Had some doodle time recently, and this caricature came forth. Needs a good John Williams score to accompany it, don’t you think?
I’d like to think his movie about me will be better than my caricature of him.
I have been in the room with Mr. Spielberg twice over the years, but have never met the man. First time was on a soundstage for the filming of a pilot sit-com he was producing called Battery Park, and the second was when he came and spoke before a screening of Raiders of the Lost Ark. I’d love to work for him at some point – in particular, it would be fun to be a part of the reboot of Animaniacs.
Here in the States, today is our annual Presidents’ Day holiday. We celebrate by taking the day off from work, and buying mattresses on sale.
I created this illustration of Abraham Lincoln for the February issue of Clubhouse Magazine published by Focus on the Family. As with the giraffe illustration posted last week, this was done for a joke page where the jokes were sent in by the kids.
A teacher asks, “Do you know Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address?”
The student answers, “I thought he lived in the White House.”
Laughter ensues.
Honestly, Abe is lost.
The squirrel says, “You make a left turn at Albuquerque.”
Over on Instagram, folks have been posting the nine images people responded to the most in 2018. These were the favorite nine of my art that made the cut over there.
A whole year represented by nine images. That sure went by fast.
Well, the mouse turns a ripe old 90 today. All those years of doing his own stunts, pratfalls, and ghost hunting have taken their toll on the germaphobe (he ALWAYS wears gloves, but refuses to wear shirts – weird). All of that actually made him retire about 25 years ago. Most people don’t realize that ever since, there have been a series of stand-ins for Mickey, while he just stays in his trailer signing 8x10s for anyone who will take one while wondering where his yellow dog has gone to. (Dog years were NOT kind to Pluto. The original Pluto died back in 1951.)
By the way, today also happens to be the big 9-0 for his gal pal Minnie, and his nemesis, Pete. Both co-starred with Mickey in that first cartoon to hit theaters.
Hey! The ol’ hat still fits!
So, happy birthday you ol’ long-in-the-ear one! Hope you enjoy gumming your cake today as you celebrate your birth in Steamboat Willie. It was an honor to be a small part of your legacy when I worked on Mickey Mouse Clubhouse for a few years.
Doodled up a little bit of cowboy actor Sam Elliott. You’ve seen him in Tombstone, The Big Lebowski, Netflix’s The Ranch, and even as a voice of a T-Rex in The Good Dinosaur that was really a cowboy role. He’s just such a fun actor to see on the screen no matter what he’s in.
I haven’t met Mr. Elliott, but hope to in the near future – he’s just about the only member of the original Mission:Impossible TV cast I have not met yet, and I’m a HUGE fan of that old show.
He also has the best mustache in the business. (Tom Selleck is a close second.)
I generally don’t get too personal here on the ol’ blog, but today is a mighty special day in the Frye family. On this day in 1968, my parents were joined together in holy matrimony.
I wanted to do something a bit special for their 50th anniversary. I hope they don’t mind, but I decided to interpret their 1967 engagement photo in my own little way. A time when I could only possibly have been a mere twinkle in their eyes as they prepared to spend their lives together.
The Merchant Marine and the nurse gave birth to a cartoonist. They’ve been wondering ever since where they went wrong.
As my own experiences have taught me, that had to have been a HUGE decision for them to make. I often marvel at how two total strangers from different upbringings can find each other and choose to craft a life together – a life that will undoubtedly have many ups and many downs.
Through thick and thin, and always with an eye towards the Lord, my parents have come through the ups and downs that 50 years together have presented. They have four children who love them, and love the Lord because of them. They have two sons-in-law and a daughter-in-law who are grateful to them for the children they taught and nurtured. And they have nine grandsons, all in varying stages of awareness of what their 50 years mean to our family.
Sure, they were smiling then, but that was because they had no idea what their son was going to do with this photo in 51 years.
Due to some mitigating circumstances, we all gathered together on their 49th anniversary last year. It is unfortunate that we couldn’t all be there to jump up from behind doors and couches to surprise them today on the day.
To my folks, thank you for always putting Christ first, and training up your children in the way we should go, so that when we reach your age, we will not depart from Him. (Proverbs 22:6) I love you.
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.”
“On the sixth day, God created Chuck Norris in His own image. On the seventh day, God rested.”
I don’t know, I may have memorized that passage from Genesis incorrectly. However, it IS Chuck Norris’ birthday today, so maybe just for today the quote is accurate.
