Friday 31 January 2014

A Balmy Weekend Ahead?

Time for an umbrella drink! It's only 10 below!
We're so used to scary cold, that bleepin' cold doesn't seem so bad. Actually our day time highs will reach zero or maybe even a titch above (F).

That shadowy stuff is actually a previous page bleeding through. Sort of intriguing, actually.

Thursday 30 January 2014

Shady sort of guy

Ball point pen
Usually I go for the quick cartoon face. Once in a while I try for something with more detail and depth and am OK with the idea that I need a TON of practice. Practice is fun for me so if logic holds, I'm in for more fun. My goal would be to try to develop a style that might fall in between the simple little nebbishes (which are fun too) and something along the lines of the guy featured in today's post.

Tuesday 28 January 2014

And that's the way it is...

So how do I succinctly and vividly describe the "state of the union" without getting bleeped by the censors?
I guess it's bonus day with two postings. We were talking at the table yesterday about what the President might say in his speech. He often sounds discouraged (I have a hunch rightly so) with how things are going.

Time Warp Tuesday...winter edition

Circa 2013...This year there's so MUCH snow and cold there's no sculpting

Monday 27 January 2014

When the weather keeps you indoors

Not much happening, might as well skim these no....ZZZZZZ
This wouldn't be a recent picture (35+years). Sunday the conditions became white-out and lots of events and activities have been cancelled. We can barely see the buildings across the street and wind chills are at 40 below. A good time to enjoy indoor pursuits; even napping.

Friday 24 January 2014

Guides and serendipity

Makes me think of the actor JK Simmons
I was experimenting with line guides and angles. This guy was sort of random and as I started the last details, I thought, "He sort of looks like the actor, JK Simmons". I like that actor's work, so I hope the drawing isn't disparaging to him.  I think I would have to do A LOT of practice before I did caricatures because I would want to capture the fun aspects of caricature and not unintentionally offend because of underdeveloped technique.

Thursday 23 January 2014

Random Giants

We were watching "Tangled" the other night and I was sketching away. This guy wasn't intended to be like the characters we watched, but he did end up in costume.

Wednesday 22 January 2014

Tired of talking about the weather?

Mr. Speaker, I move we dispense with winter and proceed to summer.
Sorry....weather does tend to be a popular topic for me. The -35f windchill this morning before the sun came up felt like the coldest I had been in--ever. I'm still warming up from opening a path into the yard and taking the dog out. Can't blame her for not wanting to go.
Someone tried to cheer us up by saying we have only about three more months of winter.  The words did not achieve their intended or desired effect.

Tuesday 21 January 2014

Timewarp Tuesday

Tea at Victoria By the Sea on Canada Day 2011
During our trip to PEI we visited a lovely community on Canada Day and enjoyed tea and fancy sandwiches at a very charming inn. Besides tasty food, hearty tea and fun surroundings, the tea house supplied fun hats to wear. We figure if one is a tourist, one might do a few "touristy" things along the way.

Monday 20 January 2014

Got Cabin Fever Yet?

I said "It's time to hybernate." They heard, "It's time to HYPERnate!"

Around here, the weather's been cold, so school age children have stayed indoors during recess; some in their classroom. Being cooped up in offices, classrooms and homes gets to a person after a while. The snowmobile riders seem to get out in any weather except blizzards, so maybe they are enjoying winter more than some of us. 

I think I might read up on how people in Scandinavian countries deal with long winters with little daylight. Maybe their home life is a bit like that depicted in today's toon.

Sunday 19 January 2014

Sunday School

Hmmm maybe I didn't get the story quite right. You've seen lots of cartoonists draw variations on Moses parting the waters...here's another.

Friday 17 January 2014

What's out the window?

When's Spring?
With a succession of blizzards and very cold weather, I haven't walked around town much....sometimes I even drive to the office. I find myself looking out the window a lot. Not sure if I'm looking for robins to return and spring to rush in. After two full months of solid winter (cold, snow, blizzards, wind chills) I'm ready for a warm up. I don't think that's forthcoming, however. Hmmm what's that out the window?

Tuesday 14 January 2014

Collaboration


Many of the cartoons we see in the papers or in Mad Magazine come from team effort. Somebody writes, somebody sketches, somebody inks, somebody renders, another person captions and so on....This pair of drawings is for a project my wife is putting together. I drew and inked...she did the color and blending. It amazes me how the coloring makes the drawings "pop".  Besides colorizing my drawings once in a while, my spouse designs and makes greeting cards, spins wool into yarn, knits, weaves, and a variety of creative pursuits. I tried to talk her into putting designs onto pottery I make. She decided she prefers working with fiber and with paper and I think she does amazing work in her chosen media.

Wednesday 8 January 2014

Loose construction

It's fun to try different pens and even styles. Sometimes I'll draw with the non dominant hand, or in this case I turned off the lamp and drew in semi-darkness. I also tried for a very relaxed grip on the pen. That was easy because it was late evening and I was tired.

Tuesday 7 January 2014

Doodle bombs?

They just show up on the page
Not much to the process here...I'm just sitting and will scrawl out a shape like a half circle for a nose, or some blocky looking "m" for eyebrows and one thing just sort of leads to another. I am not aware of making big artistic decisions about feature placement, etc....With these doodles, I just draw. It's all in fun.

Monday 6 January 2014

Mug's Frozen

Stunned from watching the Weather Channel
The ink in my trusty pen hasn't frozen solid just yet. Reading weather reports across the US and Canada leads me to believe one has to travel MUCH farther south to escape the cold this year.

Thursday 2 January 2014

Pass the Buckleys

mrmrrghghghgh
I was so tired I dreamed about being exhausted. In the dream I collapsed in front of our car as I was trying to get home. Some well meaning people wanted to know "Sir, are you all right". I remember being torn between gratitude for help and chagrin at being so helpless. In real life, I'm trying to regain some energy and see some improvement as I shake this flu bug. So much for the saying that cold air (like -30 this morning) kills viruses....

Wednesday 1 January 2014

Tempus Fugit

I was only now getting used to writing 2013...Now another year! Cliche as it sounds, I really don't know where the time goes. Hope 2013 treated you well and that the turning of the year brings you happiness and peace. Happy New Year,
 bartster