Great Big Humongus Giveaway

Time is up! The polls are closed!

Check in tomorrow morning for the big announcement.

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Here it is!! Welcome to my second annual Great Big Humongous Giveaway!

January 4th will mark two years since I started Organized Doodles. To celebrate I am giving away some PRIZES!

What are the prizes?

1. I am giving away a copy of one of my doodles to four different individuals, chosen by a random drawing. The selected winners will be asked to surf back through my blog and select one of the various doodles that I've posted in the past. After telling me which doodle they have selected I will send them a signed copy of the piece. I'll even pay for shipping. The possible selections do not include one of the caricatures that I've drawn for others. (But would you really want one of those?) But the possible selections DO include any one of the various pieces of cartoon artwork that I've posted on this blog.

Also!!!...

2. I am giving away one free caricature drawn personally by me - the doodle king himself. Upon selection, all that the winner will have to do is e-mail me a clear, large photo of themselves, or of whomever they would like me to draw, and I will create for him, or her, their very own caricature - like the many, many that I've posted on my blog these past two years.

Please note: The caricature can only be an illustration of one individual - no group drawings please. (I know how some of you people operate.)

What's the Catch?

There is no catch. This is just my way of saying thanks to all the people that have made this blogging thing the adventure that it has been for me.

Two years ago I began Organized Doodles as a way to post my cartoons onto the world wide web. At that time I had an audience of zero. These past two years have give me the chance to digitally meet many great people. It's been a lot of fun.

This giveaway is my little way of saying thanks to all the people that visit my blog and have given me so much fun.

How do I sign up?

All you have to do is make a comment on this post and your name will be put into the hat, bowl, bath tub, whatever, for a chance to win. That's it! There's no creating a link on your blog back to this mine. No sending in five box tops. No giving away your first born child. (Not that you'd want to - right?) Nothing like that. Just make a comment (preferable a kind one) and you will be entered for a chance to win one of these fine prizes.

Now, if you do want to tell your blogging friends about this giveaway then that would be okay with me. Some of you have taken a chance use one or more of my Copy & Share If You Dare Doodles, and (hint, hint) if you wanted to return the favor by telling others about my little giveaway, then that would be nice. And as your mother use to say, "It's nice to be nice."

A proper method of contact will be important for you to provide to me, just in case you win. A back link to your blog will suffice, but I can't tell you if you won if I don't have anyway of making contact.

Only one entry per person will be accepted. Multiple comments will not give you more opportunities to win. No cheating allowed!! I'll tell your mother if you do. Also, my immediate family members are not eligible. Sorry family. It just wouldn't be right.

When will the winners be announced?

The cut off for entry is 10 PM, Pacific Standard time, January 4th. I will be selecting the winners, with the help of my daughter, that evening and I will announce the winners sometime on the morning of January 5th. After that, I will trying to make contact with the each person and begin making the necessary arrangements so that they can receive their prize.

That's it! Good luck!!

AND NOW!!! an unveiling...

This is a piece that I've been telling you about recently. I'm calling it "Doodlenormous." It is a collection of nonsensical doodles that I created purely for fun. It is an 11x14 illustration with an 1/2 inch border. Hidden within it's menagerie of madness are 13 egg-men! Why 13? Because 13 is funnier than 12. Makes sense? (If you're saying, "egg-men?", then you're new to these parts.)

But!!!...

This time there IS a catch. The only way you can fully appreciate and properly visually explore this creation is to purchase a copy from me for a mere $10 (plus $3 S&H - $5 outside the U.S.) That's right! This particular doodle is for sell.

I know what you're thinking: "Why only $10?" Well, it's because I get these printed at my local pharmacy. So, we're not talking about a professional print here. BUT, each print will be clean and clear and have one bit of doodle originality drawn on it by me. So no two copies will be exactly alike. AND each copy will have an original signature by me. What more could you ask for?

For your purchase you will enjoy hours, upon hours of fun exploration of this crazy creation, as you sit and ask yourself, "What's wrong with this fellow?"

All you have to do is e-mail me at green_rick@juno.com, and tell me that you want to make a purchase and I will make the necessary arrangements with you so that you can have your very own piece of cartoon history.

Hey people! Momma needs a new pair of shoes. So dig out that Christmas money that Aunt Betty gave you because she was too lazy to go out and buy you a real gift and treat yourself to your very own copy of this delicious doodle delicacy. Your brain will thank you.

So order now!

Happy New Year

We're still in Oklahoma enjoying the company of my daughters. I have limited access to a computer, so I haven't been able to do a lot of posting. In fact, it's is very early in the morning here. I was awaken by a good old fashion Oklahoma thunder storm.

I did manage to scan this little Copy & Share If You Dare doodle before I left. Normally I would have some happy little bit of text, or something, to go with it, but I didn't even have time to get that done. So you got ahead and make the necessary additions if you'd like.

