Monsters!

This Friday, I'll be drawing ferociously (alongside a formidable group of local artists, architects, and designers) for a great cause: The 2nd Annual Monster Drawing Rally, sponsored by Women in Design-Kansas City. All proceeds from the sale of drawings will benefit Synergy Services, a non-profit violence-prevention program. Here are the details, straight from the Facebook event posting:

Parade of Horrors

Have a Rockin' Presidents Day

In celebration of Presidents Day, that often-ignored semi-holiday, here are a couple of drawings from a simpler time (college) when I had faint aspirations of becoming a political cartoonist. Aside from a handful of greats, most political cartoonists have been victims of the declining newspaper industry that no longer values their contributions. This is unfortunate - I think it's still a noble and essential profession. It may just be in need of a few new ideas, a new publishing platform, and better self-promotion.  

I've drawn a few cartoons that I think put forth some well-reasoned political stances. However, I'm not going to bore you with them here. I realized early on that my strengths lied not in biting partisan commentary, but in the obscure fusion of political caricature and pop culture reference...

       

Seize the Coloring Book

My New Yorker Cartoon Phase

Just as most teenage boys go through a Led Zeppelin phase, most young cartoonists go through a New Yorker cartoon phase. This was an early attempt at drawing in that trademark style. I've mostly recovered from my Led Zeppelin phase, but I still have visions of my drawings appearing in the same hallowed pages as a Roz Chast or Charles Barsotti cartoon - ideally in the middle of some impenetrable article on Mideast foreign policy.

The Insecure Chess Set

Productive Snow Day

The Library

I spend an inordinate amount of time browsing the shelves of Kansas City's downtown public library. To the staff there, I'm probably known as the weird guy in scrubs who lurks about the children's section and always leaves with more novels and compact discs than any one person could hope to consume. I've accepted the fact that I have a book problem.