wickerdoodle

Keeping Busy

2010-01-09T09:21:00.002-06:00

I've had a new project to work on these days, a new blog and website that will most likely take the place of Wickerdoodle...not that anyone is reading this, are you? With some help from my buddy Josh I should have my Comic Press site up and running by mid Feb (that's the goal). It's the same resolutions this year as in year's past...get a new job and do more with my art. So far, I'm starting off the year in the right mode, so here's to hoping that I can keep it rolling.

Newspapers

2009-12-10T20:27:00.002-06:00

My intention was to post art, not cometary, but I have a scratch in my brain I need to itch. As an aspiring cartoonist, I have sought out the masters, the classics, in cartoons. Searching out the history of cartoons has helped me find some great art. I have really been drawn to the old editorial cartoons and the place that the cartoonist had in the editorial department of a newspaper back in the day that they mattered.
I have mixed feelings about the decline of newspapers. I'm a romantic in general, but I also try to be a realist. Newspapers have made their own bed to a great degree....that's a long story. So here's where this is coming from...
Every night when I rush to the train I pass a newspaper stand, or what was a newspaper stand. When I first started working downtown, I love walking by those wooden boxes with guys inside selling newspapers, magazine, etc. Something about those news stands brought back scenes in movies and other ideas of the big city. So anyway, there was a news stand just outside the doors of Ogilvy that I passed each day. I didn't give this sight too much thought, I liked it, but didn't buy a paper, didn't really see it until it was gone. One day, rushing to catch my train, I realized the warm dark news stand was reduced to a metal rack with some papers on it, and the guy who I'd witnessed fussing over his papers from inside that stand was now sitting on a small stool, sadly perched low, making him look like a punished child.
How did it happen that we went from paperboys to this sad man sitting on his stool by a cold metal rack of papers. I don't really need to ask this questions, as I rode the train home the other night, I read over the shoulder of the man in front of me, who was reading a book on his Kindle. I know how and why for the most part, but that doesn't make me any less sad about the way things are. All this technology is sapping something from life...sort of an ironic thing to write on a blog.

Amazon Cartoonist Contest

2009-10-31T09:29:00.003-05:00

http://www.amazon.com/Comic-Strip-Superstar-Books/b?ie=UTF8&node=2128878011

Check out the 10 finalist for the Amazon Comic Strip Superstar contest. Sadly my comic isn't among them, but these are all pretty great, so I'm not too disapointed. Vote for your favorite.

A Little Color

2009-10-31T09:27:00.002-05:00

BreaLincViniOak

2009-10-08T22:01:00.002-05:00

What is the BreaLincViniOak? It's a band, and now a sort of animal one man band. This is the guy I created for my friend Evan, who is a band director. Creating a band from four different schools takes some creativity, and so we worked together to come up with a creative character that could represent his band. Part kid, part woodland creature....The BreaLincViniOak (Breaside/Lincoln/Ravinia/Red Oak schools).

Toys

2009-09-15T20:32:00.003-05:00

I admit I'm a bit of a geek, but I'm not one who collects toys. I do have a Bob and Doug McKenzie toy from Todd McFarlane's company...wait, knowing that might make me a toy geek after all. Whatever, these toys are very cool...

http://store.projectsquadt.com/

U2 360

2009-09-12T13:32:00.002-05:00

U2 kicks off thier north American tour tonight here in Chicago at Soldier Field. A big thank you to our friend Darby who suprised us with tickets to the show. Should be a great night to top of a day where I sent my comic submission to the Amazon Cartoon Star contest. I'm not thrilled with my comic, but I never am. I wanted to hand letter them, which I didn't get to do, and I could use some practice working on color. I feel good having sent my comic, and now I can move on to some other projects. I should have a new blog up and running pretty soon...overheardcomics.

Reading Material

2009-08-25T20:00:00.001-05:00

Something tells me I need to purchase some of the books listed in this link. Oh Quimby's, how I miss you. I just don't read comics and graphic novels like I used to...

http://dailycartoonist.com/index.php/2009/08/25/ignatz-awards-nominees-announced/

2009-08-24T21:46:00.006-05:00

I haven't posted sketchbook drawings in a while, so here are a few. These drawings are from my lunch hour on 7/29, I was sitting on the fountains next to the Tribune building, along Michigan Ave. My favorite is the girl at the bottom.

Chicago Tribune Cartoonist

2009-08-19T16:03:00.002-05:00

After 9 years without a staff cartoonist the Chicago Tribune has finally chosen Scott Stantis. Check out this article in the Trib. It's about time that the Trib recognize the opportunity they have to stand out, and keep their newspaper viable. I couldn't be more thrilled.

Amazon Opportunity

2009-08-19T16:00:00.002-05:00

http://www.amazon.com/books-used-books-textbooks/b/?ie=UTF8&node=2128878011

Amazon and Andrews McMeel Publishing are launching a contest for the next Comic Strip Superstar.

"...an international search for the next popular comic strip artist, sponsored by Andrews McMeel Publishing and hosted by Amazon.com. The winner will receive a publishing contract from Andrews McMeel Publishing, a $5,000 advance from Universal Uclick, and a monthly stipend for the development of 20 comic strips that will be considered for syndication."

