Hay there

This blog has been trundling along for a few years- One of the early posts was about pop/rock festivals.

I too old and crumbly these days to even think about heading off to such hedonistic events. A comfy deckchair and a cucumber sandwich is more my scene now...

This is from the current Spectator magazine

The Love Cats

Predictions of the future in a film from the not so distant past...

"The Skynet Funding Bill is passed. The system goes online August 4th, 1997. Human decisions are removed from strategic defence. Skynet begins to learn at a geometric rate. It becomes self-aware 2.14 a.m. Eastern time, August 29th...."

Well, that didn't happen.

So what did become of Skynet?

It turned into the internet.

(this one is in Private Eye magazine)

Pitti Vintage

Once upon a time we had jumble sales- community centres full of psychotic grannies elbowing each other in the kidneys to get the best bargain.

These days it's more about pop-up shops selling 'vintage'.

A cartoon in The Spectator magazine

(I'm sure I still have stuff from the 80's...does that make me a vintage fashion victim, or am I just rubbish at buying new clothes?)

A cartoon!

Enough of the holiday pics- I'm supposed to be a cartoonist- so here is a cartoon from The Spectator a few weeks ago.

Siracusa

No cartoons again.

Instead you lucky people get to hear about yet another holiday...and yet another island in the Mediterranean.

Sicily this time- got back yesterday (flight of 1200 miles took 3 hours- as did 45 mile journey from Gatwick to home...thank you 'fast track' e-passport queue and the combined efforts of Southern and SouthWest trains- pah!)

I stayed here...

These days it looks a bit more like this...

Some streets in Ortigia, Siracusa look like this...

And the Piazza Duomo, Ortigia looks like this...

There are lizards...

And there are Spiders...

And I mostly floated about in here...

(which was nice)

L.H.O.O.Q

The longest day has passed- phew!

Night will soon be arriving at a sensible time, and with luck I might lose the summer artistic block.

It happens every year- maybe I shouldn't bother trying and just accept stuff is sub standard when it is warm and pleasant outside my window.

No decent ideas for a couple of months- no takes by the mags- but I do have something in print. 

This cartoon was thought up about 2 years ago and was originally drawn in my usual scratchy style.

I redrew it to send to some overseas markets- made it a bit glossier and 'finished'.

They didn't take it- but it did find a home back on these shores- in the cosy embrace of Saga magazine.

In case you're interested- compare and contrast...

Original drawing

The redraw- oh, and with the caption...

I also had another version with some extra detail- in case it wasn't clear what the joke was about- but then I wondered if that would make people think I was underestimating them...agghh! So I didn't send it.

I worry too much I reckon.

But here it is anyway

I still prefer the scratchy one- and I think the painting is nicer in that one too.
(If that really had been a Rembrandt it would have had a frame- something nice and ornate- but let's pretend not to notice that)

Ricky Lenin of the Rovers

The footie world cup is on- I’ve watched a few matches and have enjoyed it so far. I don't follow the sport at any other time, but who can resist the lure of Faroe Islands v Equatorial Guinea (live from São João do Rio do PeixeLott, on ITVRubbish at midnight)?

I was told once by a cartoon editor that most mags don't take football related cartoons.

I'm using that excuse as to why this one wasn’t taken- although it being not very good and a bit obscure could be more genuine reasons.

I drew it ages ago-after the death of a football coach, who I recalled was vilified by the press and hounded out of his job by fans- but was elevated to sainthood through the act of having a heart attack.

I was trying to make a point about the mawkishness and hypocrisy of the sport- football is now a game of two halves, typically preceded by a minute's silence respect for someone or other...