Gallery Opening Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 4, 2008

Opinions: Political Cartoons Opens at Brevard Art Museum

MELBOURNE, FL - On Thursday, September 18 the Brevard Art Museum celebrates the opening reception of Opinions: Political Cartoons from 5:30 to 7 p.m.
During the exhibition planning process, the Museum sought assistance from the local paper the Gannett publication FLORIDA TODAY and contacted their resident editorial cartoonist Jeff Parker. Through his national associations, he was able to entice a number of his colleagues to participate in this unique exhibition. Drawing from cartoonists nationwide, Opinions: Political Cartoons, exhibits timely commentary surrounding the hot topics of this election and past elections. The detailed drawings use humor and line to comment on the political issues of contemporary society.
Contributors to the exhibition include the following: (P indicates Pulitzer Prize winner)
Don Adams; Rex Babin, The Sacramento Bee; Jeff Bacon, Navy Times and Marine Corps Times; Gary Brookins, Richmond Times-Dispatch; John Cole, Scranton, PA, The Times-Tribune; Paul Fell, Artizans Syndicate; Ed Gamble, Jacksonville, Florida Times-Union; Ed Hall, Artizans Syndicate; Tim Jackson, Chicago Defender; Shane Johnson, http://www.mylifeinacube.com/; Mike Keefe, The Denver Post; Steve Kelley, New Orleans, The Times-Picayune; Jeff Koterba, The Omaha World Herald; Doug MacGregor, Ft. Myers, FL, The News-Press; Jimmy Margulies, NJ, The Record; Rick McKee, The Augusta Chronicle; James Michaels; Deb Milbrath, Freelance; Jim Morin, The Miami Herald (P); Mike Lester, Rome,GA, News-Tribune; Pat Oliphant, (P), Tamarind Institute; Jeff Parker, FLORIDA TODAY; Mike Peters, Dayton Daily News (P); Joel Pett, Lexington, KY, Herald-Leader (P); Ted Rall, Universal Press Syndicate; Dana Summers, The Orlando Sentinel; Ann Telnaes, New York Times Syndicate (P); John Trever, The Albuquerque Journal; Gary Varvel, The Indianapolis Star; Matt Wuerker, The Politico; and Adam Zyglis, The Buffalo News.
Doug MacGregor, editorial cartoonist for the Gannett-owned The News-Press of Fort Myers, will present a free Cartoon Lecture, September 18, from 4 to 5 p.m. in the Museum’s Harris Auditorium. MacGregor will also host a Cartooning Clinic, September 20, from 11 a.m. to noon for ages 8 and older for $35, or $30 with Museum member discount.
Admission to the exhibition opening is free to the public. Expected artists at the opening reception are Jeff Parker, Ed Hall with the Artizans Syndicate (Jacksonville), Doug MacGregor, and Dana Summers with The Orlando Sentinel.

The reception is free and open to the public. For more information, please contact the Museum at (321) 242-0737 or visit http://www.brevardartmuseum.org/.

About the Brevard Art Museum
The Brevard Art Museum is a non-profit organization supported in part by the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs; the Florida Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts; Brevard County through the Brevard Cultural Alliance; the Brevard County Tourist Development Council; and by members of the Brevard Art Museum.
Visitor Information
Location: 1463 Highland Avenue in the Eau Gallie District of Melbourne.
(321) 242-0737
Hours: Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sunday, 1 to 5 p.m., and Thursday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., sponsored by Gatto’s Tires & Auto Service.
Admission: Adults $5; seniors $3; children and students with I.D. $2. Free for Museum members. Free admission on Thursday. Special rates and tours are available for groups of 8 or more, and can be scheduled by calling Tina at 242-0737 at least two weeks in advance.

A quick local...

My super-secret, new software program is allowing me a lot more flexibility, and improved speed in rendering these now. I've actually increased my proficiency 3 fold, because I can work more intuitively, directly, in color, on the Wacom tablet. I love it!

These do have a different look to them; more spontaneous, more quickly done, more sketchy. And I'm not quite sure how much I like this new look yet. But it helps to be quick on days like today, when I know I have to do (4) cartoons.

Oh, BTW, this story has to do with those Bandit Signs that you see littering the right-of-way; which puts them on city property, which makes them illegal. They're an eyesore, and a menace, and our local Code Enforcement Board is trying to clean them up. But, like Kudzu, the minute they pull them, more seem to sprout up!

Sunday sketches

Our Model was changed for Sunday. We were supposed to get our favorite to draw, but she had a conflict. That was OK though, because the more I draw this guy, the more I'm enjoying studying the different structure of the male anatomy. This guy can really hold a pose too - very dynamic. I guess it helps to be young and in shape (unlike myself). Anyway, before any of my prudish friends start gasping, and covering their eyes, let me just say - shut the hell up, grow up, and look at life. That'll be my pre-emptive rant of the day!

I'll put the "keeper" of the day at the top of the page, followed by some gesture studies, a couple more 25 minute sketches, and the final long reclining pose. Oh yeah, and I can't forget my daily skeleton warm-up!

I've left the drawing board in these photos, so you can get a sense of scale (the drawings are pretty big).

I suggested he lay on his side this time for the long pose, and that the light be adjusted for a more harsh contrast.

You can really see the structure and the cast shadows. Enjoy.

New Manga image

It's been a while since I posted one of these, and since I've recently had some luck getting my illustrations published in Europe (more on that later), I'm gonna start this series up again. It takes about a full day to come up with the idea, the pose, the composition, ink it, and then finish it in color.

