2013 Book List

Artwork, a photo by megan_n_smith_99 on Flickr.

Books read 2013

1) 11/22/63 by Stephen King
2) A Magnificent Obsession: Victoria, Albert, and the Death That Changed the British Monarchy by Helen Rappaport
3) Maneater: And Other True Stories of a Life in Infectious Disease by Pamela Nagami
4) Modern American Memoirs: 1917--1992 ed. by Annie Dillard
5) Fortress of Solitude by Jonathan Letham
6) Fairy Tale by Raymond Fiest
6) King Solomon's Carpet by Ruth Rendell
7) The House of Stairs by Ruth Rendell
8) The Chimney Sweeper's Boy by Ruth Rendell
9) A Dark-Adapted Eye by Ruth Rendell
10) A Fatal Inversion by Ruth Rendell
11)The Child's Child by Ruth Rendell
12) The Blood Doctor by Ruth Rendell
13) The Birthday Present by Ruth Rendell
14) The Brimstone Wedding by Ruth Rendell
15) Asta's Book by Ruth Rendell
16) Grasshopper by Ruth Rendell
17) Darwin's Radio by Greg Bear
18) Darwin's Children by Greg Bear
19) The Hot Zone by Richard Preston
20) Zueglodon by James Blaylock
21) Inside the Outbreaks by Mark Pemdergrast
22) The Deadly Dinner Party and Other Medical Detective Stories by Jonathan A. Edlow
23) Three Cups of Tea by by Greg Mortenson
24) The Aylesford Skull by James Blaylock
25) Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingsolver
26) The Paradise War by Stephen Lawhead
27) Fear Collector by Gregg Olsen
28) Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? by Mindy Kaling
29) The Cabinet of Curiosities by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child
30) Anne Perry: Murder of the Century by Peter Graham
31) E. Nesbit, A Biography by Doris Langley Moore
32) This House of Sky by Ivan Doig
33) The Monsters of Templeton by Lauren Groff
34) The Historian by Elizabeth Kotova
35) Why be Happy When You Could be Normal by Jeanette Winterson
36) The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M. Valente
37) The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton
38) The Magician King by Lev Grossman
39) The Third Gate by Lincoln Child
40) Flowers in the Attic by V.C. Andrews

Audio Books:

1) The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom
2) Midnight Riot by Ben Aaronovitch
3) Moon over Soho by Ben Aaronovitch
4) Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
5) Minding Frankie by Maeve Binchy
6) Heart and Soul by Maeve Binchy
7) The Coming Plague by Laurie Garrett
8)The Demon in the Freezer by Richard Preston
9) Beating Back the Devil by Maryn McKenna
10) The Fatal Strain by Alan Sipress
11) Quantico by Greg Bear
12) Panic in Level Four by Richard Preston
13) The Ghost Map by Steven Johnson
14) Skylight Confessions by Alice Hoffman
15) The Red Garden by Alice Hoffman
16) The Story Sisters by Alice Hoffman
17) The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
18) the Skin map by Stephen Lawhead
19) The Bone House by Stephen Lawhead
20) The Spirit Well by Stephen Lawhead
21) Bone by Bone by Carol O'Connell
22) Sharp Objects by Gillian Flyn
23) The Digging Leviathan by James Blaylock
24) The Devil and Sherlock Holmes by David Grann
25) Thunderhead by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child
26) Brimstone by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child
27) Dance of Death by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child
28) The Book of the Dead by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child
29) Cemetery Dance by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child
30) Fever Dream by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child
31) Cold Vengence by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child
32) The House of Secrets by Chris Columbus & Ned Vizzini
33) The 19th Wife by David Eberschoff
34) The Swan Thief by Elizabeth Kostova
35) Dark Places by Gillian Flynn
36) Two Graves by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child
37) The Ice Limit by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child
38) The Sword of the Templars by Paul Christopher
39) Maya's Notebook by Isabel Allende
40) Half Magic by Edward Eager
41) The Children's Book by A.S. Byatt
42) Angels and Insects by A.S. Byatt
43) The Dark Unwinding by Sharon Cameron
44) The Templar Cross by Paul Christopher
45) The Diviner's Tale by Bradford Morrow
46) Hannibal by Thomas Harris
47) Hannibal Rising by Thomas Harris
48) The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman
49) Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
50) Sun of a Gun by Justin St. Germain
51) Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling
52) Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J. K. Rowling
53) Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling
54) Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling
55) Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling
56) My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell
57) The Magicians: A Novel by Lev Grossman
58) Holidays on Ice by David Sedaris
59) When you are engulfed by Flames by David Sedaris
60) Dress your Family in Corduroy & Denim by David Sedaris
61) Pilgrim's Wilderness by Tom Kizzia
62) Marmee and Louisa by Eva LaPlante
63) Louisa May Alcott by Harriet Reisen

a little note

I have been a terrible blogger, but I have been still creating, and that's the really important thing.  I am back working full-time + a commute and it's taking a lot of energy, something I have never had in excess.  I am trying to create some sort of peaceful feeling by listening to music at work - everyone in my department is glued to headphones and our tasks do not involve interacting with people or answering the phone, etc.  also I try to find something that feels meaningful to me to do on the bus - the zen of knitting or reading a good book. sometimes I read or sketch on my breaks. I notice a lot of people reading on their breaks and it makes me so happy that people still read.  some of them are even reading real paper books! (I like both. ebooks a great to get from the library and perfect for your average paperback, but some books just need to be on-paper.

