Happy New Year!

It's time to celebrate and here are a few New Year's cartoons for you to enjoy.

And, of course, what's a New Year without snarky cat comments?

Bad Pen Day!

We had a lovely Christmas with friends Mike (cartoonist and well known  blogger) and Stacy Lynch. John cooked boeuf bourguignon and Stacy brought a yummy veggie dish. I made a microwave dumpling (actual recipe from an old Scottish lady). There was singing. There was fiddle playing. There was cartoon and movie talk. So, all in all a great day!

Fast forward to Sunday. Sundays I read the paper and then usually write or draw or both. But alas. It was NOT so easy. The following is the story of:

12 Cartoons About Christmas

I love doing holiday cartoons because you can play around with themes and ideas and characters. This was one of my favorites. You see a lot of dogs sacrificed to the holiday gods and dressed in little Santa or reindeer outfits.

The above is probably my very favorite of my Christmas cartoons. I love drawing space aliens. These 3 are particularly sneaky.

I draw a lot of Christmas cat cartoons. I'll post a couple here. Cats can be very laid back about holidays. They do love the idea of a tree brought into the house... and all those dangly things just waiting for a paw to knock it off and get batted around!                                    

Here's another dog one. This one features a cute puppy.

 Mistletoe is always fun to use as a prop.

 
Computers have helped to modernize the holidays like the cartoons above, and below.

                   

Next to the alien cartoon, the next one is another of my personal favorites:

I like to draw Santa. Those Santas you might see at the mall or on a street corner are fun.

The one below is another one I really enjoyed doing. I mean, decorating and undecorating a tree is a LOT of work!

And finally a kid cartoon. I have many, many others, if I have some time, I may post some more tomorrow. For now, here is the 12th cartoon. Hope you enjoy them!

       

Love Actually : Best Christmas Movie Ever

If you haven't seen "Love Actually" before, get thee to Netflix or the nearest library (next to Netflix the most popular place to get movies) and then wrap yourself in a comfy blankie with some hot chocolate and bask in the hilarity and poignancy of this multi-faceted, perfectly cast film. Nico and I watch this every year and we also saw it several times in the movies when it came out. Trust us. You will love this movie!

The story of an inter-connected group of people during the week or so leading up to Christmas. Some are family. Some friends. Some co-workers. Some are Hugh Grant, Liam Neeson and Thomas Sangster as Liam's heartbreaking little step-son, Colin Firth, Andrew Lincoln, Alan Rickman and Bill Nighy, so funny, as a few of the guys and Kiera Knightley, Emma Thompson, Laura Linney (BAD decision making Ms. Laura!), adorable Martine McCutcheon (as Natalie), as some of the girls.

There are several boo-hoo moments. Be prepared. There is also the beautiful city of London decked out for the holidays. What could be more Christmas-y?

Here, though the miracle of embedding, is Bill Nighy as a former pop star making a comeback with a holiday take on a classic rock song. It's the only version I could find, but enjoyable none the less.

So, have a very Merry Christmas! I will try and post some holiday cartoons tomorrow or the next day. Until then, here is another photo and the official trailer!

Catnip and Crunchies

Finally finished my new cat calendar for 2011! What a LOT of work. I send them to friends and family, but if you are looking for a last minute fun gift, here's a link and a couple of selections!
Catnip and Crunchies Calendar

Happy Non-Specific Generic

Years ago, in the 80's, I did a comic strip called the "Terrible Tea Time". I wanted to create the type of strip I wanted to read. I have written about this strip before. It starred 2 nameless women who were friends / room mates and who complained a lot. They had a cat. Various boyfriends. And a maid who was in control of everything. Including them.  It's very rough looking and minimalist looked at today, but I still like it. I resurrected them for a Christmas card at the height of political correctness. Here is the card laid out in strip form. I hope it's legible. My handwriting has realllly improved, believe it or not!

                                                          

Holidays, Holidays

Working at the library is rewarding and fun. And nothing is as rewarding and fun as combining cartooning with library work! I've been running the cartoon club going on 8 years and I've had some terrific kids as members and this group is especially good and enthusiastic. We met this past Monday and for this meeting I had them draw cartoon holiday cards. Once they had drawn them up I made them each a few copies so they could send them out to family and friends. I wish I'd snagged a couple of the copies, but the class went by so fast they all took them home. For every meeting I draw up samples of what we'll be doing for that class. I drew up a sample holiday card and ended up really liking it, so,here it is. First the original which is on an 8 1/2 x 11 sheet of paper that gets folded up.
                               

             Now, colored and as a story:

                       
                        
Another group I started and have been running for almost 8 years is the Adult Writers' Group. They are a varied and multi-talented bunch which includes a singer/songwriter, memoirists and poets. I really enjoy them and wanted to do something special so I came up with the idea of asking them to e-mail me holiday and winter poems and stories and collecting them into a little book. Our Director liked the idea and had the covers copied at Staples so they would be in color. The group meets Monday and everyone will get a copy. Here's the cover. I wanted it to look handmade and with a sort of 50's vibe.

                                            front

   

                                            back
I'll be looking forward to Monday when everyone gets a copy. Maybe I'll bake some cookies to take in. After all...nothing says holiday more than some great writing and a plate of home baked cookies!