09.13.92 week in revue

Rather than comment on the content, here are a few notes on how this page evolved during this week of 1992. I clipped the heading, “Looking for Trouble” which lead me to the unrest in Africa clipping. Which lead me to the old west comedic character. The checkerboard and spheres were added for visual interest. The Hollywood obit of everyone’s favorite neighbor, “Norman Bates,” was added to balance out the right half of the page. The clipped blue text blanket statement was included to give graphic balance and tie in the blues.

08.16.92 week in revue

The Queen of England was not pleased with the manor of commoner Sarah Ferguson and her split with Prince Andrew. I think my graphics make this clear. Yeltsin was back in the news again with $60 vouchers for Russia’s 150 million people in a “bold” effort to boost the economy. Reminds me of the recent stimulus most of us received this past spring. I had to hire an account to handle the extra $13. Bush looks overly optimistic as well.

08.02.92 week in revue

The big man rules the roost. Jay Leno, that is. Arsenio Hall tried to slice into the late night ratings but fell far short. Just goes to prove goods looks aren’t everything. Having a much longer reign than Arsenio, Mobutu ultimately died in exile three years later. A NASA shuttle mission made the news as well as.

Bird Design Trio

Three unpublished designs for a personal icon I created recently. Simplicity and flowing motion is the key to these graceful, abstract designs.

07.26.92 week in revue

This week, illusionist Harry “Carrier” Bopespiel goes for the ride of his life, while Bush takes a punch at Hussein. Democratic candidates take to the road ala Dr. Richard Kimble. All three were trying to hide their real identity. The USA comes up big in Barcelona.

07.19.92 week in revue

More fun visuals this week as Saddam continues to upset everyone’s stomach. President Bush verbally decks an audience heckler. Saddam appears to take his remarks personally. The summer Olympics get under way in Barcelona.

07.12.92 Week in Revue

Ross Perot seemed to be the man for president. He talked a lot. He ran and ran and ran (his mouth) but came up short behind the Clinton machine. The road signs support his demise. Local flooding opened up alternative transportation options this week as well.

Christmas with Strangers

In this final segment of four, we find our muddy, disheveled, young and very pregnant couple on the porch of benevolent people. A day that started with potentially fatal results ended in the comfort of a warm home, celebrating Christmas with strangers. The same day when another couple, long ago, was also welcomed by strangers in Bethlehem.

The Crash Scene

In part three of, "Christmas Morning with Strangers," the author’s mother recalls they were proceeding at tree-top level after awhile and began noticing the ground getting very close. Then a terrible jolt. Although flying low and level, the terrain decided to go its own way and grab the main wheels. So the occupants found themselves upside down in a muddy field. No fire or explosion. The pilot was the worse of the three with cuts to his head. All were banged around pretty good but nothing life threatening.

07.05.92 week in revue

Some fun this week. Clinton revived his campaign in rather amazing fashion. You will note a lean, more energy efficient Al Gore, as well. Boris Yeltsin’s yearly checkup brought new demands for the Soviet leader….getting into spandex. Doctors ordered him to get "excersized." Finally, one of TV’s earliest journalists signed off for the last time.

A Foggy Start

Today’s drawing depicts a single engine plane of the late forties and its three passengers. The plane did not have an electric starter like today‘s private aircraft. One had to hand-prop the plane. It is the equivalent to popping the clutch on a manual transmission auto. Fortunately, for the husband doing this cranking, the engine started the first time.

Federal aviation regulations would indeed frown on this type of flying today. The author states that, aside from being very dumb to fly in these conditions, the pilot would lose his license. In this case, assuming he was spotted on a dense, foggy, Christmas morning, that is.

The flight went well. For awhile. The density of the fog varied until it got much worse.

06.28.92 week in revue

After a participant is killed, Florida issues a ban on further bungee jumping. Tornadoes rip through the south but the gentleman in the straw hat seems more interested in the bungee jumper‘s future. During his first public appearance, the president of Algeria was assassinated by his body guard. Reason #43 for running background checks on your employees.

Foggy Christmas Morning, 1949

This is the first of four pencil drawings I will post. The drawings help illustrate a story for a gift book entitled, “Christmas Morning with Strangers.” It is an inspirational, true story about a light plane crash on a foggy Christmas morning in 1949 involving a young, expectant, married couple, their pilot uncle, and the hospitality of a nearby family. Thankfully, everyone survived the crash. Ironically, the author of this story is today an experienced pilot and his mother was 9 months pregnant with him as the story opens.

