I spotted a back issue of a magazine online, one with an article I wanted to read. I was about to buy it when I thought, "Wait, I have a few issues of that magazine down in the basement — maybe I have that issue and just forgot?" So I went to check, and: yes and yes.

Grateful that I stopped to think, and saved myself a buck.

 The tiles on our bathroom floor have a design of random swirls and smears and splotches. Every once in a while, I will suddenly see a face in one of them. I decided to doodle one such face: 

[Please give a holler if you can't see the pic! Not sure this trick will work....]

For the last couple days, I've been doing pencil doodles which are studies of faces and figures from Ponytail, an early-60s comic strip panel by Lee Holley.





This year I've also been doing a lot of mental work and planning for a new graphic project, and I find a lot of inspiration in Holley's approach, as if it could lead me into something new. Drawing these makes me feel like I'm Onto Something® — it's kinda exciting.

In my recent cartooning work, I've been using a cheap round watercolour brush to fill in large black areas with ink. Sometimes I've tried inking some of my lines with it as well, but it's not quite as good for that because it's not a great brush.

Today, I dug up some better brushes I bought years ago, when I wanted to learn proper brush inking someday, and decided to test-drive one. I ended up choosing an Isabey No. 1 Kolinsky sable round. Kolinsky sable brushes have been considered top of the line for decades in both comics inking and watercolour painting, and Isabey has a decent reputation, so it seemed a safe choice for today.

However, I couldn't help noticing how ragged the brush looked [you can see it on the left]. I didn't remember it being such a mess when I bought it, that's for sure. One of the most important things a round brush needs, in either inking or painting, is to be able to form and hold a sharp point — this gives you the control and precision you want in a round. I figured I could still use this one for low-precision fills anyway, and I gave it a whirl.

But then I noticed what happened when it got wet [you can see it on the right]. Gorgeous point that it holds together while in use. What a pleasant shock, I gotta tell ya. This brush doesn't look like much at first, but the quality of its performance is all you could want. (Kinda like me!) And yes, after I cleaned it and let it dry, it went all ragged again — that's just its way.

So there's that whole “don't judge a book by its cover” aspect to this, yes indeed.

staying on track

In retrospect, I feel like I had a pretty decent day. Ran an unusual number of errands this morning, all successfully, including a physio appt. Navigated the snowy streets without incident. Remembered to change the furnace filter. Stayed on top of the dishes despite being tempted to blow them off. Inked a page of comic strips. And got thru most of the day without needing meds. So yeah, I feel like I stayed on track today a bit better than some days.

getting something creative done this afternoon when I didn't feel like it

in this case, it was only doing some lettering for upcoming comic strips, so not like real artsy or anything... but at least I did something and didn't just sleep [so wrung out and beat today]

For the past few days, I've been devoting my drawing time to doing studies of Dik Browne's work on Hi & Lois. And, as so often happens when I spend any time studying Browne, I come away with renewed awe at his genius. The only reason I rank Bill Watterson higher as a cartoonist is because of Watterson's peerless writing, so that he is The Total Package of cartoonists. But if we are just talking cartoon art, then no one beats Dik Browne.



Before he began working in syndicated comic strips, Browne had a thriving career in advertising art [he designed the classic 50s overhaul of the Campbell's Kids]. But Mort Walker hired Browne to tackle the art for Hi & Lois, where he very deliberately modelled his work on Walker's style, a unique and groundbreaking style that would take its classic shape in early-60s Beetle Bailey. Walker's style was extremely simple and open, meaning that it could still look good when significantly shrunk [a prime consideration in newspaper strips]. It was also cute and expressive and appealing, easy to read and easy to grasp.

Browne essentially perfected this style by adding a sense of grace and beauty to pristine immaculate economical linework, along with his mastery of cute. (Off the top of my head, the only cartoonists I can think of whose kids can equal his in cuteness would be Warren Kremer and Gene Hazelton.) His H&L work captures the formica ideal of postwar suburban America like no one else.

reaching a goal

Last January 1, I told myself I wanted to try and draw something, good or bad, but something, every single day for the entire year. And it was a leap year, so that meant at least 366 drawings.

Yesterday I drew for my 366th consecutive day and passed the finish line. This, as far as I can recall, is the first year in my life that I managed to draw every day without fail. So yeah, I am kinda pleased. Also looking forward to a break from the relentless deadlines.  :P

feeling competent

Today I am on day two of a migraine, and looking for some way to distract myself from it. I debated starting a new painting, since the light is good today, but told myself, No, I think I'll do some cartooning, I can relax with that a bit better.

And I realized what this means.

Painting is still something I need to focus intensely on. I feel like a rank noob, I go slow and second-guess myself every step of the way. But when I draw comics, there is still focus, but it's less scrunched-up concentration and more meditative mindfulness. I feel like I know what I'm doing and can simply rest in that. And today I am taking pleasure in that sense of “knowing what I'm doing”...

doing some commissioned drawings and pleasing my customers with them