GET OUT YA HANKIES AND YOUR NASAL SPRAY!

IT"S SPRING!!! SO......Im SPRINGING!!!!

Sa quan's Artwork

While visiting my mother in law, the other evening, her 8 year old nephew, Sa Quan, seemed especially exicted to see me. This was really unusual, because "Say Say" as we call him, would usually be upstairs playing the Wi or some other video game. "Uncle Elgin, Uncle Elgin, I want to show you some pictures I drew!" he exclaimed, carefully talking the folded sheets of paper out of his bookbag. "He's been wanting to show you this for a while," chimed in Mema, (that's my Mother in Law) and as he proudly handed me his stack of papers, I was already prepping my mind for the customary, "that's nice, keep it up!" response that you give children at this age as not to discourage their progress. I was confident that I was going to see "typical" eight year old drawings of monsterously distorted figures that had to be identified by the child or you'd be hopelessly lost wondering what you were looking at.

Boy was I wrong!

Instead of the customary "that's nice," response, I found myself gawking and asking him,
WOW! DID YOU DRAW THIS??????? Followed by my next question, DID YOU TRACE THESE????? which was followed by a final question: ARE YOU SURE????
His answers were
YES
NO
and YES
His Grandmother who watched him draw these little masterpieces verified his story, and I must say I was and am impressed.
The kid certainly is a lot more talented than I was at his age.
Now although these drawings are COPIED form one of his Pirates of the Caribbean Coloring books, and not created out of his imagination, I would have to say that the kid has that RARE remarkable ability that you MUST have if you're going to be a good artist, namely, He has learned how to DRAW WHAT HE SEES NOT WHAT HE THINKS HE SEES

This ability to limit the interruption of the interpretive left side of the brain in a skill that few adults EVER master. and although his efforts are not "photorealistic" I can actually tell who the characters are just by looking at them.
Would you believe I never taught him how to draw a straight line? I look forward to teaching him a lot of em now, just to see how much he can develope. In fact, Im even creating a blog for him entitled, Sa Quan's Artwork just so he can stay motivated as so I can chart his progress. I encourage you to follow along, who knows WHAT he might come up with!

William Shakesphere Lives!!!

Went to the doctor's office recently and saw the most interesting face in the waiting room. This dude's hair reminded me of William Shapkesphere as if he was a distanct relative or something. I caught this view of him as he was taking to one of the other patients while putting on his coat. I did a quick initial sketch and spent the remainder of my waiting time, about an hour, refining it. Im very pleased with the result. I kinda missed doing a detailed graphite drawing like this, and it was a deviation from doing cartoons.

NEW SPRING SUBWAY CARTOONS AND CARICATURES!!!

Wow! my head is STILL spinning from yesterdays adventure! I rode a couple of trains, and the faces just kept getting better and better! I usually take time to carefully redraw them and clean them up, but decided to just show them in their raw stage with pencil lines included, although Ive done some inking. All of these were done live, and Ive even included my notes. Enjoy!

sketch adventure! Galt Aureus - The Armada

Just wanted to share this bit of animation and music that was a total surprise today. Originally I was looking for a limited animation vid, saw the picture and clicked on it.In no time flat I was immediately caught up in the story and the song, The limited animation was cleverly done, and complimented the beautiful vocals perfectly. I thought about comic writer/historian, Scott Mc Cloud of "UNDERSTANDING COMICS",fame who often spoke about the perfect marraige of words and pictures that is so elusive, but when it works, it's a wonder to behold.


A clip like this is a great example of when a writer/artist collaboration WORKS, and is definitely a "commercial" for the "less is more" school of limited animation. I loved the way the artist skillfully incorporated seleccted words and phrases into the animation throughout. This technique served to re emphasize the lyrics and enhanced their vocal impact. The animation was also so simply drawn that you didnt get overly distracted by the beautiful drawing and forget about the song and the lyrics. The artist very skillfully changeed the mood of the piece when the hero went "into the abyss" to rescue the love of his life, who was trapped in the cage. There was even a fight scene! fantastic stuff!!!

