Lincoln Peirce draws by hand, first sketching lightly in pencil, then inking his illustration and hand-lettering dialogue. He makes one concession to technology, using Photoshop to color his Sunday strip.

Lincoln Peirce, the Portland-based comic-strip creator best known for "Big Nate," relaxes with his dog Scout in his home workspace in Portland Wednesday.

Lincoln Peirce works on a strip in his home office in Portland. He says strip is his first love, and wants to keep it going as long as newspapers want to run it. Conversely, he thinks his books will come to a close “before much longer.”

The cast of “Big Nate” will be in Portland next weekend. The artistic producer of the Maryland-based troupe that is touring the show thought Lincoln Peirce’s comic strip would translate well to the stage.