Happy Pooch

I generally try to get a new post up every other day, but the weekend got crazy (as they generally are for me) and I never got it done.

I have another caricature that I'm ready to post, but I already had this little doodle loaded up and so I'm going with it. There's nothing terribly symbolic about it it. It's just a happy little pooch.


Google has done something with the way they display Followers on the blogs. They've changed to format somehow. I'm not sure that I like it. Before I could easily tell when someone new signed up to be a follower. The newest person was always the first person on the list. I'm not sure that is happening now. I always feel honored when anyone signs us to follow my bit of nonsense, and so I generally try to pop over to their blog and thank them.

(I think I've missed a few. So, if you're a Follower and I missed thanking you... thanks - you crazy little mink, you.)

Part of the problem is that I think some of my Followers in the past have un-followed themselves, and then re-followed themselves later. (Perhaps you've done that.) At one time my number was up over 150, about which I am truly honored. I think perhaps one of the reasons people did that was just so that they could get their smilie little mug pic back at the front of the list. Otherwise, I'm not sure why someone would want to jump off my doodle train.

(I'm afraid to ask. I'm a sensitive, artsie kind of guy and the answers could hurt.)

I remember the day that I was amazed that six people would care to declare themselves a Follower. I'm grateful for all the attention people give my art. There is one thing that all artist have in common: They all wanted, need, an audience.

(Hold your applause please.)

OH, and Copy & Share If You Dare.

Doodles and Complaints

I should have been doodling last night, but I wasn't in the mood for it. So instead, I laid in bed and watched American (bow down and worship me) Idol with my wife. There is a young lady on the show that use to live in our little town. I don't remember her name but my daughter knew her. She's the one with the arm full of tattoos. (ouch!)

I could be a judge on that show. All I would have to say is... "That wasn't your song dog. Dude, you didn't bring it on tonight. Blah, blah, blah, dog." Does that sound about right?

In light of that discussion this doodle seems appropriate. I even did a little photoshop coloring in the letters. I wanted to color in the whole illustration, but there is still so much about that program that I need to learn before I can do that in a way that wouldn't require hours of effort. So... Copy & Share If You Dare.

Recently I went on line to purchase this book from Barnes and Nobel. It's one little step towards my dream of getting a children's book into publication. I am slowly working my way through it—trying to pick up a few pointers here and there.

I have one complaint against Barnes and Nobel. So, if you've got time you can read it. Otherwise this is just a cathartic experience for me...

I looked up this book on their web site but saw a few other books related to the same topic. I wanted to try and get an actual look at them so that I could better decide which book would be best. It's a 2.5 hour trip for us to get to a town with a Barnes and Nobel in it. So, when these country folks drive through the mountain pass and make it to the city (to pick up their daughter at the airport) it's a rare chance to visit one of their stores.

I walked into the place and went to their (not so helpful) information center to ask a young man where I might find such a book. The gentleman there typed in "illustrating children's books" on his computer and nothing came up. He tried a few other versions of the search and still nothing. I said, "I found it on your web site very easily. Try and look it up there."

"We don't have access to the web site here," the young gentleman said. "What?" I thought. How stupid is that? They can't even get on their own web site at their own stores?

He asked me if I had a name or title, but of course I hadn't written any of that down. Then I thought, my daughter has her iTouch with her and can get on the net wirelessly. Then I asked, "Do you have Wifi here?" "Yes," the gentleman said, "but you have to pay for it."

Thanks but no thanks Mr. Barnes and (not so) Nobel. How very helpful of you to not provide that to your customers so that they can find books that you yourselves can't find.

It's frustrating for me when it takes so much effort to get to a store and they're really not set up to help you find what you need. I might have taken my book business elsewhere, but I was using a gift card that my sister wasn't suppose to give me in the first place. (Another story for another time.)

There now. I feel better. How about you?

Wuv You

I've been slow getting through my list of doodle request lately. One of the reasons is that our middle daughter came in for a quick visit from Oklahoma. On Saturday she offered to take us out to our favorite little greasy spoon in town.

The youngest jumped into the driver's seat and said she was driving. She had the jams pumped up and was acting a little crazy. She gets that from her mother.

