Bob and Flora

Well, I don''t know about all you folks in internet land, but I am having a great time posting all this stuff!!
This time, I uploaded three pages out of my sketch book. Sometimes, the drawings in the sketch book are more fun than the final drawings that may get published in some fashion. You get to be a bit freer with your composition in a sketch book. They don't really matter. For instance, who is that guy climbing on Flora's right shoulder? Who cares...it is just a sketch book. I am trying here to work up a good "Flora". Her progression is fun to see, going from the first page to the third page. Again, I have to work harder to draw women than men...even middle aged women. So Flora gets
more work than Bob. He was easy...just a skinny, balding old guy!!

These pages show a progression in the development I had for illustrating our travels. It is the Bob and Flora Show!!

The idea is that Bob and Flora can travel around the world, and show illustrations as well as their reactions to different places. For instance, what would be their reaction to seeing the Matterhorn? Well, that would mean that I had better go see the Matterhorn myself to get an idea. Oh darn!! Would I be able to write off all my travels this way??? An interesting idea, eh?






who is this guy shooting himself in the head? Or the dog, and why is that man running across the page? SKETCH BOOK!!!

This is the latest rendition of Bob and Flora. Let me know what you think of this idea. I am still intrigued by the concept....

Chemo-girl

Along the lines of superheroes, here is Chemo-Girl...Baddest Babe on the Planet!! The idea of this drawing was to empower my sister-in-law, who was undergoing chemotherapy for breast cancer at the time. So, I made her a t-shirt with this graphic. Note; single boob, and bald head...how bad-ass is that!!!?? See the energy field she is shooting off her hand? Well that's radio-active bombardment that her body has absorbed, and can now command at her will. Totally Bad-Ass!!

I had a great time coloring this in photo-shop. One of my early attempts. I thought it came out fairly successfully, and the clean lines work better on t-shirt graphics.

So, if you happen to know someone who needs, and would wear such a shirt, let me know, and I will make a special print for you...in time for Christmas???

roll, kayaker, roll

Back in '94 I did my first calendar. It was all about whitewater. This was one of the toons on that calendar, and it reflects something that ALL whitewater kayakers put up with.

For some reason, everybody wants to see a kayaker do an eskimo roll. And yes, I have actually been offered a beer for doing a roll for the group of onlookers. Naturally, I have no pride, and promptly flipped over, only to set up, and properly flip the paddle in just the right way to come up quickly. In fact, half the group of rafters didn't even see it. They wanted me to do it again, but failed to offer another beer. So, I took my payment for the first roll, and happily paddled away.

So, I felt this drawing properly characterized all the participants. The rafters are all rowdy, drunk juveniles, except the guide that is rowing them. He is too cool to perform such antics, and just knowingly smiles at the kayaker. Meanwhile, the kayaker is just disgusted at the loud-mouthed yahoos.

widowmaker

This is an image from one of my many river trips. This was a long time ago, on the Owyhee River in eastern oregon. We were scouting a notorious rapid appropriately called "Widowmaker". Ron was bringing his raft closer to the rapid so it would be easier to portage. He hit a small ledge class 2 rapid sideways, and dumped his passenger, all loose gear, and one of his oars out as his boat was tipped on its side.

Ron stayed in the raft, but now had no way to maneuver it with only one oar left, and was drifting right in to the meat of the rapid. There were other parties on the side of the river scouting the rapid, and they all ran to their throw ropes as soon as they saw what had happened. Every rope thrown fell short of the raft. That is the moment I have immortalized in this drawing. The total look of helplessness and despair. Then Jim (the guy with the beard) grabbed the only remaining throw rope, jumped into the nearest tied up raft and threw it to Ron. The rope hit Ron in the chest. He grabbed it and jumped into the bottom of the raft, while Jim did the same thing. The raft pendulumed to the side, overhanging the first drop of Widowmaker Rapid by a few feet. RON WAS SAVED!!!! As he got out of the raft, he wobbly walked off, down the trail, and sat by himself and recovered. Very exciting...

warhammer

So, this is a re-creation of a composition I saw in a Warhammer magazine. The dark, ominous tones of the original were what drew me to it. I felt like I achieved some pretty good pencil work making this drawing. It was a fun exercise.

Those of you who do not know what Warhammer is, it is a game pitting different armies of "Middle Earth" against each other. The figures are small, highly detailed models that you paint, then use the painted figures in battle against an enemy army. My army is the dwarfs. Joel likes the Orcs and Goblins!! I mostly like to paint them. Joel is much better at the game than I am. The rules of the game are WAY too complicated for my feeble brain.

So this drawing is obviously not my typical character, but still a lot of fun.

nano carbon technology

So, this is another toon that I haven't really published. It was part of my group's final submittal for a sustainable building advisor class. This hi-tech nerd presented our group with a whole new technology, "nano-carbon" technology. His concept was that you would be able to create complete vacuumes inside nano carbon tubes, thereby eliminating all friction, and create ultra fast mobility. He claimed that top speeds could be as high as 4000 mph. So, you could be in Tokyo in a couple of hours!!! Now, I am not a great scientist, or engineer, but that seemed like a really difficult goal to achieve in a perfect environment, much less achieve in the real world. He call himself a progressive thinker. I guess so!!! Well, my group was working on a sustainable development here in Bend, and we get this presentation. The irony of the whole concept here in Bend was too much. So I had to draw it. I love the juxtaposition of the hi-tech tube with the farmer plowing his field. The thought of going from 0-4000 mph is pretty scary, so I had to show that with the first commuter in the line. Total Terror!! Then, of course, when I think of wierd contraptions (which is what I thought of this nano carbon tube), I have to think of Dr. Suess. So, the tube, stantions, and platform are modelled in that spirit. Meanwhile, everything is normal, and the guy is reading his morning newspaper waiting for the next car, and the lady is trying desparately to control her kid. How could something like that be normal????

drawers

A request from my fan club!!! (thanks, Joel) This is another "off color" drawing. This one never made it out of the sketch book, but I always liked it. When I just uncovered it, I found that a lot of paint had been splattered on it, so I cleaned it up in Photoshop as best as I could...

The humor is pretty basic, really, but the play on words was too obvious. I had to draw it. I remember showing it to my mom afterwards, and her only comment was,"Criminy!! That's as old as the hills!" Well, maybe some of the older gags never get too old.

I have to say, I like the girl's attitude!! She has everything under control, especially the guy!! He is so excited to be just going through her drawers. His salivary glands (among others) are flowing overtime!! And yet she is soooo calm, checking out her fingernails and chatting on the phone... The poor chump doesn't have a chance!!