In this image we have a really pissed off Geisha enacting revenge on some unsuspecting customer. I was going to put the guy's head in the lower right corner (and I still may), nonchalantly sipping tea; not knowing what's about to come. Dang, now that I've written that, it sounds pretty cool. I might just do it.

Anyway, we've got our Sunday sketch class tomorrow with my favorite model, so look for some figure drawings on Monday morning!

Cheers, -E

Last cartoon of the week

It's an oddity when my last cartoon of the week is a local, but this week, because of emailing snafus it just worked out that way. Thank goodness my editors extended deadline until this morning. Anyway, here it is. You can see the rough sketch if you scroll down to yesterday's post. I added some more characters in the background to give the main public character more of a back drop, but other than that nothing really changed. And, surprisingly, my editors liked BOTH of them. That's also an oddity. Happy weekend.

-Ed

Sister Palin

My wife doesn't like it when I go after Sarah Palin; which makes me think that maybe I'm onto something. I wasn't as taken by the hottie factor or the tough babe act as I think some of my colleagues were. Some have opined that her past should be off limits. I don't think so. She doesn't really impress me that much. Other than her ability to spout inane, out-dated Republican rhetoric (spoken here in tongues), I can't find much to like about her, and after I read an article detailing how her Pentecostal upbringing has shaped the kind of woman she is, I could find even less. So I'm gonna keep going after her until I'm ushered out to the dog house.

Until then, Sneegle dorp do do dee*

*Have a nice day

Storm Debris

Here's hoping that they can keep up the next time we've got consecutive tropical storms hitting our area. I was beginning to wonder if I'd be staring at a pile of twigs through Christmas.

The rough is below. It didn't change much from the original sketch. I used an old comic book inset technique for the middle dialogue break . I like to utilize this device from time to time.

While I'm waiting - roughs...

Wednesday is my busy day. I usually have 2-4 deadlines for local papers. That means sometimes waiting on 2-4 responses about emailed roughs from editors. If they take too long, I find myself rushing at the end of the day to get all of the inking in, and that can REALLY suck. Anyway, while I'm waiting, I figured I'd go ahead and post the roughs on the blog. That way, if they're rejected or "edited" you can see where they liked them, and where they didn't.

This first rough sketch deals with a proposed Charter Amendment for St. Johns County that has already been voted down once. Well, it turns out that the County Commissioners (not all, but some) believe that their constituents are too dumb to read and understand the bill. What they really want is for this thing to pass. We'll get into reasons for that in a later post, but you can imagine why.

This second rough is about something I've experienced first hand. Debris from hurricane Fay piled up on our street, and was not picked up until AFTER hurricane Gustav blew by. This idea had been in my head since last week, and after reading some letters to the editor complaining about it, I decided to act. I think it's the better of the two roughs.

I like the layout and the wording flows better.

Now we'll see how they stand up to my editor's scrutiny. I'll keep you posted.

-E

Nepotism 101

There are few things that I hate more than nepotism. Especially in this case. Seems that the Baker County School Board is getting first dibs on placing their kids with the best teachers in the district, while the people who pay their salaries (i.e., taxpayers) are left literally standing in the cold, in line, waiting to get the scraps. It sucks. Someone mentioned that this made for a less than level playing field, and I tried that idea in a sketch that I didn't like. I'll post that one so you can see what an axed idea looks like.

I did like the idea that a School Board Employee wouldn't know that Nepotism was a real word, but it wasn't enough to sell me on the idea. I ended up going with a basketball metaphor, just because I didn't want to do the obvious, and I thought the football field one was too wordy and busy.

And yes Clay, I have been feeling a little snarky lately.

}:-[

Aiding and Abetting

I got this cartoon idea today while driving my car. For some reason, driving will occasionally cause ideas to just pop into my head. I don't know if it's because I'm distracted or what, but it works. Anyway, I was listening to Terry Gross interviewing Thomas Friedman about his new book, and the idea came like a lightning bolt. She asked him point blank if he believed that America's over-dependence on oil has actually funded terrorism, and he say emphatically - yes. Actually, he said, "are you kidding?!" He was also mocking the recent Republican Convention "chant." Here's the result.

I think my Sarah Palin is about worked out now. She turned out to be pretty easy. To draw.

-----------------------------------------

Rant Alert!

While I'm on the subject, if one more person asks me to draw Sarah Palin as a pit bull with lipstick, I think I'm gonna scream. And, more importantly, if I see one more cartoonist draw said obvious cartoon reference again, I think I'm gonna puke. Shouldn't you (as a professional), even for a second, stop to think "hey, I wonder if someone else might be doing this? Or even ask yourself, "I wonder if I should go and SEE if someone else has done this before I re-invent the wheel?" Please. Stop. I'm begging you. I can't take it anymore.

Rant over.

-E

Sunday Figure Drawing Class

Well, another Sunday, another drawing class in the bag. I'm pretty much back to where I was drawing the figure in 2002. It's not like me to take such a long hiatus away from it, but it has been fun getting back to it again. We had a model today who can really strike some dynamic poses. I enjoy drawing her because of the fluidity of motion in her stances. The line of action is also very distinct, and the energy is obvious. For my skeleton study, I decided to go back into the drawing in Photoshop and "punch up" the value contrasts. I also left sepia color in some of the photos because I thought it looked cool (one of those beautiful mistakes that sometimes happen). Here's a few gestures, some 25 minute poses, and a longer reclining. I'm posting my favorite of the day at the top this time. I sat on the floor for this drawing so as to emphasize a dramatic worm's eye view of the figure. Enjoy.