Sheriff of a No Horse Town

During all the excitement I had last Friday night while trying to up my vote totals I grabbed a spare piece of paper and starting doodling this guy. In my usual fashion I started without really knowing where the drawing was heading. The next thing I knew he turned into a cowboy, and the the cowboy was upgraded to sheriff.  After shading the feller in with my usual crosshatching I decided that I liked it so well I would add some color.  Next came the dog and more color. Finally, I figured the Sheriff needed a town. I only wished that I had added a horse so that I could say he was he sheriff of a "one horse town."

I really, really like how this doodle turned out. In fact it's up there as one of my favorites. I just like how the whole thing turned out. I wished that I could express this kind of freedom when I do my caricatures, but I feel bound down when I draw those. The one or two times that I've tried to add my own "flair" to a caricature I sensed that the client was less than enthused with my work.  Still, I try. What do you think?

HaHa and Her Zoo

This isn't the first time that Jodi requested a doodle from me.  I like having repeat customers.  That means they were really happy with the first creation. 

This time Jodi wanted an illustration of her mother for a Christmas gift.  About her mother she wrote...

"She lives alone with her pets, she LOVES them. Her sweet calico cat died 2 weeks ago. She had Callie for over 17 years. She also has a 3 legged boxer named Jeff. A boxer mix named Ginger. And 2 horses (one horse is over 30 years old). She keeps telling friends that she will meet Callie on the 'rainbow bridge.'"

"She has 2 daughters (me and my sister) and 5 grandchildren. I did not want pictures for all these people, just maybe their initials somewhere, like inside flowers or something? I am a "J" and so is my sister. Then the grand kids are C,K,C,K, and B."

So with photos in hand, I went to work on the caricature.  Drawing animals isn't too very hard for me.  I actually don't like drawing horses.  I've never seem to do very well.  The main thing when drawing pets is trying to be sure to get the right spots in the right places.  Jodi was kind enough to send me several good photos of the pets.  That makes my job a whole lot easier.

On Christmas day Jodi and family got to watch her mom open the gift while "Skyping" on the computer.  (If you haven't discovered Skype yet, it's terrific!)  She took photos of the computer screen while the unveiling was done.  This is a first for me.  "HaHa" is what the grandkids call her.  There's got to be a good story behind that one.

Jodi wrote, "THANK YOU!!!  We just watched her open it on the computer a few minutes ago. She was absolutely speechless (which is a rarity) and she cried!!! I took some pictures of the computer screen and I will send them. Thanks for helping me give her probably the best gift ever!!! I was the one who set up her face book account.  I just put this picture as her profile picture. She is getting some GREAT comments and she hasn't even been home to see them yet!"

"The best gift EVER!?!"  Now,  I like reading that!  Here are the photos that Jodi sent me...

Thanks Jodi.  Those photos are a precious part of my doodling unveiling collection.  They are definitely  a classic.  Give your mother my greetings.  I was so happy to be a part of making her Christmas merrier.

Some day we'll all sit virtually in each other's living rooms while we open our presents.  I'm not sure that I want to be around when that happens. 

Update:  I received an e-mail from"HaHa" regarding the caricature.  It was so nice I wanted to include it with this post...

Hi Rick, I am Haha, Jodi Smith’s mother. Talk about a surprise!!. It was wonderful to see your interpretation of the pictures Jodi sent you for my present. The story behind my  name, Haha, comes from the Jodi’s oldest son, Collin. You know- the whatever the first  grandchild calls you will last thru all of them.  As I am told, I used to say hahahahaha to him all the time to get him to smile. I am a loud-mouth yankee, so  I guess it mad an impression on him.  As far as the” rainbow bridge”, there is a poem about  beloved pets when they die. Please look it up, and you will know why I cried  when I saw her, which I did not at first. I was so busy looking at each pet individually, and was so shocked at the whole idea of this masterpiece. My animals are very precious to me and bring me so much comfort. Jeffrey the 3 legged boxer has become a Therapy dog and visits nursing homes, children’s homes, special ed. Classes. Etc.  After Callie died, I said if there was a special kity that needed me, I would probably adopt it. Sure enough, there was Journie, with just one eye- another calico. How could I pass on her??. She is a joy, fun and helps ease the vacant spot Callie left after 17 years.  My daughters and sons-in law are  wonderful to me. My grandchildren are the most beautiful  you have ever seen. Talk about  love. They give so much and make life complete. You picture has drawn acclaim on my facebook site from other countries as well as here.  Know, that your artistry has brought me much joy and smiles.

Warmly, Rose

Thank you Rose.  You are most welcomed.

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.

Who Let The Dogs Out?

Tracy contacted me about doing a doodle for her web site, and promotional material. Tracy is the head trainer at Yespup.com. She wanted an illustration of her, playing with five of her dogs, and no leashes. Which was fine with me because I don't think that there are any leashe laws on the Internet. (When I look at some blogs on the net I think that maybe there should be.)

I had a lot of fun creating this for her. It's a fun, happy illustra- tion - I think. Tracy said that she liked it and that is pretty much what matters.

If you're the owner of an unruly pup, give Tracy a bark. I'm positive she could bring peace to it's troubled mind. Just look at that doodle. Can't you just see that.

She's probably better than this guys. I mean, can you actually trust a fellow that goes around whispering to dogs? I don't think so!!

Walking Kelly

This is Kelly and her dog Benny. When Kelly contacted me about doing an illustration for her blog she presented an interesting challenge for me.

She wrote, "What I would like is a caricature of me trying to walk my dog, Benny, while trying to hold my shirt down over the back of my pants, and drink a Starbucks at the same time... with it spilled on the front of my shirt (because I am always spilling stuff on my shirt). Benny is our 11 month old Golden Retriever and he is a MESS!!! He has the straightest, whitest teeth we have ever seen on a dog. They are hilarious. I also have very straight , white teeth which makes it funny to some of our friends."

At first I wasn't sure how all those instructions were going to fit together, but, as I've said before, I aim to please. So here is what I came up with. I've got to admit, they both do have a nice set of chompers. Must come from good dental hygiene habits.
The bit about the shirt being held over the back of her pants comes from an interesting story from the first post on her blog. You can check that out and how she put my illustration to work over at Laughing Always Helps.

When you get there, you'll see that her blog guru added a house to the illustration. Normally we artist are kind of touchy about people adding to our work, but hey, it's just a cartoon - not the Monna Lisa. I actually think that the house adds to the drawing.

Also, you'll discover that Kelly and family are going through some difficult times. If you're a praying person, as I am, then offer up a prayer on their behalf and drop Kelly an encouraging bit of blog love.