Head Drama

Something New

At last, something new. But I'm not promising much. As the toon implies, this is really a test-run. I had to do some PC repair for my wife and daughter so they can print project reports for 4H, since we have a combo printer/scanner, this gave me the opportunity to test them both. I'm interested in the different feel I got by just using an old fashioned #2 pencil instead of pen before scanning it into Photohop. 

Notice also the stitches from where I had that bump on my forehead removed last week. My kids say it looks creepy and my wife called me "FrankenTed" today.

I can see trying to simply keep a cartoon diary. Nothing as elaborate as "American Splendor," the cult-classic alternative/underground  autobiographical comic books by the late Harvey Pekar that I think are the inspiration for 2003 film staring Paul Giamatti, just single-panel gags riffing on the banal, mundane, tedium of being me. But I don't know if I could do that daily or even weekly, though it would certainly be good creative-discipline to try.  And I'm all about discipline, just ask my wife. 

Okay, that didn't come out right- that was meant to be an ironic statement about my being an adult-ADHD scatterbrain. If you thought it sounded like I like being disciplined, get your mind out of my gutter!

Anyway, now that I know I have a scanner at home, that's one less excuse. But, cartooning has the same difficulties as writing- "Writing is no trouble: you just jot down ideas as they occur to you. The jotting is simplicity itself - it is the occurring which is difficult." ~Stephen Leacock

I seem to find myself somewhere between fame and fortune or wide spread prominence (cartooning for thousands of readers) and absolute obscurity (cartooning just for myself). It means a lot to me that the few of you are out there, long time friends and something like "fans," encouraging me with comments on facebook about how you want me to toon s'more and post them here. Thank you, I appreciate it.

The LOOK

 

I drew this along with the assignment I gave to 7th graders. Students keep asking me "why does it look evil?" That's probably a good sign, the fact that they're asking must mean that I don't actually look this crabby all the time.  

Don't mind me

I was teaching 7th graders about complimentary colors and how they can both contrast and neutralize. Thus an oil pastel self portrait. I think I kind of look a little like David Alfaro Siqueiros- but I have been researching Mexican art for a special Dia de los Muertos lesson this week.

Vortex

Doing my noö-dynamic best to stay out of the existential vacuum.

Tortured souls

Talking to 4th, 5th, & 7th graders about Vincent Van Gogh-Go.

• Epilepsy
  
• Manic-Depressive
• ADHD
• Anger Management problems
  
• No real job
• Only sold ONE painting his whole career
  
• Lead poisoning (Cadmium, cobalt, mercury, whatever other ingredients in those paints he kept eating)
• His brother Theo had to pay Gauguin to be his friend
• Cuts his ear off and sends it to his ex girlfriend (a hooker)

Poor guy, if only he had had some Trieptal, some Redilin and some Prozac. And you thought YOU had problems.

My Mid-Life Crisis; will write or draw for food

I turned 38 today. Happy birthday to me.

I've wanted to be a cartoonist since I was 10.

Okay, so I AM a cartoonist, just not a widely published one and certainly not what most people would consider a professional one, let a lone a successful, widely published, professional one.

Today I finally started searching for addresses to send my PDF to. Most syndicates have submission guidelines, which will mean printing the cartoons out and composing a cover letter- which I knew but the lazy part of me and the coward part of me would just assume skip. Emailing is much more passive. There's so much less emotional investment and less risk. No formal rejection letter, they just don't email you back.

Meanwhile, I stumbled on Daryl Cagle's email address- or at least a "contact me" type of hotlink on his website. So I attached the PDF and sent it. Of course, I'm sure he gets hundreds of submissions every week and probably doesn't even consider the ones that didn't follow his official submission guidelines. But who knows, at least it's out there in the universe- what God decides to do with it is up to Him.

Of course, the words of America's first political cartoonist, Ben Franklin ring in my ears "God helps them that..." you know the rest. It's just that I'm so busy with school work and yearbook, and school website and currently our home repair and remodeling crap and next week parent/teacher conferences and our tax appointment... etc. etc.

In short, reality has a way of being an obstacle to spending the time and effort to follow the official submission guidelines for pursuing a dream. Which has enough obstacles already created by neuroses.

Wish me luck.