I did a little doodling on the airplanes on the trip over, which I think you'll enjoy - one is a twist on the New Year theme, but I don't think I'll have the chance to load it up before the 2009. So this will probably have to do for now.

I'm looking forward to hearing some reports of the Christmas unveiling's, when various persons opened up their doodles. I really hope to get some pics to load on to my blog. Those bits of feedback on the icing on the cake for me. I got a report from Laura, my peachie friend, that hers didn't make it by Christmas. That was a bit of bummer news. I think Mr. Postal Person ran into the big snow storm that had everything grounded in Portland a few days before Christmas. We had to drive through some of the after-math of that storm to get to the airport. There were several cars still sitting in the ditch along the way. I hope the doodle has made it by now Laura - sorry.

ALSO!!! (note: Three exclamation marks - so that means I'm really, really excited) Don't forget my Great Big Humongous Giveaway right after the first of the year. January 4th will officially mark my second anniversary of blogging. This blogging thing was something that I began on a whim one afternoon, while sitting on my couch back home. I had no idea the about the fun I would have connecting with good people (such as yourself) all over the globe.

I am giving away a free caricature, drawn by me, of you. Or of someone you'd like to insult. I'm even paying for shipping and handling. That's the grand prize. But I will also be giving away copies of some of my doodles to three different, randomly selected, totally impartial selected individuals. Those person will be able to do some back surfing on my blog and choose which particular doodle of mine that they would like to receive. The choices would not include anyone of the caricatures that I've done, which I don't think anyone would want in the first place, but would include any of the color, or black/white doodles I've created.

So stay tooned, and good luck.

North to Alaska

Kris, a real live Alaskan SAHM, wrote me and said, "The dilemma I face each and every year is that my husband's birthday is on Christmas Day. As you can imagine it is always overshadowed by the holiday celebrations. I try to have a separate party and attempt to come up with a unique gift that isn't muddled in with the Christmas gifts. I think a gift of one of your drawings may be the perfect answer this year. I think you do high quality work and I know he will treasure it for a long time."

Do you read all that? "Perfect" "High quality work!" "Treasure!" Thanks for the complements Kris, But they weren't necessary. You had me at "hello."

Some of the unique things about her husband, Adam, is that he built his own cabin out off trees from their own property—with a chainsaw no less! Who is this guy? Jeremiah Johnson? (I love that movie.) Also, he really loves his Jeep Scrambler, and is proud of his Polish heritage.


This was another fun illustra- tion. But there are two mistakes that I made, maybe not obvious at first...

1) I left the windows off the cabin. Kris was okay with that, but thought that he would notice right away.

Also, 2) I was looking at this the other day and realized that the flag, chimney smoke, and chainsaw exhaust should be blowing in the same direction. They are not. Oh well, some things like that get by an artist when he's under pressure.

Happy birthday and merry Christmas Adam. And thank you Kris for your kind words. I look forward to hearing about the party.

And now, for those of you who enjoy reading about the mundane life of a doodler... My wife heard that yesterday was the last day that the Post Office would guarantee delivery before Christmas. I'm telling you, I've been doodling my precious fingers to the bone! I had two illustrations to finish down at the wire. Talk about pressure! I was up to 1 am in the night working on them. Then I got up early Saturday and finished my last one around 11 am. I thought the Post Office closed at noon, but it turned out that they were open until 2 PM.

I have one more local doodle to doodle, but that doesn't require the cooperation of the postal service.

Sadly, though, I couldn't get an address for one of those last two doodles. Lately, I've been mailing these drawing even before receiving payment. (So far no one has defaulted on me—knock on computer screen) I'm waiting to hear from the doodle requestee to see what our options are. Hopefully we can work something out.

There are a couple of other requests that I have on my list. Actually, they have the same first name (no last name), and for the life of me I can't remember if they're from the same person or not. One of the request required more photos that I never received. So if you're that person, or those persons, I'm sorry that we couldn't get it worked out, but I'll still be happy to put a caricature together for you for any other special occassion.

In other news: We're flying to Oklahoma for Christmas for Christmas. (That is, unless you're a robber that is reading this. Then in your case we'll be home all day, everyday.) The whole family will be together for a holiday celebration. I can't wait to see my girls.

I plan to take my drawing pad on the plane to get some prime doodling time in.

When I get back I'll be starting off my second Great Big Humongous Annual Giveaway!!!!

My plan is to give away a number of copies of some of my work art. (I haven't decided how many yet) and THEN, I will be giving away one chance to have a free caricature drawn for one winner by me. (This will be a doodle of a single individual—no group request.) I'll even pay for packaging and shipping.

What's the catch? None! It's just my way of saying thanks to all you crazy people out there that take the time to stop by my little corner of the WWW.

