June 21, 2018 marks the 115th birthday of one of America’s greatest artists, Al Hirschfeld.
With what seemed like just a few simple lines on white paper, Hirschfeld made it look easy to capture the best and the brightest in our society as he wielded his pen. He vacationed with Charlie Chaplin (a story he told me himself), had Marlene Dietrich over to his brownstone for breakfast, created movie posters for the Marx Brothers and Judy Garland, album covers for folks like Frank Sinatra, Aerosmith and everyone in between, inspired the Genie in Disney’s “Aladdin” and a sequence in “Fantasia 2000,” and drew just about everyone who appeared on Broadway in his lifetime.
Every day Al traveled up three flights of stairs to his studio that overlooked the bustling streets of uptown Manhattan to create more inked goodness. It was those same three flights of stairs I would traverse on my annual visits to the master when traveling back east for the Christmas holiday. As you’d near the top step of the last flight, you could see Al sitting in his famous barber chair at his well-worn desk hard at work on his next masterpiece.
I’m not sure why he dedicated his wall to me, but I sure was flattered!
Yes, I was honored to know Al, and am forever grateful for those visits to chat about what’s new, and to hope a little of his artistry would flow through his arm into mine when we shook hands. It’s hard to believe that he passed 15 years ago, just a few months shy of his 100th birthday. Here is a picture that hangs in my studio of one time when my brother and I stopped in to Al’s studio.
Of his desk, I asked Al why there were such deep grooves in the wood. He replied, “Well, I find that it is helpful once in a while, to cut a piece of paper.”
This is my home studio as taken by Greg Preston for his “The Artist Within 2” book. That’s my great desk formerly located in the Disney Animation building upon which backgrounds were designed for many films. (Click on it to enlarge.)
It’s always slightly uncomfortable talking about oneself in this context. I love what I do for a living, and look forward to each new opportunity that comes my way to dissect the visual need, and come up with ideas and art to make those needs just right for clients. But to talk about oneself? You have to apply the brakes to sit here and contemplate who you are as an artist and put that into words.
Still, it is fun to show some art, and to reminisce about moments like the one below from my childhood.
Yeah, that’s me on the left with my brother and the famous singing cowboy from the movies – Roy Rogers. Click on the picture to read all about that story!
After three caricature posts in a row, perhaps it is time to return to the animal world. How about this Respectable Reptile?
A little over a week ago I saw the original 1960s Doctor Dolittle on the big screen (Rex Harrison was the star – not Eddie Murphy), and came away with animals on the brain. This dapper fella is a hand-inked specimen that came forth in my sketchbook, then colored in Photoshop.
Don’t get too close, or he may be puttin’ you on the Ritz cracker.
By the way, if you ever wondered what John Hammond from Jurassic Park looked like singing and dancing, do yourself a favor and check out that 50-year-old version of Doctor Dolittle. He’s the circus ringmaster. You’re welcome.
One of the highlights of the screening I went to was that the author of the screenplay and writer of the songs for the movie, the legendary Leslie Bricusse, was there for a Q&A along with Samantha Eggar, one of the stars of the film. It was so great to hear their tales from this film they spent a year making oh so long ago. Below is my favorite photo of the two of them that I took that day. What a treat!
Leslie Bricusse and Samantha Eggar photographed at the Aero Theater in Santa Monica on March 3, 2018.
This summer the Frye family did something it had never done before. We had a family reunion. Yep, my parents, my siblings, their spouses and kids, and yes, even I, gathered on the beach in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Seventeen of us descended upon two beach houses.
Of course, any good family reunion requires a family T-shirt. For some strange reason, that job fell upon my shoulders. Imagine that! Well, when duty calls….
Now, I’m not saying my family looks like this. We look much sillier in bathing suits.
I got to thinking that good ol’ Blackbeard, the scourge of the sea that he was, happened to spend the last of his days in the Outer Banks. His end was untimely, of course. No self-respecting pirate dared to live into a life of old age, but was he felled by the sword? Or did Blackbeard and his mates meet their end foolishly surfing the untamed shark infested waves in a hurricane? History says one thing, my drawing says another.
A family self-portrait in red.
As you can see, everyone seemed to enjoy the shirts. However, a few nephews wondered out loud why Blackbeard’s beard was actually purple. Uncle Chad’s answer? Because.
On the final day of our time at Incirlik Air Base in Adana, Turkey, we had two big drawing sessions. The base had a Facebook page on which photos were being posted of our activities, and word-of-mouth buzz was building. Our first session was at the Youth Center where kids as young as 4 came up to us for drawings.
