I love this movie so much. The original zombie flik, it's one of those old horror movies that is just as creepy and entertaining today as it was back in the sixties (I mean, I assume). Also, how awesome is Ben, the preternaturally calm, resourceful, and damn likeable hero?* And how annoying is Barbra? I mean, I get that when your weird brother turns into a zombie, that's sort of a traumatic thing to deal with, but can't you even put on your own not-sensible shoes?

I try to convert as many people as possible to Night of the Living Dead, although it's not easy. In college, I found a VHS copy** and got Dave and his roommates to watch all of fifteen minutes of it before they decided that "fear is not really an emotion that should be encouraged." As a compromise, they let it play in the background of our Halloween party, partially obscured by a sheet so that all you could see were shadowy blobs trying to eat each other. Actually, pretty scary.

This was another lickety-split muralcle, and despite how simple it is, I love it! Creepy zombie little girl, complete with dead eye and prim Peter-Pan collar. It's a little hard to tell from the picture, but it's also HUGE, taking up more than half of the chalkboard wall, and every time I look over it's like this giant, green, floating head staring back at me.

Dave's first-view reaction: Woah. That is creepy. I got the shivers.


*Spoiler alert! Highlight for more Ben-related thoughts: OH EM GEEEE HOW CRAZY IS IT THAT HE GETS SHOT AT THE END?!?! I mean, really, all the crap he goes through and survives (like a badass, I might add), and then he gets shot by a bunch of rednecks?! Maybe the only horror movie ever that is more heartbreaking than it is scary. UGH.
**I'm not actually as old as that sentence makes me sound.

HALLOWEEN

Halloween madness continues with Halloween!* The movie that was so proud it managed to snag its name that it repeated it ten times.

I actually saw Halloween for the very first time last year and it was soooooo sweet! Little Jamie Lee Curtis! Crazy little psycho kid! William Shatner mask! Adorable.

And, I'll admit, this muralcle is also sort of a ploy to ease into the Halloween season, since it's just, like, hand, knife, crazy pumpkin face, letters. Which means: forty-five minutes! A new muralcle record!

Dave's first-view reaction: ["Hey, what was your reaction?"] What's it from? ["Halloween."] ??? ["You know, Jamie Lee Curtis, Michael Myers, weird white mask." *stabbing motions*] Is it scary? ["Meh."] Haven't seen it.

*Reader PSA! Although I have very strict guidelines from Dave about what is and is not chalkboard-wall-appropriate for this Halloween countdown, there will be a few muralcles that probably aren't so kiddo-friendly.

It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown!

“What if I did a countdown to Halloween?”

“No.”

“I think it could be fun.”

“No.”

“It wouldn’t have to be all bloody and gory. It would be cool!”

“No. I don’t want anything scary on the wall.”

“But, It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown! Nightmare Before Christmas! SIMPSONS TREEHOUSE OF HORROR!”

[sigh] “Okay, fine. But I don’t want to see Chucky or anything.”

"Well that would be ridiculous. It's not even Halloween-themed."

And that, folks, is how I got Dave to agree to a Halloween countdown on the chalkboard wall!

See, all summer I've been busy with family visits, road trips, and editing my manuscript,*  but in the last few days, I turned in my last edits, we made it home, and Chicago got cold enough to ensure our family won't be coming to visit for at least eight more months. 

So what do I do with all this free time? Let's see what the puppy says:

TUG TOY FOREVERRRRR

Nope! Thirty-one chalkboard drawings, all counting down to one of my favorite holidays, Halloween.

I'm starting with a heavy-hitter, It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown! As usual, despite having Charlie Brown's name in the title, this is all Linus's show, as he waits in the pumpkin patch for the Great Pumpkin to arrive (metaphor? kids' cartoons shouldn't be this existential). 

I melded this image together from two separate images, which is why there's a Charlie Brown on the left AND ALSO a kid wearing a ghost costume filled with holes, which fans know is the costume worn by, who else?, Charlie Brown! Yes, there is a metaphysical mystery in the chalkboard muralcle. This does not bode well for the next thirty days...

Dave's first-view reaction: Nice, love.**

SO MANY MORE PHOTOS AFTER THE JUMP!!!!

*Hey, I have a real job! Or as much as you can call "sitting in my pajamas writing about history and magic" a "real job."

**Setting a low bar. Strategic.

The Great Wave off Kanagawa

This is pretty much as close as I'm going to get to a summer-themed chalkboard muralcle. Instead of those little fishermen clinging to their boats for their lives, try to imagine them chilling with their swim trunks and flippie-floppies.