All you will have to do is make a comment on the Giveaway post and you will be entered into the drawing. That's it!! No placing a link on your blog back to mine. No handing over the deed to your house, or your first born child. Nothing like that! I just want to celebrate.

Of course, I would appreciate you telling your friends about my giveaway. That, I'm sure you realize, will decrease your odds of winning, But hey!, consider it payback for all those free doodles I've been giving to you! Remember that? Ummm? So be sure to tell your friends and family members about my little celebration.

Also! I will be revealing a special doodle that I really enjoyed working on between all the caricatures that I've been doing. In fact, I will be offering copies up for sale. I think you egg-heads are really going to want to purchase a copy. They're priced cheap too!!

Whew! That was a long post. How did you ever get through it?

Merry Christmas! Now go do something productive.

Fox 3, Oh Yeah!

Here is another Christmas doodle that is headed for the U.K.

This is May's husband. He's an Apache Helicopter pilot for the British military. I can't show you his photo—apparently military authorities aren't "down" with that. But they are "up" with me sharing his caricature.

You're just going to have to trust me on this one—it looks just like him. Oh man! I mean, the similarities are amazing. Did I ever nail this one! Whew!! What a job I did with this caricature!!!

(Are you buying into any of this?)

May wrote that her husband... "is being deployed to Afghanistan just after Christmas and I have been racking my brain over presents to give him. I think he would absolutely LOVE one of your doodles. I can frame it and give it to him to keep in his 'army room'....a basically empty room in the house where he is allowed his military pictures!"

"The scenario I had thought of was him in an Apache flying over Anfield (Liverpool FC Football ground)....them playing in Red vs Everton in blue. While Liverpool score he says 'Fox 3 Oh Yeah'! It is an ongoing joke we have so it would be awesome if you could do this?!"

I don't know if "Fox 3" is military code for "We're kicking your butt," but I was honored to try and put this doodle together for someone going into the battle against terror. Wow! One of my doodles hanging in Afghanistan. That's kind of cool! (Or in this case "hot!")

May's request presented the challenge to doodle two things that I don't enjoy drawing (as some of you may remember)... a mechanical item of some sort (the helicopter), and yet another stadium full of people. The aerial view also presented the challenge of drawing an on going soccer (Oh! Sorry you Brit.s) football game. I tried to simplify those aspects of the illustration just so they wouldn't get in the way of what the drawing was suppose to represent. I'm pleased with the results. What do you think?

Thanks May. Please tell your husband that we're all grateful. I'm hoping that the angels of postal delivery will help get the doodle there on time. It would be great if the original piece could be there so that you wouldn't have to give him an e-mailed copy to take with him.

On a side note... It snowed in our little town last Monday. While that has happened a few times in the seven years that I've lived here, it is still very unusual. So, like a good blogger, I broke out the camera for a few pics.

The big blur in the middle is me

Our home.
The window on the left is where I doodle.
Those trees are two of my four Redwoods.
(Just bragging - again)

Our ferns didn't know what hit them.
The snow was gone before the day was over.

Remember my second annual, great big, humongous giveaway is coming the first of January. On the 4th I will be celebrating two years of pouring my life out to you in the blogging universe. I will be giving away some copies of some of my doodles, plus the grand prize of a free caricature given to some unfortunate individual. I'm also revealing my "egglious" project come January.

Stay tooned!!!

Go Gators!!

Jennifer has a surprise for her son come Christmas. He's been drafted!

Jennifer and family are turning their son's room into a Florida Gator's temple of sorts. She wanted something to hang on those hallowed walls and so who ya gonna call?

Yup. Me!

She wrote, "My son is a MAJOR Florida Gators fan (as we all are) and for Christmas we are turning his room into a Florida Gators room. His hero is Tim Tebow, #15. I thought it might be fun to have a caricature drawn of him wearing jersey #15 running for a touchdown."

Football doodles are always a challenge for me. On the surface they don't seem too complicated, but there are always so many little details to try and figure out. Like the uniforms for example. The stripes, the numbers, the stuff. A doodler has to look at a lot of pictures on the web to be sure to get it right.

Also, stadiums are never fun. I'm still trying to figure out how to draw a stadium full of people so that it looks like a stadium full of people.

You will note the Heisman Trophy pose that Mr. Young Gator takes in the illustration. He's got the right stuff.

In addition, you Buckeye fans might also have noticed the fact that the player being blocked is one of yours. Apparently there is no love loss between the two. Can't we all just get along?

It's another late night. Another doodle almost done.

Thanks Jennifer. You MUST send photos. I want to see what a Gator room looks like.

Life Is A Beach

Like Santa working over his list I'm am busy working my way through my list of request for Christmas.

Katie wanted an illustration which would include her good looking twin boys, and her parents. She pictured a Florida beach scene.

