Back from Ontario and TCAF, which was all a great time. Good to see the family, good to see all the comic people at the show. Nice to have some people come by specifically to pick up True Loves 3!

While I think of it, I am still updating the colour online version. New one up today. Oh and while I’m thinking of it, this Big Planet Comics podcast has a nice discussion of Farm School in around the 20 minute mark.

I am still finishing up comics about my Ontario trip, but here is a quick little photo trip through it. True Loves 3 did arrive in time for TCAF which was a relief.

Manien booked me a room at Victoria’s Mansion House and it was cute. My room was… cozy. And it was in the basement! But I was just sleeping there between selling comics and whooping it up with comics people, so it was fine!

I met up with former Vancouverite and old Crown Commission comrade Ben Woo for a bite on Friday night. Good to see him and hear about all the crazy nerd studies his doing with his PHD in nerdic matters. He was also nice enough to help me carry boxes to the reference library in the pouring rain.

We eventually got to the Pilot for the opening party and had a table with various guests, including Inkstud Robin.

And Tyler J Hutchinson who told us how his We Draw Comics site is going.

My TCAF table was upstairs again which was nice. Look at those True Loveses! The place was hopping. I had lovely neighbours Blue and Andy.

After the show on Sunday I met up with old Toronto pals, Dave and Dawn for a bite and a beer. Dave also stopped off at the Green Room with me for another as I was on my way to the TCAF closing party. The Green Room just may be a location in an upcoming story I want to do.

The closing party was a blast. Managed to talk to a bunch of people and eventually found Dave Lapp, Doug Wright Award winner Nina Bunjevac and Jordan to hang out. Dancing ensued and eventually Nina, Salgood Sam and I were the only ones left dancing. As we left I took a picture and then a second later TCAF organizers Chris and Miles were leaving too, so they got in for a pic too.

New True Loves 3 is up! True Loves 3 the sample proof of the book is sitting on my desk! Colourful. Exciting. If all goes according to plan, I will have them in hand for TCAF May 11 – 12. Or if you are in Vancouver, two weeks later at VanCAF.

I have been puttering away at some single page comics that will likely be printed up as an issue of Vinegar titled Finishing True Loves. Here is one about dimes.

On the Sunday morning Manien and I got up and went to the bird sanctuary for a walk. It was a lovely morning, and we had a lovely walk. Before we even got into the park we saw some deer by this art installation. The art is a recreation of some squatters shacks from back in the 1940s-1960s. They had hippies, former lumber workers, and Malcolm Lowry. The piece was originally downtown at that installation space by the Shangri La, but now it is in the area where the squatters were. North Shore News article here. If you look closely the deer are at the far left here.

Walking the paths, we were greatly enjoying all the stuff growing on other stuff. Look at this go-getter on a post.

Sometimes I need to stop and appreciate how crazy the vista out my front door is. Just ridiculous.

New True Loves 3 is up. More questions. The rarely seen bathroom. Meanwhile the book is off to the printers. Exciting. Here is the cover.

On the weekend Manien and I were both off for the first time in a while. I gave myself permission to be completely lazy and just hang out with her. We watched Mad Men, which is so good. We flaked out Saturday afternoon and watched the Loneliest Planet. If you like a beautiful quiet movie with minimal dialogue and lots of long shots of people walking like I do, you will like this movie.

At the same time, I have been in a bit of limbo, not quite feeling like drawing. Still sort of aimless and listless, post-True Loves. But then we have had some lovely sunny days and I just walk around having my mind blown by the flowers and blossoms and colours.

I also finished reading Margaret Atwood’s “Year of the Flood” which I had avoided reading until I finished Farm School. Great, lovely.

You can read the latest installment of True Loves 3 here. In the meanwhile this happened.

Yes, I finished True Loves. It was hard to believe it was done. There was still all the scanning and so on to do, and that ended up taking quite a while. When THAT was all done, I was in a daze, feeling strange and a bit lost for several days. It still feels strange. We started the first book way back in late 2000, so that is quite a long project to be concluding!

Did I mention I finally got a cell phone recently? So now I take photos when I’m ambling around my little section of North Van. Things like this, so I can torment my friends and relatives in the rest of Canada the past couple of weeks.

