Friday, December 19, 2008

This year's card

Christmas cards past -- 2007


Back to my tree obsession.

Christmas cards past -- 2006

Bought my beloved 1955 Buick Special that year from pal Mike Berry, and just naturally had to work it into our Christmas card.

Christmas cards past -- 2005


This one's a watercolor.

Christmas cards past -- 2004

Christmas cards past -- 2003


Another of my daughter, Haley's drawings, Photoshopped.

Christmas cards past -- 1999


Photoshop enters the picture, so to speak. This may be my favorite of all our cards. Haley's elf drawing seems to capture the magic of the season in a way no adult's drawing could ever do.

Cristmas cards past -- 1998

Zipping ahead in time, I started incorporating Haley's drawings into the card design. I am totally nuts about those beautiful angels. This was our house in College Hill on North Yale.




Christmas cards past -- 1994


Daughter was 1 years old when this one was sent out.

Christmas cards past -- 1993

In the spirit of the season, nostalgia and all that, I thought I'd post some of the cards I've drawn for my family. This one is from the year our daughter was born. At the time, of course, she hadn't arrived yet. She eventually made her appearance on Christmas Eve at about 11:30 p.m.

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Friday, December 5, 2008

"Out-Beatled the Beatles???"



That's what the host of this 1966 tv show says about Billy Thorpe and the Aztecs. Very groovy. Wish I could get our band, Pop and the Boys, to work up this kind of choreography. Maybe we could out-split Split Lip! Nah. Never happen.

By the way, Pop and the Boys will be at Rockin' Daddy's this Saturday night from 9:30 on. Come get your groove on with us.

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Where are you now, Franz Van?




I'm a bit silly about Christmas. I really enjoy this time of year. Way too much to be a grownup.

One of the things I've always done is collect old magazines. The Christmas issues are my favorite. Somehow in my estate sale combing, I've acquired these old Christmas Ideals magazines. They're full of sentimental over-the-top poems and short essays about the season. But mostly they're full of all sorts of Christmas images. I'm image-oriented, to be sure. Here are 2 of the more intriguing paintings from the inside front and back covers of the 1965 issue. The artist signs it "Franz Van." I love the heavily stylized look of it -- the weirdly tall trees with feathers instead of needles, the fun figures ice skating and the mysterious mountainous setting. It could easily have been a background in Disney's Fantasia. I tried Googling Franz Van with no success. You have to wonder if he may have been an animation artist. Very dream-like image. I wanta go there!

What "liberal media"???

Hank found the Palin vid to be more proof of the liberal media. Says they set up Sarah "You betcha" Palin with the turkey slaughter in the background. I don't buy the "liberal media" line one little bit. Conservative, establishment, big business runs the media in America. The "leftist media" might be the biggest straw man ever erected in the well-plowed fields of American political discourse.