Voice, Oil on Canvas; © Jennifer Pohl

This painting was done over ten years ago for my first solo show, but evokes a dream I had only last week: I had fallen asleep nursing our baby and, in my dream, awoke to find an intruder trying to break into the window behind us.

I couldn’t speak or move. (I think the term people use for this is the old hag.) I kept trying to cry out, but my voice wouldn’t work. Eventually I woke myself up crying out something I can’t now remember. Luckily, Conor continued to sleep peacefully, dreaming about those things that happy babies must. Of course, in real life our trusty dog would alert half the neighborhood if any silly person ever dared try such a stunt.

Empty, Ink on Paper; © Jennifer Pohl

The word for this Illustration Friday may have been designed to stimulate a little existential angst this week, but every baby knows that an empty cardboard box is the most fun of all!

Mother’s Milk, Ink on Paper; © Jennifer Pohl

This word for this Illustration Friday is tranquility. A breast fed baby is a tranquil baby, and the feel-good hormones help to chase the postpartum blues away.

Much of my recent work has involved hundreds of layers of paint and it’s been a while since I’ve done a line drawing, so I took this as a challenge. I set the timer for an hour while I was inking (right before the baby’s bath time, for extra motivation). I remember hearing how Matisse might do a thousand versions of the same line drawing to end up with just one that he was happy with. I’m not sure if that’s an exaggeration, but I’d like to do a few more of this image and experiment with the line weight, as well as colour washes for the shirt and romper. This is the first work I’ve posted that hasn’t already been sold, and I’ll be sending it off to the gallery soon. If anyone is interested, inquiries can be sent to the Christina Parker Gallery.