Gov Patterson, Charie Rangle, Al Sharpton ,Malcolm Smith, Carl Mccall .Greg Meeks Cartoon

Editorial Cartoon of Gov Paterson depicted as Charlie Brown Holding his poor "Political Report Card" much to the displeasure of NYC Black Leadership Power brokers, Al Sharpton, (top left,) Carl Mc Call (bottom left) Charles Rangle (bottom right)Greg Meeks (middle right) and Malcolm Smith (top right) drawn for The Wave Newspaper Far Rockaway NY
A series of recent Political flops, mishaps, and blunders, from an experienced Politician like Gov Paterson "earned him " the title of "Blockhead"

Charles Rangle in particular has a deceptively "easy" looking face to draw at first glance, but I somehow found it tricky to get his likeness as spot on as I usually get them, and with the deadline looming large in the background I had to settle for a less than perfect picture IMO, of him. His face will definitely be revisted. I was overjoyed at having an excuse to draw Al Sharpton. As noted in an earlier post, I viewed some youtube clips on him, and he's really a pretty smart guy, and great speaker. Of course, Ive drawn so many pics of Sen Malcolm Smith and his pal, Greg Meeks that I can practically draw them in my sleep now. Carl Mc Call is new. He has one of those "handsome" faces that is also deceptively hard to "grab unto" viusally without switching into generic caricature mode. All of these guys have such interesting faces that Im really surprised, with the exception of Sharpton, of course, that they havent been caricatured more by artists in recent years.

The caricature artist in me would love to go REALLLLLLLLLY extreme on all of these guys, but for publishing purposes, it's best to stick "middle of the road" with only slight exaggeration, I've found.

Michael Jackson vocal warmup

Okay folks, I KNOW I KNOW I KNOW this is not what I normally do on this blog, but singing is one of my passions as well as art and dance, and this evening while doing a search for vocal exercises I came across this very rare vocal footage of the Late Michael Jackson doing a vocal warmup over the phone with his vocal coach. Since I'm seriously developing my voice now ( I'm a tenor, by the way) I'm doing a LOT of vocal warm ups and seeing great results. Being the obsessive person I am once I get into something I like I ALWAYS do EXTRA CREDIT WORK.... anyways, I found MJ and it blew my mind. When we look at ... or used to ... Look at an artist of his talent and stature, it's hard for us to remember that he had to WORK on his craft to perfect it, and to KEEP IT. Like so many of us in the visual arts, we may be "BORN" with "natural talent" or an aptititude to draw, but unless we work to develope it , and stretch it, the "gift" stagnates and dies.. or at least, only reaches a certain level.
The same with singing.
Hearing Michael go through the same vocal exercises that any singer goes through made him seem more human. It's a shame he never got opportunity to show more of that human side of himself.

Again. I know this deviates from what I do here on the Subwaysurfer bloggg but I thought it was worth sharing.

Michael even "cracks" on some notes!

Al Sharpton on Lyrics in music

Im currently drawing an assignment where I have to draw Al Sharpton and was on Youtube looking for video references in order to get those subtle facial expressions, mannerisms and nuances that you just cant get with a photograph that is posed. I came across this film clip where Sharpton is contrasting musical lyrics used today by some of or leading black entertainers compared to the past and even going back to slavery. Sharpton makes some very good points worth considering.

Think what you want about the man but when he speaks truth, and he often does, he should be commended.

"Theres never been a generation that didnt use our music, and our culture to lift us up." Great quote that. And theres a lot more.

Subway HERO

Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.




In a town where everyone is looking out for himself, where there is strife and racial predjudce and polarization, it's inspiring, heartwarming and humbling to find a story like THIS.

THIS IS WHAT SUPERMAN LOOKS LIKE

welcome to my studio... The Subway of NYC

I thought it was about time that I shared with you viewers where I get the majority of my work done... ON THE SUBWAYS OF NYC! Welcome to my studio Where all the magic happens! On the NYC Subway The world LITERALLY COMES TO ME! LOL! and sometimes I get entertained! Those breakdancers are doing handstands, and all manner of physical derringdo on a MOVING TRAIN!!! And the odd thing is that incidents like this is so common place in NYC as to be "boring" to us natives here! I swear why isnt ANYONE making breakdancing an Olympic sport? These urban acrobats are able to do the most complex physical manuvers with no "professional training" whatsoever. I hope Im alive to see the day when they get their "due". We've seen it with Snowboarding, Extreme Bire riding and skateboarding, why NOT breakdancing?

