Ooh, E's a Card, Innee?

Now he's dropped on to the floor,
Heading for the bedroom door.
(Boris the Spider - Keith Moon)


This was my entry for last month's Caricature Competition. What's that? Where have I been? Where haven't I been! Busy busy busy. Caught Doctor Faustus at the Globe (No, it's not a disease, madam.) Brill, really enjoyed it. Scary devils and everything. But, I'm not here to talk about that. We are here to discuss the piece of art-that-may-be-enlarged-by-clicking-on-it on your left.
Overall I'm very pleased with this. Eleven points in all and fifth out of eight entries. I had intended to present this piece of cutting edge political satire in colour, but I loaded the pencils into Photoshop using greyscale (Thick? Me? Errrrmm, yes) which meant that I couldn't  access the veritable rainbow of hues usually available to me. Still, never mind. Musn't grumble and all that.
Why is he carrying a cudgel behind his back? Because, and this is just my personal opinion, I believe that behind all his 'I'm just a bluff old duffer who just seemed to blunder into extra-marital affairs and sack Metropolian Police Commissioners' face is a cunning, knowing, upper-echelon thug who knows exactly what he is doing and knows precisely why the word piccaninny is so deeply offensive.
Coo, a bit heavy this week, eh?
I didn't have time to enter this week's Caption Competition, which was a shame. I had an idea ready to draw up which I am absolutely sure would have won first place. Still, it wasn't to be. Perhaps I should draw it up anyway and post it here. Yeah, maybe I'll do that. Just a bit of fun. It involves Gangsters and cement. Intrigued? Well, don' get too nosey if ya wanna stay healthy.

Where are the songs of Spring?

There is a very Keatsian feel to my entry for this week's competition. It was a do-your-own-thing option with a theme of Autumn. Upon seeing the theme, my mind immediately switched to R.P.D.M (Romantic Poets Default Mode). In fact, I defy anybody  to look at the word Autumn and NOT think of Keats' ode To Autumn. Go on! See! It can't be done.
The walkers in my cartoon are wearing rather outmoded costumes (costumes? - apparel). I mean, come on! Bobble hats? Fair enough,but I would contend that a bobble hat is a far more sensible piece of outdoor wear than a matching cagoule and gaiters (that particular combination just looks silly).
The cartoon itself is loosely based on reality. Alas, dear reader, I am guilty of making inane comments repeatedly during inclement weather, inducing my wife to make life-threatening statements of intent. In my favour, I do not wear gaiters and my woolly hat is bobbleless (it does make me look like a serial killer, unfortunately).
Looking at the cartoon objectively, there are still areas in dire need of improvement, but on the whole I'm quite pleased with it. The cat was a fairly late addition.

When Fetishes Clash!!!

Hmmm. The original rough sketch worked a little bit better than this,but I'm not going to show it because it was pretty much stick figures doing rude things.
By the way, this isn't me working through some deeply disturbing Freudian sexual urges (but, having drawn it, maybe it is - that's a bit worrying, isn't it?). No, this is this week's entry for the CCGB caption competition. Well, now. Quite a few flaws, but some improvements. Hands are getting better - drawing mittens helped enormously. Side-on foot is a complete no no and looks bloody amateurish. Perspective is slightly off-kilter too. In the rough I got the perspective pretty spot on and the poses were more dynamic too. The clean-up (ho ho!) pencils that preceded these inks stiffened things up (ooh -er! Fnar fnar!) which resulted in this dissatisfying artefact. I think the biggest fault is the fact that the dominatrix does not look like a dominatrix at all, but more like a comic-book super heroine. She started off with a top-knot and no flowing locks. Perhaps I should have stuck with that.
All that aside, I still garnered four ego-stroking points (stroked with mink fur and spiked heels).
As a little bit of research I tried looking for the most unlikely fetishes I could think of and I may have created a new one. I could not find anything relating to a sexual fetish for acorns, so I am officially announcing a new fetish. It involves acorns and dressing up as Eeyore. Any takers?

Dear Oh Dear Oh Dear!

Well, now. This is precisely what happens when you try to rush things. It is, of course, for the weekly caption competition way over yonder at the Cartoonists' Club of Grand Britannia. Honestly, I could kick myself (grunt, grunt, OOF! Oooh me hip!). The theme being The Swinging Sixties, my thoughts turned naturally to things Dalekian. Daleks, Hippies, Beatles; what could possibly go wrong? Timing. I wanted to draw this particular cartoon in colour. I thought it might be rather groovy to have a psychedelic Dalek, but I just didn't give myself enough time. In the event I found myself hard against the clock before closing time and this was the result. The words are on a slant, the execution is pretty poor and I forgot to take the pencil layer out when I saved the image. And look! I forgot to sign it too! Probably a subconscious effort to divorce myself from the whole sorry affair. And yet, and yet it still got a vote! Not really deserved, but gratefully received.
Could do better. See me.