Oh man. It has been a crazy summer and I barely had the energy to do another muralcle, so I'm glad I went with this one. Big, bold colors, lots of white space, a subtle background that even my little chalks could replicate--just what I needed.

I do wish my blues had been a little closer to the original, which are more ultramarine and complement each other better. This is also one of those muralcles that looks better in the photos than in real life (yay...), and until I saw the pictures, I wasn't sure how happy I was with it.

Still, it was nice and easy, sort of relaxing, and now my chalkboard looks sort of beach-y (look! the ocean!). I should do all my muralcles after 19th century woodblocks.

Dave's first-view reaction: Oh I like it. Did Dr. Seuss take inspiration from this? (wha?) Doesn't it look like a scene from a Dr. Seuss book? ... You don't have to put this whole conversation on your blog, I'm just asking.

Christina's World

Poor Rousseau. The lion and the gypsy only stayed on the chalkboard wall for two weeks before they were unceremoniously wiped to make room for a pie menu for our pie party last weekend (verdict: seven pies = success).

My favorite of the night: Lemon Cheese, but the Cherry went the quickest

When it came time to put a new drawing on the wall, I debated a bit. I just went to the Art Institute and I love George Seurat's A Sunday on the Island of La Grande Jatte. At first I thought the chalk might do a good job mimicking the pastels, and then I actually looked at how riDICulously complicated it was and laughed and laughed and laughed.

Instead, I chose one of my all-time favorite paintings, Christina's World, by Andrew Wyeth. This painting is actually one of the first that I thought of when I decided to do art-inspired chalkboard drawings. I first remember seeing it in a book about composition, how to use natural eye-tracking movement to properly construct a scene. Christina's World was a textbook example of circular composition, from the curve of the woman's body up to the tire marks, the houses, the sky, and the bend of the fields.

I just love this--the dense, dry field, the stark farmhouses, the woman digging her fingers into the dirt to crawl across the field. It's amazing and beautiful and I was really excited to put it on the wall.

But, in retrospect, it was probably a little too late when I started and I was probably a little too tired to do it justice. Those big swaths of field made me a little crazy (hatch marks! so many hatch marks!), and my projector wasn't working right so the colors turned out a bit wonky (in the painting, her dress is a lovely pale pink, but my projector made it look like a Barbie convertible). I'd saved the figure for the last, thinking I'd get the the tedious stuff out of the way so I could concentrate, but after two hours of dink-dink-dink-dink against the chalkboard, I was exhausted and just had enough time to roughly block things out before bed.

So, my little chalkboard rendition isn't quite as fragile or subtle as the original, but I still like how all the elements came together in the end.

Dave's first-view reaction: Impressive! Don't erase it before I come home. [that would be in two weeks. Not, like, an hour]

The Sleeping Gypsy

Although I really liked having Les demoiselles on the wall for the past month, we're having a lot of visitors to the apartment in the next few weeks, and several naked prostitutes is not really the "welcome to our home" look we're going for, especially in regards to our three-year-old nephew and one-year-old niece.*

So, I wanted something kid-friendly (sorry Frida Kahlo) but nothing too boring, and I thought immediately of Henri Rousseau's The Sleeping Gypsy. I've always loved how bright and colorful this painting is. It almost feels like something out of a picture book, but it's quite a complicated painting with really interesting colors.

Oh, colors. Sometimes I feel like I should quit trying to replicate oil paintings with my little chalkboard and just stick to works rendered in chalk--it's just tougher to blend colors together. Although here I was pretty happy with how it turned out, the original sky is just so lovely and I was disappointed I wasn't able to capture it exactly.

Still, it was a lot of fun to draw, especially the gypsy woman's multi-colored robe and purple hair, and I loved taking a closer look at the details, like her peaceful expression or the lion's big, wide-open eye. Here's hoping the kiddos enjoy it too.

Dave's first-view response: (Hmm... I don't remember, because he was in the apartment the whole time I was drawing. Actually, he was asleep on the couch and at one point I looked over and saw our dog standing over him and sniffing his face. It was pretty surreal/awesome)

*I told Dave I wanted to avoid a "Have you ever seen a grown man naked?" moment. The reference was greatly appreciated.

Les Demoiselles d'Avignon

With Chicago finally in bloom, I thought it was time to switch out the sunflowers from the chalkboard for a new drawing.

This time I asked Dave what should go onto the wall--"something modern. Like cubism. Picasso."--and after a brief debate about which painting to pick (Guernica, although lovely and beautiful, was nixed for being too damn depressing. Also, I don't have that many grays.), we settled on Picasso's cubist/primitivist portrait of five ladies from a Barcelona brothel, Les Demoiselles d'Avignon.