Sounds great. I'm throwing my hat in the ring for sure. Looks like I'd better dust of my pens and get to work.

2009-08-05T19:55:00.002-05:00

While I've been doing a poor job of posting (sorry to anyone reading my blog...you must be very bored), it's not for lack of working. One of my latest projects was for my friend Anthony's brewery. As I noted in a previous post, Anthony started home brewing less than a year ago, and is having great success. I'm a big supporter of anything my friends do, and especially if it involves beer, so I put together a logo and entered it into Anthony's online contest. I'm happy to say that this is the new Rockmont Brewing Co. logo! I'm also happy to say that I'll be tasting Anthony's Saugatuck Sunset Wheat this weekend, specially brewed in honor of a weekend away in Michigan. Yeah beer!

Brewhaha

2009-07-17T07:23:00.002-05:00

http://www.rockmontbrewing.com/

My friend Anthony started brewing beer back in Jan, and has gotten pretty good at it. I'm no expert, I mean sure, I've sampled my share of beer over years but I've met few I don't enjoy, however with a little encouragement from the guys at New Belgium Brewing Co. Anthony's off and running. This is the link to his brewery blog. Good luck Anthony, and I'd be happy to be a taste tester any time!

Topless Robot

2009-06-23T21:00:00.000-05:00

How have I not seen this blog before. Excellent.

http://www.toplessrobot.com/

A real Webcomic

2009-06-16T19:01:00.002-05:00

I'm working towards a legit attempt at a webcomic, starting with Effingham. Effingham seems so old to me know, but I'm dying to get some traction with something, and with Effingham I know my characters, have finished strips, and I know I can jump right back in to writing the strips. Anyway, this is the software I'm looking at...

http://comicpress.org/

Dream Jobs

2009-06-09T18:59:00.001-05:00

This is the kind of place I would love to work. I don't have the tech skills or design chops for this, but I love thier site.

http://www.kunoichi.com/

Update

2009-06-07T19:26:00.003-05:00

Updated some of my links. Been working more on my comics lately, so hopefully there's going to be some return soon. While moving out to the suburbs has been great in a lot of ways, it's been a little tough on my inspiration...I kind of miss the energy of the city. I'm hoping to make up for the loss of the Wickerpark excitement by picking up figure drawing at the Evanston Art Center, and maybe joining the Wilmette Arts Guild.

Comics

2009-03-08T09:27:00.003-05:00

Here's a look at what's been taking up my creative time lately. I've been working on a series of comics, for quite a while now, but haven't been able to post them. Hopefully you'll have the chance to see them in a book store near you, or on a blog, pretty soon.

This is my inked drawing for a three panel comic, not yet cleaned up in Photoshop. This is pretty close to the finished product, short of word balloons and of coarse dialogue.

20 Best Webcomics

2009-03-06T08:42:00.001-06:00

http://mashable.com/2009/03/03/web-comics/

Anti-Social Social Music to Draw to

2009-03-03T12:49:00.002-06:00

http://drawn.ca/2009/03/02/anti-social-social-kid-koalas-music-to-draw-to-in-montreal/

Check out this post on DRAWN. A public opportunity to get some work done. The massive amount of alone time required to produce comics, and probably most creative projects, is a constant struggle. This is a cool idea.

Really Back

2008-10-26T11:24:00.003-05:00

We're finally in our new house, with our new baby, and now I'm getting back to my art. I will try to start posting some work again, and get back into the routine. I did get out in the last few weeks and do some drawing during my lunch. The first day figure drawing in public, after months of not making the time, left me with some pretty rough results. Fortunately, after three straight days of drawing during my lunch hour, I was finally producing some better drawings.
Now it's back to work on my book project, and getting some gag cartoons in the mail. Having a baby makes finding time for my art more difficult, but it also has made it more important as I think about what kind of Dad I want to be, and how I want my son to see me living my life.

Finish Line

2008-07-20T18:35:00.002-05:00

After a long time away there is a finish line in sight! We have purchased a home, have a baby coming any day now, and I will actually have an at home work space soon. I've been drawing plenty, but not scanning my work...there are hours of computer time ahead to catch back up.

hiatus

2008-03-13T07:26:00.003-05:00

Well I haven't posted in a while, and the hiatus will continue too. I've upgraded to a new computer, and in an effort to upgrade our home, we've packed away most of our stuff, including my scanner. Hopefully I'll have things up and running again soon, but until then....

Painting

2008-02-18T12:02:00.002-06:00

I've been trying a little watercolor painting lately. Here are a few sketches that I've done in watercolor, then detailed in ink.

Perseverance

2008-01-26T05:50:00.001-06:00

Congratulations goes out to my friend Darby Harn, who shows that if you stick with it, good things happen. Darby has a publisher for one of his books, and nobody deserves it more. Way to go Darb.

http://darby-harn.blogspot.com/2008/01/book-of-elizabeth.html

Reading in 2008

2008-01-13T09:59:00.000-06:00

I was fortunately enough to receive some great reading material for Christmas this year, and have been doing my best to dip into the books, comics, and magazines that are now stacked on my nightstand. Here's a little of what's been keeping me busy....

Last year my wife gave me a subscription to the New Yorker, which I've really enjoyed, but I still found myself picking up copies of The Economist from time to time. This year I will have all the Economists I can read. Some great political and economic information with a global perspective.