I decided that such good looking boys were probably fairly intelligent as well, so I pictured them creating a sizable sand castle. Wouldn't you agree? At first I had both Mom and Dad sitting in beach cars, but I knew that most likely grandma would be engaged in the operation. So, I erased my preliminary sketches and put grandma in the sand.

Here is the piece which is headed for a Christ- mas opening. One of the things that Katie said when she saw it is that her Dad had a shirt a lot like the one I created. I just figured that he would look good in black.

I'm still working. It's nearly midnight, and my doodling fingers need a break.

Merry Christmas Katie. Have a beachie Christmas.

Lampooning the Law

One should take care when lampooning an officer of the law. Even if that officer operates clear across the nation. But I need the dough, so I ventured where no cartoonist should dare trod.

Pat contacted me about creating a caricature of her son, a North Carolina State Trooper. She requested that the illustration incorporate the marked car that he use to drive, and the unmarked patrol car that he now drives. She wanted it for a Christmas gift.

You know me, I'm always looking for a way to add a comedic twist. Thus the obvious perpetrator in the foreground.

I wish to point out, to the trooper son of Pat, that in no way does this doodle illustrate a violation on his part. This doodle illustrates the finest efforts on his part to uphold the law. So, please, do not see the bit of comedic graphic design as any kind of criticism of his duties as an officer of the law.

(Enough groveling to insure safe passage if by chance I should choose to travel through the fine state of North Carolina?)

This copy of the illustration ended up getting a few changes. Pat said that his uniform is gray, not beige. Also, the marked car in the background has a black stripe, not dark green on it. That's one of the inherent problems when working with photos e-mail over the internet. Sometimes it's a bit difficult to figure out colors. I made the changes, but didn't get a chance to make a digital copy before mailing it off to North Carolina.

Merry Christmas Pat. Thanks for using me to help make the holidays a bit more merry.

Setting Sun

Sorry, no doodle this evening. It's been a full day. I took this photo off my back deck this evening as the sun was setting into the Pacific Ocean.

Yes, I'm bragging, but what good is a blog if you can't do that often every once in a while?

"From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same the LORD’S name is to be praised." Psalms 113.3

Copy & Share If You Dare.

Dampening Your Christmas Spirit

Somebody please tell the artist that just because he can imagine it, that doesn't mean that it had to be drawn.

Here I go again, taking a cynical look at Christmas. What is it with me and this holiday season? I really do like Christmas. I promise! I'm just trying to be funny. Which is something that usually gets me into trouble.

I hope that my mom doesn't see this one. Becky, Jan (my sisters) don't tell her either. She might call me up and use my full name and talk to me with her mommy voice. You know the one?

Anyway, I hope that I have not dampened your Christmas spirit.

And yes, this IS a Copy & Share If Your Dare (seriously - if you dare) doodle. Let your conscience be your guide. That is, if you've still got one.

Now Other Stuff: Kelly Jean, the Coffee Bean, posted this photo of her little blogging corner in her mocha flavored world. This is where she types out her wisdom to the world. Note that there are three of my doodles, all nice and framed, hanging above there.

Thanks for sharing Bean-O. My ittle bitty ego thrives on the attention. Is there any other reason to do all this?

Coming Through

Just a doodle I did some- time ago while I was wasting time.

Not much to say about it. It is what it is.

My calendar for doodles between now and Christmas is fairly full. Soon, I should be able to post a number of caricatures. I've been working on one most of the evening. It's late now and I need to go beddie-bye.

Blog you later. Nightie Night!

Black Friday Memories

Well, they had us. The wife and I looked at the ads in the local paper and we were caught in the dark net called Black Friday!

Yes, the alarm went off at 4 in the AM so that we could make our consumerism trek to the temples of commercialization. I'm a bit embarrassed to tell you that not only did we go shopping at 5 Am, but we went to the black heart of Black Friday. Yes, that's right, we were heading towards... Waaaaal-Mart!

The closest Waaaaal-Mart is in the next town, 30 minutes south of here. You must forgive me for my naiveté. Because heading there I imagined a small conglomerate of people waiting for the man in blue vestment to open the door to Waaaaal-Mart—to let a small, but happy group of holiday shoppers to walk quickly, and freely through the isle while we filled our list of Christmas Ho Ho Ho. After all, how many crazy people like us are out there that would make it to a 5 AM opening of Waaaal-Mart?

Wrooong!! Imagine our surprise to learn that there are HUNDREDS of dummies just like us who would venture out in the ungodly hour of 5 AM. No lie. Imagine a parking lot, maybe 150 yards long, with a line of people, about 4 or 5 wide, standing there in the dark, waiting for the temple priests and priestess to open the doors of the price-reduction temple. Hundreds of people, all there to lay our offerings of the cash and credit cards on the registers altars of debt.

