Street

I finished this cartoon a couple of days ago and wasn't going to post it but haven't put anything up lately so might as well. Not that I was that unhappy with it even though I kind of lost the whole perspective thing at one point. The drawing below I started as a wip didn't end well. I wont do that again unless I have already finished the whole thing first.

Ink drawing cars

I've been posting car pics in the other blog and started drawing this today from an old picture of a car ( the one in side view, the rest made up). It was a hectic day to sit and draw anything. Two of our grandkids were over plus the son of my daughters boyfriend. Not that they bother me that much but they run my wife ragged, asking for this and that and squabbling etc. etc. . I, in turn have to go intercede or her frustrations will soon turn on me. I do love having them over but maybe only because it makes me appreciate the quiet so much when they go home.

They'll be back tomorrow along with more, my granddaughters birthday April 1st so we are having a little party for her here.

Weather here today could be summed up by the weather man as it "sucks", all gray and rain and sometimes freezing rain, like winter fighting it, not wanting to let go. I'm real jealous of people smart enough to live somewhere like Florida (Mike).

Baseball

Just one cartoon from my grandsons baseball practice. I had more in mind but got sidetracked.

The coach was holding this ball on the stick and the kids would practice thier swings at it. Sometimes he would run at them with the stick held out so it was more like a pitch. Some of them were taking pretty good slices at it, ought to be some home runs this season.

The team is for eight and up and you can tell some of them have been playing a year or two, pretty sure of what they are doing. They have at least one girl on the team, something different from when I was a kid, no girls allowed then in boys sports, organized or otherwise. Most of the teams have girls playing though now and most of the girls that play are as good as most of the boys. It's not for every girl but then sports aren't for every boy either. When I was a kid up through high school I played at everything I could but I can let the secret out now, I was never much good at any of them.

Again I have to say "good work" to the coaches. They really give it thier all, working with all the kids, not just thier own and everyone I've seen is good at it, giving the kids encouragement and getting on them a little when it's needed. This team even has a lady coach, wife of one of the men coaches. Sometimes they put up with a lot from the parents too, funny but the kids all seem to get the sportsmanship deal but not always the same with the parents.

Play Ball

Just a sketch, cartoon of two fellas who like myself are eager for spring. My grandson will start his third year of ball with the local park district this year, first year of non t ball although they have not hit off the "T" hardly at all even before. I think the ball is harder when they are out of the t ball phase also. I'm proud of him for playing and doing fairly well. I was always kind of worried about him when he was smaller as I thought he was a little overly "sensitive" and not a kid to get involved in sports. He has though, doing the baseball and also basketball and pretty much seems to be growing out of the mamas boy thing or maybe grandpa just worries too much.

I'm glad for anything that gets his hands off the video games and outside, he's always had a real thing for those games, something he might have gotten from my wife who also plays them. ( I don't worry about that, her ball playing days are over as are mine) He takes those games so seriously though in my nightmares I have images of him growing up to being a geek who in his teens takes a rifle to school or something. On the other hand if he has enough interest and enough smarts he may grow up designing the games and support his dear old grandpa.

Untouchables

Last night I was watching "The Untouchables" on METV, one of my all time favorite shows from when I was a kid and still is now. When I was a kid of course it was my dad that chose it. Some will remember the time when there was actually only one television in the house. There was only like four channels also but it seemed like there was more to watch sometimes then there is today. Anyway I was sketching my concept of gangsters while watching it, the posts above. You could always tell a gangster when you saw one, double breasted pinstriped suits with the bulge for the shoulder holster. A rough looking face, usually ugly with the nose pushed to the side and a scar somewhere. I'm not sure where all the gangsters went, they must still be around, not like the hippies who completely went extinct. Maybe they went the same way, both of them now have become corporate bankers ?

Today of course we have "Gangstas", those being gangsters that can't spell. You can tell them kind of, like before they have a uniform but it's harder because the kid next door wants to emulate them and dress the same way. I won't try to draw them, not now anyway. A thug is a thug, but I prefer mine old style.