Who doesn't love Dr. Suess. This book covers Theodor Geisel's war cartoons, which are as amazing as his children books. My interest in Suess was picked up again after visiting my friend Justin in Springfield Mass where Geisel was from. Seeing Geisel's paintings and the expanse of his work made me interested in someone who could use a cartoon style for so much.

The whole of what I don't know about economics is massive. This guy seems to know a lot, so I'm curious about what he has to say.

I got the Steve Colbert book for my birthday, and again for Christmas. It must be work reading right?
This is The Walking Dead Vol 1, which my brother Dan gave me. I think zombies are awesome, which seems to be pretty common these days. This book was very cool, and I consumed it in one sitting still wanting more. It made me rethink how I draw my own zombies...which were way too simple, and sent me back to the drawing board...literally.

I always thought that books about bands were crap, until I read a book about U2 that I just couldn't put down. Some of it was crap, but the journey in life that artists take, no matter what their craft may be, is becoming a bit of an obsession with me. I've always liked the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and reading this book, which I also have not been able to put down, has made me even more interested.

Christmas Cartoon Drawing Project

2007-12-21T10:40:00.000-06:00

I'm happy to say that I have won the People's Choice vote in the Christmas Cartoon Drawing Project over on the excellent Chewing Pencils site. There's nothing more flattering than having other cartoonist give you positive reinforcement! As I push harder to sell my cartoons, this is a really great boost to my confidence. I can't think of a better Christmas present, except maybe if I had thought up the winning cartoon...it's a really great cartoon.

http://www.chewingpencils.com/2007/12/21/2007-christmas-cartoon-project-winners/

Chewing Pencils Christmas Cartoon Project

2007-12-14T07:21:00.000-06:00

Santa Cartoon

2007-12-14T07:19:00.000-06:00

Here's another little Christmas cartoon...

Merry Christmas

2007-12-11T22:52:00.000-06:00

I've been trying to create some holiday cartoons this year. I worked up several for the Chewing Penciles Christmas Cartoon Project. This in one of them....

Merry Christmas Chicago

2007-12-08T12:13:00.001-06:00

Every year I intend to create a funny Christmas cartoon to send out as a card for the holidays. Unfortunately, December is the busiest time of the year for my day job, and my wife's, so last year no card went out at all. As we are receiving cards already, I'm happy to see that our friends and family didn't take last year personally. This year I am determined to get something together. As added inspiration one of my favorite comic sites is having a Christmas cartoon contest. The comic above is from my failed series of cartoons called Windy City. Working on Michigan Ave as I do M-F, I have experienced first hand the chaos that is Christmas shopping in the city. I'll post my Christmas comics here as I finish them...good or bad.

http://www.chewingpencils.com/2007/12/05/2007-chewing-pencils-christmas-cartoon-project/

October Sketchbook

2007-11-26T16:21:00.001-06:00

Well this stuff is over a month old, but this is the first chance I've had in a while to look through my sketchbook and scan. These are drawings generally from my lunch hour spent in the lobby of the Sheraton Hotel across the street.

This last couple I saw in Dominick's while grabbing an afternoon coffee. I could hardly believe them...he had this sweet eye patch, and she had tons of black eye shadow on. They're my favorite.

Line

2007-11-26T16:08:00.000-06:00

Going through my sketchbook today I came across this drawing. The girl in the middle is where it started, and that's still my favorite person in this line-up.

Vancouver

2007-11-15T18:41:00.000-06:00

I spent almost 2 years living in Vancouver BC. It was an amazing city to call home, and I still get home sick for it. It's the only place other than my childhood home, and maybe Chicago now, that I really felt was my home. This time lapse footage is amazing, and reminds me of the ocean and mountains. My first apartment building is even in the video, making me that much more home sick for that view I had of Granville Island.

http://www.travelvoyeur.com/index.php/comments/vancouver_canada_timelapse/

Warmer Days

2007-10-25T07:17:00.000-05:00

Well the weather has turned, and fall is here for sure. As I was looking back through my sketchbook I found a drawing I did at the beach in Michigan. No more of these scenes for about 7 months.

Color

2007-10-18T07:09:00.000-05:00

I finally got around to inking some stuff from my sketchbook so I could play with some colors. Here's my latest attempt....

Apple Orchard

2007-10-17T19:41:00.000-05:00

I was in Saugatuck Michigan recently and captured this little scene while walking my dog at sunrise. I'm still tweaking the coloring...

Scribble Art

2007-09-25T09:56:00.000-05:00

These are some new things I've been working on. I start by doing a random scribble on the page, then use the shapes created to inspire faces. These are all done with a regular ball point pen on sketchbook paper, so they have a roughness to them. I'd like to try this with a better pen, and on some better paper to see the difference....

sketchbook

2007-09-25T09:52:00.000-05:00

Some doodles from my sketchbook....

Lunch Sketchbook

2007-09-25T09:15:00.000-05:00

Here are a few images from a recent lunch hour spent in the Sheraton lobby across the street from my office.