First up, today, is the arrival of the plane at the couple’s Oklahoma farm on that foggy morning. The plane has been parked and awaits its journey. The anticipation of being with family for Christmas overrules any logical fear of flying in dense fog. Typical of the era, a grass taxiway and dirt road were their catapult to the air.

The drawings retain more detail than the foggy conditions would have provided. In reality, a blank canvas might have been more accurate. But the author and I did not want to lose the story’s content.

06.21.92 week in revue

A dichotomy of speed this week. Nine NASCAR teams were invited to Indy to participate in a Goodyear tire test, which was, in reality, an unofficial test to see if stock cars could be competitive in such a circuit. The Brickyard 400, now called Allstate 400 at the Brickyard, began two years later. A labor dispute idled Amtrak but no one noticed any difference in service. This, a lack of speed, while the crisis in Rwanda accelerated. Sputtering out of the pit is the notion that freedom of speech means you can say anything you wish no matter how offensive. Freedom to express our opinions concerning our nation - that “we the people” thing - is what our founding fathers had in mind, dude.

06.14.92 week in revue

The week will all anticipated. Boris coming to America. A tour of Kansas revealed a lot about what the Russians do not have. Profits. You go, Boris! Sears had some repair problems of their own, made worse by pessimistic reporting. Two unusual suspects show support for each other. The page design moves the eye around pretty well between positive and negative spaces. Appropriate repetition is used to good advantage.

06.07.92 week in revue

The Siege of Sarajevo was the longest siege of a capital city in the history of modern warfare. The Serbs blockaded the city and residents came very close to complete starvation. Their only chance for survival depended on the success of UN airlifts from the Sarajevo airport that was opened in late June. An estimated 10,000 persons were killed or went missing in the city. The dictator/terrorist from Iraq continued to make headlines. A lighter bit of news was the ban of water canons in Boston. “You could put your eye out with that thing.”

05.24.92 week in revue

The Indianapolis 500 dominates the week, although I am not a huge fan of people going in circles. The 500 image anchors the page and the repetition of two major headlines forces the eye from top to bottom, left to right. At this point, you may create your own pun if you feel led to do so. Ironically, Leno started and ends his reign as host during the same week. There we go in circles again. And Limbaugh proves you cannot lose weight sitting 15 hours a week.

05.10.92 week in revue

For many, the big news of the week was the space walk and retrieval of a wandering satellite. Ironically, this week in 2009 has another dangerous space walk mission. The graphics play off this theme. Sadly, Percy Dovetonsils had no part in the historic space walk. For those familiar with the innovative Ernie Kovaks, a pioneer in satiric skits and characters long before SNL, Percy was the soused poet in stunning eyewear who loved to share his poems, giggling all the while between sips of his martini. In another bazaar portrayal, here in the states we saw a lot of Barry Humphries, alias Dame Edna Everage. Humphries’ long-standing comedic character brought international fame.

The layout design works fairly well here. Where English is the standard, we tend to read top left to lower right. The visuals here help take the eye on that journey. There is repetition in the horizontal headlines and the circle theme. The earth graphic and the square, space image offer a balance on the page.

So Sew Tailor

This pencil illustration was for a www.libertyridge.com mailer. The campaign was promoting tailor-made living and just as a tailor custom fits formal wear, this community offers amenities to suit every senior’s lifestyle. My wife posed as the hand and measuring tape model. The face was created from another source. I chose a hairstyle and dress from mid-twentieth century in an attempt to establish a relationship with the prospective senior. Not sure how much the drawing helped the campaign in the short term, but the community has established itself as one of the most successful senior communities in the midwest.

Converging Steel

Very chilly and windy when I sketched this in downtown Muncie, Indiana, so I stayed in my mobile studio (VW). Muncie was once a hotbed of New York Central rail traffic and for some annoyed motorists it still is today, though under a different logo. Double-track main line for CSX and two converging Norfolk Southern lines is the reason. One NSRR line heads west to Frankfort, Indiana, site of my earlier posts on 19 March.

The communication poles, rail signals and converging tracks attracted my attention. Then I noticed an old freight depot in the distance right in the middle of the scene. The old New York Central depot once stood behind the tree. You will have to go to (conveniently located 60 miles away) Indianapolis if you want a rail ticket, however. Another Muncie depot thrives on the former Chesapeake & Ohio line, but no rail ticket there either. It has been completely restored and houses an office for the Muncie Cardinal Greenway rail-trail system.