On top of all that, imagine the eerie sound that greeted us when, after one finally does find a parking space, we hear the sound of the rattle hundreds of shopping cart rattling in from all directions while people lay claim to their own little plastic mesh mules—beast of Christmas burdens they were to become.

Surprisingly, the line moved quickly. Apparently Waaaal-Mart was prepared to swallow the entire crowd whole. I'm guessing that the Fire Marshall didn't get a sales flier. Because, if he had, he surely would have been there too. And surely (stop calling me "Shirley") would have shut down the entire operation—having witnessed the massive holiday migration.

Before we even got to the doors there were several people carting out huge television sets. Unbelievable!! Obviously we were in competition with some real operators here. Slick shoppers that lot was.

Into the darkest part of the belly of the beast we went. Yes, right again... We headed straight for the electronics department! May God bless the two souls who piloted the riot that was happening there. We were shoulder to shoulder, cart to cart with dozens of others—each of us hoping, almost praying, that perhaps a remnant of our targeted Christmas cheer had somehow survived the onslaught.

The spirit of Sam Walton smiled upon us because each and every item was located and secured. Thank you Sam. Another bit of fortune that smiled upon us was the fact that the wife and I carried less than 10 items to the checkout, because the the Express Check Out line was significantly shorter than the rest. Our wait there was totally non-insane. Thank you again Sam.

We loaded up our booty and off into the dark towards home we went. At that point my wife pulled up another sales flier and said... "There's a six hour sale at Fred Meyers."

The above doodle is a Copy & Share If You Dare—an inspiration from my holiday shopping experience.

Merry Christmas to all!!

In other news: Previously I shared my appreciation for a young British artist Andrea Joseph. Recently she set up an Esty Shop to sell prints of one of her works for the first time. I like her work so much that for the first time I made a purchase of some else's art.

With her permission I am posting a copy of her art here. Andrea's main medium of choice is the common ballpoint pen. I'm always amazed at what she is able to accomplish with pen in hand. One of the unique aspects of this print is that the pen in the middle is actually drawn in, not printed, on the paper.

Thanks Andrea. I love it.

Sometime I must try and set up an Esty Shop for myself. Be sure to check my blog around the first part of January. I'll be giving away a few prints plus some unfortunate blogger will be chosen to have me lampoon their face with a their own personal caricature.

Cave Art

Shannon contacted me about creating a caricature of her husband, Josh, for his birthday. She said that he is a marathoner, plays poker, is an avid 49er and, Iowa Hawkeye fan.

On top of that she kept saying that this illustration was going to be hung in his "man cave." With that in mind I suggested that I doodle him in a Flintstone-like setting and put him in some kind of skin with a rough 49er's print on it.

She wrote, "In talking about this with a friend, they said they can totally see Josh sitting there like a caveman... (I like her friend) We just cannot forget the frothing beer!"

So... that's what she got—a caveman in his man-cave, with man-cave furnishings, AND with frothing beer in man-mug and all.

I had a bunch of fun with this one. I haven't heard what Josh's reaction was, but I put in a lot of little details to keep his cave-mind occupied.

What do you think?

I posted two previous caveman doodles here, and here. Actually, I hadn't realized that I had such a growing collection of cave art.

Thanksgiving Traditions

A little doodle history lesson for you today. Some holiday traditions go way back—probably farther back than one might think.

God bless you my blogging friends. Have a happy holiday and save a piece of pumpkin pie for me.

Copy & Share If You Dare
Be sure to click on the image for the larger view.

Mo On the T'

This is just a quick doodle I did for the nice lady that is in charge of the Children's Bible Quizzing team at our church. She wanted something for the team's t-shirts.

I'm pretty much the resident doodler at our church. I don't mind. For me, it's a way of giving back something that I consider to be a gift from the Lord to me—my doodle-ability.

The children are studying Exodus this year and, as you Bible scholars out there already know, contains the story of Moses.

Haven't read it? Go ahead. It's a great read. I love the part about the frogs.

Copy & Share If You Dare. You might find a reason to use Mo on a t-shirt of your own.

In other news: I got another caricature done last night. Now I'm working on another t-shirt design that shouldn't take me too long. Then it's back to the request list and heading towards Christmas.

Be sure to check things out at the beginning of January. I'll be giving away another caricature and some prints to celebrate two years of blogging.

So stay "tooned!"

I Know This Face

In terms of doing caricatures, Tonya's face has got to be the one that I've illustrated the most. She's a very busy blogging young lady, and this is the forth time that I've recreated her face with pen & color pencil. Not that I've minded (Tonya) it's just a matter of fact. I KNOW this face!!

In addition to her personal and crafting blogs, Tonya has a party organizing blog as well. She also has some very specific taste when it comes to doodles. Which, I must add, I don't mind, because I want to please my customers very much.

So, with some general instructions from her, I went to task on creating a(nother) Tonya doodle. This was what I sent to her first.