Leroy Neiman the DEFINITIVE MUHAMMAD ALI ARTIST

Neiman's bold color style captured all the emotion, vitality, and excitement of boxing, and he was the only artist I felt whose style truly captured the essence of Ali. If I was a painter I'd want to paint like Neiman.

See more of Neimans work here
http://www.alicenter.org/visit/ExhibitsGalleries/Pages/LeRoyNeimanGallery.aspx

http://www.alicenter.org/visit/ExhibitsGalleries/Pages/LeRoyNeimanGallery.aspx


http://www.leroyneiman.com/merchant.ihtml?pid=143&lastcatid=14&step=4

Ali Vs Frazier MARCH 8th 1971... looking back

For those of us who lucky enough to be alive back then to see this we got an opportunity to see something you dont see too much of today.CHAMPIONS who fought with heart, who fought with dignity, and who inspired us to be better than we were. Joe handed Ali his first lost in this closely fought fight, hitting him with a crushing left hook in the 15th round, that Ali claims in his autobiography, "The Greatest" was "timed to perfection". That punch dropped Ali to the canvis and swelled his jaw/cheek area to the size of a grapefruit.

This fight was about styles, and on THIS night, Joes unrelentingly , aggressive forward pressure cooker style caught up with Ali in that historic 15th round.

I recall seeing a sports commentary show where the video editor cleverly synched Elton John's song, "DONT LET THE SUN GO DOWN ON ME" with film footage of Ali being struck by Joes Left Hook. Whenever I hear that particular Elton John Song I always think of this fight.

The "REAL" SUBWAYSURFER!!! Caution DO NOT DO THIS!!!

Im always up for some subwaysurfin' but THIS is extreme! I think I'll just stick to drawing on the INSIDE of the trains! LOL!! Fascinating story behind this guy, Alexander here. I DEFINITELY DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS!!! Truth be told, this guy has his "ART" down to just as much as a science as I do!! Pretty ingenious device he created that enabled him to subwaysurf without injury..... so far.

A lot can be said about this on the side of safety and kids trying to imitate him, but instead of focusing on that, I want to applaud him for taking precausions before doing this. In the interview video he explains how he built up to surfing on the faster trains by starting out on slower ones first, this building experience and courage. He also commented on how he wwould research his route before attempting his surf so that he wouldnt encounter any unexpected obstacles. That's a very intelligent way of going about attempting a stupid thing! LOL!! Finally, as said earlier, he developed a device that would enable him to hang onto the train, which is remarkable considering that this device can support his weight while the train is in motion. Im sure that somewhere down the line I'd be curious to know how he came up with THIS idea , and can bet that he'd make a bundle if he sold it(maybe he already has)
Even with all this, the sheer nerves of steel this guy must have to even attempt this. At one point, he was hanging on by one hand not unlike a water skier! LOL! This guy's an adrenalin junkie for sure! maybe someday they'll be some type of sporting event involving this. Crazier things have happened after all...I bet they laughed at snowbaorders and extreme bike riders.....

Madd at Verizon

Like most Americans these days, my cell phone has become my primary phone and I pay my lan line bill so I can access the internet. Once upon a time if you paid your BASIC service agreement it included internet as well... NOW Verizon had gotten smart and requires you MUST PAY THE FULLLLLLLLL BILL or they will not turn on your internet... As I was on the phone playing "LETS MAKE A DEAL" I was getting angrier, and angrier and all the while drawing aimlessly.
I looked down and these were the hilarious results.

Old dude on the Q22 bus

Yeah, yeah, I KNOW this blog is about SUBWAYSURFING, but some faces are too good to pass up!!!
Take this old man for instance I saw riding the Q22 Bus here, I mean, he looks like the stereotypical "Cranky old man" out of central casting! Dont know what he was mad at, but his eyes were narrowed to literal slits! LOL. He had a brilliant "old man" profile, complete with the stereotypical "hook nose" and a chin that jutted out so far he could jab you with it, and leave a mark! LOL!! No "stereotypical old dude" would be complete unless he had a cane too, and you betcha, he had one! LOL!!