My favorite remembrance at the Youth Center was when a little 4-year-old girl looked at the paper I was about to draw on and said, “That paper is too big.” I said, “Don’t you want a nice big drawing?” She said, “No, I want the drawing on THAT paper,” as she pointed to the pad that Rick Kirkman was using next to me. Then she didn’t want it in pencil as I had been doing, so I had to break out the pens. To top it off, she insisted it be of Doc McStuffins, a character from the Disney Channel I had never drawn before. So after someone printed me a picture from the internet, that little girl got herself the one and only small inked drawing of Doc McStuffins that I have ever done! She probably still wasn’t pleased with it and took it home where she colored it herself.
Our second drawing session later that night required returning to the scene of my attempted flight the night before – the bowling alley (see yesterday’s post for an explanation). I kept my back to the lanes so as to not suffer any flashbacks.
Rick Kirkman trying his best not to have his arm jolt every time a bowling ball strikes some pins.Michael Ramirez, Bruce Higdon, and Ed Steckley doing their thing.Sam Viviano doing his MADest work caricaturing folks.This soldier requested Mickey Mouse as Darth Vader. Hard to imagine that falsetto voice saying “the Force is strong with this one.”
I do wish to mention one thing we saw in Turkey of which I unfortunately do not have a photo. During one of our afternoons on Incirlik Air Base, several of us entered a store run by Turks. As we were looking at the various local tchotchkes, we came across a bin of framable pictures printed on canvas. One image was a sepia photograph of New York City with the Twin Towers still intact in it. Photoshopped in from all angles were about twenty airliners diving into the city. The image sent chills up and down our spines. The feelings folks in that part of the world have towards America were VERY clear in that one image meant to be hung on someone’s wall as art. It was no wonder that we were restricted to base while in Adana. If local shopkeepers were brazen enough to stock merchandise like that in their store on a military base largely populated by Americans, the hostility we could have faced in town could have been amplified.
Well, all good things must come to an end, and early on our final morning we were driven to the airport to wing our way home to the States. It also was our one chance to see the town. As with the other countries, we had arrived at night. So, our early morning drive provided us with the chance to take a few snapshots of the area as we zipped through it.
One last group shot waiting for our ride to the airport that includes our USO guide Jeff on the left, and Mary, our hostess at Incirlik Air Base.I LOVED this motorcycle cart with wares for sale. Just wish it was a little less blurry, but it isn’t so bad having been taken from a speeding van.A scene not unlike what I see in Glendale, CA.This opulent mosque of which I know nothing appeared after we zipped through an underpass. I later got a shot of it from the air.Once in the airport itself, I managed to sneak a few shots of folks unaware of my camera.The old suspiciously eyeing the young.Parents seeing their young one off is the same in any culture.Michael Ramirez and Eddie Pittman taking one parting look back – mostly because I yelled, “Hey guys, look over here!”Turkish Air flight attendant.As seen from the air, the mosque we had passed on the road earlier.A view of Adana, Turkey. Do you see that bridge with arched supports off to the right? That is an old Roman bridge dating back to biblical times.After a whirlwind trip in five countries (U.S., Germany – plane change, Kuwait, Djibouti, & Turkey) across four continents (N. America, Europe, Asia, & Africa), now some rest is in order.
Thanks for following along with my latest adventure. Thank you to the National Cartoonists Society for putting together a great group of guys to make the journey, and thank you to the USO for sending us. I welcome the opportunity to do it again sometime!
If you would like to see more about what the USO does for our troops, and if you might like to donate to their efforts, please visit their website by CLICKING HERE!
The last destination for nine weary cartoonists on this fantastic USO tour was Incirlik Air Base in Adana, Turkey. Adana is in south central section of Turkey above Lebanon and Israel. However, before making our way there, I managed to snap a few shots of locals in the Istanbul airport where we had a layover.
