August 2023

Welcome Newsletter

Aug 1, 2023

Hello!

Welcome to Sparrow House, a monthly newsletter & art journal. Kinda like an old-school zine that you used to have to wait for—in the mail!—but delivered digitally right to your inbox.

In the ever-changing landscape of Instagram (otherwise known as the platform I used to enjoy), my aim is to create a home for sharing art & building a community. I’m excited to experiment & entertain you with illustrations.

This newsletter debuts in August when it’s hitting 90°+ here in Brooklyn, so why the heck is this orange dress not very summery? It’s a vintage gown that I have been eyeballing on ETSY forever but won’t buy for myself to actually wear (there are only so many occasions for head-to-toe polyester with lace turtleneck)—so I drew it to satiate my swooning. A lot of stuff like this will make it onto characters.

To kick off August with something more summery, however, I have updated this illustrated piece from 2017. “Gills of Summer” features 3 Gillys (they're all named Gilly, not unlike the Three Busy Debras), and they’re inspired by my love for Creature From The Black Lagoon (1954)—a monster designed by my favorite SFX artist, Milicent Patrick.

If you subscribe to my newsletter this month, you will receive an email code to unlock a free gift: 3 separate Gillys (1080 x 1920) for mobile wallpaper! Make sure to check your spam folder just in case.

I’ve also been into reviving comics. To celebrate this revival, I’m debuting my Nosferatu character for the first time in comic form:

This idea stemmed from sitting for long stretches of time inside the apartment, drawing on the couch until my butt is numb, and oftentimes popping on 8+ hours of “slow tv” rain storms or various forms of Darth Vader roasting.

More gifts for you! Here is my cat Fluff presenting this Spotify playlist I made for August, holding up his boombox in Say Anything (1989) style.

I also started a Letterboxd to share monthly movie watches & standup comedy (I’m a standup comedy junkie). Maybe something on my list might strike your fancy during the dog days of summer: https://letterboxd.com/artsparrow

I had a special binge of the (Ellen Ripley) Alien series, just in time for the government to speak to Congress about non-human materials! I loved a little something about all four Alien movies, but nothing beats the 1979 original—a damn near-perfect movie, if you ask me.

So what does the crystal ball predict? I’m busy wrapping up my children’s book pitch to query to publishing agents, working on more Nosferatu (did you know about Robert Eggers’ upcoming Nosferatu release in 2024?), illustrating & co-directing an animated short with fellow Andrea S., and ongoing home decor—all things that I will feature in the near future.

Thanks so much for being here. See ya next month!