I really enjoyed drawing this one! I was nervous, like with Sunflowers, that chalk wouldn't be the best to translate the work, but while I had to ditch some of the lovelier details, for the most part I like the overall effect. It was fun working with a twisted perspective, and even my dopey little chalks could passably mimic Picasso's beautiful color scheme.

Dave's first view reaction: Nice ladies.

More pictures after the jump!

Spring Cleaning and Spring Flowers

It's Spring in Chicago, according to the calendar and not at all the actual temperature/weather!

To celebrate, I thought I'd kick off a new project here on the blog. First of all, you might have noticed that the web address and title of the blog have changed, from It's a Christmas Muralcle! to It's a Chalkboard Muralcle!

That's because after the Valentine's countdown, I realized that I wanted to do more with our chalkboard wall, but countdowns to Easter and the Fourth of July didn't sound super appealing.

I thought about what I might like to have on my wall for a long time, something I wouldn't get sick of for a few weeks. The solution: art! Once upon a time I studied art history and I'm still fond of losing myself in museums from time to time. This new version of the blog will feature my favorite works of art--paintings, sculptures, architecture, from pre-Civilation to post-Modern--simplified into chalk.

For today's mural, and the first day of Spring, I thought I'd celebrate with some lovely flowers: Vincent Van Gogh's Sunflowers (Munich version).

This was tricky! Oil paint doesn't translate super well into chalk, and I had to lose a lot of the beautiful brushwork that characterizes Van Gogh's style. I also don't have quite as nice a range of colors to work with, and chalk isn't the easiest to blend. Still, I'm pretty happy with how it turned out!

Dave's first-view reaction: Nice job, love! Do you feel like you understand the painting better now?*


*That is such an adorably nerdy question, and the answer is yes, I do. I never realized, for example, just how off-kilter the painting is, with all that blank space on the left and the flowers actually going off the canvas on the upper right. And the yellows, holy crow the yellows. So super gorgeous, so subtle in their gradations.

It Figures

After missing the last few days (it's been a crazy week), I knew I had to go all-out for the last Valentine muralcle of the season, and here it is! My vintage-Valentine tribute to my own special Valentine (and resident economist).

For the first time ever, I drew an original drawing and used that as the basis for the muralcle (okay, I borrowed the stance from this Valentine BUT STILL). It was fun! And I enjoyed figuring out the right colors on my own. Plus, I got to flex my (obviously considerable) pun-making muscles, and reinterpret the Mac in chalk (try not to look too closely at the perspective on that thing).


Dave's first-view reaction: Wait, is that-- That's not from the fifties, right?*


*He did eventually get it. "Don't you recognize the boy? And the clothes? And the little laptop? And the puns?!"

It's No Mystery

Drawing this muralcle was made notably easier by Dave's trip out to Blick's today, to replenish my collection of skin tones and red (see how I was able to actually fill it out this time?). I, for one, can't believe that the Valentines countdown is almost at an end, with only three (!!!) more drawings before I throw in the chalk-stained towel for the foreseeable future (don't be expectin' no COUNTDOWN TO PRESIDENTS DAY!*.

So enjoy today's Sherlocky Valentine, complete with bright reds and pigeon toes!

Dave's first-view reaction: Are you trying to tell me something by putting a little puppy in the corner?**


*Although...
**I really wasn't. The great "should we get a dog" debate is still very much underway, and I can't decide if the week we've just spend dog-sitting helped or hindered the "let's get a dog!" camp. Exhibit A: this photo of Dave with the rent-a-dog, which shows both her sweet if sort of annoying and uncomfortable desire for Dave's attention and Dave's mild resignation of said attention.

You Suit Me To a Tea

I love tea. And I am very particular about it. It has to be made in the exact correct way* or I get grumpy and then Dave makes fun of me ("The water is boiling! Why haven't you poured it yet?! POUR THE WATER!!!!"). We have a very sweet little tea set that I had to fight to get onto our wedding registry, and I use it every single day. For years, I used to carry extra teabags in my purse in case we traveled and I couldn't find my favorite tea. One of my favorite gifts ever is a bag of very nice tea leaves (warm and rich with a subtle smoky flavor).

I'm just saying. Tea is pretty great.**

Dave's first-view reaction: You suit me to a tea? ["Yeah. Does this make you want to drink tea?" Thinks for a moment.] No.


