Coming up with subjects for Admiration of Benefit (as well as illustrating them) has been an interesting challenge. I look up to a great many people and I've drawn many of them already. What makes this series different, at least for me, has been my attempt to do draw people the general public may not immediately connect with me, or Siteway. Fred Dretske, for example, was a huge influence on my academic development, my writing style, my brain. I'm not too sure he's a household name, though. My third grade teacher was probably an influence on a great many students who attended Springvale Elementary during that era. I'm not saying these are idiosyncratic choices but they are, I think, just a little bit different. ¶ Mort Drucker, legendary illustrator and caricaturist, is my subject this week. His work is unparalleled, as David Apatoff points out, and lately it has become apparent to me just how many hundreds of hours I spent as a kid studying Drucker's work in MAD. I read the words too, it's true, but the real magic was happening in the pictures. The closest I came to Mr. Drucker was a few years back when the ad agency I was working for hired him to do a Mr. Clean poster. I remembered thinking: "So he still works as an illustrator. Hmm. Maybe this illustration-as-a-career idea isn't so crazy." It's not that I thought you'd get rich doing it but it was something you do for a long time and in many different veins, developing your craft over a lifetime. While Al Hirschfeld's line work inspired me to think big, Drucker's work was so awesome it simply could not be ignored. It's deep in my brain. I recommend picking up old MAD magazines for Drucker's beautiful drawings alone. ¶ Did you know that Monet used to draw caricatures? ¶ You still have some time to see four of my framed prints at April Maloney Salon (178 Avenue Road). They'll be up for the rest of the month and they're for sale. The Katharine Hepburn is $900, the Alfred Hitchcock is $600, and the Tom Wolfe is $100 (the Audrey Hepburn has been sold).

Labels: ArtShow, Freelancing, Heroes

¶ 5:49 PM

There are soul deaths and then there are soul deaths. ¶ Here's something I've been contemplating lately: I've been engaged with my work, and by work I mean the lines I draw, in an unprecedented manner of late. It's partly because I decided one day that this would be a good idea. And as you're all already aware, being a free agent requires the agent take care of sales, marketing, accounting, office and project management, and even janitorial services. So telling yourself to "focus on the work" is not only simple and comforting, it's rewarding. It's investing in better furnaces for HQ, better equipment at the factory, better ships for your fleet. I'm investing in the lifeblood of my industry: drawing. The drawing action itself has become a relaxing enterprise; an experience that is itself enjoyable, and not just because of the results. The results, the lines drawn as it were, are themselves relaxing, if only briefly. Imagine the ink from an industrial inkjet bleeding into your expensive art paper. It only lasts as ink for half a second. Then it becomes part of the paper. That's what I mean by relaxing. Like the final piece that snuggly fits into the puzzle. The easiest piece of all. And yet, it's rigid, in there, the instantiating unit. In any case, some by-products of this focus: a sketchbook that's not half-bad, some Siteway dusting, continued experiments over on flickr, and more steam in the engine. ¶ It is remarkable that there are few men so well employed, so much to their minds, but that a little money or fame would commonly buy them off from their present pursuit. I see advertisements for active young men, as if activity were the whole of a young man's capital. Yet I have been surprised when one has with confidence proposed to me, a grown man, to embark in some enterprise of his, as if I had absolutely nothing to do, my life having been a complete failure hitherto. What a doubtful compliment this is to pay me! As if he had met me half-way across the ocean beating up against the wind, but bound nowhere, and proposed to me to go along with him! If I did, what do you think the underwriters would say? No, no! I am not without employment at this stage of the voyage. To tell the truth, I saw an advertisement for able-bodied seamen, when I was a boy, sauntering in my native port, and as soon as I came of age I embarked.—Henry David Thoreau, from Life Without Principle.

Labels: AdmirationOfBenefit, Clear, FeaturedIllustration, Heroes, Siteway, Vague

¶ 7:51 PM

Problems
by Piet Hein
 
Problems worthy
   of attack
prove their worth
   by hitting back.

Labels: FeaturedIllustration, Heroes

¶ 3:48 PM

Say anything you want against The Seventh Seal. My fear of death—this infantile fixation of mine—was, at that moment, overwhelming. I felt myself in contact with death day and night, and my fear was tremendous. When I finished the picture, my fear went away. I have the feeling simply of having painted a canvas in an enormous hurry — with enormous pretension but without any arrogance. I said, 'Here is a painting; take it, please.' Ingmar Bergman, from an interview with Charles Thomas Samuels, 1971. ¶ I was embarrassed for myself when I realised I still haven't seen any Ingmar Bergman pictures and the shame was enough for me to add two immediately to my queue. Bergman passed away this past Monday. That evening, on the CBC, they interviewed David Cronenberg (I drew him, too). They asked him some questions about Bergman, about filmmaking, and about being an artist. Cronenberg made interesting points about autobiography inherent in art works, Bergman's dream of being a writer, and of pouring oneself into their creative work.

