Cartoon Friend helps celebrate 30th Wedding Anniversary!

On September 8th I awoke to the blessed realization that I have been married to my best friend and beautiful bride for 30 years! Wow, it doesn't seem possible....not that we're still married (ha)...but rather that it's already been 30 years! It's flown and it's been wonderful! Not without it's challenges but always with love.
My wife and I have always tried to maintain the fun (humor) in our relationship, and many times that has included cartoons that I have created, in one way or another. This year my character, ESTER B. SAGGIN, decided to hang from the top of the garage door, in her bathing suit, gripping a sign with her toes, that welcomed my sweet wife home from her looooong day of work. __The wonderful thing about my wife,...she ALWAYS appreciates this kind of thing and that brings me joy and makes me want to keep making her happy :-) She's the best! Thanks for the help, ESTER B.!

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).... :-)