Things like this art installation.

Or if I’m out walking at night, I get fascinated by pockets of light.

And look, a rainbow.

I had a sudden urge to draw another of these tonight. Mega-j, about to enter the bright light.

And finally I watched this great video of Nick Cave at the Coachella Festival. It does a pretty good job of capturing how incredible he is in concert. It gave me goosebumps, and made me kick myself for not making an effort to see his most recent show here.

New True Loves 3 is up. I am currently inking page 116 of 120. Holy smokes! So close!

The rain has returned after being away for over a week. I am okay with that, all the bursting plants needed some water. Vancouver has been looking insanely beautiful. Everyone is instagramming the heck out of all the blossoms. It is hard not to, they are so lovely.

Sometimes when I wake in the night, I have super energetic music in my head, and that doesn’t bode well for me falling back to sleep. Earlier in the week, to ensure my brain wasn’t too rambunctious I was singing this Rolling Stones song. It was quite soothing.

New True Loves 3. Now its all out in the open having to be discussed. Meanwhile, I started pencilling page 116.

Last week I was puttering around and Manien was working a night shift, and I had inked as much as I was going to. I couldn’t find anything on youtube or netflix that called to me. So instead I found a random photo on flickr to draw, while I listened to a podcast. Quite relaxing. I don’t just draw enough these days.

Manien bought a juicer recently, so we’ve been drinking a lot of juice. Get some beets and ginger in there and they’re all good. I was curious what some would look like on paper.

I’ve been trying to focus on finishing True Loves, but have been feeling like doing some more bird comics. Here is a quickie from this morning.

The big finale of the Big Talk in True Loves 3.

On the weekend I was at the comic jam and a couple of people expressed distress at where things were going in True Loves 3, and that was nice to hear. That people are following along and care what happens in it. Because I get very little feedback on it, beyond the occasional facebook LIKE or retweet on Twitter or tumblr reblog. Those are great, but I guess they suggest a general support for the comic, rather than responding to anything specific in it. INTERNET.

Speaking of the Vancouver Comic Jam, it was a pretty epic one. Good fun, great energy, new people, old people, ridiculous running gags. Good times. See the huge pile of comics produced here. Advisory: There Will Be Humping.

Here is a song I have been enjoying recently.

It makes me think of this song.

And here is Sigur Ros playing the song that was stuck in my head at all night. My brain was not in a calm sleepy place.

The online updates are quite behind the on paper production of True Loves 3. This week’s instalment continues the Big Talk. That is page 88. I just finished drawing page 108. And on the weekend, Manien and I finished the writing. The writing of True Loves is DONE! It was exciting, but a little strange and sad too. Here I am simulating the writing process.

Here we are celebrating finishing.

Sometimes I get down on North Vancouver, but I must say that being able to easily walk to somewhere like this is pretty awesome.

On that same walk, we saw this awesome note someone abandoned on a bush.

Manien has started her tomato plants, and they are looking quite jolly. In the back is Dieter the Pepper Plant. Dieter surprised us by starting new peppers recently.

True Loves 3 is getting into a pivotal scene. I think I forgot to post an update here last week, so click that link and get a double dose.

I am drawing page 107 right now. This weekend Manien and I are planning to do some writing. Which will take us to THE END of True Loves. Crazy.

Here is my unusually tidy drawing area.

All the clutter was just shifted to the other end, on top of the scanner and printer.

In other news, it is getting quite springlike here in Vancouver. The garlic is poking up!

This video is pretty awesome.

And this one too.

New True Loves 3 is up! I finished drawing page 100 the other day. Slowly inching towards the finish line. I have a paper by my drawing area to mark off each page as I finish.

And meanwhile Farm School is getting in people’s hands, which is exciting. But I haven’t actually held the final object myself! Well I hope you all enjoy it. If you don’t have it yet, why not buy it?

Here are some drawings I did on the weekend. Random stuff off the internet.

I was listening to Iggy Pop’s “The Idiot” and got thinking about Berlin. Through the magic of Google Street View, I went and wandered around there a bit. Did this quick sketch.

A drawing I did as I hung out with Josue on the weekend. I have forest matters on my brain.

I was talking to Manien about how tricky drawing moss is. She went like this.