#living out my childhood syndicated cartoonist dreams

[short666bread]

01 Next

[acaseforpencils]

Mary Lawton.

Bio: I was born on Long Island, New York in 1958, and loved drawing and making art since I was pretty young. I remember really loving Rat Fink, the anti-hero of Mickey Mouse, and tracing pictures of him. I even had a plastic Rat Fink ring when I was eight. I am the youngest of a very loud and raucous group of six siblings who always encouraged me to make art. My parents were my biggest fans, they would parade their friends through my bedroom to show them the murals I drew on my walls. I read MAD and National Lampoon with a fervor, and I still remember some of the insanely hilarious cartoons I saw in those magazines, although Alfred E. Newman's face gave me nightmares. After backpacking in Europe for a while after high school, I moved to Boston in 1979, and became friends with a bunch of artists, some of them cartoonists and animators. We were all enamored of Lynda Barry and Matt Groening, who were bursting on to the alternative comics scene at the time. I devoured their comics, and also loved Roz Chast, B Kliban, William Steig, Mary Fleener, Gahan Wilson, and many others. I knew that I wanted to do what they were doing.

Find this print, here!

I was drawing very primitive, autobiographical strips about my childhood at that time. I sent them out to magazines and newspapers and they began to get published. It was a nice time to be an 'alt' cartoonist as there were so many markets and the pay was great. I also loved cooking, so I worked in restaurants during the day to make a living, and drew in my little bedroom/studio at night.  After ten years cooking and cartooning, I left Boston in 1989, moved to Manhattan, and worked at Chelsea Animation, an ink-and-paint studio on 23rd Street. Working there with a great group of like-minded artists was like going to a party every day. Non-stop hilarity. We all sat over our light tables wearing white cotton gloves, painting cels of all sorts of commercial animated films. At that time I took a few classes at the School of Visual Arts at night.  

Since then, my art has been in many magazines and newspapers, books, greeting cards, museums and galleries, and I've done a gazillion commissions. In the 1980's I sent samples of my cartoons to William Steig for his advice, because I just loved his drawings and books. He became my friend and mentor, and always encouraged me to send to The New Yorker. I did this for nearly thirty years and finally got one accepted in 2017. I have sold several to The New Yorker online, and a few more in their hard copy magazine. Around the same time, I was invited to join Six Chix, a comic strip by six women, a different one each day of the week, syndicated with King Features. It was created in 2000 by Jay Kennedy, the masterful editor at King, who died tragically in 2007.  Mine is the Thursday comic, and every six weeks I draw a Sunday. I love being part of this group of women cartoonists!

I have saved all of the rejection slips I got since I started sending out my cartoons in the early 1980's. They are in an album that now weighs 4.5 lbs. It's my reminder to never give up, to just keep returning to my work table. Persistence pays.

Favorite cartoon: I think my favorite cartoon that I have had published in the New Yorker magazine is my very first [editor’s note: the cartoon at the beginning of the interview], because it was so dang thrilling to finally be in that magazine. I happened to be in New York the week it appeared in print. On my way back home to Texas, as my plane flew over Manhattan at night I looked down at those lights below and I felt like I had really made it. It was a dream come true! Also, since it was an airplane cartoon, I shared it with the flight attendants, who all got a good laugh, and they brought me a glass of champagne. Later that year I was part of the Funny Ladies exhibit at the Society of Illustrators in New York. Liza Donnelly was so kind to invite me to be in the show. To be there on opening night and to meet Emma Allen and the cartoonists that I have admired for so long, felt like being at The Academy Awards. Only better.

I really love to draw political cartoons, so I'm also proud of the ones that have made it into The New Yorker Daily Cartoon.

Tools: I drew with Rapidograph pens for many years. I switched to dip pens, which I enjoy depending on the paper.  Lumpy or textured paper, ugh. Smooth paper, and it's perfect. I practiced using the dip pen by doing calligraphy for a long time, with lots of different nib sizes and shapes. At the moment I use Pigma Graphic in all sizes, but they are disposable, so I'm on the hunt for a new reusable pen so I don't add to the land fill. I sketch out cartoons in pencil most of the time, then ink in. I love Arches papers, and use them for finishes and gouache paintings. Or Bristol paper. I buy big sheets and cut them up. But every day, I use a lot of printer paper for roughs. The pencils I mostly use are the Faber Castell 9000, in a 3 or 4 B. I also love Ticonderoga pencils, not only for their beautiful name but they feel perfect on Boise all-purpose printer paper.  I love paint brushes of all kinds. I use gouache every day. It took me many years to learn about gouache, to finally get how it works. It's complicated because of its soluble nature. I looked at instructional videos on Youtube, and got the hang of it. I use black gouache for my washes, and Titanium White right out of the tube for covering up mistakes, or all sorts of highlights.  My old work lamp has a long arm so I can move the light all over my table, which is really handy.

