I’ve been frequenting the children’s book blog Vintage Kids’ Books My Kid Loves for a few months now, and if you visit the site (which you should) it’s easy to see why. Burgin, who runs the blog, posts near-daily scans and summaries of some of the best-loved and sometimes unjustly-forgotten gems from the 50s to 80s — everything from Mercer Mayer‘s non-Little Critter titles (I never knew he did anything but), to Leonard Weisgard‘s gorgeous illustration work. The image-rich site is a treat for anyone even remotely interested in kids’ books, but also for anyone interested in art and design from that era. Really, how much more am I going to need to talk the site up before you visit?! JUST GO ALREADY, YOU LOVE IT!

So I was surprised a few weeks ago to get an e-mail from Burgin asking if I was available for a commission. Her husband’s birthday was coming up, and Burgin thought an original illustration featuring their son would be a good gift. She also thought my penchant for drawing birds would lend itself nicely to the job, since the boy is a huge bird fan (he’s also a huge fan of “enchanted animals,” which is nothing short of awesome). The above illustration is the result.

Burgin’s own write up on the piece features some of the nicest things anyone has said about my art, which was very kind of her (honestly, it was enough to be mentioned in the same post as Ward Jenkins and Cory Godbey). Hope the painting will bring lots of joy to her household, and that her son finds it sufficiently enchanting.

FUN FACT: Did you know a group of Red-Breasted Sapsuckers is called a “Slurp”? Did you also know the core audience of this blog isn’t mature enough to be trusted with any of this information? It’s true!

—————-

Remember, you can always find me on Twitter and Etsy!

It’s a leper Khan.

You’re welcome.

—————-

Remember, you can always find me on Twitter and Etsy!

Practicing the new drawing style by rendering some of my favorite local birds. The Bald Eagle from last week was originally supposed to be included in this collection, but I decided I didn’t want him harassing all the cool birds.

—————-

Remember, you can always find me on Twitter and Etsy!

Bald Eagles nickname themselves “Duke.” Bald Eagles supported Leno. Bald Eagles tip 10%. Bald Eagles listen to Nickelback really loudly and once got “How You Remind Me” stuck in your head for three weeks (Nickelback themselves: all Bald Eagles). Bald Eagles are the reason Spike TV is a real channel.

Bald Eagles are jerks.

—————-

Remember, you can always find me on Twitter and Etsy!

The perceptive among you will have noticed that last week there was no Sketcharoo. For this I am sorry. I realize there’s no assuaging the flood of betrayal and hurt that you feel. Part of me thought that, as penance, the best course of action would be to just shut down my site, throw my computer out the window, and cut off my drawing hand. Instead, I cut off that part of me that thought that and now feel less guilty.

Besides, I painted two versions of this week’s Sketchroo to make up for it!

FURTHER BONUS: I made an iPhone wallpaper of both versions, so take your pick:

VERSION 1

VERSION 2

I would be amiss not to mention how gratuitously I pilfered from John Martz’s illustration style for the second version of the bird. Homeboy’s got a great aesthetic and I couldn’t help but try it out myself.

Oh, and for the record, that’s a European Robin.

—————-

Remember, you can always find me on Twitter and Etsy!

Did I mention I love my job?

—————-

Remember, you can always find me on Twitter and Etsy!

All the images in this post (except the header), © Copyright Her Interactive, Inc.

Honestly, what kind of city is home to citizens who just stop in the middle of the street and shout excitedly that they see an object in the sky that may be a bird or a plane? I’ll tell you what city: Metropolis, same place wear a guy can have a pair of glasses on one minute, then take them off and not be recognized by his closest friends. I think the drinking water there had something in it that caused 0.000000001% of the public to gain superhuman strength, and the other 99.9999999999% to become stupendous morons.

Thus concludes my rant against Superman. Always hated that comic.

I apologize to all my Twitter followers who have already seen this Red-Breasted Flycatcher in its first winter plumage, but I’ve been hard at work on something BIG that’ll burst its seams tomorrow and didn’t have time to get something new out. But come back tomorrow for another installment of Drewsday and an announcement that will change your life… FOREVER.

Look around you. If you’ve got the eyes to see it, the world around us is a zoo without plaques, cages, or churros. Even within the boundaries of large cities, animals still manage to carve out a living. While some maintain and adapt their natural foraging and nesting tactics to the urban landscape, others learn entirely new skills to scrape by, like pan-handling, or accounting. All it takes to appreciate their presence in our world is a little patience, knowledge, a can of mace, and a good pair of binoculars.

Today on the Sketcharoo, we feature one of these fascinating critters: the Hooded Merganser. The Hooded Merganser is a diving duck whose most notable feature is a crest of feathers that can be extended above its head, giving it that distinctive “just back from a Kid n Play concert” look. Its courtship displays include head-pumping and ritualized drinking, similar to the displays of the common North American fratboy. During such displays, the male periodically whips its head backwards and lets out a call that I can only suspect translates thusly:

If you’d like to learn more about the Hooded Merganser, visit their Cornell Lab of Ornithology page, or view this 1987 Larry King interview with the Merganser.

Speaking of birds, I’m on Twitter now and can be followed under the username @ZackRock. Hope to see you on there soon!

Hey! I got a Sketcharoo in before midnight! I’m going to reward myself by… by getting sleep tonight! HAHAHAHA! And what’s that you say, Bush is leaving office tomorrow!? AAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Wait, what? AND my XBox came back from the repair center!? GAH-AAAAAHHHHHH-AAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! AAAAAHAHAHAHAHA!!! (head ‘splodes)

Okay, enough of that. Time to play some Fallout 3.