Turkish delight.Some friendly employees of a Turkish restaurant called “Burger King.”Wheelchairs in Istanbul’s airport were scooters that zipped through pedestrian traffic.Chip Bok ready to board our twilight flight to Adana with his hands free to hold a water bottle, because for the first time on our trip he checked his other bag.Rick Kirkman and Bruce Higdon waiting for Chip Bok to find his bag in Adana’s airport. Murphy’s Law dictated that his would be the only bag through the entire trip to become lost. (It showed up the next day.)Family vacation.We made it to Incirlik Air Base in Adana. Incirlik is a Turkish air base that has allowed Americans to have a presence there, too.Our name in lights! Although, by this time we were feeling like International Cartoonists.Our first drawing session was in the afternoon of our first day. They split us into two groups. I was part of a group that drew in the food court outside of the base’s main store. As you can see, children are at this base.Some international locations allow soldiers to bring their families. In such cases, they are usually stationed there for two years. At the moment, everyone was restricted to base due to some threats outside the walls, so we, too, were unable to leave to see any of the local sights during our down time. Our captive audience LOVED getting their drawings!Usually when I draw, the kids ask me for Disney characters. These twin brothers went a different way. The brother on the right went first and asked me to draw a ninja bear. I can honestly say that is my first ever ninja bear. A second first for me was when his brother asked me to draw him the Phantom of the Opera. He was nutty for that musical.While in Adana, Armed Forces Radio wanted to interview us, so representing our group was Michael Ramirez, Paul Combs, Rick Kirkman, and Ed Steckley.Steckley and Kirkman making faces appropriate for radio.
Armed Forces Television also did a piece on us while we visited Adana. While I was over at the base store, they interviewed the guys who were drawing over at the bowling alley. I heard later from someone stationed in Djibouti that he saw the report on television all the way over there, so it went out to all our troops who had access to the military’s media feed.
After our first day in Turkey, we had a free night to ourselves. Some of us found our way to the bowling alley to strike a few pins.
While striking pins was a goal, I managed to prove on an air base that you don’t need an airplane to become airborne. When bowling, never ever ever step across that line. I did so accidentally, and found myself getting some very real air before landing with a thud flat on my back on the alley. While no one had their cameras ready for my wingless flight, Rick Kirkman remembered it well enough to commit it to paper later.
Rick Kirkman’s photographic memory captured my wingless flight.
As our time in Djibouti was coming to a close on this USO–NCS trip, one of the officers invited us to join him and others at the Chief Petty Officers club. We entered through a rusty gate past some piles of what some might call “junk”, and entered through a door into a structure of plywood and magnificent air conditioning. There we socialized with some pretty nice folks after a long day of heat, sweat, and drawings (not necessarily in that order).
Cartoonists and soldiers alike making the best of the situation in Africa.
As would happen during our drawing sessions, conversations with soldiers here at the club could sometimes reveal how hard it is for them while serving so far away from home. That night I met one gentleman who had been through the ringer. He started off by telling me that just two days earlier, his cousin and an aunt had just been murdered back in the States, his daughter died back in February, and his sister-in-law had a heart attack this year. So much personal tragedy for this man, and he was unable to go home to deal with any of it. He said those buddies of his in that room helped him through it all. He was living proof that it sometimes is a great sacrifice to live a year away from home and family.
The walls of the club were littered with signatures and messages from guests and colleagues of the officers, and we were invited to leave our mark as well. Ed Steckley, Eddie Pittman, Rick Kirkman and Sam Viviano all drawing on the wall.I left behind a naval themed Goofy for the gang.Sam Viviano drew a special caricature of the club DJ, Thor.
The next morning we left the base in the daylight which allowed us to finally see what the area was like since we had arrived under cover of darkness. The poverty was astonishing.
The local bus stop, with a bus behind it that looked to be permanently stopped.Local housing as far as the eye could see made from whatever found objects were acquired. Garbage was strewn about everywhere as well.We noticed the local women were very colorful in their choice of clothing, while many of the men were more drab in appearance.Capital punishment, when needed, is carried out here at this cement hanging gallows.Some local workers. Well, technically one worker, and several supervisors.
Our route to the airport was short, so there was not an extensive tour of the area, but the one structure we saw with evidence of money behind it was the local mosque.“Knock knock!” “Who is there?”Here is one of two guards we saw at the gate to the airport. Interestingly, a plain clothes man approached our first van and received bribe money from the driver before both vehicles were allowed to pass.
I will say this about the Djibouti airport experience – the place is full of crooks. When our vehicles pulled up to the curb, we were approached by MANY aggressive porters all with their hand out for tips. Of course, we turned them all down. Who requires a porter when suitcases all have wheels today? As I entered the airport, I had to pass through security right at the door. They kept buzzing me at the metal detector, and when I finally got through, my suitcase was missing from the X-ray machine belt. Turns out a porter ran around the other side of the machine and grabbed my bag and was demanding money. I looked him right in the eye and firmly said, “NO.”