Tools I wish I used better: Sketchbooks! That seems odd, but it's true. My sketchbooks are very messy, and not something I'm proud of, or want to save and look back on. I have seen beautiful sketchbooks which are themselves art pieces, but it's not my style! I mostly want to toss them into the recycle bin once they are full. Also, I wish I could use computer drawing tools.

Tool I wish existed: Can't think of one.    

Tricks: I don't look at social media much, and I think that helps my creativity, and certainly gives me more time to do stuff.    

Misc: I have three big-time men in my life, my husband and my two sons. Four, if you count my dog Buddy. All bring me a ton of joy. I've lived in Texas for 25 years, and I encourage visitors! We always like to show folks the Texas we know and love.  

Website, etc: 

Instagram

newyorker.com

sixchixcomics.com

funnytimes.com

narrativemagazine.com

thenib.com

Editor’s Note: If you enjoy this blog, and would like to contribute to labor and maintenance costs, there is a Patreon, and if you’d like to buy me a cup of coffee, there is a Ko-Fi account as well! I do this blog for free, and your support helps a lot! You can also find more posts about art supplies on Case’s Instagram and Twitter! Thank you!

[techcrunchappcom]

New Post has been published on https://techcrunchapp.com/dear-annie-woman-is-shattered-by-recent-loss-of-husband-news-sports-jobs/

Dear Annie: Woman is shattered by recent loss of husband | News, Sports, Jobs

Annie Lane, syndicated columnist

Dear Annie: Last month, I lost the man of my dreams, my husband. It hurts so bad without him. I don’t know what to do. I miss him terribly. He was my everything for years now. He was my heart and soul. My heart is broken into a million pieces. I have talked with counselors; some help, others don’t. We still had so many plans for the future. It just hurts. I want him back but I can’t have that. I want to cry and at the same time want to laugh and smile for all the good times we had. I feel so lost and empty without him. I feel like I lost a part of me that day. Is there any advice you can give me? — Grieving Wife

Dear Grieving Wife: I am so incredibly sorry for your loss. As therapist and grief advocate Megan Devine writes in her book “It’s OK that You’re Not OK”: “There is a quiet, a stillness, that pervades everything in early grief. Loss stuns us into a place beyond language.” There are no words to adequately address your pain, but here is my meager attempt.

You’ve suffered a devastating blow. It feels like you lost a part of yourself that day because you did. I won’t attempt to offer you solutions, because your grief is not a problem; it’s the natural reaction to this traumatic, life-altering event. I say all this not to make you feel worse but to make you feel heard. All of your feelings — from desperation, to anger, to numbness, to the whole-body heartache that thrums beneath it all — are valid.

That doesn’t mean you’re condemned to a lifetime of suffering, or that you need to endure this alone. I commend you for reaching out to others for support over the past few weeks, and I encourage you to keep doing so. Continue trying out counselors until you find one you like. Eventually, you might even consider joining a grief support group. While the pandemic may make it difficult to meet in person, there are online grief-support communities, such as Grieving.com and GriefInCommon.com.

Lastly, keep holding onto those good memories like a raft. No one can ever take them away.

Dear Annie: I am 32 and living at my childhood home with my mother. I was once away at college and had several mediocre jobs in a few different cities. However, my inability to find a job that paid well enough to sustain my independence resulted in me moving home with my mother a few years ago. I was laid off in May due to COVID-19, but my employment there was rocky anyway.

I look back on certain failures, and I’m incredibly embarrassed and ashamed. I am desperate to take responsibility for my life and become an adult, but the fear and my inadequacy are overwhelming. I am having difficulty coping. Am I destined to struggle for the rest of my life? — Man-Child

Dear Man: It breaks my heart to hear how you talk to yourself. I can tell from your letter that you’re a thoughtful, emotionally intelligent person. But all the reassurances in the world won’t mean a thing if your depression and anxiety keep getting the last word. So, first and foremost, you must prioritize your mental health, through therapy and any other necessary treatment. And if you feel like you might hurt yourself or just would like someone to talk to, you can call 800-273-8255 any time.

Additionally, taking part in something bigger than oneself is a spiritual salve. I strongly encourage you to volunteer somewhere, whether virtually or in person. You can find opportunities at volunteermatch.org. You have a lot to offer the world. We need you.

Editor’s note: Send your questions for Annie Lane to dearannie@creators.com. To find out more about Annie Lane and read features by other Creators Syndicate columnists and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

Today’s breaking news and more in your inbox

(function(d, s, id) var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = "https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/sdk.js#xfbml=1&appId=160808247271356&version=v2.0"; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); (document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk'));