Jason The Gray

Cathie first contacted me about a Father's Day gift for her husband Jason, but time was too short. So, a September birthday gift became the target. She gave me a list of ideas I could use to create a caricature of him.

She said that he A. loves music and has huge cd collection. (Sorry Cathie, it didn't inspire me.)
B. is a huge Cubs fan (Did that one already) C. and a Celtic fan. (Basketball? That's new, but still it's another sportsie drawing) D. He works with computers. (Yup, been there too) E. He loves to BBQ (Who doesn't?) AND! F. He is a Lord of the Rings fan as well. (BINGO! Something new. Something I can sink my pencil into.)

I suggested that we put Jason into his fantasy world and portray him in the manner of Gandalf the Gray. Cathie liked the idea and told me to go with it.

I know I say this a lot, but... I think this turned out pretty good. I had a lot of fun creating it. In fact, it was almost too easy. I looked up Gandalf and Hobbit images on the internet for some references and inspiration, and then went to work. You can see the results.

One of the parts I enjoyed the most is the "magic" coming out of the top of the staff. It provided a chance for real creativity and color.

Thanks Cathie for choosing me to help celebrate your wizard's big day. And thank you Jason for giving me a reason to play with the image of one of my own fantasy heroes. You look good in gray. And if you're a good wizard, maybe next year we'll promote you to White Wizard!

In other news... Many of you were curious about the symbolism behind the illustration I created for Laura. She took time on her blog to try and explain what the image means to her. You are invited to read that post.

Laura, I noticed that you began to use the doodle as your personal profile pic. I'm honored, but does that mean we're not going to get to see your Mona Lisa smile anymore?