4th of July Orchestra...Doggy Style!!!

A cartoon of mine...Breaking out the orchestra and barking out a song in celebration of the 4th of July!

Another look inside the ol' sketchbook!

Continuing along the subject of 'one's sketchbook'...here's another page. This page was revisited several times over the course of a month or so. Again, hardly anything pertains to anything else on the page but each little image is it's own story. __For me, this is part of the fun I look forward to, when I go back in the future and try and recall what I was thinking or working on when doodling and sketching these things out :-)

Inspiration at the gym...for cartoons.

One finds inspiration for cartoons all around us. Recently I started working out at a gym, again. The first thing that struck me was how obvious it was that some spend all their workouts concentrated on their upper body and never their lower body. Big on top, birdlegs on the bottom. Who's to say Frosty wouldn't be the same way? :-)

Making WINE at the North Pole!

This was originally a sketch for a wine label, that ultimately didn't get picked, but it was too fun not to do something with it! So tossed some color on the rough sketch and, TA-DA! A fun, loose illustration of our friends up north making some delicious Holiday wine :-)

Wishing you a Humorous Illustrator HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

Halloween in Mister Roger's Neighborhood...NOT!

Happy ALMOST Halloween from the neighborhood in my brain. How scary is that? __Fun time playing with this illustration. I have my own reasons for the things I drew, and as the artist I prefer to keep those to myself. But the fun comes when folks start questioning and trying to figure out, "What was he thinking?" Lets just leave it at...HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Special illustation request from my SON!

Recently I was very flattered to receive a 'special request' from....my son! He lives 1,000 miles away in NYC, and out of the blue I get a message from him asking me to draw up a three panel piece featuring our beloved and recently departed family dog, Blaze. He didn't want a storyline or for it to be a gag but rather, simply, three images that would remind him of Blaze. __Panel 1)Blaze would often sleep with one of her giant basset hound ears covering her eyes. Panel 2) Blaze loved to chew on empty water bottles until the tops popped off. Panel 3) No matter what, Blaze always woke up in a good mood, and it was the family's delight to watch her funny little basset hound waddle-wiggle-walk as she strolled out of my son's bedroom to the kitchen every morning. She always caused our days to start with a smile! She's been gone six months now but she was special and will always be with us as we share those special memories.___It meant a lot to this dad to receive this request from his grown son :-)

BATTY for Halloween!

Creating images for Halloween is always so much fun, because you can't go wrong when creating  and making up your own creatures or characters! Cute bats, ugly bats, mean bats, happy bats...it's all goooooood :-) No restrictions, just wide open, unbridled creativity! Plus, you get to draw gross stuff... and because it's Halloween...it's okay :-)

Black and White vs. Full Color Illustration

I'm a HUGE fan of black and white illustration! But having said that, I cannot deny that, sometimes, taking that black and white illustration and converting it to a full color illustration can have a real dramatic impact on that same illustration and really make it pop! __The b/w 'Little Dog' image that I created last  Friday night...got the full color treatment this Friday night! Personally, I like both approaches, but it's fun to compare and contrast both options! Hope you like'em, too :-)

Artwork created while my wife sleeps!

I've mentioned in the past how, on certain evenings after my wife has fallen asleep, I will slip over to a drafting table we have in our bedroom, sit down and create for the pure joy of it. Well, I also look at it as practicing what I do, but the goal is just to unwind, relax and see where the pen takes my hand. This particular night, the pen had 'small dog attitude' on it's mind. __You just never know what the end result of these 'night time-wife sleeping' creations will be. But, they're always enjoyable :-)

Can you find Courage, a Brain or a Heart on Ebay?

Life in OZ is different these days :-)

Cartoons from 1993 bring modern day joy to this father.

Recently I was cleaning the bedroom my son grew up in (He's now 24 and lives 1,000 miles away). As you might guess, there's a mix of emotions when a parent goes through the things of their child's childhood. Imagine my surprise when I came across these three illustrations I did for him back in 1993, when he was 4 years old. __To me, they, the cartoons, were as powerful as finding an old love letter. There were no written words of love but rather, when I look at the cartoons I can see and remember the love that went into them. I see me trying to create images that he, my son, my little boy, would enjoy, make him smile and ultimately laugh or giggle. 

I wasn't paid a cent for these illustrations, but the hugs I got from my, then, 4 year old son when he received them, were worth more than anything in the world.__Now that's a good memory :-)

Ice Bucket Challenge

Couldn't go to sleep tonight without first sketching out my true experience with the Ice Bucket Challenge :-)

What's the BUZZ on Social Networking?

Cartoon asks, 'When it comes to social media and networking, can you really have too many friends?'

Illustration for the Children's Market

I have spent the majority of this summer creating illustrations pertaining to the children's market, mostly in the educational realm. I truly love working in this area for it allows a great level of creativity and imagination! Working with Art Directors and Editors who support that approach and celebrate the joy that is a child's imagination is such a treat!

Friday night and relaxing with pen and paper!

Friday night sometimes find me trying to unwind from the week by drawing for nobody but me. This typically means that after my wife has drifted off to sleep, I'll get up, grab some pens and paper, sit at the drawing table in our bedroom and just start inking with no real thought, or direction, in mind...other than to create, have fun and relax. __Such is the resulting image you see below. I call it, THE PARASITE!..but only because that's what the little guy who's attached himself to the big guy reminds me of. The end result of these drawings never have to have any profound meaning to me. I simply enjoy creating and seeing what ends up on the paper. ___So there you have it...my wild and exciting Friday night (sigh).... :-)

Beware...Fall political campaigning is coming!

The onslaught of political ads has already begun...and it's already getting nasty. This does not make me look forward to things kicking into high gear this fall when both sides come out in full force. Like the attached cartoon, they can dress it up all they want but their true colors, red & blue, always show through. __Could make for a spooky Halloween.

Using ILLUSTRATION for that special occasion!

Consider using illustration to celebrate and promote your special event! Case in point, here's an illustration I did some years ago to celebrate my high school class reunion. The cartoon mimics the traditional setting for our Senior class photo, taken every year outside in front of the entrance to our high school. I simply went back and changed the number on the banner to match this year's 35th reunion date...which we'll be celebrating tomorrow!

 

Illustration is sometimes about a play off of words.

When illustrating about a particular subject matter, I look for keywords or phrases in the copy that I can play off of when trying to create a fun illustration that ties into the article. Such is the case when creating a simple, fun piece of artwork about a child's 'loooooong day of reading.' Giraffe = Long...taadaa!