I felt so inspired by his face, I did another memory sketch of him later that captured his essence even better than the first.

I love the MTA!!

DADDY DUM DUM on the A Train

Ah Fatherhood!!! In an age when so many men are irresponsible ib "manning up" and taking care and responsibility for their children, it's always refreshing , inspiring , and sometimes even frightening to see a new proud dad with his kid....

Take THIS guy for instance in this picture. I caught him riding the Manhattan bound A train one afternoon, eyepod headphones in ears, wearing one of those familiar devices that I call a reversable backpack, which seems to be specifically designed... probably by a WOMAN... to give men a taste of what it feels like to carry a 12 bound baby on their stomach. This dad had his child wrapped up so tightly in a blanket as well that the kid was barely visible beneath the blanket, pressed up tightly against his dads chest in that ridiculous backpack thingee, while the dad was staring aimlessly into space grooving on Hall and oates or whatever he was listening to on his ipod.

IS THAT KID GETTING AIR????? I wondered to myself.... WAKE UP DUM DUM, YOU MAY BE SUFFOCATING YA KIDD!

New fathers.
They're cute....
but DUM.



I know I was!

R and B Train recent subway sketches by Subwaysurfer

I found this great cheapie 99cents spiral notebook that has this fantastic recylcled paper that has the consistantcy and feel of newsprint, but just a tad stronger. I LOVE it! Its has 100's of pages, it fits neatly into a knapsack, or under in my heand, it's big enough to get a good sketch with, it takes to pen and pencil fabulously, and it makes me feel like Im back in Junior Hish school "drawing on the sneak" while in class... PERFECT for subwaysketching!

Ive been riding the "R" and "B" Trains lately, and have noticed that folks are a littttttle more suspicious and agitated on this line than others. Most Manhattan commuters almost expect to see something out of the ordinary when they ride, but commuters on these trains, especially when going back to Brooklyn seem genuinely surprised to see the stange man staring at them while moving his pencil furiously in his notebook......

Gov David A Paterson Caricature

Stick him with a fork! He's DONE!!! This Governor's Goose is Cooked! Latest Editorial Cartoon for THE WAVE Newspaper Far Rockaway NYC
Paterson's face..... MAN! What can I say??? He was MADE for CARICATURE!!! for the purposes of the paper, I stick a little more closely to a more realistic rendering, but you can really have fun with his face which, I plan on having later...heh...

Gov Paterson.... looking back.... before caricaturing him

After hearing the recent news of Gov Paterson's political woes this week, I, like many artists literally ran to to my drawing board anxious to get in on the cartooning/caricature feeding frenzy surrounding his recent political decisions, and you folks here can look forward to an Editorial cartoon that will soon be appearing in THE WAVE Nwspaper.



But before I lampoon him, I think it's important to highlight his accomplishments. He is truely a remarkable man for achieving a high level of success in spire of an visual disability combined with the Glass ceiling effect so many people of color bump into when reaching for the stars.

This Youtube serves as a reminder that what we see about a person at present doesnt represent all who they ARE.



But Im still gonna "get him!" heh, heh!

New Subway Caricatures for March

While sketching the Latino dude, he caught me drawing him and tried his BEST to "look tough " and intimidating. All he really did was stickk his lip out to the point of looking more like a spoiled child who was told he couldnt have candy! LOL!! The Asian Dude just reminded me of a squid or some sea creature who somehow miraculously morphed into a myopic human. Faces on da train are STILLL FUNNNNNNYYYYY!!!!!

Comic: The Chase AKA "Why must Eye Chase Da Katt? By subwaysurfer

Why must Eye Chase da Katt?? to give him back his wallet, of course!!! Dogs seem to get such a "bad rap" against felines when they're sometimes they're only tryin' to HELP!!! Even if it means HELPING themselves to a few Feline Dollars! Heh, heh! I see my Looney tunes Tex Avery Influence coming out in this toon. On one did it better than Tex!

"WHY MUST EYE CHASE DA KATT?"