Salute to the Noble Nose

I wasn't going to post anything here today but as I was waiting for things to download ( I still use dial up, maybe the only person in the US left to do so) I was sketching and noted that most of my out of the head cartoon characters have one thing in common, all have tremendous honkers. I know there are folks out there who have somewhat larger then usual noses and are less then happy about it. I saw on television not long ago that plastic surgery in Iran is booming as people, ladies mostly are prone to have such characteristics and are so unhappy about it.

Speaking as someone who enjoys cartooning I think those people born with a big snoz should be happy about it. It is somehow a mark of character, something about a big protruding air intake makes me think the person wearing it has something going on. Of course I was born with a somewhat uninteresting normal size nose so not having to look in the mirror at it every day or finding dates or fitting it around that first kiss I might be speaking out of turn but I throw in my support for those that do and urge them to take pride in what they have.

Homerun Granny

Now and then there is a bright spot when I watch the news. Get past the economy, politics ,politicians and Pakistan and today had a little bit of joy for me.

It was somewhere in Ohio I think, four thugs had broken into an old ladies house, easy mark right? Looking for some cash and whatever she had they could steal. I don't know if they thought she was out or maybe didn't care, after all what could a small elderly lady do against four big teenage boys? This lady had a surprise for our villans, picking up her favorite Emeril frying pan she whacked one of them on the skull. In her words he looked up at her in shock like why would she do such a thing and while he was considering it she whacked him a second time. They had her demonstrating her swing on CNN and it was well worth the price of admission.

I lived with my grandma when I was small and she spoiled me rotten of course but now and then when I really needed it she had a good stong yardstick to help her make a point. If these hooligans had that when they were little maybe they would have more respect for thier elders today.

Of course we know that little old ladies shouldn't do this, she could have been hurt but she wasn't and I sure am glad she stood up for herself and taught these punks a lesson. They did catch the kids later, probably recognized them by the bumps on thier heads.

The other day I posted some quick sketches of the birds outside. Doing those sketches did a couple things, got me interested in drawing birds, something I have always liked and made me want to post something I had put a little more effort into. The birds above were done mostly in Neocolor II which I have mentioned before. I really like these "crayons for grownups" I call them but really they are much more then that. You can use them dry, draw with them and add water with a brush or dip them in water first. I think in the hands of an artist with a bit more skill then I they could accomplish great things. Of course some of this picture is fantasy, don't have all that green out there at the present and the birds themselves are a lot grayer with thier winter coats.

The cartoon is just some kid shoveling the snow on the sidewalk in front of the house. Came to the door and talked my wife into it for five dollars. The rest of it had been done, (not by me of course) but my brother in law who stays with us for the weekends sometimes had done it. When I was a kid I think I got maybe a couple dollars shoveling whole driveways and sidewalks. This guy is managing five for what was maybe five minutes work, comes out to sixty bucks an hour. This young guy is going places.

I saw "that cartoon" probably the day it was published, not in the paper but on a Live Journal blog I look at now and then where they post editorial cartoons. My first thought was "that's well drawn, wish I could do that well" and then of course the second was " man, that's kind of crude."

After, I saw them arguing back and forth on Cnn about if it was offensive or not. What's to argue? As loathe as I am to agree with Mr. Sharpton that cartoon is pretty offensive.

I believe in freedom of speech for sure but if you have the attention the Post has you ought to have some responsibility along with it. I thought we had come further then this.

Anyway, this is an art blog, not opinion (but it's mine so I can do that). I fixed the picture of the girl. What was wrong was the hair, looked like just molded plastic or something. Went back and first put some darker lines in it which still wasn't right so used a knifepoint and scratched in some highlights which was good enough for me. Not even sure if it will show up here but posting the detail again with the changes. Other then that just some sparrows out by the feeder waiting for someone to come and fill them ( my wife did it shortly after). Like me I think they are more then ready for spring.