Everybody dreams, everybody aspires. Or do they? Maybe that's just a base assumption on my part. Okay, how about, some people dream, some people aspire, and I'm one of those people.
For the majority of my lifetime, say from about the age of 5, one of my primary dreams/aspirations (up there with secret service agent, architect, artist in residence, revolutionary traffic management engineer, novelist, successful businessman, stand-up comedian, and one-hit wonder), has been to be a cartoonist.
When I was 5, my sister Kathy got a chalkboard and colored chalk for Christmas. My brother Tom got a pull-and-speak toy that featured characters from Charles Schulz' Peanuts cartoon. I got socks.
So I took the pull-and-speak toy my brother got, sat in front of the chalkboard my sister got, and drew the characters depicted on the toy as best I could.
That doesn't sound anywhere near as exciting as, "The first time I heard the Velvet Underground I knew I wanted to be a rock star..." but that is how it happened. At least that's how my older sisters related the story to me. Truth be told, I don't remember that far back.
I have been drawing for as long as I can remember though, and I have filled sketchbook after sketchbook with ideas for cartoons. When I was in school, I did cartoons for the school paper. Well, I did them when the editor couldn't get the far more talented Pulu or Thibodeau to do them.
From June of 1980, the end of my Junior year of High school
I was a high-strung teenager, and it amazes me how much of what I felt inside was reflected in my cartoons. The figures were stiff, unwieldy, and rectilinear. The proportions were distorted, and not in an amusing, Basil Wolverton manner.The lines were clunky, and heavy.
Sign I painted in 1982 for the Graphics shop. We would be moved at least once more before I left.
After High School I enlisted in the USAF. That was not done because the USAF offered opportunities for the artistically inclined, but rather just to get the hell out of the neighborhood I was raised in (see, http://cbakunasart.blogspot.com/2012/05/we-could-be-heroesin-right-era.html if you want more info).
The USAF did provide me with the opportunity to work as an artist though, or at least as a cartoonist and illustrator.
After High School I enlisted in the USAF. That was not done because the USAF offered opportunities for the artistically inclined, but rather just to get the hell out of the neighborhood I was raised in (see, http://cbakunasart.blogspot.com/2012/05/we-could-be-heroesin-right-era.html if you want more info).
The USAF did provide me with the opportunity to work as an artist though, or at least as a cartoonist and illustrator.
Comic strip attempt from my second year in the USAF (1982), never accepted by the base paper.
While in the USAF, my primary AFSC was Graphics. I worked in the graphics shop, drawing posters, creating flyers, putting together 35mm slide presentations, etc.
This was before computer graphics - it could take days to put together a 25 slide briefing.
I'm going to digress a minute here, because the complexity of putting together a single slide for a presentation just hit me.
Lettering the slide was initially done one of three ways. As the lettering had to be as clear as possible, and as none of us in the shop (Ralph, Carl, Vancie, Tim, Cathy, & Mike) had decent hand-lettering skills, we used one of the following (or a combination of all three):
A Leroy lettering set, which was a pantographic device with a stylus that fit into a plastic strip engraved with lettering, and had a holder for an India ink filled rapidograph pen on the other end. It required the user to line the rapidograph pen up on the illustration board and carefully guide the stylus along the letter needed. This was repeated until the word, then the sentence, then the paragraph, was completed. It was frequently messy, as estimating whether the India ink was dry could go horribly wrong.
The AM Varityper Headliner photo typesetting machine. It required the user to feed a strip of film into the machine, then, using a plastic disc of typefaces and fonts, literally take a picture of each letter until words and punctuation were photographed onto the strip of film. The machine had the necessary chemical bath needed to develop the film incorporated into it, and after you patiently put together the phrase you wanted, the film would then be spit out. Then you would cut it to fit your lay-out, peel off the irritatingly thin red film that keep the adhesive in check, carefully line the strip of lettering up on your paste-up board, and repeat until finished.
Or Letraset lettering sheets that had perfect letters in various typefaces and fonts on them that you would line up as precisely as possible, then rub on the plastic face of the sheet with a pencil to transfer the letter from the sheet to the paste-up board. It took a bit of practice to learn to peel up the sheet so that the letter stuck to the board and didn't tear in two, with half the letter on the board and the other half still affixed to the sheet. Of course, you had to repeat the process until the word was finished, and then again until all the lettering for the slide was done.
Eventually, in my last year in the USAF, we got a Kroy lettering machine that had the different typefaces and fonts on easily interchangeable plastic discs which could stamp whole words and sentences on white strips of adhesive-backed thin vinyl. Those worked at light speed compared to everything else. That was the equivalent of man discovering fire to graphic artists, let me tell you.
However, we still had to draw illustrations for the slides, shoot the paste-ups on Kodalith film, have the photo lab develop the negs, then hand-color those negs using Dr, Martin's dyes and a jewelers loupe!
