To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)

Atticus (Gregory Peck) and Scout (Mary Badham)
pencil and watercolor on moleskine watercolor paper

This film is an incredible adaptation of the book, of the same title, by Harper Lee. It's rare for a movie to accurately adapt a book, every reader envisions stories in their own way. But, the astounding cast gives a performance that's so grand and perfect that the author has for many years denied further performance in television or on stage for the production. And, it's no wonder, Gregory Peck is an amazing Atticus and the children seem cut from the pages from which their characters were created.

To Kill a Mockingbird is actually my favorite book (A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith sometimes rivals it and I've often said that I think it was Lee's inspiration). Over the summer, a good friend took me to see a very good stage production of it in Stratford, Ontario where we wept with great love and sadness in our balcony seats.

Though I loved it and this film, I think I'd very much like to see a newer version brought to screen... and in my wildest dreams, I'd love to do a graphic novel adaption.


Tom Robinson (Brock Peters) and Boo Radley (Robert Duval)
watercolor and sumi brushpen on sketchpaper


Cal (Estelle Stevens), Jem (Philip Alford), and Scout (Mary Badham)
grey marker and watercolor on sketchpaper

Finally, FACEBOOK.

Like I need another thing to join! But, I shall do it for Mr. Sebastien... and you. Feel free to click the badge.

MARKETING mock-up

I'm a graphic designer this week.

Photo on left is vector-illustrator Maia Valenzuela. On the right is EATER, which I swiped from Brooksbaum.

The Prince and the Showgirl (1957)

This is referenced from a still in that WB Anniversary book I keep sketching from and is also a part of a continuing, occasional, challenge for myself to 1) watercolor; and 2) sketch Marilyn Monroe.

She's an elusive subject, as everything ever written about her has stated. There are many elements to her that I'd like to capture: to make her bombshell blonde sexy, while retaining the charming sweetness of her. Plus, every feature of hers seems so perfectly set, that even the slightest mistake or alteration makes the drawing look like an image of a cheap Hollywood Marilyn impersonator. As seen below, in some sketching I did of her when I first started this art exercise some time ago.



I can at least take some pride in that I've come a bit of way since then...

Thursday's Child

The Halloween Decorations went up... and might be coming down.

My kid just started a small tumbling class at a gymnastics center just
a few blocks down the street. She enjoys it very much.

Her leotard has silver and blue stars all over it and
she calls it her "Wonder Woman Suit".

It's a nice way to spend an afternoon.

Paper doll me

Johnny & paper doll Me & actual Me, originally uploaded by christinenorrie.

DESKSET! Today my desk is at the coffee shop.

This is a paper doll version of myself drawn last winter for a funny idea I had to catalog all my clothes. So, instead of standing in front of closet or digging through drawers trying to find a decent outfit, i just consult amazing paper wardrobe! It was a good idea...

BREAKING UP Nominated!

Aimee and I were so happy to receive the news that our little book, BREAKING UP, was nominated as one of the Great Graphic Novels for Teens, in the fiction category, by the Young Adult Services of the American Library Association.

Please read the full list of books of the other distinguished nominees and congratulations to all!


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Now playing: Cold War Kids - Hair Down
via FoxyTunes

Blade Runner (1982)

It rained this past Friday night when a friend and I went to see Blade Runner - The Final Cut at The Ziegfeld.

To say it's made a meaningful impression on my entertainment tastes is putting it mildly. I think I first saw it when I was ten, when it seemed to air every weekend at my best friend's house on Showtime or HBO. We'd pile pillows on the floor, pull a blanket up to our necks and be whisked away to another world. This would become a double-feature ritual when we discovered Alien.

Years later, a VHS copy would become a permanent fixture in my VCR during teen parties when we'd mute the volume, keep the Blade Runner running, as we listened to mix tapes (Peter Murphy, Siouxsie, Joy Division, Smiths, Nine Inch Nails, etc.) Then in 1992, and an apartment of my own behind The Hi-Pointe Theatre, I saw the re-release with my then boyfriend.

I was excited, of course, to see the movie on the screen again. But, it'd been fifteen years since I saw it last... I grew increasingly happy as we ate dinner, picked up our tickets, bought popcorn, and sat in our seats. Then the red curtains pulled away for the screen and I held my breath.