It's pronounced "Fee-Lee's." The condition of the sign speaks well to the condition of the interior, but year after year it is voted the best hamburger in town. You'll find it down at the port, right by Sport Haven Beach, on the great big Pacific Ocean. Go ahead and bring your laundry while you're there getting a bite to eat.

Three of my girls just prior to the big feast.

The in-laws met us there. They frequent the joint.

Feeding the gulls. They are always around, looking for a handout. Yes, they're basically rats with feathers. I know what you're thinking... "The Birds!" Alfred could have made a scene for his flick there.

The girls took a run throug the gulls. (Disclaimer: No seagulls were hurt in the preparation of the post.)
We all took a walk out onto the jetty. This is where the Chetco River meets the Pacific Ocean.

Marylynn will probably shoot me for posting this pic—her hair had that ocean breeze effect going. But I like her smile. I'm looking a big strange, but hey! Who am I trying to impress?

I've laid in bed at night and heard this fog horn going off many times. I wouldn't want to be standing there when it does.

Self portrait. The Old Salt himself.

Here's another little quick doodle for your viewing pleasure. It speaks for itself, and it's so true.

Copy & Share If You Dare.

Wild Hog Wild

Back in January I received an e-mail from Ron. It said...

Dear Sir, I am a leader of a 4-H club of 6 children which raises hogs and sells them at the county fair and the children save the money for their education. The kids ages range from 8 yrs to 13 and they are able to raise and show the hogs each year until they are 18 years old. The kids also have to preform several community service projects every year along with fund raisers. The children work hard year round but they have a lot of fun and a lot of rewards! For Christmas the kids voted to adopt the children at a state home and supply Christmas for them, the kids shopped for 21 needy kids, cooked the Christmas dinner and I arranged a visit from Santa. Our kids voted to do this instead of having a end of the year party for themselves. The name of our club is Hog Wild and I saw your art work on the web and was wondering if and how much you charge you would charge us as we are a non-profit group for a logo of a pig, but the kids want a "mean" muscle bound, pig. All of the other clubs have a pretty show pig and they want to be different. I do in fact I ride a Harley and I think they have adopted the outlaw image..... all we are looking for is a head/shoulder shot (not a wild boar) these are USDA prime show hogs, so they don't have hair, or tusks. they are white in color to give you an idea.

Thank You, Ron

So there I was with this request. What was I going to do? Of course I wasn't going to charge them. How could I after they voted adopt 21 children from the state home and gave them a Christmas? I'd have to be some kind of Ebeneezer to charge them anything for a doodle. Besides, the guy is a Harley rider like me!

No big deal. I figured that I could whip this one out with one eyeball tied behind my back.

The above illustration is what I sent them. The only problem was, in case you didn't catch it, their name is "Hog Wild" not "Wild Hog."

Oops!

So, I had to do a little bit of Photoshop work and make the necessary changes.

I need to correct one tiny bit of information: I did charge them a slight fee. I requested a photo of the six of them with their shirts on. Sadly, I haven't seen that yet, so I'm calling a collection agency next week before I go hog wild all over them. Hopefully, I can get a photo in the near future to post on this here blog.

Good luck with them USDA prime show hogs Ron. I was honored to contribute in a small way to these great Americans of yours.

Show Time

If memory serves... (as it rarely does these days) ...this is a doodle that I started on my most recent airplane trip, and then finished here at home.

Maybe you have an upcoming dramatic presentation that this would come in handy for. Hey, life is one big play, isn't it? There are many reasons that you could have to use this doodle. Then by all means Copy & Share If You Dare.

I'm just here to fulfill your doodle dreams. It's sort of like a calling. So, please, help me fulfill my destiny.

I thank you.

Blaaaaaack Sheep (Again)

Previously, I posted some of the illustrations I created related to the Christian motorcycle group call "Blaaack Sheep." There are some members of the group that go to the church I aaaattend.

Last Summer the group held aaaaa conference at the church. I'm not a member, but they aaaallowed me to set up aaaa display to try and sell some of my motorcycle doodles. I didn't sell a lot, but enough to cover my cost, plus aaaa bit more.

The president of the Blaaaack Sheep liked my take on the concept and asked me if I would creaaaate some more images that he could use in their publications. That was laaast summer. Around November I finally got around to sending him the first illustration. He liked it and aaaasked me to create three more using the same raaaam figure. I was haaaappy to do so, but with all the Christmaaaas request hanging over my head at the time, I had to put him off until aaaafterwards.