Reading

2007-08-21T19:13:00.000-05:00

So until I have some time to scan new drawings...I read this article in the New Yorker about Lesch-Nyhan Syndrome. It's the most amazingly terrible thing I've ever heard of. You want to attack yourself, among other things. The Wikipedia link here doesn't do it justice, but it's the best I could find.

What I'm Reading...

2007-07-24T22:03:00.000-05:00

Well I haven't posted in a while, but not for lack of working. I've been working on a few little projects I can't yet post here. One of my projects, a zombie comic written by my friend Darby, is finally at the rough stage, so I'll post some pics soon.

In the meantime, I've been hitting Quimby's lately for books, and I just fell in love with Percy Gloom. I enjoyed the story, but this character was amazing, and so was Cathy Malkasian's artwork. Check out her site for more....

http://www.percygloom.com/

Contact!

2007-06-27T21:19:00.001-05:00

My home internet is finally back up and running! I'll post some new work here soon, if anybody is still around to view it....

Not Dead, but

2007-05-24T08:49:00.001-05:00

We'll I'm not dead, but our internet connection has been. I'm sneaking in a quick post from work while our floors at home are repaired, and internet is fixed. Hopefully I'll be posting again soon!

Back

2007-05-02T09:10:00.000-05:00

After a week of no internet connection, I'm finally back in touch with the world. Thanks to Josh for using his magic touch to bring me back on line. Unfortunately I was prevented from posting Effingham comics too, so today I play catch up.

2007-04-11T18:40:00.000-05:00

A little something in honor of the nasty weather today.

Contrast

2007-04-07T08:34:00.000-05:00

Just some more sketchbook work from my lunch break at work...

The Chicagoland Cartoonists Cabal

2007-04-05T06:23:00.000-05:00

I was checking out Andertoons Cartoon Blog the other day, something I was in the habit of doing at one point, but unfortunately got away from. Anyhoo, he had a great post about writing gag cartoons. I've written some gag cartoons, not a lot, but a few. My struggle with gag cartoons came in the fact that it became clear quite quickly that I'd have to have my head in a certain place to come up with those ideas, and unfortunately that was really messing with my ability to do my job. I would much rather be watching the world around me, soaking it in and making jokes about it, but I was too disconnected to do what they pay me for. So the post breaks down the thought process he goes through, scanning the business section for ideas, and the stream of consciousness that occurs from that to get him to the joke.
It reminded me how much I enjoyed working on gag cartoons, because when you get a jem, that feels so good. That said, and with work a little slow, I'm going to put this exercise to use, and see if I can't generate a few new ideas.
Oh, one other thing that I realized while on the Andertoons Blog. There is a "meet-up" of cartoonist in Chicago, well Shaumburg actually. There are a couple of great cartoonists in this group, with Anderson being just one. I would really love to get into this and meet these guys, but Shaumburg is about probably at least 1 hour away during rush hour, if not more. Still, there is a meeting on the first Wed. of May, and I'd really like to go, so I'm going to use that as a goal to work on some gag cartoons before then.

http://cartoonists.meetup.com/74/

UCS Cartoon Contest

2007-03-31T08:35:00.000-05:00

Wow, it's been a month and a half since I last posted. Time slips away far to quickly. Anyhoo I saw this posting on The Daily Cartoonist website about a national cartoon contest by the Union of Concerned Scientists and followed it to their website, http://www.ucsusa.org/
Not only is the contest very cool, but so is this organization from what I saw poking around the site. Citizens and Scientists for Environmental Solutions, is how the UCS describes themselves. Pretty interesting....

2007-02-12T06:42:00.000-06:00

I took Lisa to the Chicago Symphony for her birthday a few weeks ago, and sketched these guys during the intermission. I've started carrying a very small sketchbook around with me, and it's been great for grabbing quick sketches like these.

COLD

2007-02-02T20:06:00.000-06:00

It has been bitter cold here in Chicago this week. The forecasted high temp. for super bowl Sunday is 4 degrees.
This guy was hanging out in the food court outside Nordstrom. I drew a lot this week during my lunch and this guy was my favorite.

Editorial Cartoons

2007-01-27T06:41:00.000-06:00

There was a time when I aspired to be an editorial cartoonist. I guess the definition of that term "editorial cartoonist" could be debated, since there are certainly plenty of comics editorializing on the state of things. Anyway, the days of newspapers having a staff editorial cartoonist are numbered it seems, so I focused my attention else where some time ago.
That said, this is an excellent editorial artist blog, with some other great links too.

http://www.drawblood.blogspot.com/

A Little Color

2007-01-20T08:52:00.000-06:00

Some more sketches

2007-01-20T08:45:00.000-06:00

Random stuff from my the last few weeks of my sketchbook....

Design

2007-01-20T08:35:00.000-06:00

One of my greatist frustrations here in Chicago is that I don't have many other cartoonists or artist friends. I really fed off the energy of drawing with friends in Vancouver and picking up on other influences that they discovered and incorporated into thier work. I try to look at other work on the interent, but it's hard to find the time, then hard to make that material available when I want to draw. Anyway, here are some sketches from my sketchbook that are certainly still in my style, but I tried to take them just a bit out of my compfort zone. This is something I need to spend a lot more time doing.

Appeal

2007-01-13T06:53:00.000-06:00

I don't know what makes some of the stuff in my sketchbook so much more appealing to me than others, but here are some I like.

