Field of Dreams Meets Caddy Shack

   I suppose iconic poses and gestures work for people who do "iconic things". This duffer might remember Babe Ruth pointing to the spot where he intended to hit a home run ball. Homage doesn't always 'transfer' too well, eh?
 

So we think we're Babe Ruth, do we?

   Happy "long weekend" or "Fourth" to the northern two thirds of North America...happy Wimbledon across the pond and happy day all around.

So I made some bowls

By now most have deduced that my day job is at a Lutheran Church in a small town near Winnipeg. Besides doodling, I also putter in the 'man cave' where I make pots. The wheel and kiln are in our basement. Getting the time to work is tricky because I seldom have more than one day in a row free.
Lately, I've been learning how to throw to a gauge and to make roughly the same shape more than once in a row. Interesting that I struggle with that in both drawing and pottery....I fear what such a deficit might mean! Digression aside, here are the bowls:

GP Bowls and a few odds and ends

Geography explained

Hope this clears things up

For those who expect erudition, enlightenment, and elucidation--You turn to THIS blog?
For those who seek sophisticated humor, subtlety, and skilled drawing--How did you find US?

For those still reading...hope this brings a smile, a chuckle or at least an amused groan.
 Happy Thursday.

Busy?

With you in a minute...

Ever notice how as you prepare for vacation you get busier and when you return you're busier to 'make up' for it? Will all that busy-ness matter in ten, twenty, or one hundred years?

On another topic...I read the statistics for this blog once in a while with some interest. Lately, the 'traffic sources' are from lots of places and there are more 'views' from Russia than the U.S. or Canada. What does that mean? Am I big over there? Dream on....If you're from a country other than Canada or the U.S., would you kindly offer a one or two word comment and tell the bartster where you're living?

Time Warp Tuesday~set the way back machine for 2007

Admittedly we're not going really far back today. This quick sketch for a three panel was done in a sketchbook labelled 2006-2007.

I can see a number of things I'd do differently, if I drew this sketch today. Maybe that might mean I'm learning. Even now there's lots to learn about setting scenes and balancing the character and the scene she inhabits. 

Thinking about my 'career'---The last drawing class was part of a semester long course when I was in the eighth grade. I don't remember that going well, but maybe having a few years to practice and reflect I might benefit by taking a drawing class or workshop. 

One of these days I might try redrawing something from a few years back and compare two drawings "side by side". Stay tuned....

Content? There supposed to be Content?

After blogging since last autumn, I get how the greats like Gary Larson and Bill Watterson eventually call it quits (or Trudeau does spin offs, etc).Amazing that these and other creative souls can produce consistently funny and thought provoking stuff. So if I've learned anything, it's about appreciating the work of the "pros".

What am I doing in this guy's sketch book?

I must admit I still like scribbling and experimenting with watercolor. Blessed are we when work becomes play and play never becomes work. (I don't know if I made that up or am unconsciously quoting somebody else). Back to the morning coffee....

PNSFWBSFCB*

*Probably not suitable for work, but suitable for coffee break....maybe.

The idea for this toon (gag as they say in the biz) came from the observation about how closely the label of a grape juice carton resembles that of the prune juice container. The person setting up communion that morning then started riffing on how funny that might be if the two ever got mixed up (she's a nurse, btw). With Shelley's kind permission, here's my rendering of the situation....

The Rev. Rosenschnitzel so naively hoped an aging congregation would appreciate prune juice for Holy Communion

Pre-post post-pre post

Postamble

There are preludes and postludes, so if there's a preamble isn't there a postamble?
Words...so funny. Now I wonder why I can't draw a sideways pose...even starting with the paper upright. Hmm. There's always tomorrow's pre. Post. Whatever.

Our denomination uses the term "rostered leader" to describe a role we occupy, which includes deacons, pastors, and other people who have a specific call to a specialized sort of ministry. The toon below illustrates what happens when I read too quickly and am a bit bleary eyed....

"Actually the term is r-o-s-t-e-r-e-d leader"

As you can see, sometimes as little as an extra letter or a quick misread can send bartster's little brain and pencil dashing off along some tangent or other.

Time Warp Tuesday

This might seem a lot like "re-run season" on TV--do they still do that? We've kept a few sketch books from over the years and somewhere there's one from when I was in junior high (a while back). Today's (ahem) retrospective is about ten years old. You'll notice some revising of wording in the talk bubble.