My assignment to Graphics was direct duty, meaning I did not attend graphics school. I had (and still have had) absolutely zero schooling in the field of graphics. Everything I knew then and everything I know now was learned on the job.
Fortunately, I had started to take the idea of being an illustrator, if not a cartoonist, seriously, and began to broaden my cartooning and illustration horizons, studying the work of artists from fields other than the comic-book industry.
While in the USAF, I taught myself all about rough drafts and composition. This is from 1983
When not putting together serious presentations about wind shear and twenty degree low-angle bomb runs, our little shop would produce posters and signage for the various units on the base. That sometimes allowed me to indulge in my desire to be a cartoonist. Of course, my style, though more developed, was still stiff, which suited official USAF stuff.
Early 1984 - I had become disillusioned with the idea of being an artist, much less a cartoonist.
Near the end of my USAF career, events transpired that led to a spell of depression that lasted longer than I care to admit. It greatly affected how I looked at everything - art, life, the universe. The whole artistic temperament thing was getting to be a drag. Still, I persisted in attempting to create cartoons, whether it was quick sketches or completed illustrations.
Max Headroom, marker, 1986
By July of 1985 I was out of the USAF and in college (I finally took a college level art class - got a "D"). I still maintained a sketchbook, but it was a very spurious thing. Trying to keep my head together took up most of my time.
Wino Bear, in collaboration with Thibs, 1987
From June of '85 through August of '87, I worked for a couple of blueprint companies in the San Diego area. Not a lot of creativity going on there, just running off blueprints. However, Thibs and I, along with Greg D., got the idea we would put together a T-shirt company, creating funny shirts to sell at the S.V. swap meet. Rick and I came up with a few ideas for "I Don't Care Bears." We were going to make a million bucks. Right.
In September of 1987 I moved to Lancaster, Ca. for about 8 months and worked for Hart Printers. Again, not a lot of creativity, just mundane paste-up work, burning plates, and cleaning up negs. I did get a bit of cartooning in, but the sketchbook from that period is M.I.A.
Returning to San Diego at the end of April, 1988, I found work with two different printers, but again, it was just paste-up and minor illustrations.
Page from my sketchbook, done while I was on the boat, 1989
Circumstances in my personal life turned south in an ugly way in April of 1989, such that I was compelled to make a complete break and get a fresh start - so I set off for Alaska.
Initially, I found work as a commercial fisherman in Homer, but that was short lived. The majority of the time I lived in Alaska I was in sales, first for an electronics store, then in the furniture business.
Being in sales brought an amazing amount of stability to my life. Oh, that and not drinking. Not drinking really, really helped.
Instead of cartooning though, I took to sketching caricatures.
As I was a compulsive newspaper reader, what I would usually do is spot a pic of somebody and if it appealed to me, sketch a quick caricature. I still do that, BTW.
Political figures always seemed to be caught looking either smug or surprised, two great expressions to draw.
Boris Yeltsin has no idea how rough it's going to get. 1992
Occasionally, a local figure would pique my interest. Pastor Jerry Prevo, Anchorage's self-righteous, self-appointed moral compass with all the trappings of a fire & brimstone Southern Baptist tent revivalist, was made to be caricatured.
+Jan+1993.bmp)
Jerry Prevo wants to save your soul
Of course, I still put the occasional idea for a single-panel gag cartoon down in my sketchbook every so often. This one's from 1995.
The caption is "Come on Larry, you have to find room for Miss January."
It was in 1995 that my friend and co-worker John and I decided to try our hand at collaborating on a comic strip. It started innocently enough, with a dumb gag about the furniture business.
Our first attempt. John and I are a riot!
John came up with a funny shtick about a single guy in Anchorage trying to navigate the dating scene. To this day I have no idea how he came up with such awesome ideas - he just seemed to pull them right out of the ether...
We were sure King Features and United would be soon engaging in a bidding war.
Those are pretty much all we ever got done. I was dreadfully slow at getting the strip produced, and John soon left Anchorage for Oregon. After John left, I continued to dabble in caricatures and cartoons.
Cartoons of Baseball players done in 1996
In 1997 I left Alaska to try my hand at learning a bit about becoming a fine artist. While I studied painting techniques in Glasgow, I still managed to sketch a few cartoons in my sketchbook, though the style was a little less cartoonish.
I thought it was funny...1997
Returning to the U.S. in 1998, I found myself living in Denver. I was also back in the furniture business. It was not too long after I returned to the states that I was married, and that made cartooning (or any drawing or painting for that matter) somewhat of an indulgence.
I would occasionally put down on paper some of the sarcastic comments myself or fellow salespeople would say behind customer's backs (a number of these bits were quips of John's I remembered from our time working together at Morgan's in Anchorage)
Near the end of my USAF career, events transpired that led to a spell of depression that lasted longer than I care to admit. It greatly affected how I looked at everything - art, life, the universe. The whole artistic temperament thing was getting to be a drag. Still, I persisted in attempting to create cartoons, whether it was quick sketches or completed illustrations.
