Ladies and gentlemen, the one and only Shawn Levy.

Now please, go eat your ice cream.

As you can see, this illustration is fairly adult-oriented; all the characters are adults, and the vigor they display in going after that box is borderline psychotic. Trouble is, I’m trying to restrict the illustrations featured on my portfolio site to children-friendly/relevant work, and this piece in it’s current form doesn’t really make the cut. And that’s where you come in.

I want to get rid of that big red box and grenade and replace them with something that makes the illustration more humorous or fun. Like, what if the mass of people were vying for a chicken in a sombrero, or a massive bowl of pudding, or a… a… I don’t know what! Help me out! If you’ve got an idea for what to replace the box with, leave it in the comments section below. If I use your idea*, you won’t win a prize or anything, but I will be very grateful for your help in making this illustration complete!

Thanks, and I look forward to hearing your ideas!

*Just for the sake of being kosher legally and whatnot, this disclaimer notifies you that, in the event your idea is in fact used, all copyright to the image shall remain solely and entirely with me, Zack Rock. Participating communicates you understand your submission is for entertainment purposes only and no monetary compensation or any compensation at all beyond the appreciation of the artist should be expected. Did you know that, years after the album was released, one of the contracted backing singers hired to wail on The Dark Side of the Moon sued Pink Floyd for hundreds of thousands of dollars, citing that she was a contributing artist on the album and thereby was owed a slice of the profits? The weird thing is she absolutely ruined that track! It’s like, “Oh, here’s a nice instrumental bit,” and then this lady starts screaming her head off like she’s being prodded by a trowel or something. Anyway, I like to consider myself the Pink Floyd of unpublished children’s book artists, so I have to make these disclaimers. You should also be aware that anything you say out loud while visiting my site can and will be recorded and played back later at parties when there’s a lull in the conversation, or remixed into a drum and bass techno track. It’s just something I do for side money. You may already be familiar with the hit single “I Don’t Get It (Is that supposed to be Bigfoot?)” that’s sweeping German discotheques. That was me, I released it under my DJ name, Q-Basick. Okay, that last bit is a lie.

And speaking of flammable McCain supporters, my friends Jonathan and Krista were recently wed in Kelowna, BC, a beautiful town at the heart of the BC wine industry and home to Lord Chumley’s Seafood Restaurant (true fact!). My wife and I, together with a few friends, decided to turn the trip into a camping excursion, which was loads of fun once I muscled past my minor camping anxiety that – since I was asked to MC the event – was compounded by performance anxiety, and further exacerbated by my ever-present anxiety about existence in general. Along with me on this trip I brought a sketchbook I’ve dedicated to immortalizing precious moments, images from which I will now share.

Enjoy!

And mark this date: today’s the first time a Monday Sketcharoo features actual sketches!

*No, really I am only kidding. But please, I beg you, don’t vote for McCain.

Trinity Western Magazine No. 15 arrived in my mailbox today, and lo and behold, there were three illustrations by me in it! If you’re an alumnus of TWU, that fine institution of higher learning, you’ll soon be receiving your own copy, I’m sure. For all others, here are the illustrations in question, ripped from their context to amaze and disorient you! Enjoy!

The above image was inspired by the expression of a man riding a whitewater raft on the cover of the Hope tourism guide I picked up while my wife Amber and I enjoyed our honeymoon at a friend’s cabin up there in the Great White North. I knew I couldn’t do justice to the schmucky look the guy wore, but nonetheless I felt compelled to immortalize it in ink. And I kid Hope. It’s a tiny speck of a town with minimal amenities, true. But it does what a town in the middle of British Columbia should do: remain quiet and let the overwhelming splendor of Super, Natural British Columbia hypnotize you into spending hundred of dollars to take a gondola ride across a gorge (there’s fudge on the other side!). And for that, I salute you, Hope.

This poster was illustrated by Pascal Blanchet, a man whose abounding creativity leaps right off the page and kicks the viewer in the face. It was created in response to Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s “bare-bones approach to arts-funding” (to quote Canadian author Yann Martel, who has decided to protest in his own unique fashion). Oh, for those of my readership who don’t know Harper’s reputation, he’s basically the George Bush of Canada. Yeah, that bad.

Now, as a red white and blue-blooded, bald eagle making out with, Iraqi-invading under false pretenses American, I have been appalled time and again to discover my favorite cartoons and cartoonists are –good lord,choke!- Canadian. “The Cat Came Back,” CANADIAN. New Yorker-esque cartoonist extraordinaire Seth, CANADIAN. “Ren and Stimpy” creator John K, CANADIAN. Chester Brown, CANDIAN (okay, so considering his magnum opus is a biography of Louis Riel, I saw that one coming). I suppose when the weather constantly forces you indoors, you have to find something to do with your time.

Well, here’s a salute to those hard-working Canadians artist, and here’s hoping Harper and his conservative cronies will get their TimBits handed to them this coming election.

For more Pascal Blanchet, who makes amazing comics himself, go here. You will not be disappointed.