I recently read The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M. Valente. I really enjoy Ms. Valente's work - everything I have read of hers. She is wildly inventive and her work is quite varied and far-reaching.  She's also very prolific yet her work is of such exquisite quality.. I really can't think of anyone else who produces such finely crafted work so quickly - so there is plenty for you to enjoy.  Anyway, The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland  is a children's book, or i'd say all ages - very charming - and even better, gorgeous illustrated, so that's a book you want to read on paper.   I highly recommend. Also I love her Orphan's Tales books, and all of the rest.

So, on to the art, the core of lie. Here are some peeks of things I have worked on recently:

Happy Creating!
p.s. some of the work shown here is available in my Etsy Shop:
https://www.etsy.com/shop/meinoel

Fall Unfurling

Watercolor, a photo by megan_n_smith_99 on Flickr.

This is one of the paintings I have been working on this week. It only needs a few last finishing touches so maybe I will finish it this weekend - I hope so! The gorgeous colors of autumn are really inspiring me as they do every year. I have a hard time not painting autumn all year round - well, sometimes I just go for it anyway. But this time of year it is pretty much required and I am happy to oblige.

I've also been working on more little paintings with pencil and watercolor. One can really make art on the go with very little luggage - I carry a few bits of paper and a mechanical pencil w/ an eraser and I am ready to go! (I usually do the watercolors when I get home but I did sit at a restaurant early this week with my homemade travel it of Daniel Smith watercolors and got a lot done!) I was there for a drawing group and a man at the next table over was working on an amazing piece using just a number 2 pencil so the message is this : you don't need a lot of trappings to make art. All you need is the willingness to open yourself up and come to the page.

In other news! To celebrate a month of spooks, I am having an Etsy sale. Use the coupon code:

october2013

to get 13% off through Monday at:

www.etsy.com/shop/meinoel

Meandering Watercolor

Watercolor, a photo by megan_n_smith_99 on Flickr.

This is something I was working on last week, and should get back to. I miss having more time to paint but I am making an effort to at least paint for a little while most days.  I can really tell a difference if I stop for even a few days -- I have to ease my way back into it if I do. Maybe my paints and brushes miss me when I'm "gone."   Actually I have a couple of paintings I am working on now - though more usually I focus on one at a time.

This painting is a good antidote to today. The fog never entirely cleared. I work on First Hill - also called Pill Hill, because there are several hospitals there. Looking down across downtown to the water,  I could not tell where the water ended and the sky began. The horizon was lost. You just had to take it on faith that there were mountains there, across the water, that you were not looking out from the end of the world.  

Halloween Tree

halloween tree, a photo by megan_n_smith_99 on Flickr.

"The wind outside nested in each tree, prowled the sidewalks in invisible treads like unseen cats.
Tom Skelton shivered. Anyone could see that the wind was a special wind this night, and the darkness took on a special feel because it was All Hallows' Eve. Everything seemed cut from soft black velvet or gold or orange velvet. Smoke panted up out of a thousand chimneys like the plumes of funeral parades. From kitchen windows drifted two pumpkin smells: gourds being cut, pies being baked.”
― Ray Bradbury, The Halloween Tree


The title of this painting was taken from Ray Bradbury's The Halloween Tree, quoted above. The inspiration was all around me - tree changing color, piles of pumpkins at the market, and the glorious autumn sunsets.

Halloween Tree
8 x 10"
watercolor & ink
Available on Etsy!

I've also got some sugar skull prints on etsy, if you want to celebrate the season!

Update & Some Monsters, for your consideration

   


I have been in the mood to paint and draw monsters lately. The friendly kind, like Muppets or things Where the Wild Things Are.
I've also, after some experimentation, found a print vendor who produces work that meets my exacting standards. I've added a few to my Etsy Shop.

These are beautiful giclee prints on somerset velvet paper, which is 100% cotton rag watercolor paper. The quality is excellent. Some of the artists I have shown them to thought they were originals. I've got a few for sale now and will be adding more in the future. Let me know if you have any suggestions for what you would like to see prints of. I also have 1 greeting card design from the same printer. It's on thick watercolor paper with a deckle edge and comes with a matching envelope.


I've also started back working a "real" job - I guess here I am using the word real to mean a job with benefits and that involves leaving my studio! I'll still be doing as much art as I have time for.


If you are in the Seattle area, I have artwork up right now at:


Cupcake Royale
1111 East Pike Street
Seattle, Wa 98122
(206) 883-7656
Mon 7am-10pm
Tue-Fri 7am-11pm
Sat 9am-11pm
Sun 9am-10pm

I will have work up there through the end of October and will be there for Capital Hill Art Blitz on Thursday October 10th.

I will also be hanging art at Miro Teahouse next week, which will be up until the end of October, and I will be there for Ballard Art Walk on Saturday October 12th.




Miro Tea
5405 Ballard Ave NW
Seattle, WA 98107
(206) 782-6832
Mon-Sat 8am to 10pm
Sun 8am to 8pm



I hope to see you there!

Megan Noel at Oddmall!

I'll be at Oddmall on Sunday, September 22nd, 2013 at the Lynnwood Convention Center near Seattle. You can get more info at http://oddmall.info/seattle/.  I hope some of you will come see me! I will have some new prints!