Go West Young Man

2007-01-13T06:19:00.000-06:00

I have a thing for the old west. I love western movies, love places like Colorado, and old ghost towns. My favorite thing to play as a kid was cowboy. Among the comics rattling around in my head that I hope to put down on paper is a western comic. There are so many great cliches to work with, and colorful characters always seem to pop up in those old westerns that would be great comic characters. Hopefully I'll get around to doing that comic some day, but until then doodles like this one will have to do.

Vikings Kick Ass

2007-01-13T06:12:00.000-06:00

I've been trying to push myself a bit lately, which can be difficult without any peers around to challenge you and give you feedback. Beyond my doodles during lunch at work, I've also started challenging myself with topics, or new styles. When it comes to new styles, I try to incorporate them, not just mimic them.

Fox Trot's Exit

2006-12-22T07:28:00.000-06:00

As an aspiring cartoonist, I of coarse read a lot of comic strips. One of my favorites, although I was late in getting into it, is Fox Trot. I've come to appreciate a lot about this comic strip as I've learned how to do my own. Fox Trot will now be a Sunday only comic, freeing up space in over 100 newspapers around the country. I'm glad that there will be new opportunities for other cartoonist, and I admire Bill Amend for getting out, or cutting back, before his comic has become too stale. Just as Bill Waterson did with Calvin and Hobbes, Bill Amend is not turning Fox Trot into a farmed out comic that continues despite loosing it's great value. Those comics that end while they are still good have more appeal in the long run, and create great opportunities for the artists to continue their characters in animation, books and other media. If I ever get the chance to have a syndicated strip with even a tenth of that success, I hope that I'll have the same wisdom. Read about it here....

http://www.amuniversal.com/ups/newsrelease/?view=468

Lunch sketchbook 11/21

2006-12-16T13:26:00.000-06:00

The Lotion Men

2006-12-16T13:17:00.000-06:00

So the area that I draw in the mall is near a small kiosk that sells lotions. The employees are all young, very feminine and very aggressive men. These guys pounce on any poor woman who stops to get a free dollop of what ever lotion they are offering, and after a few minutes, they've lured these women into the little kiosk. Eventually the women waddle away with a tot bag full of what I'm sure is over priced lotions and soaps. Below is one of these little gremlins.

Lunch time sketchbook 11/20

2006-12-16T13:15:00.000-06:00

More sketchbook work from the coffee bar outside of Nordstrom. This mall contains a lot of very high end stores, which provides me with an ample amount of characters to draw.

Sketchbook work 11/14

2006-12-16T13:10:00.000-06:00

I've been behind on posting, but not necessarily drawing. I've continued to spend my lunch hour drawing when ever I can get away. These are from the tables outside Nordstrom on Michigan Avenue.

Go Comics

2006-12-16T09:13:00.000-06:00

I finally have Effingham out for the rest of the world to see. You can find it under the Comic Sherpa section of GoComics.com. Go Comics has a lot of great comics and provides the Sherpa section as a place for aspiring cartoonist to show thier work and get feedback. I've already gotten some good comments on Effingham, and I'm looking forward to seeing what people think as it really get's rolling.

Check it out....

http://www.gocomics.com/index.phtml

Singing the Praises of Books

2006-10-04T20:04:00.000-05:00

The other day on the way to work, we passed a bus stop, and this woman was dancing around with a book in her hand, and one on her head. It's the kind of thing you can only see in the city, and reminded me of all the great stimulation around if you have a little time to look.

Lunch Sketchbook

2006-09-28T06:21:00.000-05:00

Since I usually post only my favorite sketches from my sketchbook, I though maybe I'd just fill a page with drawings and post that. I spent my lunch hour yesterday sitting in the mall outside Nordstrom's. This is a pretty high end mall, right off Michigan Ave and there is an interesting mix of rich, old, young, lost, etc. people wandering around.

More From Rome

2006-09-22T07:19:00.000-05:00

Rome

2006-09-22T07:06:00.000-05:00

The sights in Rome were amazing, but the smells were not. Rome smelled like the mens room at Soldier Field after an early season game. We still settled in, for much of the same kind of sight seeing we did in Florence. Lots of walking and siting at cafes. I drew most of these at Piazza Navona, where I collected a group of Italian waiters who watched me draw, and encouraged me to draw more "hot women". It was a pretty funny situation, and earned LB and I a couple of free shots of lemonchello.

Florence

2006-09-21T07:06:00.000-05:00

With only a couple of days in Florence, and no extra cash, we decided not to spend that time waiting in lines for museums. I would have liked to see Michelangelo David, but the line was a block long. We opted for hanging out in piazza's and walking all over the city. It was a good choice. Drawing tourists from all over the world was a blast.

Lay over in Frankfurt

2006-09-21T07:03:00.000-05:00

It's a long trip to Italy. Chicago to Frankfurt, then a 2 hr flight to Rome. A lot of these people were not happy to be in Frankfurt.

Bound for Italy

2006-09-21T06:55:00.000-05:00

I've been gone for a while, as LB and I have spent the last couple of weeks in Italy visiting her grandparents. The whole experience would make a great comic I think. Everything from her Grandfather's driving to picking fresh figs off the trees. It was an amazing place. I was able to do a lot of drawing too...starting with our departure from O'Hare in Chicago. I love drawing in airports. People look so tired and angry, they're freatures seem more exagerated.

