A Month of Letters: A Letter from the Midwest (Delivered by Art)

Nothing beats getting a neat letter in the mail.  And as the "Month of Letters" (lettermo.com) comes to a close on this Leap Day, I thought I should share an exchange of mail.  Below is a letter typed on a Remington Mark II typewriter (yes, people still use them!  Cool people, at least) owned by my new friend Jackie from Illinois.

Very cool.  I included the clumsily torn open envelope also, because Jackie was kind enough to seal the envelope with a very cool little sticker.  It is enjoyable to see the variations in tone and texture that a mechanical typewriter makes on paper.  I have only typed on a mechanical typewriter a couple of times.  Too frustrating for me.  Let's just say that there was more Wite-Out on the typed page than actual typing.  I like retro things, and I understand the value of the mechanical typewriter in history, but I think I will stick with computers.

In return, I sent Jackie a postcard featuring those two unlikely heroes: Duke McMahon & O'Roark. Jackie randomly mentioned a squirrel in her letter, so I randomly included a squirrel in the comic.  I found that I liked using this 6"x8" watercolor paper as a kind of oversized postcard (requires first class stamp), and when I used a small envelope to trace a rectangle, it seemed to make for a nice 2-panel comic format.  Easily adaptable to a "before and after"  or setup and punchline format.

And I included an additional pen sketch of some of the tools I used to make the postcard.  Jealous You didn't get an original art postcard from me?  Well, there is always next February!  Or you could send me something, and maybe I will send you something in return.  E-mail me at inkpuddle@hotmail.com.

My Friend Lucy: A Month of Letters (Delivered by Art)

February 9, 2012:

I wanted to be sure to send something in the mail to my friend Lucy.  Some people have called Lucy a real bitch, but she is my friend and always will be.  She has always been nice to me.  I remember when I visited her and I took her photograph for her mom and dad.  She was great.  Anyway, I hope Lucy likes this.

Postcard sent to my friend Lucy

A Month of Letters: Dickens (Delivered by Art)

February 7, 2012:

Today is the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Dickens, so I thought I would do a post and a "Month of Letters" post, and celebrate the author who brought us many a classic, including A Christmas Carol.  Below is an envelope featuring a portrait of Dickens himself.  The card inside features Scrooge peering out of his bed curtains.

ink on brown kraft paper card and envelope

Want to learn more about "A Month of Letters"?  Check out www.lettermo.com.

A Month of Letters: February 2, 2012 (Delivered by Art)

Today is James Joyce's birthday!  And it is Brent Spiner's birthday!  And it's Groundhog Day!  Hooray!  And it is Day 2 of "A Month of Letters" (see http://www.lettermo.com for more details).  I have waited too long to write to my two good friends (and their two adorable children), who moved to Texas late in 2011.

I added some faux treasure map features to the envelope, with some coloring and some disproportionate drawings of the states of NJ and TX.

A Month of Letters: February 1, 2012 (Delivered by Art)

February 1, 2012.

I am actually going to follow through with this, I swear!  Letter #1 on February 1 goes to the girlfriend.  2 pages, with cartoon sketch of Henry the Dog, with marker decorated envelope.

Decided to make this small enough so you can't read it easily.  Not that I am hiding anything, but it's my private mail and correspondence, you know?  I may be a blogger, but that doesn't mean the Internet needs to know everything I do.  Want to know more about "A Month of Letters"? Go to http://www.lettermo.com and check it out.

Want me to send you mail/art?  E-mail me at inkpuddle@hotmail.com.

The French Couple (Delivered by Art)

Ah, more art from James Webner, from San Francisco, sent via the U.S. Mail on a postcard.

"The French Couple," James Webner, pencil & ink on watercolor paper, 2011

And the back.

And a stamp featuring Calvin & Hobbes

Rapunzel (Delivered by Art)

Hey there, Puddlers!  It's another installment of "Delivered by Art."  Here is yet more art that has traveled coast-to-coast, from foggy San Francisco to stinky New Jersey through the US Postal Service, which is concerning, because how much time left does the USPS have?  If you haven't been reading up on all the layoffs and mail processing plant closures, what we know as the Snail Mail, the semi-private, semi-government agency started here in the US by Ben Franklin is in dire trouble.  How many more postcard works of art will I be able to send and receive?  It troubles me.