(I'm sure that he said, "Baaaah Humbug!)

I was finally aaaable to create the three other concept with blaaaack sheep in various poses.

(It was a killer getting a ram in my home to sit still and model for me that long. And the MESS!?! I don't want to talk about it.)

Aaaafter seeing my work, Mr Head Sheep said that he really like it and that there would be more request in the future. I said, "baaaah."

I really did. Do you believe me?

(Also, with apologies to my egg hunting friends, I believe these are egg-less illustration. Now I hear you saying "waaaah!")

D~I~E~T!!

Valentine's Day is over. The candy chocolates from that heart box have been consumed and now they lay in "waste"—your waste that is. It's now time to face the music and go on that, (Oh, dare I say?) D~I~E~T!!

Ouch! Don't that hurt just reading that word?

Of course, your poor refrigerator is going to be feeling very neglected during these torturous days ahead of you. Don't ya know?

So, go easy on the poor thing and sneak a lookie inside once in a while. Looking can't hurt. There ain't now weight gain in doing that. Right?

Copy & Share If You Dare.

Pleasing Paula

Paula wanted me to create a header for her blog which she named "His Living Sacrifice." The concept of someone being a living sacrifice comes from the Book of Romans in the Bible, where the Apostle Paul challenges the Christians of Rome to give their whole life over to God's will—a powerfully challenging concept.

After looking at her blog, I sug- gested to her that rather than the usual color caricature, a simple pen & ink illustration of her sitting on a stone altar would look good on her blog. She agreed. (I like it when people agree with me.)

This is the basic illustration that I sent her. Paula was pleased. BUT she had a few request. Thus began an interesting exchange of e-mails between us.

She also wanted this sentence added underneath the header. Which I was glad to provide for her.

But, she discovered that the illustration wouldn't fit in the space provide on her blog. So, I took the original illustration and moved things around a bit. Plus I recreated my original hand created lettering with computer fonts. Then she also wanted a thought bubble which included the words, "Today I start on my self DIE it."

The new graphic fit, but she also wondered about adding a line to the bottom of the header to separate it from the rest of the blog.

Then she thought that perhaps the Scripture reference for the blog's name would be a better for the thought bubble.

Or maybe that version would be better without the line would be best?

She also wondered about having one which just had a thought bubble that she could insert other thoughts into.

Then I thought I would give her one without a thought bubble at all.

Now, less you think that Paula is a picky perfectionists, she is not. She is a very nice friendly person. Paula was only doing what I wanted her to do—to be sure that the final product was something she wanted and would work for her needs.

If you want to know which version she ended up using then you'll have to check out her blog to see, and check out her great potato chip video too.

Paula also used her logo on her YouTube channel. That was a first for me. This particular video is an example of her using the image at the beginning of one of her videos. So my doodles are spreading all over the net.

Thanks Paula for allowing the opportunity to express your heart thoughts. I really like how the doodle turned out, and I hope you get many years of use out of it.

Happy Valentine's Day

St. Valentine's Day is just around the corner. So you know I had to commemorate the occasion with some kind of love doodle. But, once again I walk on the cynical side of life.

How many years have we been trusting this Mr. Cupid with the responsibility of picking out our perfect match? I'm inclined to think that he might be getting a little "long in the tooth."

But alas, love is in the air, and he's busy taking aim at your future love.

So!!! put on a little Barry Manilow because "This One's For You." Or, as they say in the doodle dialect, "Copy & Share If You Dare."

And oh, have a happy Valentine's Day while you're at it.

Pssst... Check out last year's Valentine doodle here.

Falling Confidently

Here's another "meeting doodle". I say, "If you're gonna' fall, you might as well do it with confidence." Right? Copy & Share If You Dare.

(Sorry, just realized - eggless)

Also, here's another little taste of Doodlenormous, that piece of doodle history in the making. And YOU are definitely doing to want to own a part of illustration history—makes a great Valentine Day's gift. Don't you know?

Trouble At The HOA

This request came to me some- time ago. Un- fortun- ately, I can't give you a lot of details about this illustration—only that it came from a client involved in a dispute related to a home owners association. The two principles in the drawing, if I remember correctly, were members of the board for the HOA in question. The madame in the illustration was some kind of loyal supporter.