Tonya's response was kind, but there were some things about it that didn't quite meet her expectations. She liked the concept, but the colors were a bit too bright for one thing. She said that she was wanting it to look a bit more "classy"—her word. So, that evening I went to "classifying" her doodle up a bit. That's hard for me, because I'm kind of an un-classy guy.

Now, here's the funny part - hee, hee. I spent the evening working on the doodle, and then I get an e-mail from Tonya around mid-night telling me that she had changed her mind and that she liked the one that I had already sent her.

(I'm not complaining Tonya. I just saying...)

By then it was too late. I had "classified" all over her doodle. This then is what I sent her next...
Can you see the differences?

1. I muted the colors a bit.
2. I added greenery to the flowers - always a classy touch.
3. I put a shadow effect behind the lettering.
AND!
4. I put a gray swooshie thing behind the entire header.

VERY classy! Wouldn't you say?

It turns out that Tonya liked it. I think she was just trying to be nice about my first try. I was glad that she was happy. Another satisfied customer, only this was the fourth time for her.

Go and check out her blog and make note of the one attempt she did to "classify" the doodle herself. Tell her that you like it—regardless! It's only nice.

With Apologies to Aesop

I went to the bank the other day and the teller had an assortment of toy turtles sitting around on the counter. I asked her the same question that probably a thousand other customers asked her... "So, you like turtles?" The apparent answer was "yes." She even had one that when you pushed it's tail down, it lites up. Like a lot of people I know.

(Some how that last line sounded a bit salacious.)

I thought, "I should doodle her a turtle." So that got me started. The story of the Tortoise and the Hare came to mind. One thing lead to another, and this is what I came up with.

With apologies to Aesop, my version of the story is not that the Tortoise wins because the Hare was lazy, but because he, the Tortoise, "upgraded!"

It's been a while since I've done some doodling like this just for fun. Most of my earliest post were examples of some of pieces that I created mostly for that reason. I've tried to sell copies—with not much success.

Even though I have a ton of Christmas gifts to get out (one on my drawing table at the moment) I just had to get this one out of my system.

What do you think?

Sorry, but this is NOT a copy and share doodle. But, if you'd like a signed colored copy, very reasonable priced, you can contact me through the e-mail address to the right.

P.S. For my kind readers that enjoy... um... reading... the rest of the bank teller story is that I went back today and told her that she had inspired me to draw a turtle (a.k.a. tortoise). She said, "Really, I use to do some drawing too." I told her that I would give her a copy of my drawing (which she had not seen yet) if she drew something for me.

"Alright, but I can't promise that it will be any good." I told her that I couldn't promise the same.

Then I went next door to the pharmacy, where I get all my copes made. I showed it off to the ladies there, and then I took the copy back to the bank and gave it, signed, to the teller. She seemed impressed. Then said something about the possibility of hers not looking so good. I said that I didn't care, but she owed me! The whole point is to try and get her back to doodling.

Now that I've got that one out of my system I can get back to the "ho, ho, oh."

Hovering Hogs

Here's a quick doodle I scratched down yesterday. You've heard the expression, "That will happen when pigs fly." Well, here's another attempt at illustrating it. (I discovered that there are several versions of it out there.)

A friend thought that the pig should be happy because he's flying—most of the illustrations I saw on the internet did have happy pigs. But my point was that a flying pig represents something, or an event, that would not likely happen. So... this pig is begrudgingly taking flight.

Copy & Share If You Dare when the sow has had lift off in your world.

I just e-mailed this doodle out to several friends. My message there said...

Hey! I just heard that the government is going to offer you a bailout too.

And that will happen when................... (doodle inserted)

Try it. It will make you feel all warm and toasty inside.
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I posted an earlier doodle of an animal taking flight here...

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In other news: The Old Testament collage project continues. (Check my previous post) The original is 11x14. In order to scan the illustration I have to put it on a photocopier and reduce it. The quality of the copy is not that great. There are streaks in this image that the copier creates—I don't know why.

I'll continue to post this pencil creation so that you can check it's progress. The goal is to auction off the piece to raise money for the youth group at the church I attend.

She Hearts NYC

Andi (second from the left) contacted me about creating a doodle to commemorate a trip she took to NYC with friends. If I understood correctly, some or all of the friends are from Europe.

When I looked at her blog I saw that there were a number of sights that they visited in the city while they were there. So, instead of simply recreating the provided photo, I suggested that I doodle a collage of various New Yorkie kind of sights placed behind them. This is the result.

In the process, Andi has become clued in on the addition of our little "friend" to each of the drawings. She asked for a "clue" and I provided her one. That was all it took, and suddenly Andi had a broad new world opened up to her.

She wrote me and said...