"Rapunzel" postcard, pen and ink on paper, by James Webner

Recently, I have been posting Fairy Tale influenced sketches on my Tumblr site http://sketches.inkpuddle.com. I have the permanent link to the site on the right hand side of this blog.  Anyway, taking a page out of The Brothers Grimm's book, Jim Webner has been doing a seven (7) postcard series on Rapunzel, or what he calls "The Most Lamentable Tragedy of Rapunzel or How Children Will Ruin Your Life Everytime."  Re-examining fairy tales* without the saccharine sweet frosting of the Disney Company slathered all over them can be quite enjoyable and an eye-opening experience.  In my own sketches, I have been returning to the source material for ideas but I also like to think about the popular conception of fairy tale and either turning that notion on its head or taking it in a new direction.  Essentially, this is a never-ending cycle shared by story tellers of all media.  There has recently been a trend to re-interpret and re-introduce elements of folk and fairy tales into popular culture with TV shows like Grimm and Once Upon a Time.  To read translations of the stories the Grimms compiled, click HERE.

I include the back of this postcard only to show that this piece of paper did, in fact, travel coast-to-coast (notice the San Francisco postmark).  Here is postcard #2.

Second "Rapunzel" postcard, pen and ink on paper

Does this sound like the story of Rapunzel you remember?  Again, try to forget any cartoon versions you saw as a kid, and once again, I refer you to the source material (the link is above).  So, check back here on Ink Puddle to see more of Jim's "Rapunzel" postcards.

Have a favorite fairy tale you remember as a kid?  Send me an e-mail, and I will try to sketch it.  inkpuddle@hotmail.com  And in the meantime, check out some of my "Goldilocks and the Three Bears" and "Little Red Riding Hood" sketches at my Tumblr sketch blog.

*I am using the phrase "fairy tale" in the general sense of folk tales (usually with a cautionary or fable aspect to it) from any number of cultures from around the world.  For a more in-depth look at fairies or faeries or the fay, you can click HERE.

Deal with the Devil (Delivered by Art)

Faust did it.  Supposedly, Robert Johnson did it.  What, you ask?  Sell their souls to the Devil, of course.  We have all thought about it for a moment or two in our lives.  Many people ask "if you could have anything in the world, what would it be?", but how many ask what the cost will be.  Hailing from South Jersey as I do, the mentioning of the Devil doesn't just summon images of the fallen angel Lucifer but also the Garden State's own cryptozoological wonder known as The Jersey Devil.  I think both are apropos considering Halloween is just around the corner.  This little postcard depicts a potentially unsavory transaction occurring.  I received this postcard years ago from a mysterious figure who would only sign his works "Varga."

Ink and marker on watercolor postcard

I don't recall making any diabolical deals.

Sequential Artists Workshop (Delivered by Art)

Yet another installment of "Delivered by Art."  Through Twitter you can find numerous interesting people as well as causes.  One that I found was SAW (Sequential Artists Workshop).  They were looking for donations to start up a workshop on comics down in Florida.  I have mentioned them before on this blog.

Click on the image to see their website.  Comics have it tough enough as it is.  Even though comic series and graphic novels have gained in popularity and respect, it does not receive the same consideration when it comes to educational funding.  I was happy to lend some cash to the cause, and for one of my donations, I received the following postcard.

Batman reading an Archie comic?  Nice crossover.   I like how he is sweating (I guess because he is running).   This is clearly not Bruce Wayne at his best.  He also has worry lines.  Maybe Archie is about to once again blow it with Veronica.

Best of luck, guys!  Want to learn more?  Visit their website (http://www.sequentialartistsworkshop.org/) and follow them on twitter @comicsworkshop

Fools Aplenty (Delivered by Art)

Here is another installment of "Delivered by Art."  This particular piece jumped the line, because I just received it, and liked it, and remembered that I could bring a couple other issued into the post.  This is from Jim again.  He said he would continue sending me art via postcards and I am glad he is following through with it.  Here we have Jim's foray into the world of the occult and divination by way sarcasm.
It's from what Jim labels as "The Aimless Hipster's San Francisco Tarot."  From an artistic standpoint, I am enjoying the watercolor work and the inclusion of the landscape and landmarks of San Francisco, as well as the inclusion of the pipe (Jim is a pipe smoker) and the scroll border.  This is the figure of "The Fool."  The Fool is an interesting character, because although he is sometimes portrayed in motley like a court jester or juggler, in the arcana of the Tarot, the Fool is not the butt of a joke or a simpleton who job it is to amuse others.  Instead, the Fool is a character on a journey, open to new experiences, willing to let the journey be the destination.