Labels: Death, FeaturedIllustration, Heroes

¶ 1:11 PM

Siteway began, in earnest, some years after the site was initially online. In the fall of 1999 I purchased my first Wacom (from eBay) and this is when I began to put the Siteway emphasis on illustrations and, later in spring, writing. In those early days I drew many a philosopher and this week I make a return, of sorts. ¶ As students, my friends and I all had philosophers that we conversationally associated ourselves with. For one friend, it was Nietzsche. For another, famously in our group, it was Kierkegaard. For me, save my actual academic interest in Dretske, it was A. J. Ayer. I have always admired his writing style (effortless and beautiful), his mental capability (sharp as a whip), and his self-confidence. He published his classic and famously flawed book, Language, Truth, and Logic, when he was 26. Whereas once I was disappointed that his book contained philosophical gaps, now I'm enamored by it. He acknowledged these gaps in later editions, but never apologized for them. Again, it's that he published it at all that left an impression on me. For those interested in English Philosophy and its impact on British culture, I highly recommend reading his Part of my Life. If you wish to continue on, there's also More of my Life.

Labels: FeaturedIllustration, Heroes, Nostalgia, Philosophy

¶ 10:27 AM

Two Wednesdays ago we got a late start to our morning but our intentions were solid. We were going to visit Brooklyn. ¶ We had a few reasons to visit Brooklyn and one of them was simply to visit. We took the L train to Metropolitan. When we got to street level I was immediately reminded of the North End of Halifax. It has that distinctive wood panelling, low-rise, eastern-seaboard feel. I'm working on an illustration for an upcoming business in Brooklyn, and so we were also there to see the location. We bumped into my client and we chatted a little about the business and Williamsburg. After that we wandered over to Bedford Ave, I grabbed a midday pint and cheeseburger, and then we explored some more. ¶ I stopped into Spoonbill & Sugartown Booksellers (218 Bedford Avenue, Brooklyn, NY) and was tempted by many things. I ended up purchasing a postcard upon which I based this photo and an audio CD by David Lynch and Penguin Audio: Catching the Big Fish: Meditation, Consciousness, and Creativity which is VERY good and I highly recommend it to anyone looking to improve their lives vis. being able to do more of what you love in this life. ¶ In January I recorded myself draw a portrait of David Lynch. I'm very happy with the way these time-lapse animations are working out and intend to do more in this vein. ¶ I've temporarily removed The Art Game from the main navigation until I figure out the role of Art on Siteway. Until then, I've linked it to my photostream on flickr which is not only where friends and family can catch up on photos but also where I upload some of my illustrations.

Labels: Flickr, Heroes, NYC, SitewayWorld

¶ 4:41 PM

The night before seeing Conan O'Brien we were on the Upper West of Manhattan at the 92nd Y to see Charles Grodin. I have mixed feelings about the night. On the one hand, it was awesome to see one of my favourite comedic actors speak, great to ask him a question, and satisfying to have him answer it. On the other hand, I thought the moderator/interviewer inflexible with regard to her agenda given how Grodin was taking the night. As a result, there was a disconnect that was palpable. In any case, I asked Mr. Grodin if he had intended It Would Be So Nice If You Weren't Here to be inspirational as I had taken it to be. He answered in the negative, insinuating that he had essentially obtained a good measure of success despite the rejection all around him. In other words, I don't think the rejection ever stops, and so in that book, even if it seemed like the world was against him, this wasn't the case. He had a supporter, Lee Strasberg. It reminded me very much of when I went to see Bob Newhart with Jay back in Hamilton a few years ago. ¶ Charles Grodin stars in such pictures as Clifford, The Heartbreak Kid, and my personal favourite, Albert Brooks' Real Life.

