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Maddy Buck

Maddy Buck is a comics artist based in Minneapolis who specializes in illustrated explanations of tech, law, and all things complex.

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"Maddy, will you come draw on the walls of our daughter's nursery?"

Why yes, I’d love to!

This spring, I was asked to do some of my wall drawing, but this time for a nursery! My first wall drawing experience was completely unplanned, the result of pandemic boredom and my unwillingness to completely remove the wallpaper bits from the walls in my home office. In that project, I did a little bit over the course of months and slowly developed a sense for what I was doing. With this project, I would only have a few evenings. Could I do it again?

It turns out, I can! I planned a bit more than I had last time, but still left a lot open to improvisation and experimentation. We decided on a color palette ahead of time, based on what is available in the larger sized Posca markers that I like to use and what would look nice on yellow walls. Once I arrived onsite, we had to establish what would go on the mural. I knew I wanted to draw a duck, a sheep, and some turtles. She asked for a hedgehog. So, that’s where I started. I sketched out a basic landscape with duck, sheep, turtles, and hedgehog, and then took to the walls.

After the first day, we knew it needed more. She requested a moose. I learned how to draw a moose, and it went up on the wall. I finished it up with some buzzing bees. Throughout the process, we critiqued and edited together, making it a more collaborative process than my first mural.

This project came after a fallow creative period for me, so it was particularly affirming to be able to stand in front of it and say “look what I made!” And when, during the baby shower, some kids appeared and started playing with stuffed animals against the drawings, I was especially glad to have created a space for that kind of imaginative play.

Hedgehog and plans

Hedgehog and plans

Photo of a nursery mural, feating an orange hedgehog.

Exhausted from drawing

Exhausted from drawing

Photo of artist Maddy Buck resting while working on her nursery mural.

Hedgohog inspiration

Hedgohog inspiration

Photo of a stuff hedgehog in front of a nursery mural that features a hedgehog. Mural is by artist and illustrator Maddy Buck

Drawing while lying down

Drawing while lying down

Photo of artist and illustrator Maddy Buck working on nursery mural. Image shows many animals, including turtles, ducks, and chicks.

the duck

the duck

Photo of a nursery mural, showing a large duck in front of a water scene. Colors are yellow, orange, and blue.

the duck and the sheep

the duck and the sheep

Photo of a colorful, whimsical nursery mural, showcasing a quizzical duck surrounded by tiny blue chicks and some bees and a butterfly. The colors are orange, blue, and green.

rambunctious baby ducks

rambunctious baby ducks

Photo of a nursery mural showing a number of tiny blue chicks diving into a body of water. The illustration uses wavy lines and is blue, orange, and green.

final wall

final wall

Photo of a nursery mural, showcasing an illustration of a nature scene with ducks, butterfly, and more animals. The style is full of lines and the colors are orange, blue, and green.

angry turtles

angry turtles

Photo of a scene from Maddy Buck’s nursery mural, showing a chick diving into a water, overseen by another chick who is standing on top of a turtle that looks like a rock. The style is full of waves and curlicues and is in orange, green, and blue.

concerned sheep

concerned sheep

Photo of a blue sheep drawn on a nursery mural by Maddy Buck. The sheep looks a little nervous.

nursery mural

nursery mural

Full-length photo of Maddy Buck’s kid-oriented nursery mural, showcasing nature scenes and animals.

nursery mural by maddybuck

nursery mural by maddybuck

Photo of artist Maddy Buck standing in front of nursery mural. Mural is drawn with Posca markers in blue, green, and orange, with lots of curly and wavy lines, and showcasing many animals.

nursery mural reading nook

nursery mural reading nook

Photo of nursery with Maddy Buck’s kid-oriented mural in the background. Nursery include a chair and a soft lamp, and a window.

tags: mural, walldrawing, whimsical, nursery, happy, babies, colorful, kids, fun, show&tell, joy, drawing
Sunday 05.14.23
Posted by Madeline Buck
 

Opposites

Equal in magnitude, opposite in emotion.

Illustration shows woman in fancy dress holding reversed pockets and looking very happy, with text "The elation of discovering a dress has pockets!"
Illustration shows woman holding tight pants that are backward, with text that says "the calamity of discovering leggings on backwards!"
tags: comics, pockets, leggings, joy, sadness
Thursday 01.13.22
Posted by Madeline Buck
 

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