The Fool is the spirit in search of experience. He represents the mystical cleverness bereft of reason within us, the childlike ability to tune into the inner workings of the world ("The Fool (Tarot card)" Wikipedia article)

I think writers and artists are quick to empathize with the Fool and can identify and perhaps even strive to emulate the fool. It is not always easy to open yourself up to change and be willing to be swept away by what life has to offer. I love looking at Tarot cards, seeing the artwork and the variation of style and content using the same set of templates. And I will admit to enjoy considering the quasi-mystical element of the cards as well.  Cards that can foresee the future?  That is pretty cool if you ask me.  But it is that spirit of openness and willing to take what life and the future have to offer that inspired me to use the figure of the fool in a short comic I did on New Year resolutions (You can click on the image to view the post with the comic or CLICK HERE).  I made my Fool card from looking at probably the most recognizable set of Tarot cards, known as the Waite-Smith deck or the Rider-Waite deck (and also known by like a dozen other names).  I include the image of the fool to provide a comparison.  I would say that Jim's Fool is more of a departure and more original rendition of the Fool card.  I was definitely going for image recognition and a connection to the Waite-Smith deck.

I remember meeting an artist/illustrator a the Haddonfield Arts Festival last year, and he had recently landed a gig where he would be doing the illustrations for a deck of Old Maid cards, and I thought that was great, and it opened my mind to the idea of how your illustrations could be marketed and what kind of products your art could be attached to.  I immediately had a Tarot deck in mind.  It would make a quite an extended and prolonged project to do all the cards of the Tarot, but I think it would be pretty great to have a collection of illustrations, all drawn and painted in the same style, working off the basic template of the Tarot, but leaving plenty of room for interpretation.  That one project, creating a Tarot deck, would be an entire portfolio of work.  Jim's postcard says that it is the first of a series, so I will look for more in the future.  In the meantime check out a pretty interesting novel that features a deck of Tarot cards, and a link to a Rider-Waite deck.

American History in markers on a postcard (Delivered by Art)

I was hoping to post several different posts before doing another "Delivered by Art" post, but that did not happen.  You might also notice that the stamps on this postcard have not been cancelled, and that is because the postcard has not yet been mailed.  I don't expect to get this postcard back...ever, because it is a gift, but why not preserve it digitally before it gets thrown into the US Postal system.

I googled an image of Frederick Douglass for this postcard.  I liked his hair in this photo.  Actually, he has pretty great hair in every image ever taken of him.  So I magnified the image in my web browser, took out my markers and started laying down lines.  Started with a very light gray.  I have been using it almost  like a pencil in that I am laying down guidelines.  They are faint and won't show up heavily later, and I kind of like the jumping right to markers and not trying to do several pencil sketches first, constantly refining it.  I don't like trying to replicate the image exactly, so I took some liberties.  Overall, I liked how it came out.  Maybe I will do a whole series of sketches on Douglass.  Great hair on that guy.  The whole abolition thing was pretty great, too, but that hair.  Wow.

Markers and ink on Canson brand watercolor postcard

Here is the back.

I stand by my comments on brilliant men and crazy hair.  James Brown would be another example.  Yahoo Serious is a glaring exception, however.

Delivered by Art (The First Post)

A fellow artist friend of mine has been sending me postcards featuring his work.  He tends to throw away his artwork (crazy, right?), and I tend to keep everything, including the lint from my pocket.  So, it works out that I will be acting as a kind of archivist or curator for at least some of his artwork.  It also dawned on me that I have mailed artwork via postcards myself.  In fact, from myself to myself, which is a bit odd, but whatever.  And then I realized that I recently got a postcard for supporting SAW (Sequential Artists Workshop), so I put them together, and I got about 8 postcards, so that is plenty to start making posts out of them.

Want to learn more about SAW?  Check out their website by clicking on the image above, and be sure to follow them on Twitter @comicsworkshop. But I digress.  Here is the first of Jim's postcards:

Hemingway and Castro by Jim Webner, pen and ink with watercolors

And I uploaded the back, because it features a classic Beetle Bailey cartoon strip stamp.

Stay tuned for more postcard art from the road.  Want to send my a postcard?  E-mail me at inkpuddle@hotmail.com.