No question this panel is dated. Do they even do mosh pits and slam dancing anymore?  One thing does seem unchanged--we sometimes get cheesy in trying to be relevant.

Pastor we REALLY tried to support your new "Mosh Liturgy" but....

 You might notice from yesterday's toon, done....yesterday that I'm still working on that whole foreground/background balance. It's fun to see the changes in style and to notice that I'm learning as I go.   Bottom line...I have fun and keep doodling.

Monday's Musing

Those were the days, my boy~even the NOSTALGIA was better back then!

The clever writing comes from my colleague, Jason. His kind permission to illustrate his witty comment reminds me of how often I hear and overhear people saying such humorous things. Jason's wit was intentional and instructive. On other occasions, I hear people say things they mean to be serious, but with a little twist here or there...the humor is simply unavoidable.

I enjoyed the coloring of this toon with the fancy water color pencils and the water pencil that diffuses the color. It would be fun to do some reading or take some instruction in coloring. For now, I like drawing and coloring outside the lines (much to the ire and consternation of my grade school teachers) and think I'll keep on with it.

Eye Training

The idea of learning to see in different ways has come at me in every domain of my life--pottery, drawing, the work of "being"....A guy might think there's a lesson to be learned, eh?
This week I sat in a courtyard soaking up sun and relishing the sight of a chair that held a basket with some greenery in it.

Something about the scene drew(sorry) me in. I had to sketch and try to capture something of the gestural quality of the chair. I didn't pull it off, but I saw some incipient signs of progress. The real pay off was in sitting quietly and really noticing light, shadow, angle posture...all of it. There's the lesson that probably more alert, mindful and soulful people would pick up on. I hope to catch up:)

Here's the bit I did--

Breakfast Challenge

A while back my friend Gary put out a challenge...to draw something on the paper that drinking straws are wrapped in.....here's my first attempt

We had a to-go carton for all those pancakes we ordered for brekkie and the ring that wraps the utensils. We could't ignore those drawing surfaces!

     

Facing Monday

For those days when a venti isn't quite enough...

An insta-sketch because I slept extra....had a nice coffee and now need to run to an appointment in the next town over!

Making for the Weekend

You might notice that I tend to cram a lot of doodling onto a page...that's because I'm a cheapskate about paper! Despite my grumbling about technology, I'm glad for it. After all...there is the way cool cropping feature so that I can present our guy styling and profiling his way into the weekend.....

Some material objectionable to techies

Yesterday I showed you some rough sketches that became a doodle. Today's came without benefit of a rough sketch. Simply, I up and drew it. That's it.

                                  

   Two sightings in our little town in two days. I walked along a sidewalk and two school children from the grade school approached. One appeared to be aware of her surroundings. The other was zombified and had no inkling someone was approaching. I took to the neighbor's lawn to avoid being run down. The zombina was so engrossed in her i what ever she ignored her friend and expected the world to move around her.
  The second sighting happened as my dear one and our dog were strolling and were nearly mowed down by a car evidently piloted by a zombie connected to her i-doo-hickie--perhaps awaiting instructions from the mother ship. DOH! sorry I'm mixing my horror movies.

So as you can see....sometime cartoons come from a place other than gentle whimsy; like grumpitude. But hey, a doodle is a doodle, right?

Rough Drafts

It might be interesting to see the different ways I arranged yesterday's toon before I settled on one. There are likely rules theories and axioms about design to which I'm oblivious. If I knew these things it  would save time and give me a more polished final drawing. But I don't....so I just sketch a few possibilities and 'guess'.

Facing Options

                                                           Now there's a classy dental practice!

Our polish flavors are mint,  cabernet savignon, and we have a very nice chardonnay.

   Living in North America, we definitely have choices when it comes to products and services. The other day, our dental hygienist offered something like six choices for a polish flavor--I passed on cookie dough and went with the tried and true mint (bubble gum is pretty nice too).

Time Warp Tuesday

The Myth of self made people exposed

The Lone Ranger didn't walk to all those venues of adventure. The Lone Ranger got his sorry tookas bailed out by Tonto far more often than once or twice. So what makes the Lone Ranger....Lone?

What Crows Do for Fun

The grass on the other side is soooo much greener, tender, succulent, bursting with sweetness....I think the farmer left the gate open and if you hurry.......