"My baby Arielle and I are spending the morning looking through archives and finding Eggy. Fun times with my kid.....since we are both fighting colds and not going to church today. Arielle is having fun. She wants to find them before I do. Sometimes...she does. Thanks for the fun game."

You're welcome Andi and Arielle. My artwork is almost as good as Mom's chicken soup when it comes to treating a cold.

Check out her blog and tell her what your best homemade remedy is for the not so common cold.

In other news: The youth pastor at our church is a fairly good doodler himself. The other day we decided to collaborate on a project together. We're taking turns drawing a collage of illustrations depicting various scenes from the Old Testament. The idea is to auction off the piece when we're finished to raise money for the church's youth group.

This is an 11x14 pencil sketch. I plan to post various copies to show our progress. If you're interested in making a bid you can e-mail me at my address provided in the right column.

Can you tell which parts I drew?

Even Us Wimps Can Be Strong

It is a reoccurring theme of the Bible that when we are weak, then we can be strong.

The challenge for me on this particular passage was to figure out how to illustrate God's power making a weakling strong. How would you do that?

Fire is often used to represent God's power and His presence. So, I decided to doodle a 90lb weakling surrounded by a body of fire on steroids. (Not that God would ever need to use steroids.)

I promise you that the truth of this verse has become real to me many times in my life.

Zechariah 4:6 “'Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the LORD Almighty."

Copy & Share If You Dare

Super Turkey

You'd better purchase your turkey early this year. With Super Turkey on the job, I understand that the traditional Thanksgiving bird is going to be a lot more difficult to find.

I'm not kidding here!!

Perhaps you should Copy & Share If You Dare the doodle to get the word out to the unsuspecting public out there. I'd hate to see their holidays ruined.

There are certain responsibilities that come with having important information like that.

So, get on it!

Check here for last year's Thanksgiving illustration.

Also: Laura, my peachy friend, told me about this photo she posted on her blog. It's a door in her home that is "decorated" with some of my doodles that she and her daughter colored. (Hi Martha!)

It just seems bizarre to me to see a photo of a door in Georgia that is covered with my artwork.

You can also see the doodle I did of the both of them for Christmas last year. I think that was the final Christmas doodle I did last year. What a relief to get that in the mail. More strangeness to see my art hanging there as well.

Nice coloring there ladies!

A Classic

There's an interesting story that goes with this one, but first I'll just say that this is Karen's husband Danny. They have three pets that apparently Danny is fond of. She also said that he liked to play pool. So, I suggested doing a new take on a classic theme: Dogs Playing Pool. Karen liked the idea and so I went for it.

After a quick internet search I came to realize that a number of artists have tackled this vital topic. Apparently people in general are quite fascinated with the idea of dogs playing pool, or poker, or any number of human type games.

I worked very hard to get this one just right. Believe it or not, one of the things I'm proud of is the texturing of the walls in the background. I was trying to set a "manly", "earthy" tone (does that make sense?). I kind of like how it turned out. I also like the look of the felt on the table. I think that it turned out well also.

There are a lot of little details in the illustration, including the appearance of you know who—who I hope to have hidden in a spot where he's not so easy to find for some of you world class egg hunters.

Now for those of you interested in reading more, here's the rest of the story...

Karen works at the pharmacy where I get my copies made of my doodles. Before I mail out every caricature I get a color copy made. I have become quite familiar with the ladies that work there and they always want to see what caricature I've done next.

I felt a little pressure to get this one done right. I wanted all the ladies to be pleased with my work. Since Karen is a local I was able to bring in the pencil sketch for her pre-approval. She liked what she saw. Having her face on the poster was my idea that I told her was at no extra charge.

I finished this last Sunday and I took it to the Pharmacy yesterday. Lo and behold, when I walked in the store who do you think I saw standing at the counter? Danny! What are the chances that I would show up, with his surprise gift, while he was there?

It turned out that it was Karen's day off, so I figured that Danny wasn't going to leave until she did. There was no chance of giving her the doodle then. BUT, I wasn't sure what the color of his eyes were. So, with the drawing tucked under a sack, I went over to look deeply into his eyes. Karen, I think, was afraid I wouldn't recognize him and quickly came out from behind the counter to introduce me. In other words: "This is my husband Rick, so don't blow it." But, I had been staring at the gentleman's face for quite some time. I would have recognized him anywhere.

I acted my part. But!... one of the other ladies saw me and figuring that I was there to just copy an illustration said, "What have you got there Rick?" Fortunately I had another unfinished illustration in my hand as well and showed that to them while Danny was standing there.

Today, I went back in to the pharmacy and showed the finished product to her. Now, this is the advantage of drawing for local people. Instead of getting the nice e-mail that I normally get as a response, Karen gave me a great big hug when she saw it. That out ranks a three exclamation marks any day. She LOVED it and began right away showing it off to all the other ladies.

Mission accomplished!!! What do you think?

