Fair warning! Mushiness follows.

First off, a note that sketches and a lot of artwork will now be posted to Tumblr:

kniivila.tumblr.com

I'll still be updating this blog, but moreso on an extensive artwork posts / personal blog basis. I promise to be a better blogger, haha.

Since I suppose the cat's out of the bag in the real world, might as well throw it all down here. After 2 years (3 if you count the internship), I've left my post at Paper Bag Records to focus on my personal illustration career.

There are some narrative projects that have been brewing for the last few years (see above for mysterious peeks at...something), paintings waiting to leave me, and somehow I feel like I'm finally ready to take myself seriously. The years with a wonderfully close team at Paper Bag gave me confidence in myself and the business side of the arts that I just didn't have after graduating.

I'd be crazy not to thank everyone in the PBR office - Trevor, Melanie, Darryl, and Dara. I had the pleasure of working with these amazing people the last two years, as well as an entire host of incredibly talented bands and their teams. This job flew across the Atlantic a couple times, drove me across America twice with PS I Love You, and forced me to take responsibility and grow as a person.

Driving across America, Venice Beach CA to Manhattan, NY.

You would do yourself a service to check out any of the bands on the Paper Bag Records roster - ridiculously talented and hardworking, and just overwhelmingly good people.

I've also been surrounded by an amazing personal circle of family, friends, and artists who haven't been afraid to give me a kick in the ass when I'm being negative or lazy. Thinking back to graduating, moving back to Calgary and basically lying facedown for a month because I had no direction and no motivation. This time it's different - I'm excited and ready.

So anyway! Thanks for reading, and check back for updates as this new chapter starts!

Mysterious huts in the woods, eh Irma? Predictable.



(But I love them so)

Hairstyles not applicable to those with round faces:

I...spent a shameful amount of money shopping in the last few days. Clothes on the brain, so much justifying...

(But actually, neither of these outfits are mine)

I wanted to draw schoolgirl outfits. So suuuue meeee.

A joke that's not really a joke but makes me laugh like a goober anyway:

Meditations on dinner:

Sometimes I worry I'm becoming a cat lady. Will I....die alone?

Poor, poor neglected blog. It's just....patio season sweeps in and between work and drawing and hangouts in the park, blog gets squeezed out and has no choice but to patiently wait for me to come crawling back in the winter months when it's too damn cold to do anything but scan with numb fingers. Yep, I think I'll be sticking to drinking beer in the sun while it lasts. In the meantime, a few tiny bits:

A portrait of the lovely and talented Rachelle Letain, from a recent NYC trip



Sometimes I just draw what I feel.



Lastly, I've started occasionally running. In other news, I've discovered how painfully out of shape I am. Apparently fitness is not earned through eating purely brown sugar croissants, much to my surprise.