Coffee at Filter in Bucktown....

2006-08-27T08:03:00.000-05:00

Random lunch time drawings . . .

2006-08-27T07:58:00.000-05:00

Working right in the heart of the down town provides some great characters to draw during my lunch time. These are people waiting for a free trolley to Navy Pier. They waited for 20 minutes for a trolley that would take them 5 blocks.

Effingcomic

2006-08-19T19:44:00.000-05:00

I've been putting in a lot more time on Effingham lately. Check you a few new comics on the Effingcomic blog.

Cheeseheads

2006-08-08T21:30:00.000-05:00

I play in a fantasy football league with some friends from college. I was never a huge fan of pro football, except the Packers. Fantasy has changed that. Now I find myself interested in the stats of the 5th receiver on the Oakland Raiders. Great, just what I need, another hobby.
Anyway, we get to add a logo to our fantasy team, so I went ahead and did this little number for the Cheeseheads. I actually won two years ago, despite having about 5 Green Bay Packer players on my team.

2006-08-06T13:08:00.000-05:00

2006-08-05T12:07:00.000-05:00

Dude, check these out.

2006-08-05T11:38:00.000-05:00

Tiny Dancer

2006-08-05T11:23:00.000-05:00

Some sketches from my sketchbook. I've been doing a lot of drawing, but not a lot of posting. One of these drawings is from my lunch hour, not hard to guess which one. These are some of my favorites from the last month.

sketchbook

2006-07-14T06:46:00.000-05:00

Effing New

2006-07-14T05:57:00.000-05:00

http://effingcomic.blogspot.com/

Comic Blogs

2006-07-12T21:47:00.000-05:00

I've come across a couple of great blogs on DRAWN. The links here will take you to blogs by successful comic artists Mark Anderson (http://andertoons.typepad.com/cartoon_blog/ ) and Mark Heath (http://spotthefrogblog.typepad.com/frogblog/ ) Hmmm...Maybe I need to change my name to Mark.
These guys are both successful with different kinds of work. Anderson does single panel cartoons for magazines and all sorts of stuff. His gag cartoons are great, and so is his blog. Heath has a syndicated cartoon strip called Spot The Frog. I hadn't seen the strip, but looking at his blog, and website made me feel a lot better about my own work. He sites long gaps between the sale of cartoons, and didn't get his syndication deal until he was over 40. There's still hope!

Airport Sketchbook

2006-06-25T21:39:00.000-05:00

After a long time away, almost three months, I finally have my computer back in shape, my health back in shape, and a little free time to blog. A trip to Lake Tahoe Nevada recently gave me the opportunity to be in one of my favorite places to draw, the airport. The pictures below are from down time at the Sacramento airport and the Denver Airport.

Be Ware

2006-05-20T06:36:00.000-05:00

We attended the opening of cartoonist Chris Ware's show at the Chicago Museum of Contemporary Art last night. The show was amazing and it was great to see a young, successful, and amazingly talented cartoonist receiving this level of attention. You should check it out....

http://www.mcachicago.org/MCA/exhibit/current-frameset.html

Oh, and yeah, I haven't post in a few months. Long story short, computer problems, a move, and life in general. Things are getting back on track now though, so I can get back to blogging, and drawing.

The Human Pixel Project

2006-03-31T23:03:00.000-06:00

Check it out. I found out about The Human Pixel Project through Craig's List, and sent away for my pixels. I was pleased as hell when I received an email letting me know that the work would be showing in the Three Columns Gallery in Mather House at Harvard University. Not only is the piece showing, but one of my pixels, an angry Gary can be found above, is a part of the promotional post card for the show, and is part of the website. Check it out...
http://www.humanpixelproject.net/home.html

Waterloo Two

2006-03-30T06:22:00.000-06:00

In a previous post (http://wickerdoodle.blogspot.com/2006/03/karaoke-waterloo-style.html) I had a quick sketch of one of the many characters we saw in Waterloo. Well, I had time to dash off a few more. There was the guy who did karaoke, and could really sing, which was sort of surreal given the place we were in. There was also an old couple sitting behind us who was celebrating thier anniversary by putting back some beers and massive amounts of potatoe chips in this smoky little motel bar. I may work up some more, but for now, I thought those of you who were there, might get a kick out of these.

Gag Lifestyle

2006-03-28T06:10:00.000-06:00

I walked by the smokers in front of my office building every day, and knew there was a cartoon in it, especially when I found myself feeling out of place if I stopped to talk to them. If I stood there, but didn't smoke, it was as though I owed them some explanation for standing in their area, the one area they were allowd to be themselves in. I felt this need to justify why I was not smoking.
I was making a steady effort to churn out single panel gag cartoons like this one for a while. It gave me an entirely new level of respect for those who do it for a living. It is a was of thinking, a kind of creative process all its own to be sure. I had to have my head in a place were I was thinking of gag cartoons twenty-four hours a day. I did find, once I had my mind focused on it for days on end, that I could produce more and more each day, and while I felt more disconnected from the world around me in one way, I was more in tune with my cartoons than ever before. This was a mind set I was unable to sustain. While the cartoons got better and better, my day job suffered imensely. I couldn't put my head in two places at once, and so I was forced to choose and the comics lost.
It was great to approach every conversation, situation, and setting and imagine the comics and humor that could be created from it. Lately more and more, I yearn to get back to looking at the world from the cartoonist point of view. I've gotten away from it lately because of money and work presure, but the toll on my personal life, and my phsyche is not worth it.