*Pour boiling water over teabag (honey optional), then add milk. NOT water and then add the teabag. And don't even get me started on adding milk before you add water.
**These Valentines won't all be just my favorite things, anthropomorphized and decorated with puns, mostly because in the '50s they didn't have iPhones or episodes of Park and Rec.

You're Just My Type! UPDATE: Now With Video!

I have a thing for typewriters. Part of that is because I am, technically, professionally, a writer. But also, let's be serious here: they're soooo cool. I have a mint-green Hermes, a "I support you trying to write a novel" present from Dave. And it's wonderful. If I had the technical know-how, I would totally try to rig up one of those typewriter-laptop hybrids. Sadly, I have to get my typewriter jollies from vintage novelty cartoons...LIKE SO.

Dave's first-view reaction: She looks like Betty Boop.*


*Don't they all?

Orange You My Valentine?

More anthropomorphized food! I wasn't sure if I would do this one, because when you picture an orange wooing a lemon (as we all do, from time to time), it's sort of morbid to put them on top of a juicer. Ooooh, unless they're suggesting making orange-flavored lemonade (lemon-flavored orange juice?). That actually sounds really good.

Dave's first-view reaction: Why do all these cartoons meet such gruesome ends?

Hope This Hits the Spot

As a former archer, I knew I would somehow have to shoehorn a bow and arrow into this project. It proved surprisingly difficult to find an archer Valentine that didn't include either Cupid or horrendously insensitive racial tropes, so I was very pleased to find this one.

UGH these little cartoons are TOO adorable. His itty-bitty bow! His quiver! His apple cheeks! And don't get me started on the little girl's heart-patterned dress. Modcloth, can you get on that, please?*

I was so overwhelmed by the cuteness I missed what Dave noticed right away, which is that the little boy is about to shoot the little girl with an arrow. Because nothing says young love like a Hunger Games style fight to the death.

Dave's first-view reaction: [silence. "What?" I ask.] It's just...it's kind of...["What?"] She's just standing there. Like she doesn't know what's going on. ["So?"] I mean, isn't he about to shoot her? [Oh. Hmm.]


*Thanks

Just Small Fry

No, you're not seeing things. What you have right here is a drawing of two eggs in a frying pan, surrounded by not one, not two, but THREE separate puns.

I'm incredibly fascinated by the writing of this Valentine, especially since they bypassed the more common forms of egg punnery (ie replace "ex" with "egg," making "egg-ceptional," "egg-cellent," "egg-sperimental physics," egg-cetera), beginning with a callback to the frying pan, proceeding on to the expected (egg-spected) "good egg" line, before hitting it out of the park with the surprising, evocative "heart of gold." Color me impressed.


Dave's first-view reaction: That's pretty punny.*

*It's gonna be a long two weeks.

You Keep Me On My Toes!

It's Day Two of "It's a Christmas Muralcle: Valentine's Day Edition!" I've already run out of red chalk and last night sliced off the tip of my middle finger in a mandolin*, so we're off to an excellent start!

As soon as I saw this sweet little ballerina, I knew that she would have a place on the board. Little tutu! Little ballet slippers! I. Died.

Side observations: How much do I love these easy-peasy cartoons? Answer: sooooo much. This lady got done in an hour, and I wasn't even moving fast. NO SHADING! NO SHADOWS! TYPOGRAPHY IN THE HANDWRITING OF A KINDERGARTENER! Why didn't I do this all Christmas?

Dave's first-view reaction: You keep me on my tooooes? You keep me on my TOES? What does that mean? Does that have another meaning?

*It went like this: "Oh, is this a mandolin? Cool! Can I try it?" "Well, okay, but be careful, because it's really sharp." "Don't worry, I'm really good with stuff like--oh, I just cut off my finger."

I YAM Crazy [to do this again] About You!

A few days ago, I took stock of my life. Things were going well. Some busy projects had wrapped up, I didn't have any travel plans, I was on top of my work. "Hmm..." I thought. "How can I ruin this?"

Yes, I'm back for another holiday countdown, and this time I'm bringin' the love with Valentine's Day. I missed the first two days of February because I realized this was a ridiculous thing to do poor scheduling! But I'll be back every day until Valentine's with another charming drawing.

I debated for a long time what to feature with these muralcles: cartoons? Movies? Fourteen different versions of Cupid? But in the end, I decided to go with a collection of my favorite vintage Valentine's, heavy on the puns, light on the unintentional double entendres.

First up, YAMS! IN LOVE! This is the kind of gold that dominated the market in the fifties. Your move, Hallmark.

Dave's first-view reaction: This is happening now?