This illustration was destined for an underground newsletter, of sorts. I never saw it, and actually, I never heard if there was any kind of backlash. But the client was pleased.

I liked how the drawing turned out. For me, it works. Usually, I don't like how my horses turn out, but these beast of burden turned out fairly well, I thought.

The pen is mightier than the sword, and a doodle from a pen can be fairly sharp too. (Boy, that sounds deep, doesn't it?)

Ready

I'm still feeling under the weather. (Someone isn't praying hard enough.) It's not good timing for me. My weekends are generally busy.

So, I thought that I would just post another meeting doodle that came out of my recent trip to Salem. This gentleman here speaks of readiness to me. He's looks like someone that is ready and eager for action—unlike me at the moment.

I have no idea where you might be able to use it, but, hey!, why not?... It's a Copy & Share If You Dare doodle ready for you to use.

(And egg-less you ask? Well, I guess you'll just have to find out on your own.)

Harr, Harr, Harr

The doodler is feeling sick at the moment. What- ever it is, my nose is in rebellion with the rest of my bod right now. You know the score. Me thinks it will be a NyQuil night tonight.

A week ago I was in an all day meeting in Salem, Oregon. You know me, if I'm in a meeting I've got my pen in hand and I am drawing something. I never know what's going to come out when I start one of these "meeting doodles."

This crazy bit of doodlness was my favorite one out of all that I drew that day. Maybe you can find some reason to stick on your blog, or refrigerator, or up your nose. Whatever. To tell you the truth, I think that it might be egg-less. Sorry to all my faithful egg hunters out there. Sometimes I forget about the little guy. I know—how could I do such a thing? First goes the hair then goes the brain.

Anyway, if you can use this funny doodle then be my guess to Copy & Share If You Dare. Then say a prayer for my nose.

Ride On

This is Katrina and her hubby David. They celebrated their 2nd anniversary on my birthday, yesterday! She wanted me to create a caricature of them both on their 2002 Honda Gold Wing 1800.


Kartina had a few other request that she hoped I could include as well. Like, for example, the White Mountains of New Hampshire, a covered bridge, and a moose. I may be wrong, but I don't think that there are many moose left in New Hampshire, but apparently David went on a moose sighting excursion once, but the moose weren't very accommodating.

Also, you might notice their wedding pic speaks to the fact that they're both big fans of Dunkin Donuts coffee. She used the term "addicts." I'm not a coffee drinker, so I'm not relating, but this is their doodle.

Soooo, I put all the ideas, and requests together and this is what I came up with...

I'm pleased with the way this one turned out. As I have said before, illustrations which include mechanical objects, like motorcycles, always challenge me. So, as I have done in the past, I took a photo of their Honda and traced it on the paper. I happened to have a pencil which had a color that nearly matched the color of the bike. That was helpful. I just had to fill in the rest.

Katrina was pleased with the piece. I'm looking forward to hearing about David's reaction.

Thanks Katrina for using me to celebrate this important day. Ride on!

Also! Thank you all for my shower of birthday greetings from yesterday. I felt the love flowing out from my computer screen. You all are too kind. "Tanks" a bunch.

Birthday Love

The old doodler's birthday is today. I'm not ashamed to say that I turned 52 today. It sure feels a whole lot like 51 to me.

No gifts please, just your comments on this blog are enough of a present for me. (My needs are so few.)

Go ahead - blog me a little love.

Going Or Gone?

I've gotten to where I think about you all just about every time I sit down to doodle. I'm asking myself, "What should I draw next that people will want to copy and share,"

Being the doodler for the blogging world is an important responsibility that I take very seriously. The burden, at times, is almost too much to bare. But for you, I will press on.

So, this is another doodle that I started back on our Christmas flight to Oklahoma. After reading some of your blogs, I am thinking, "These people are crazy! They're about to go over the edge!"

Then it hits me! "Many of them have ALREADY gone over the edge." So, I realized that this particular doodle wouldn't do for many of you. That's why I've got two "Over The Edge" doodles for you to choose from.

Some of you are just about to go over... Thus, the first doodle would fit your situation.

Then there are the rest of you maniacs!! You've done stepped over and are gone. So, the second one is for you, and may the good Lord help you.

So, pick your position and then Copy & Share If You Dare - with my compliments.