Karaoke Waterloo Style

2006-03-19T19:41:00.000-06:00

Lisa and I spent the weekend in Waterloo Iowa visiting with a great group of friends. While I didn't get much time to draw, I was inspired to by much of what I saw. The sketch above is what I was able to dash off with a ball point pen after hitting Karaoke night at "Times", which was the motel bar. This little guy could actually sing ok, and we all got a kick out of the fact that he swaggered around the bar singing with no need to read the words. I only wish I could have had a tablet to capture the Bosnian bar and some of the other places we saw on our weekend.

Guilty Pleasures

2006-03-15T18:31:00.000-06:00

I have come down with a nasty cold, so there will be no Wednesday Drawing Workshop for me tonight. Unable to go to work today, I had hoped to do some drawing, but leaning over a drafting table it turns out is not good for sinuses. Since I didn't have anything new to post, not counting the strips I've been trying to keep up with on http://effingcomic.blogspot.com/
This image above is from a series of one panel comics I did to submit to a gallery show in Chicago about indulgence. I found myself eating some fast food one day, and feeling mighty guilty. That same night I passed an alley and saw a guy hunched over drinking from a bottle. We shared a look, and I recognized it from the crack heads in the alley behind my Vancouver apartment. This look of guilt, and sadness. I didn't really capture that above, but I liked the idea of overlapping those two worlds. We all have our guilty addictions, and each of them chip away at our sanity and stability it thier own way. I need to go on a diet.

Window sketch

2006-03-10T07:17:00.000-06:00

Before the Wed. workshop I've been doodling from the window at Bean n' Bagels as a warm up. Here are some images from this last Wed, and even one with a bit of color. Oh, and the guy in the hat became all worked up when he saw what I was doing. I think he was just angry because the bus was late, but he came to the window and just stared at me. For a second I thought he was probably going to come into the coffee house and confront me, which would have been interesting. After we had a little stare down, he looked dwon at my drawing of him and I guess he was happy with it becuase he nodded his head, and walked back over to the bus stop. Maybe if he thought my drawing was bad he would have tried to kick my ass.

Drawing Workshop: Twice as Nice

2006-03-10T06:37:00.000-06:00

A little treat at the Drawing Workshop this Wednesday, two models! I haven't had the chance to draw from two models in a while. It's much more dynamic, and I find it much easier. One of my greatest challenges, as it is for many artists, is to draw the figure, the entire figure, and keep proportions correct. It's so easy while drawing a figure to get lost in a line on the arm, or the curve on a leg and lose perspective on how this small portion is part of the overall figure. When this happens you end up with a figure with huge arms, super long legs, or a tiny head. Sometimes I embrace that and try to push it for a cartoon style, but part of me feels that I'm just giving in to my weakness when I do that.
So anyway here are my sketches of two figures from Wednesday. Pic #1 is a 5 min sketch, and I wish it would have been longer. A great pose with lots of contrast between her soft limp pose, and the tension in his back from stretching out. Pic #2 is a 10 min pose. I tried using charcoal pencil for this one, to force myself to commit a little more. I often use too many lines, too much structure, and I was once told that it was a sign of a lack of commitment to my drawing. I tried to commit to the last one too, using charcoal again for this 25 min pose. I usually hate the longer poses, but with two models, there was plenty to draw.

Margie's Punk Candies

2006-03-03T06:33:00.000-06:00

I spend about 35 minutes drawing people from the front window at Bean n' Bagels before my drawing group on Wednesday nights. I only did one drawing of a commuter that I liked, the head above, but right before I had to run, I noticed the scene across the street. Directly across the street from me is a second location of Margie's Candies. Margie's is this dive ice cream shop in my neighborhood that's been around for ever and has a certain charm. It also has a certain level of dust and funk on everything, but that's all part of it. Well this is thier new northside location. Inside this candy and ice cream parlor were these two punk kids. They couldn't have looked more bored. They had thier white shirts, aprons, and one kid had one of those paper caps on. They were a riot. At one point they started having a fight with sprinkles or something, running around this failing little shop. I'm definely devoting next Wed. to drawing these kids. I only really had time to capture one of them this week...

Drawing Workshop

2006-03-03T05:54:00.000-06:00

Back in film school we did about six hours of figure drawing a week. The feeling of repetition when you draw the same model over and over can really take some of the fun out of it, and I often felt like it lacked a spark because of that. Now that I don't get that kind of time with a model, I realize just how much of a help that repetition was. Six hours of figure drawing forced you to work out certain kinks in your work, which is something I could use right now.
These are from my Wednesday Drawing Workshop. My 15 min poses are getting a little better, but this week I finally felt good about a shorter pose. I was really pushing for a shift in style on the first drawing (15 min), and I loved the way his face cast a profile shadow on the wall. The 2nd image is the first 3 min drawing I've been happy with. The next is a 5 min pose. His head is freakishly large, which is what I ended up liking. I guess some times even the mistakes can make for a good drawing. The final drawing is a 15 min pose.