Labels: Cinema, Heroes, NYC

¶ 12:51 PM

So secretly I'd been looking forward to seeing 30 Rockefeller Center not just because I have a crush on Tina Fey but hey, if that's not enough reason then let's settle simply with the history of NBC. I grew up on NBC. Preferring it, as I did back then McDonald's over Burger King, privately enjoying its number one status. I always saw ABC as an underdog, and therefore couldn't help but root for, with its too-blue colouring. In any case, I'd been looking forward to attending a taping of the Conan show the minute it occurred to me as a possibility. Well, to be truthful, I think the first time the idea occurred to me, I was probably watching the show at 21 or something, wishing I'd one day go to tapings like Conan's. And so there we were, on Tuesday afternoon, and I forgot the e-mail printout at home. We needed it to get in. ¶ Now Pauline is much better at this sort of forgiveness than me. Generally, I'd be angered if Pauline "forgot the printout at home." But there we were: I'd screwed up and Pauline was cool with it. We could print it again, after all, we just needed to find a FexEx Kinkos. If you were to have told me, at, again, 21, that Kinkos would still be in my life some ten years later, I would have laughed a plenty. To me they just coasted on the scene, haven't been challenged, suck, and without any good reason, continue to grow. You know? Anyway, I guess they aren't that bad, because they did save us that day. ¶ Getting to the actual studio where The Late Show with Conan O'Brien is taped is a pain in the ass. NBC understands this, which is cool; Security is a necessary evil when you consider what a fool might do. But it's also a pain because you're lining up on the concourse level of what is essentially just another office tower with lots of people working, eating sushi in the food court, and pissed off at all the gawking tourists (present!). ¶ The NBC pages are as friendly as you might imagine an NBC staff to be (Kenneth!). Not overly friendly, but definitely friendly, and on top of things. I like that. I like seeing people on top of things. It gives me confidence because it's reassurance that we're ultimately the best species ever (art!). This is largely what is becoming my lasting impression of New Yorkers. ¶ There are a pair of free XL "audience member" t-shirts waiting for us as we exit what feels like the second elevator in this process and they win me over. We're seated very near to the front. An enviable seat. The kind one almost never gets. There's a best-of DVD that plays and it does warm us up. It certainly caught me up as I've sadly become a lax viewer. The old bits are still funny and the newer bits are as well. There's still a vibrancy at and to the show, that's for sure. Conan O'Brien is a consummate professional, of this there is no doubt. That's probably my clearest and meatiest impression of the show.

Labels: Heroes, Nostalgia, NYC

¶ 10:54 PM

I updated the Seth illustration above by adding some subtle animation. I'd like to do more animation, but so far I haven't found the best way, from a time management perspective, to accomplish this. I think it comes down to illustrating every new Siteway portrait all week every week instead of one day a week, every week. ¶ National Post portrait in the Wednesday, October 11, 2006 issue, of George Strombo, AL2. ¶ This past spring, when I was working part-time with Mouth Media, I designed some in-store graphics and the logo for GoodHealth Pharmacy. Currently their only store is in Ottawa, on Preston Street. ¶ Popphoto.com (digital arm of American Photo and Popular Photography) has a very good piece on portrait photographer Platon. Here are two excerpts that I particularly enjoyed: "Al Hirschfeld, the legendary cartoonist, had his picture taken by Platon a few weeks before he died, at the age of 99. 'If you had one wish?' Platon asked. 'Ah, to be 90 again,' he replied." and "On Christopher Walken, in the understatement of the night: 'Now this guy is weird.' Walken showed up for a shoot at Platon's house an hour early (unprecedented), alone (un-heard-of), and wearing black elastic pants pulled up to his armpits (what do you expect). He walked through the studio, straight into Platon's kitchen and started going through the cabinets. Platon, a little confused, asked him if he was hungry, and could he get him something to eat? 'No,' Walken replied, and kept opening cabinet doors. His advice on life? 'It helps if you drink.' The only way he would let Platon shoot his portrait? 'You're going to say 'Chris' and I'm going to look at you and then I'm going to look away.' 'We did that for two hours,' Platon says."

Labels: FeaturedIllustration, Freelancing, Heroes, NationalPost, Quotation

¶ 3:26 PM

For the longest time I've been thinking about role models. And when I write a line like that what I mean is that I've been thinking about it since I can remember anything. I've been thinking about them not only insofar as my role models are concerned, but also just as a concept. I find the people that people look up to a fascinating notion. For example, a lot of people look up to members of their family. While others look up to people they don't even know. Still others look up to FICTIONAL persons. I like this landscape. It's interesting to see how some people like knowing the person they look up to because it reveals part of their hand: you have even chances at learning from your hero. On the flipside, of course, NOT knowing your hero moves beyond these sorts of details. You can learn from you hero ANYHOW because, well, they're either a legend or a genius or a prophet. And on the second flipside, you have the fictional heroes. In many ways, I aspire to having heroes that are fictional. At least then you won't be held accountable for their actions. ¶ Of course in this post I'm being overly emphatic. I think it's terrific that we hold people in high regard. I don't care if you know them or not, I'm just playing with an idea in the paragraph preceding. Ultimately I just love hearing people talk about other people.

Labels: Heroes, Musings, Vague

¶ 12:00 AM