Joan Reilly

Joan Reilly's latest adventures in comics and illustration. More at joanreilly.com

[joanreilly]

Efforts to make a comic about this have been holding me back, so I did a simple portrait sketch in order to shove it aside and get things moving again. The news is that damage to the temporal branch of my right facial nerve, due to my craniotomy in April, now allows me to aim judgmental/quizzical expressions at whomever I wish, all day and every day. I never could move my eyebrows independently before, so maybe that's #thepresent here. Some say the nerve may regenerate. I keep testing it hopefully, and also trying to #mindfully accept things as they are. I'm lucky to have retained as much function as I have. #symmetryisoverrated . . #graphicmedicine #comics #illustration #braintumor #patientperspective

[joanreilly]

Efforts to make a comic about this have been holding me back, so I did a simple portrait sketch in order to shove it aside and get things moving again. The news is that damage to the temporal branch of my right facial nerve, due to my craniotomy in April, now allows me to aim judgmental/quizzical expressions at whomever I wish, all day and every day. I never could move my eyebrows independently before, so maybe that's #thepresent here. Some say the nerve may regenerate. I keep testing it hopefully, and also trying to #mindfully accept things as they are. I'm lucky to have retained as much function as I have. #symmetryisoverrated . . #graphicmedicine #comics #illustration #braintumor #patientperspective

[joanreilly]

I keep thinking about Danny in "Withnail and I," saying, "If I medicined you, you'd think a brain tumor was a birthday present." Well, this sucker showed up a couple weeks after my last birthday, so I might as well call it #thepresent . May is #nationalbraintumorawarenessmonth so I'll be posting stuff here and there throughout the month to do my part. #gograyinmay #oligodendroglioma #oligonation #oligoaway #graphicmedicine

[joanreilly]

New #farmreport comic! Still tagging it #fridayfarmreport since that's when I wrote it. . . #fridayfarmreport #diarycomics #graphicmedicine #braintumorcomics #memoircomics #illustration #farmlife #dogcomics

[joanreilly]

Thanks for all the love this year, everyone! 😃💖🤗 Despite everything awful/terrifying/appalling, there really was a lot of good as well. And I'm feeling optimistic about 2018. I hope you are, too. #2017bestnine #illustration #comics #art #resist

[joanreilly]

2017 Beast Tree complete! First drawing since brain surgery. It took much longer to complete than I anticipated, but then again, there are many more faces around here this year! So grateful for all our beasty babies. Sad side note: Bessie-Lou is portrayed as a heart-searing Bernini #angel because she left us in late November. She was my perfect little girlfriend buddy for 20 years. I hadn't announced it yet, so I apologize to those who knew and loved her and are just hearing the news this way. . #chickens #pets #rooster #mutts #animals #illustration #farmlife #beasts #drawing

[joanreilly]

I'm in ICU awaiting brain surgery, and under strict orders from the illustrious Carol Tyler to #drawnomatterwhat so here we go. This is how it started, late Friday night, early Saturday morning, as I lay dozing off to sleep, I was suddenly aware of having a seizure, the first one of my life at age 45. #seizure #brain #surgery #illustration #graphicmedicine #memoir #comics

[joanreilly]

A quick #sketchbook #farmreport to celebrate 6-month-old Cleo's first egg, and other accomplishments. She laid it last week, on that problematic holiday, but I prefer to consider it an early birthday present. . . #easteregger #chicken #sketch #beardedladies #illustration #comics

[joanreilly]

This is a portrait of Pig the #pug , one of the lucky residents of @grey_muzzle_manor , a haven for elderly animals in PA that also provides animal therapy for humans. Pig just turned 16, and is feeling fine! I'm doing a series of resident portraits and will be selling prints of them soon to help raise funds for this wonderful organization. #olddogsrule #pugstagram #illustration #petportrait

[joanreilly]

Ornette is ready to take a road trip with you! Our rooster is such good company that he'd make a good sidekick for a long-distance trucker, or just a casual road trip buddy. . #rooster #oldtruck #dodgefargo #illustration #gouache #coloredpencil #tombowpens #farmlife

[joanreilly]

Here is a sketch of our new family member, Clara, who has made our life so much sweeter. She is an ancient, wobbling embodiment of pure love, and her head smells like fresh corn tortillas. Everyone should adopt old dogs! I think the world would be a better place if every household had at least one. I'm endlessly grateful to Grey Muzzle Manor for saving Clara from being euthanized, and allowing us the privilege of knowing her. . #farmsketch #adoptdontshop #olddogsrule #mutt #sketch

[joanreilly]

Just heard the great news that the driving ban for women in Saudi Arabia has been lifted! It won't officially take effect until June 2018, but the announcement seems like good enough reason to re-post this comic I did for the 2nd printing of The Big Feminist BUT. #tbt #women2drive

[joanreilly]

Here is the latest Farm Report, posted tardily due to technical difficulties.

[joanreilly]

Ellie has been accompanying the ghosts of this house on their nightly wanderings lately. Thank goodness for modern pharmacology! . . #sundowning #seniordog #dementia #anxiety #sketch #illustration

[joanreilly]

Here's what Smoky looks like now, at almost 4 months. I have a new farm report comic in the works, but for now it will have to be #farm #sketches . . . . #easteregger #chicken #farmlife #art #illustration

[joanreilly]

Here’s my full comic for RESIST!: “New Monsters, New Rules” #resistsubmission

[joanreilly]

This is my contribution to an upcoming illustrated guide to specific protest actions we can take in the challenging years ahead, called DRAW THE LINE: Concrete Political Actions. My assigned topic was “Craft Your Protest.” There will be text accompanying it that fleshes out the story of the Craftivist Collective handkerchief campaign, which I recommend reading about, it’s pretty inspiring! #drawthelinecomics