Winter

Winter (Oil on board, Photoshop)

I know, I know, it's not a cartoon, but this is now the blog for Illustration Friday projects, and this week it was Winter. No time to do anything fresh, so this is a painting given the Photoshop treatment.

When Carrots Speak

(Printed card, gold marker, coloured pencils)

An old one. colourised.

Mail

(Fibretip with digital colour)

This week's contribution to Illustration Friday: Mail.

On Zanzibar

(Coloured pencils and markers in A6 accordion fold Moleskine)

This is the latest of my contributions to Moly_x_25. The previous contributor directed me to Zanzibar which, as any fule kno, is full of exotic tropical plants. The character and her dog is a continuing theme.

Phenomenon

(2B mechanical pencil, coloured pencils on A6 cartridge)

Illustration Friday's brief is: Phenomenon. The benefits of this remarkable tropical plant, a true phenomenon, were kept hidden from the public for many years. It was left to the crusading spirits at the Daily Mail to reveal how much we owe to it and yet what a danger it presents.

Prehistoric

(Fibretips, coloured pencils on A4 inkjet print)

This week's Illustration Friday brief - Prehistoric - happened to coincide with my rediscovery of a pencil rough for a rarely seen dinosaur. So I combined it with a sketchbook drawing of woodland and reworked the whole thing.

Dreadroller

(Marker, digital colour, A4 cartridge)

The Dreadroller made a significant impact in the later years of the Great War.

Alien Wheeler

(Marker, digital colour)

Mankind's greatest gift to the Galaxy was the wheel.

Modern Wheelracer

(Marker, digital colour)

The popularity of modern wheelracing is considered to be over-inflated.

Wheelboat

(Marker, digital colour)

The rich man in his wheelboat. A common sight in Victorian England.

Savour

(Fibretips, coloured pencils, 2B mechanical pencil, A6 cartridge )

Another cartoon for Illustration Friday. This time the brief was Savour.

Nasty Party

(Markers, coloured pencils, A6 cartridge)

Nice Party

(Fibretips, coloured pencils, A6 cartridge)

Village Molys

(Markers, fibretips and coloured pencils in Japanese accordion-fold Moleskine)

This is my latest addition to a Moleskine in the Moleskine International Exchange group, Moly_x_25. The theme of the book is Colourful Characters, so who more colourful than the Village People? Admittedly, when filtered through my imagination, they've come out looking rather shifty, but sometimes you just have to let the pencils take you where they will.

The Cartoonist's Hat

(Marker, digital colour)

"It's perhaps important to point out that I find cartooning and painting almost totally incompatible, in that they each require a different mindset. When I wear my cartoonist's hat I cannot paint and vice versa."

"In 1973 .... I gave up all thought of art college. The cartoonist's hat was firmly on for the next 15 years."

"If [painting] keeps me sane, it's worth it, but every now and again I find my head itching for the cartoonist's hat."

Those are quotes from an article I wrote for my fanzine, PIE in the SKY, in 1992 and serve to demonstrate the ongoing difficulty I find in working in both fields at the same time. It ought not to be so difficult. I've mentioned before that Wayne Thiebaud draws a cartoon every day and while I'm far too modest to put myself in the same paddock as Thiebaud, if he can do it, I don't see why I can't. Maybe not every day, but I don't see why painting and cartooning can't co-exist in my art practice.

All of which is by way of announcing the opening of my new blog - The Cartoonist's Hat. There's more work to be done on it in terms of banner headings and the like, but I've copied across all the cartoons from Boogie Street, together with contributions to Moleskine International Exchanges. From now on Moly work and pieces done for Illustration Friday will appear only on The Cartoonist's Hat. If you'd like to keep up with those things, why not subscribe to posts using the handy widget in the sidebar?

Sneaky

(Black marker, colour in Photoshop)

A contribution to the latest brief from Illustration Friday: Sneaky. I find I still get enjoyment from doing this sort of thing, but reactions (or more accurately, the lack of reactions) from readers of this blog suggest that these posts are of limited interest. I'm thinking that it might be useful therefore to set up a new blog to post cartoons and related drawings, such as Moleskine Exchange contributions. Watch this space.

Brand New Moly

(Markers, fibretips and coloured pencils in Japanese accordion-fold Moleskine)

As I've indicated previously, progress on Moly_x_63, the Totem Pole Moly, has been slow, so I recently signed up for another Moleskine exchange. This is my first contribution to Moly_x_25, just beginning its second round after a successful first one.

I find it really relaxing to sit in front of the tv and draw things like this. There's no theme to this one, so I decided to start with a cornucopia and let it disgorge its contents, surprising me in the process.

Moly Once More

(Markers, fibretips and coloured pencils in Japanese accordion-fold Moleskine)
[Illustration Friday - "Burning"]

It's been well over a year since I was able to add to any of the moleskines in the Totem Pole Moly exchange, Moly_x_63. Unfortunately, this seems to be the nature of the beast. Things are on the move again, however, and this is my latest addition.

RV Eye

Marker with Photoshop colour

After some weeks of remembering to routinely put three drops from two bottles into my left eye in the right order each day, I went to the RVI today for a check-up. The pressure in both eyes now registers as normal, so hurrah! Most of the time, I've been quite blasé about the potential seriousness of the condition, but occasionally I'd secretly admit to a little worry or two.

Anyway, although the drops regimen has to continue for another four months (at least), I feel happier about it now and more able to concentrate on artwork.

Star Gazing

A rare return to a cartoon for Ilustration Friday. It was drawn with a fine point marker and coloured in Photoshop, for the set theme, Star Gazing.

It comes at a time when the Perseid meteor showers have been shooting through the earth's atmosphere. As usual, the clouds moved in after sunset in the north east to ensure the display was hidden. Perhaps they're only available on pay-per-view.

Hickery Dickery Dare

Fibretip and coloured pencil in A6 accordion fold Moleskine.

Hickery, dickery, dare,
The pig flew up in the air,
But Patrick Brown
Soon brought him down,
Hickery, dickery, dare.

Sometimes a change really is as good as a rest. I recently agreed to help out Michael Nightmare with his Piggy Moly which he'd retrieved from a moribund group of Moly Xers. When it arrived from Lynne Lamb a few days ago, I found the chance to do something that didn't involve painting very attractive, so tonight I set to and finished my contribution.

The nursery rhyme I found in Cole's Funny Picture Book, a treasure from my childhood. and I decided to make my pig a superhero. The evil Patrick Brown, his arch-nemesis, is yet to appear on the scene.

T-Shirt Diversion

Sometimes a bit of my earlier life catches up with me and I'm asked to produce a cartoon. In this case friends wanted a cartoon knight to be incorporated into a design for a T-shirt logo. After several days of toing and froing, colour corrections and adjustments, this is the character I provided.

Everyone involved seems happy with him, and he certainly looks pleased with himself.