Stay "tooned" folks. I'm heavy into the holiday illustrating. There will be many more doodles to come.

Family Practice - You Don't Send Me Flowers

It's been a while since I published one of my Family Practice cartoon strips. For those newer guests to my blog, this was an attempt a few years ago to get a strip into syndication. But that was not to be. In order to submit an idea to the cartoon syndicates you must show them at least a month's worth of concepts. I drew more than that, but now I'm running low of examples to post here.

Younger readers probably won't get the punch line. The line "You don't send me flowers" won't resonate with them. But you older bloggers...

If you want, you can see my earlier Family Practice posts by typing that into the search bar above.

Be sure to click on the image to get a larger view.

Christy In Living Color

Christy wanted a blog header that illustrated her life of living with a chronic illness and everything that comes with it. Unfortunately, her health issues are many. She wrote me and said, "I have Cystic Fibrosis, have had a double lung transplant, and am getting ready to have a kidney transplant. So, my life is all about medications, doctor's appointments, surgeries, and balancing that with trying to be a wife and mom to my daughter (13)."

Working off some ideas that she had, I suggested that I doodle an image of her taking a ballet-like leap, from a gray, unhealthy world, to a healthy, colorful one. Christy leapt at the idea.

This carica- ture went fairly easy for me. I had a lot of fun creating it, and I really like the way it turned out. Coloring the letters in a quilt pattern leapt into my mind out of nowhere.

When Christy saw it she said, "I absolutely love it!!!"
(I like getting responses that include three exclamation marks.)

She also said that she liked the quilt pattern because it gave her a lot of latitude when it came to choosing a color scheme for her blog.

I'm glad you liked the doodle Christy. My prayers are for you and with you. Thank you for choosing me to illustrate your choice for health. Hang in there girl!!!

(Note the three exclamation marks. That's a good thing.)

Why don't the rest of you take a flying leap over to Color Me Healthy and read the story about a wife and mother that is dealing with a life-long disease and choosing a healthy colorful world. Be sure tell Christy that you're praying for her.

Fighting Fire

The other day I had someone ask about the possi- bility of me creating a doodle for her husband who is a fire fighter. That reminded me of this caricature that I did a few years ago of a friend's son.

I'm a little reluctant to post this because I've never been too happy with how it turned out. I don't like the way I positioned the guys legs - they're too cramped up underneath him. I think I should have made the fire-bug smaller. That would have made the absurdity of the situation a bit more humorous. And now, I could do a much better job on the face. I've had a bit more experience with this drawing thing since then.

The Christmas requests are flowing in. I think I'll be doodling from here until December late. That's the way it was last year. Ho, Ho, Oh!!!

Also: This is a photo of my friend John and I. His mother took it during the church's Harvest Party last Friday. It's a classic. I just had to share it with you.

Some people at the party didn't recognize me in my full Harley get-up. One dear saint told me she was backing away from me until she figured out who I was.

We're a couple of tough looking characters. So, watch out! We be baaaaaad!!

It's Your Duty

I'm not too proud of this doodle. I threw it together rather quickly. I was ready to post another caricature that I did last week, but decided to delay that a bit. Then I realized that I should post something to commemorate the national elections on Tuesday.

This piece speaks to the idea that I think we've all been chewed up by the abundance of "info-mercialization" of it all. I'm sure that we will all breath a sigh of relief when it's all over - no matter who wins.

It's been years since I've voted in the classic voting booth with the pull curtain and everything. In Oregon we get our ballots in the mail and get to mail them back in, or place in a drop box. The wife and I have already voted. So, you can't call us one of the undecided. We've done been decided for several days nows.

Happy voting! Copy & Share If You Dare. Click on the image for the larger size.

Pumpkin Pickup Line

I wanted to get this out a day early, just in case you might like to use it where you hang out on the net. So... this is yet another "Copy & Share If You Dare" doodle. All I ask is that you give me a pumpkin-heads up if you are using it. I just like to know about these things. They're like children to me.

I colored this one in Photoshop. Do you like how I did the letters? I'm slowly learning!

I'll be at our church, helping out with the carnival, like I have for the past five years. The forecast is rain, and that means more people because parents will be looking for a dry place to take their kids.

So, have a safe and happy Hallowed Eve!

Also: Cathie posted this photo of the doodle I did of her husband, Jason, on her blog. It proudly hangs above his Lord of the Rings collection. I always enjoy seeing photos like these. I'm guessing that he really liked it because it hangs in what is apparently a very hallowed spot in their home. Seriously, I'm amazed that anyone would hang on of my doodles on one of their walls. I don't even hang any of them on MY walls. I guess that's strange isn't it?

Thanks for sharing Cathie. Is your husband dressing up like Gandalf the Gray, or Gandalf the White for Halloween this year? (I say go with Gray—much easier to clean up after.)