US Grant

False Virgins

Some people saw the caricature I did of myself from late 80's and accused me of sporting a mullet. Not true. I had a full-on rock star ponytail. After we got married, Lori asked if I would let it grow. So, I did. I was smoking hot (as you can see in the photo) and the ladies loved it but, I didn't like long hair and found it more manageable when pulled back out of the way. I think I was 24 when this photo was taken. Hard core, right?
The posters were drawn by a cartoonist named Danny Hellman.

Disneyland

My daughter's 16th birthday is rapidly approaching. She requested a day at Disneyland. I released her into the wild at 10 am Saturday and used my free time to sketch and paint.
As a student at SVA, my "Satirical Cartoon" instructor Harvey Kurtzman got me hooked on a great set of opaque watercolors in pots by Grumbacher called "Symphonic." It came in a super 7x9 (approx) portable plastic case with cover doubling as mixing tray. Unfortunately, Grumbacher no longer produces the kit and the opaque watercolor kits they do produce pale in comparison. I don't know if the paint formulas have changed or if it's my imagination but now the colors are very chalky and don't have the brilliance they once had.
These pages were painted with a set of Pelikan opaque watercolors. I like them. They are pretty chalky but, they mix well and the colors are bright. Goauche in pots is an "iffy" proposition to begin with. Anyway, I still have the Symphonic case.

John and Lori

Back in the late 70's, as a student at Cedar Ridge High School in Old Bridge NJ my art teacher got me started on my love/hate relationship with Rapidograph pens. I liked the consistency of the water resistant inks and the uniform line produced by the pen. I have to admit it also made me feel like a real artist as they are real tools. I kept a sketchbook regularly and filled them up with fussy cross-hatched cartoons, It was good training and while I don't ever use Rapidograph pens anymore I still like some of the stuff I did back in those halcyon days.
Anyone who's ever used one of those pens will tell you they require constant cleaning and maintenance but, clog up in spite of your best effort. And they explode on you too. Open the cap and you're suddenly covered in waterproof ink. My fingers were always black back then. Like little coal miners emerging from the hole. But, I stuck with them for years until I finally learned to draw with a brush and then much later could afford to buy better quality fountain pens.
These drawings are from the late 80's. Lori and I got married on November 7, 1987. We lived in a one bedroom apartment in my home town surrounded by cranky old people who would fall asleep with pots on the stove or cigarettes in their mouths which would often lead to fire trucks and evacuations. I don't miss those days.
I recently spoke at a local junior college about my career. I prepared a magnificent presentation of my life and work and all the little turns in the road which lead me to the place I am in today. I went through the files and old portfolios to dig out some of the work I did at an age comparable to the students to whom I would be speaking.
I did the caricature of the newlyweds for our second anniversary and I'm pretty sure it hung in a frame on our wall. The caricature of Lori was done in my sketchbook on a trip we took to Harrisonburg, VA to visit my pal Geno.

Rich

Dolphin Encounter, Sea World, San Diego CA

Amtrak

Balboa Park, San Diego CA

Gideon Welles