Pharlament Funkadelic asked this eternal question decades ago in their mega hit, "Atomic Dog" and the question to this day remains unanswered... It really must be the dogg in me....

This is a sneak peek of a panel from a comic project that I am working on... stay tuned for the unvailing....

ATOMIC DOG
GEORGE CLINTON

Yeah, this is a story of a famous dog
For the dog that chases its tail will be dizzy
These are clapping dogs, rhythmic dogs
Harmonic dogs, house dogs, street dogs
Dog of the world unite
Dancin' dogs
Yeah
Countin' dogs, funky dogs
Nasty dogs (Dog)

Atomic dog
Atomic dog

Like the boys
When they're out there walkin' the streets
May compete
Nothin' but the dog in ya

Bow-wow-wow-yippie-yo-yippie-yeah
Bow-wow-yippie-yo-yippie-yeah
Bow-wow-wow-yippie-yo-yippie-yeah
Bow-wow-yippie-yo-yippie-yeah

Like the boys
When they're out there walkin' the streets
May compete
Nothin' but the dog in ya

Why must I feel like that
Oh, why must I chase the cat

Like the boys
When they're out there walkin' the streets
May compete
Nothin' but the dog in ya

Ruff
Ruff
Ruff

Why must I feel like that
Why must I chase the cat
Nothin' but the dog in me

Why must I feel like that
Why must I chase the cat
Nothin' but the dog in me

Why must I feel like that
Why must I chase the cat
Nothin' but the dog in me

Why must I feel like that
Why must I chase the cat
Nothin' but the dog in me

Do the dogcatcher, dogcatcher
Do the dogcatcher
Do the dogcatcher, dogcatcher
Do the dogcatcher

Do the dogcatcher, baby, do the dogcatcher
Ooh

Why must I feel like that
Why must I chase the cat
Nothin' but the dog in me

Why must I feel like that
Why must I chase the cat
Nothin' but the dog in me

Bow-wow-yippie-yo-yippie-yeah
Bow-wow-wow-yippie-yo-yippie-yeah
Bow-wow-yippie-yo-yippie-yeah

Just walkin' the dog
Oh, atomic dog

Futuristic bow-wow

Ruff

Leader of the pack
Wild dog

Why must I feel like that
Why must I chase the cat
Just the dog in me
Nothin' but the dog in me

Why must I feel like that
Why must I chase the cat
Just the dog in me
Nothin' but the dog in me

Why must I feel like that
Why must I chase the cat
The dog in me (Dog in me)
The dog is in me (Dog in me)

Do the dogcatcher, dogcatcher
Do the dogcatcher
Do you wanna do the dogcatcher
Well, baby, why don't you do it again for me

Dogcatcher, dogcatcher
Do the dogcatcher

House-trained dogs
Wild dogs
Say it again

Why must I feel like that
Why must I chase the cat


LOVE THAT SONG!!! NOW THAT'S 100 PROOF FUNK!!! UNCUT!!!

Aussie style Black Cartooning/Caricature back in the good old days...

Just when I thought Id seen everything on the subject of racism/coonism in comics I ran into these old Australian Adverts,and comic You dont get any more explicit than this, and what makes it WORSE is that its in a book aimed at KIDS, thus setting the stage for more advanced racial studies when they got older.

This cartoon, and other like it show the power of images.

Caricature and Racism? Or Cartooning in the"good od days"

February is Black History Month, and so for this entire month I find myself investigating and featuring on this blog African American Artists of color who have influenced my cartooning caricature style that I use gleefully on the un suspectly subway commuters of NYC.
A major source of influence in my style has always been cartooning particularly of the zanier sort associated with Warner Brothers Looney Tunes, which seemed more than any other studio to embrace caricature as a whole and incorporate it into their artwork.

Caricature, by it's very nature seeks to amplify a subjects facial features for startling comic effect. The art form can also be used to make a statement about the artists' attitude toward the subject. Caricature artist, Dion Socia, of the ISCA lectured on this very subject numerous times at various ISCA Conventions that I attended, and pointed out one should instantly know the artist's point of view by looking at their caricature. With this view in mind, I find myself asking, "what were the cartoonists/caricature artists "back in the good old days" circa, 1940- 50 saying about Negroes (we werent "African Americans " then) as a whole?Ive heard the argument that the art reflected the attitude of the country at the time, that it wasnt meant to hurt or downgrade a group of people, etc. etc. But you tend to wonder what went on in the mind of the artists as they created these images shown in these films Ive have here.