I may love it more now than at any other time. The restoration is incredible, the print is gorgeous and the 'fixes' are a nice and loving attention to detail that's made it that much richer. Despite having seen it more times than I can count, I'm still moved. The moral values of the themes remain thoughtful, insightful, and relevant-- slavery, corporatism, and technology. (However, with some years behind me, I find myself somewhat disturbed by the romantic relationship of Deckard and Rachel, but I need to digest that one a bit more.)

In any case, I'm so very glad to have seen it, it's a grand version and an important film.

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NOTE: These Blade Runner sketches here were done in grey marker and brush pen. I've recently been posting sketches on the subject of films as an art exercise. They are meant to be done quickly and are done in ink only.

365 Reasons to Love Comics #278

Brian Cronin of Comic Book Resources says:

"While she [Christine Norrie] has been working in comics extensively since 2000, today’s featured artist is probably not as big of a name as the others mentioned so far, but she is still quite a talented comic book artist, and certainly a reason to love comics."

You can read the whole article, which includes some art, at #278 Christine Norrie. And, you should check out the entire list at 365 Days To Love Comics. (I'm only sixty-five days behind Bill Sienkiewicz!)

Anyway, I think we should always celebrate ME on the 278th day of every year... (we'll need to come up with some good holiday traditions and think about presents too). So, mark your calendars!

Sad lil' me.

sad xtine, originally uploaded by christinenorrie.

My DESKSET contribution for Wednesday morning.

Damn Yankees

Though I am a Cardinals fan by nature, I am also a Yankees fan (second-generation, on my father's side). We got very good tickets in July and spent a hot afternoon watching the Bronx Bombers give it away to Tampa. Despite the loss, it was a terrific way to spend a summer day drinking an icy coke, eating a hot sausage, sketching, and listening to my daughter chant, "Let's go, Yankees, let's go!"

Bonnie and Clyde (1967)

Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway are an exciting way to start off a day when you've nothing but office drudgery to do and half the city's gone for the holiday.

Once the boring work is done this morning, I'll be jumping onto tightening the pencil work for a one-page editorial piece my art director's just approved. As with the last few commercial jobs I've had, the direction of the image is going to be done "comics" style. I'm immensely excited about it since I'm hoping to make it verrry rrromantic.

My inspiration for the color work comes from the blog Today's Inspiration's post on Mac Conner. Interestingly, it accompanies thoughts on my eternal struggle: comics work versus commercial-- Mac Conner in Context

Fashion Week Fashion

Tribeca Grand/Church Lounge -- September 2007 (click images to view larger)

Fashion Week hit a few weeks ago and I went to one event with Maia and Cat, bringing my sketchbook along. I've been terrifically committed to daily life-drawing and I wasn't going to let a dark lounge, free Patron drinks, or dancing get in the way! I only wish we had some of the photos that were snapped or a recording of French DJs Gildas & Masaya (Kitsune)'s remix of Bowie's "Let's Dance". Unbelievably good!

DESKSET / homie

DESKSET / homie, originally uploaded by spookoo.

Spent three hours drawing at the Spring Street Studio this morning. Very successful drawings, with much-needed feedback and suggestions from the monitor/instructor.

I met another illustrator there who actually studied at the Joe Kubert School and is now attending the Art Students' League. Both of us discussed our fondness for super-hero comics and the desire to infuse that aesthetic with basic, traditional art skills... and how much we miss Igor Kordey's European-style in mainstream comics very much.

Above is my DESKSET contribution for the week, with my at-home studio-mate, Monkey Cat.

PW Daily / 09-18-07

PW Daily / 09-18-07, originally uploaded by spookoo.

More of me and Gene from the MoCA event. Gene's one of the sweetest and wittiest authors I've met in a long time.

I very much admire his bravery in voicing what is important to him... he had said at the panel that when writing he is writing for himself, his friends, and family -- he doesn't bear in mind any specific audience for marketing purposes, etc.

It's my belief that real honest work is universally appealing and, lucky for us, his mini-comics and small press work were discovered and published for everyone to read.

Official website for Gene Yang --> Humble Comics

Clint Eastwood

Clint Eastwood, originally uploaded by spookoo.

Sketches of Clint from a WB film reference book.

Someone told me recently that one of the many reasons that it took so long for THE UNFORGIVEN to be filmed was that Clint felt he wasn't "good enough" for the part he wanted to act. Apparently he waited ten years, felt ready, and went on to shoot the film in just thirty-nine days...