Effingham

2006-02-25T07:40:00.000-06:00

My comic is in a state of resurrection.

http://effingcomic.blogspot.com/

2006-02-18T19:04:00.000-06:00

These are some sketches I did from the window of Bean n' Bagels of outside the Montrose Brown Line stop. This last guy with the smoke did not like me drawing his picture. For the two women I use a little softer pencil, since I was going to the Drawing Workshop, I had a pencil box with me and a lot more options than I usually have.

Back Again

2006-02-13T07:13:00.000-06:00

Well Thanks to my friend Josh, I am once again in touch with the outside world via internet. The pics below are from a Sunday afternoon spent sketching in Filter. It was a few weeks ago...

This last one is my wife Lisa. She never likes the sketches I do of her. In truth, I should know better than to show her the various drafts I've done of caricatures of her. No one likes thier own caricature.

No Connection

2006-02-08T12:35:00.000-06:00

Unfortunately my interent connection is not working at home, so it might be a while before I can get back to posting. I live in fear that when I post from work (as I'm doing now) someone who cares, might notice.

Color vs Tone

2006-01-22T07:52:00.000-06:00

My second visit to the Drawing Workshop proved to be more in line with what I had expected the first time. My drawing was rusty, with my 20 sec gestures looking exactly like my 10 sec gestures. This is something that used to drive me crazy when I was studying in Vancouver, as I should be getting more information down on the page with the extra time, instead of simply drawing more structure lines, and adding detail to the hands or face. These are a few drawings I was reasonably happy with, but the fact that the one above is a 15 minute drawing, as opposed to the last one which is 25 minutes, is a prime example of the brick wall I seem to hit with my drawings. The seated drawing below is 20 minutes, and the standing pose is 10 min.

I was able to over hear an interesting debate between head of the studio and one of the regulars, whom I suspect is a professional illustrator. They were debating the question of color vs tone, with the studio head arguing that there really is no such thing as color, because everything is a degree of tone. The illustrators argument was related to computers and how they break down color into pixels, and thus isolate them, which means that within those pixels you have a pure color, not a tone. It seemed to me the question was really about computer vs reality, and that the pixels are created to trick our mind into seeing tones. It all really reminded me of the great awakening I felt when Giddeon, my drawing instructor at VFS, explained the idea of tone. Basically the idea is that there are no lines in the world. If you think about it, it's really quite logical. There are no lines, simple tones of dark and light. When you look at the separation between to objects, thus creating a line, or certainly causing you to draw a line if you were to try and capture what you're seeing, what you're really seeing is thier tonal difference. One of the objects is darker than the other, and where the dark meets light, we have an edge or line. It really makes pretty clear sense, but this realization totally change my aproach to drawing. If you try to capture a scene, without drawing any lines, but instead shading light and dark tones until the image reveals, it's an entirely different creative experience.
I didn't have the chance to join into the debate going on in the Drawing Workshop, but it reminded me once again, of the passion I feel for drawing, and how much I crave thinking and talking about drawing and art with friends.

Rusty

2006-01-12T20:44:00.000-06:00

I made it back to the Drawing Workshop's figure drawing group after a long hiatus. It was great to be back. The group meets in Ravenswood, so it's a bit of a drive out of downtown after work, but after getting back into it, I was so glad I could be there. I was certainly rusty, as was to be expected, but not quite as bad as I feared. Here are a few samples. The first one is a 10 min pose, second is a 5 sec pose, then 15 min, and finaly the 25 min pose.

Who's The Biggest Loser?

2006-01-10T20:11:00.000-06:00

There is a casting call for the NBC program, The Biggest Loser, today at Rock Bottom Brewery about five blocks from my office. The line of would be contestants stretched around the block, so along with a lot of other people, I went over to see the huge line (no pun intended). Sketchbook in hand, I hoped to find a good spot to perch and draw these characters stuck standing on the street. I tried the bus stop, which proved to be too cold. I ended up in the Chipotle across the street, where I was fortunate enough to grab a window seat.
The drawing was great. Captive subjects, who were all self consciously glancing around and huddled against the wall as if wishing they could just blend into it. As I sat there trying to capture the great shapes, and lines that you find on people who have heavy a truck pulled in front of the window. The driver, probably about my age, was a big guy to say the least. He sat staring at the line for a while. He looked down at his belly, which was testing the limits of the buttons on his green uniform. He sat for quite a while looking at the line, rubbing his belly, looking into his rear view mirror. After a while he started the truck back up and pulled away. I don't know if he had come, intending to get in line, and loose his weight on national television or if he was just taking a break, and happened to choose a location that spurred a little introspection.
It was also an experience viewing this scene from a fast food Mexican place. People chowing down on steak burritos, with extra sour cream. Many of the contestants were holding burritos of their own in fact, and through the course of the lunch hour, several made trips over to Chipotle to grab up something to eat. Every time some one caved and bought a burrito, two or three more would come over. After about 40 minutes at least half the people in line were chewing on chips, burritos, and soda.
These are some favorite drawings from my lunch.