By July of 1985 I was out of the USAF and in college (I finally took a college level art class - got a "D"). I still maintained a sketchbook, but it was a very spurious thing. Trying to keep my head together took up most of my time.
From June of '85 through August of '87, I worked for a couple of blueprint companies in the San Diego area. Not a lot of creativity going on there, just running off blueprints. However, Thibs and I, along with Greg D., got the idea we would put together a T-shirt company, creating funny shirts to sell at the S.V. swap meet. Rick and I came up with a few ideas for "I Don't Care Bears." We were going to make a million bucks. Right.
In September of 1987 I moved to Lancaster, Ca. for about 8 months and worked for Hart Printers. Again, not a lot of creativity, just mundane paste-up work, burning plates, and cleaning up negs. I did get a bit of cartooning in, but the sketchbook from that period is M.I.A.
Returning to San Diego at the end of April, 1988, I found work with two different printers, but again, it was just paste-up and minor illustrations.
Circumstances in my personal life turned south in an ugly way in April of 1989, such that I was compelled to make a complete break and get a fresh start - so I set off for Alaska.
Initially, I found work as a commercial fisherman in Homer, but that was short lived. The majority of the time I lived in Alaska I was in sales, first for an electronics store, then in the furniture business.
Being in sales brought an amazing amount of stability to my life. Oh, that and not drinking. Not drinking really, really helped.
Instead of cartooning though, I took to sketching caricatures.
Tom Bradley has looked much better...1990
As I was a compulsive newspaper reader, what I would usually do is spot a pic of somebody and if it appealed to me, sketch a quick caricature. I still do that, BTW.
Political figures always seemed to be caught looking either smug or surprised, two great expressions to draw.
Occasionally, a local figure would pique my interest. Pastor Jerry Prevo, Anchorage's self-righteous, self-appointed moral compass with all the trappings of a fire & brimstone Southern Baptist tent revivalist, was made to be caricatured.
+Jan+1993.bmp)
Of course, I still put the occasional idea for a single-panel gag cartoon down in my sketchbook every so often. This one's from 1995.
It was in 1995 that my friend and co-worker John and I decided to try our hand at collaborating on a comic strip. It started innocently enough, with a dumb gag about the furniture business.
John came up with a funny shtick about a single guy in Anchorage trying to navigate the dating scene. To this day I have no idea how he came up with such awesome ideas - he just seemed to pull them right out of the ether...
In 1997 I left Alaska to try my hand at learning a bit about becoming a fine artist. While I studied painting techniques in Glasgow, I still managed to sketch a few cartoons in my sketchbook, though the style was a little less cartoonish.
Returning to the U.S. in 1998, I found myself living in Denver. I was also back in the furniture business. It was not too long after I returned to the states that I was married, and that made cartooning (or any drawing or painting for that matter) somewhat of an indulgence.
I would occasionally put down on paper some of the sarcastic comments myself or fellow salespeople would say behind customer's backs (a number of these bits were quips of John's I remembered from our time working together at Morgan's in Anchorage)
Gag sheet from 1999
Gag sheet from 1999
Caricature , 2000
Caricature still held my interest, but what little precious time I had to myself was spent painting more than sketching or cartooning. Until I got divorced that is.
Then I found myself with a whole hell of a lot more free time, and I started sketching down ideas for cartoons again.
This idea came to me as I listen to a few co-workers discuss palm reading. 2002
Now that I had all that free time, I could actually produce finished cartoons from my sketches (uhm, more accurately, now that I had nothing else to do I stayed at home and finished my ideas).
Finished cartoon, 2002
I still had the caricature bug though, which I indulged in more than ever.
Caricature, 2003
As I restarted my social life though, my ideas were soon relegated to rough, half finished sketches.
This was inspired by a trip to the Home Show, in 2005
This one was part of a conversation at a bachelor party in 2006
This one came about when I was told for the thousandth time I didn't look like an artist.
This one from 2008 was a variation of something a girl I dated said.
Every so often I sketch out an idea and like it so much I just have to do a finished cartoon. The one below was done in 2009.
This idea came from a comment a friend of mine made at the Baker Street pub.
Ever have a partner interrupt an intimate moment to answer a phone? I have, so I jotted it down like so.
True story bro. - 2009
I liked it enough to finish it, but I didn't like the finished cartoon.
Something about it is just not quite right.
A visit to Arby's inspired this cartoon in 2010
The urge to cartoon is a strong one, but it's also a vile one. Much like heroin I'm going to assume. It takes a lot for me to actually go from idea to finished cartoon, and it can be frustrating as hell when I'm not able to take the idea out of my head and put it down on paper the way I imagined it.
That won't prevent me from continuing to try though. It's that strong of a compulsion. Beats the hell out of being obsessed with swimming the English Channel, scaling Everest, or bringing peace to the Middle East - at least to me.
Someday, I just might get it right.
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