"Mo"ments of Love
A comic about Mo the Moonpie and illustration news
Hello Sketchbugs,
Happy February! I’ve been busy with finishing a massive deadline as well as just trying to wade through all the horrific news headlines. The Eagles won the Superbowl at least so the Philly area had some mirthful days. To give some levity to your mornings, or whenever you open your emails, I thought I’d share some loving moments with our cat, Mo the Moonpie as February is the month of love and his birthday month! If you want another love story, check out my post from last Valentines day about my parents’ relationship: Everyday Romance with Carole and David
Illustrations I’ve Made Recently
The New York Times: Reporter Gone Wild
In the beginning of the month I was asked by New York Times art director Vinnie Neuberg if I wanted to illustrate an article written by Adeel Hassan about animal rescue reporting. The piece covered animal-related stories from two red pandas killed by firework noise pollution in Ireland, to sea turtles that needed rescuing in Florida. Given how much I enjoy illustrating anything about the environment and animals (even if it’s sad), I hopped onto the job. The deadline for sketches and the final piece came right after Super Bowl Sunday so let’s just say that Monday was a doozy. Despite my fatigue I was able to get the sketches to art director Greicy Mella who took over for Vinnie.
She chose sketch 2 and then I went to work. The deadline was the next day so I had to work fast. After hours of looking up reference images of red pandas, orca whales, moose stuck in ice and more, I went to rendering the final piece. It was approved and then published in the coming days. You can find the article HERE
I was very happy with the final product and so was the author, which is always a nice occurrence.
Gallery Shows I Have Work In
Giant Robot Store Presents Neko Show: A Cat Themed Exhibition
March 1st to March 23rd
I will have an original piece in this cat themed show hosted by the awesome folks at the Giant Robot Store in Sawtelle, LA. Who is the muse of this piece? You guessed it: Mo the Moonpie! Graphite, colored pencil, and watercolor on 6.5 x 8 stonehenge paper. Here are some pictures and scans of “The King’s Court”. Please consider giving this bosch inspired piece a new home!
Send Me Across the Sea Vol 6 Show Hosted by Helvella Gallery
March 8th, 2025
I also have 5 original graphite drawings on 5x7 toned stonehenge paper being shown at the Send Me Across the Sea Vol. 6 show hosted by Helvella Gallery. I have been contributing to this show since the first Volume and am grateful to have more work this year. All the work here falls under the Spring March Series, focusing on fantastical animals and plants that usher in the Spring. If you’re interested in having an affordable pencil drawing, check out the show in Oakland, CA on March 8th! If you want to buy a piece and don’t live around Oakland, email me and I’ll see what I can do.
Phew that should be it! Thank you for reading! Mo gives you a big lick.
Your handwriting is very similar to mine. It freaked me out a bit 😅
Omg Julie I hope you have some much-deserved rest and Mo cuddle time after working so hard on all of these projects! Loooove getting to know Mo more through your comic, and I’m OBSESSED with Mo as a Bosch King holy shit 😍