To be objective for a moment, the cartooning is brilliant and so is the animation. Imaginative, well drawn, and very entertaining, even with the racial charged undertones. You can even say that the artists are depicting jazz musicians and the cultural attitude, as they saw it, of black people at the time.
I know Im raising more questions than making a point here, but as I said earlier, Im wondering about all this....
After all, I AM a caricature artist, I DO lampoon people and JUMP UP distinctive facial characteristics as a matter of policy. Is it RACIST to draw Jay Z, WITH GIANTIC LIPS? is it RACIST to draw so called "nappy hair" on a black person if they have it? Is it RACIST to draw a black person as dark as the midnight sky if they LOOK that way? I personally know and have seen in my community numerous people who REALLY resemble these "racist cartoon/caricatures" depicted in these and several other youtube clips.

IS it RACIST to depict black people like this or not? If not, WHY? If so, WHY?
when does "innocent caricature" cross the line into "divisive racism?"
Let's talk more about this, or at least think about it this month.




Here's a link that talks about The use of the "N" word and how it is used in caricature in art and comedy
http://www.ferris.edu/jimcrow/caricature/

Emmet Wigglesworth

I will always remember the day that I got off the train at Union Street on the R line en route to an appointment, and knowing me, in a rush to get to my destination. I remember stopping dead in my tracks , in front ot the Union Street sign, where I came face to face with Emmet WIgglesworth's subwaymural. I was familiar with his work and recognized the style instantly. Wigglesworth;s famaliar theme of figures juxtaposed together in a maze of afrocentric faces invoked images of ancient African tribal masks and woocarvings, elongated fingers and arms covered with mesmerizing black and white patterns.... It was classic Wigglesworth, and I could only stand there reminiscing our meeting years ago. Back in the day, I lived for a time in the Bushwich section of Brooklyn, and although I cant for the life of me remember how I found this out, but I discovered that Wmmet Wigglesworth lived within walking distance of my house, so with the impeturousness that only a young person could have, I called his home, and within minutes was seated there in his living room discussing his career, and my art. I was very inexperienced back then, was newly married, and had a passion for art, but didnt know where or how to channel it. I will always be grateful for Mr. Wigglesworth opening up his HOME to a young artist who was a total stranger, and sharing his time with me. For a while I even imitated his bold black and white afrocentric abstract stylings, until I discovered my "own voice" . I guess you can say in a sense, Wigglesworth was instrumental in teaching me how to walk.

I look forward to the day that I can be just as gratious to a young artist.

Go to UNION STREET on the R Line in Brooklyn to see his work. You wont be dissapointed.


Check out this youtube clip of Wigglesworth "droppin' some serious science" on The Advertising Industry and how it affects self esteem.

Jacob Lawrence UNSUNG HERO OF SEQUENTIAL ART STORYTELLING.

Jacob Lawrence, is an unsung hero of the sequential art form we've come to know as Comics. Before I continue, let's look at the dictionary's definition of the word...

AComics (from the Greek κωμικός, kōmikos "of or pertaining to comedy" from κῶμος - kōmos "revel, komos",[1] via the Latin cōmicus) is a graphic medium in which images are utilized in order to convey a sequential narrative;

Lawrences' epic work, THE MIGRATION, consists of 60 paintings combined with words that tell the story of the American Negro's migration from the south to the North. I am currently doing more reading on this fascinating subject, but dont let me stop you from checking out the video.

Oh By the way, Jacob Lawrence was the first African-American to be represented by a New York City gallery.

