Patrick Mate redux

A recent painting(analog, not digital)by my affable and modest neighbor, Patrick. Damn!
I admit ignorance on the entire story of his character "Mirabelle" the elfin little girl, but of course there must be one. He's got such a rich palette, both figuratively and literally, in all his work but I just love how he handles this fantastical girl. I want to see a book about her. Here's one of my very (recent) favorites:

For more detail in a larger copy, go to Patrick's blog and scroll down a bit; it's worth it
I love these women. They just beg to be animated...talk about expressive, elegant designs--and funny, too.
And there's also something that really grabs me, that isn't always there in all the beautiful drawings I see around me--storytelling. Even when Patrick does a caricature or a "pretty/sexy girl" painting, it often has something more going on to my eyes than just a porttrait or an excecise in design...it stimulates my imagination. Not all animation art does that-even though we're always shooting for it. It can be an exceptionally subtle thing.