Drawn

Behold Greg Clarke, artist extraordinaire. I have seen his illustrations here and there (most recently on New Yorker covers, I believe) but did not know who this astounding gentleman was. Shame on me for my ignorance. Engaging, witty, warm and sometimes maudlin illustrations of quirky people and erudite animals. Delightful and intelligent sequental art, whimsical and lush illustrated books. Once at his web site, be prepared to be there for a while; best to get a cup of tea (or perhaps a more hearty libation) for the wondrous adventure which lies ahead.

Spamusement is described as “Poorly-drawn cartoons inspired by actual spam subject lines” and it is just that. It is also hilarious. My personal favorites are “If you love her you’ll look”, “Personalized Letters from Santa”, and “Tiaras for your special event”.

When I was a kid, I devoured every book on drawing and cartooning that my local library had on its shelves. Ed Emberley brings back a lot of memories. The books of his I remember most were Ed Emberley’s Great Thumbprint Drawing Book and Ed Emberley’s Big Orange Drawing Book. He teaches kids how to draw using basic lines and shapes, and his work is fun, fun, fun. His books were first published in the late 70′s and early 80′s, but they’re still being sold today, and Ed is still at it…

Does anyone know if this Ed Emberley merchandise is available anywhere other than Japan? What I wouldn’t give for one of those clocks!

George Feyer was one of Canada’s most popular cartoonists in the 1950′s and ’60′s, appearing on television in CBC shows like ‘Razzle Dazzle’ and ‘Telestory Time’ (in which Pat Patterson read a story while Feyer illustrated it live), and contributing profusely to Maclean’s Magazine. Feyer was Hungarian born (1921), and escaped both Nazi and Communist hostilities by forging papers and fleeing to Canada in 1948. What I really admire about Feyer, though, is his wacky reputation. At cocktail parties, he was known to sidle up behind women in backless gowns and doodle on the exposed skin. Feyer’s cartoons were often controversial (and often rejected), dealing with taboo subjects of sex and religion… a brave cartoonist in the conservative world of Canada in the ’50′s. Brrr!Maclean’s link

This detail of Weirdly and Gobby Gruesome rocking out is from the 1965 Hanna Barbera LP ‘Monster Shindig’, painted by Ron Dias, a pretty fantastic background artist. His work on the painterly ’60′s era Disney Golden books is delightful. Can you believe it’s been over forty years since the Gruesomes first appeared on the Flintstones? They were designed by the incredible Iwao Takamoto, who seems to have had a creepy streak, as he’s most famous for the original ScoobyDoo designs. Me? I like his work on Atom Ant. As far as I know, Mr. Takamoto is in his eighties and still working.

I’ve been checking out the work of Doze Green for some time now, as he’s been featured in Straight No Chaser, XLR8R, and Juxtapoz magazines. Displaced and dismembered bodies floating admist icons of typeography and arrows, his work evokes a nightmarish world of the futuristic graff writer. Where some graffiti writers run into that proverbial brick wall while trying to crossover successfully into the art-world, Doze has done it with ease. Plus, he’s done so without compromising his unique vision. Originally a b-boy from back in the day (he’s featured briefly in the STYLE WARS documentary, so we’re talking about 1982, y’all), he’s not frontin’. He’s the real deal.

Behold Michael Nobbs, an illustrator who lives on the west coast of Wales, who draws and writes about his personal struggles and all the things that inspire him on a daily basis. Michael suffers from ME/CFS, a condition which makes his life a struggle, but as he says in his blog, he’s “piecing together a life for himself by finding out just what he can do.” What he can do is draw, in a very unique and personal style, and in fact, he has created a hand-drawn journal called The Beany, which depicts “adventures as he draws his way through his small and insignificant looking life on the west coast of Wales.” Insignificant? Hardly.

I’m digging the work of Frances Castle over at Small Moon Valley. She manages the perfect balance between traditional and digital media, with just the right touch of psychedelia.

Snap, Crackle, and Pop haven’t always been the kind, elf-like do-gooders that we all know them to be. Not to long ago they were a rough and rowdy gang, often resorting to violence in order to uphold every child’s right to mush-free breakfast. This commercial from Archive.org is evidence.

Not only is the Art of James Bond a goldmine of great Bond art from concept to screen, it also features a slew of other secret agent goodies, such as first edition covers and posters from the films. My personal favorite is the comic, featuring the art of John McLusky and Yaroslav Horak.