Illustrator George Ford Part Three

In hearing George recall the "old days" of illustration, I couldnt help but be thankful for the computer age I live in and how it streamlines jobs that are non existent now. "In the old days, we did paste up with type using literal tweezers, peices of cut out paper and rubber cement!" I also became sort of wistful that many of the jobs available to illustrators back then are not as available now. Photography was expensive, and companies used illustrators to help them advertize their products in print and tv, recalled George. There were also, a couple of "B List" companies, that artists starting out could cut their teeth on. " I did greeting card work for Hawthorne Summerfield, and Williamsburg Publishing, which no longer exist"." In those days, Hallmark Geetings was the best, and one of the first companies that really used the power of branding. They KNEW they were the best, and used it in their tag line, "Hallmark, when you care to send the very best". Ford also considered his illustration work with Harper's Magazine to be his first major illustration job. " It was an article on African American author, Ralph Ellison".
While on the subject of illustration, George took care to point out that illustrators need NOT fear art directors/editors when interviewing for a freelance position.
"believe it or not, they are NOT looking to eliminate you, on the contrary, art directors/editors WANT you to succeed, to be "good" because they want someone who is capapble to help illustrate their product or idea"."Frequently after having your work reviewed you may hear the comment, "this is not what we're looking for, right now". "dont take this PERSONALLY" "It's not a reflection on your talent or work, it's just that it doesnt fit the companies niche at that time""It's important that every artist find their OWN niche".
Having said that, I showed him work that I'd done recently for The Wave Newspaper, and other caricature work I'd done for Rocketshark Ringtones a while back. He commented on loving the line quality of the work, being reminiscent of Hirschfield, to which I smiled, Hirschfield being an influsence. "The rest, of course, is YOU" he added, with a smile, before going on to instruct me of how caricature could be used in publishing.
"Caricature CAN be used, he began, but It's important, HOW subjects are depicted. The caricature must be used to enhance what is being spoken about and not used simply as an object of out and out ridicule." In Ford's view, the caricature should show just enough visual information to indentify the subject whichout making them look ridiculous for it's own sake. I was happy for the critique, and looked up to see that three hours had passed and I really had taken up much of his time. I thanked him for an interesting afternoon, and we left out table much to the delight of a stranded yuppie desperately looking for a place to sit.

There's such a wealth of information the man had that I didnt even manage to scratch the surface with. I encouraged him to start his OWN blog just so that the information he obtained in over 50 years in business would not be lost. He assured me that he had been newly inspired to do so and would get started on it immediately. I smiled in anticipation. I cant wait to see what he writes down.

George Ford Interview Part Two

I came to the interview with high hopes of getting the ultimate secrets to becoming a successful illustrator. If George Ford could make it in the racially discriminatory period he did the bulk of his work, than surely I would have an easier time in the new millenium, I reasoned. George quickly took the wind out of my sales with the simple statement;
"You cannot DUPLICATE my success". He went on to explain the circumstances of his time, the people he met, the places he found himself were all contributing factors that couldnt possibly be duplicated because it was HIS LIFE. The mistake most young illustrators make is in THINKING there's a "duplicatable 10 point plan " for success.

"There isnt" He reasoned. "each artist must find his own way" Continuing on, he added that No art school is able to "give the plan" either. "You dont LEARN to be an artist, in ANY school," "art schools take the best people who are"good" (meaning they already have potential that serves as raw material) and the art teachers, if they are good ones, act as COACHES to guide a student in a direction, and help him develop his potential."

As Far as Potential goes, George had a lot of it. He was one of Three students who studied at Pratt Institute in the late forties, before continuing his education at highly competitive, Cooper Union. "There were 1000 people competiting for 90 spots in the school and I was the only black one." Not bad for a kid who attended Boys High School in Brooklyn.
Art was a challenging profession to make a living at to begin with, and being a Black man in the forties, attending art school made it a little tougther."the art teachers, knowing how tough the industry was, wondered how YOU were going to make a living", he added.
The social political climate of the day werent esactly the stuff "dreams were made of" for black youth, back in Georges' day either. The constant bombardment of negative black images, and stereotypes, ie. seeing blacks ONLY pictured as domestics, made you, "accept, on some level, a lower standard, based on what you're seeing. what you see becomes acceptable"
When asked how he WAS able to achieve his dreams inspite of the racism he encountered, he responded instantly that his Father gave him the confidence to continue. Unlike today, there was always an underlining push in the conciousness of a black person to "carry the hopes and apirations of the race with you" as you went about whatever you were involved in, including art. Since much of Ford's work involved illustrating prominent African Americans like Ray Charles, and Paul Roberson, I asked him did he feel it was neccessary to draw, quote, "black themes" "We need good men(in terms of technical ability) who have talent, to use it for the people." With so much art today being ego centered, such altruism seems almost laughable.But it is precisely this mindset that not only inspired Ford's work, but other black illustrators who drew during the same period, including the late Tom Feelings, a personal friend. I remarked how I had been inspired by Tom Feelings as a child when I, along with a group of other children had been drawn by him personally, at "THE MUSE" Children's Museum in Brooklyn New York. George Laughed as he recalled he'd probably "seen me" as he was drawing there also that same day! Small world eh?