Later as we passed through a second security check point, the security man boldly confiscated Sam Viviano’s batteries of all things! He just told Sam, “Not yours. Mine!” and took them! When we arrived at our next destination in Turkey, Paul Combs found that his running shoes had been stolen from his suitcase. We had been warned by our USO traveling companion that Djibouti could be that way, and sure enough, it lived up to its reputation.
A parting shot of some colorful local women.
Next stop for our band of cartoonists is Adana, Turkey.
The second country my cartoonist pals and I visited while on our USO-NCS tour was Djibouti. Located on the Horn of Africa, Djibouti is bordered on land by Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Somalia, and by sea the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea. And just for kicks, it is a stone’s throw distance across the water to Yemen. Good times.
Let me tell you now, Djibouti had by far the toughest living conditions I have ever experienced. While I never heard what was the exact temperature, it felt hotter there than in Kuwait, likely due to the intense humidity that was always present. It was as if you showered in the morning, toweled off, and were instantly wet again. I actually developed some sores along my wrist where my watch was. One of the guys even changed his shirt three times one day in an attempt to stave off the inevitable stink. And because of the humidity, there was a very real danger of contracting malaria from one of the resident mosquitos, so we were all on malaria meds for this portion of our trip.
Camp Lemonnier was ready for us! Chip Bok, Sam Viviano, Michael Ramirez, Ed Steckley, Chad Frye, Paul Combs, Bruce Higdon, Rick Kirkman, & Eddie Pittman.
We were assigned to Camp Lemonnier, a military base established by the French in the 1950s, and now occupied primarily by the United States Navy. In fact, this base is the ONLY U.S. military base in all of Africa. It is a tough part of the world in which to serve. Due to the danger in the area, everyone was restricted to base, so our arrival was welcomed as a nice distraction from their routine. After spending three days there, my heart goes out to the men and women who are there between nine months to a year.
Our accommodations were these shipping containers there on the right just beyond Thunderdome (rimshot). They were split into two small rooms on either side with a bathroom in the middle.In fact, many structures on the base were shipping containers. There is a rash of new building going on there right now after President Obama signed a new agreement with Djibouti earlier this year that extends our country’s presence there for the next 20-30 years.These are some barracks we visited on base. Notice the “no saluting” sign. Just in case the enemy had eyes looking over the wall, this rule was in effect to prevent any officers from being targeted when out in the open.This gentleman named Jordan, is interested in becoming an actor. We smiled, nodded, and then handed him cartoon drawings.Chip Bok having found the rare bit of shade on base.Looks a little different than what is in my garage.In the mess hall of each base we saw a table set for the missing man – the soldier who died, the one taken prisoner, or the one missing in action. The lemon represents the bitterness of battle, the salt is for all the tears shed for them, the rose is for the blood shed, the upside down glass to show that the fallen cannot partake, and the lit candle to show the hope for their return home.Paul Combs and I glistening in the heat with the workout gym tent in the background.Meeting with base Commander Matt O’Keefe and some of his men.A few times they split us up into groups of two around the base in coffee shops and recreation areas to draw for whomever came in. Eddie Pittman and I were assigned together, and Commander O’Keefe came in to get drawings of his boys with the platypus from Phineas and Ferb which Eddie worked on. Eddie also got to draw for a general that day!The Red Cross lady came to me with an old WWI Red Cross poster painted by Howard Chandler Christy and asked me if I could draw that, but put her face on it. I obliged.This was the local recreation hall where we had a couple of night sessions together as a group. See that Pizza Hut over in the corner? Even on a rustic base in Africa, that project has had problems getting the okay to open due to food service regulations. So there it sat teasing us.During the first night session, the first guy to sit for me was a huge Disney fan, even with a small Mickey on his shirt. So naturally, I had to make him part of the gang!
On night two, the gentleman below sat for me. He was memorable for several reasons. 1. He thanked me profusely for coming to see them in Africa. 2. I had been there longer than he had been! He just arrived that day for his nine month stint, I had been there since the day before. 3. His name is also Chad. And the strangest of all is #4. While drawing for him, the topic of West Point came up in conversation, and Chad said he graduated in 1994. I looked up and said to him, “I attended your graduation.” He looked dumbfounded, so I explained that my cousin was from the class of ’94, and was currently teaching at West Point. I went to my cousin’s graduation, so therefore I also saw Chad graduate!
Chad Jagmin’s drawing was for his daughter Jami who was about to turn 3 and is a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse nut.
Tomorrow I will wrap up my thoughts about Djibouti.