JOHN THE BAPTIST.. sneak peek of my next Christ Chronicles Comic Post

John THE BAPTIST, is one of the most interesteing characters in Scripture. The son of a priest,Zechariah, he was the last in the line of Old Testament type Prophets, and the "official God appointed announcer" of Jesus, The Messiah( In case you dont know, "Christ" aint Jesus' Last name, it's Greek for Messiah) John was a rugged dude to say in the least, he lived off the land, wore camel skin coats and ate a non fat diet of locusts and honey. In my upcoming comic I take a step backwards and illustrate Johns preaching up until he baptises Jesus in the Jordan. It sure is big fun drawing this guy!

No Seats at Starbucks!!!

Theres a saying that goes, "there's Eight Million Stories in the naked city" Most of em sad ones,.... well, I got a chance to witness one of 'em, and I'll tell ya folks, Aint nothin' quite as heart breaking as seeing a loney yuppie in starbucks, trying to find a seat....

I was having my meeting with Illustrator George Ford, and looked up and there he was, this poor yuppie, hot latte in hand, desperately scanning the room with big sad eyes looking for an empty seat and finding none....

To Mr. Ford's delight, I temporarily interrupted our discussion just to capture that sad sack look on that Yuppie's face....

Poor guy had to drink his Latte standing UP! GASPPPP!!!!!



If you're sayin' to yourself,
"I see a little Peter Bagg" Influence, in this picture... give yourself a gold star!!!

Illustrator George Ford Jr. PART ONE

"Man, you ARE the real deal!" said Illustrator, George Ford, as he caught me re drawing a caricature I'd done of him at the Z Space Art Gallery two weeks prior. I explained to him that how I was never satisfied with my work and wanted to redraw it and present it to him as a gift, and post it on the blog. The truth of the matter is that I guess I wanted to impress him as much as he had already impressed me.
There's a lot to be impressed about... George Ford has illustrated over thirty books in his career, most notably the book, RAY CHARLES , written by Sharon Bell Mathis. and illustrated by George Ford. The book went on to win the 1974 Coretta Scott King Author and Illustrator Award,marking the FIRST time an ILLUSTRATOR had recieved the award. After that initial meeting with him at The Z Space I requested another meeting with him at a later date to discuss his career. This being Black History month I thought it important to focus on African American Artists whose work and accomplishments had caught my attention. Mr. Ford Gratiously consented and took three hours out of his time to discuss with me his approach to illustration, his career as an artist, how politica and social climate contribute to an artist's work, and even, Lil' Wanye! LOL!! I'll write up in subsequent blog posts what we talked about. SOME THINGS Not ALL!!!! He told me a few secrets that I AINT SHARING!!! LOL! Stay tuned!


In the meantime, here are a few links that lead to his work
http://www.justusbooks.com/modules/content/index.php?id=70

http://www.infibeam.com/Books/search?author=George%20Ford

Subwaysurfer at the Z Space Gallery in BROOKLYN

Well, I can finally put a check next to another goal on my list of "Ta Do " things. Last week on the 31st of January, marked the day that my work was shown in a gallery. The new Z Space Gallery located in Midwood Brooklyn, Featured my work along with several other emerging artists at this fun filled event. The work will be on display at the gallery until March 18th. This piece, entitled, "Feelin' Bloo" is taken from my ongoing open ended "subwaysurfer extreme life drawing series".