After a lot of self-help reading and medication, a couple of weeks ago I crawled into a plane and flew to Massachusetts for a friend’s wedding. I had never been to the East Coast before, and was looking forward to poking around to see what New England had to offer (besides clam chowder). In general, I was taken aback by the beautiful Berkshires, all the old colleges in the quaint towns, and the plethora of vegetarian options at the restaurants. There were two museums, however, that totally converted me to Masslumism.

The  Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge features an incredible section of the Massachusetts native’s oeuvre. All of the Four Freedoms were on display, along with other classic works like “The Problem We All Live With” and “The Golden Rule.”

Being able to get up close and see the textures and brush strokes on Rockwell’s huge canvases was only worth the price of admission. But they were also running an exhibition of William Steig‘s magazine and kidlit output. Everything from Shrek! originals to his New Yorker cartoons and covers filled the two galleries, along with dummy book manuscripts and collage art pieces from his wife.

As if that wasn’t enough for one state, the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art in Amherst has an incredible collection of children’s book art from the likes of Leonard Wiesgard, Leo Lionni, and Eric Carle himself (just to name a few currently on display). Moreover, the day we arrived they were opening an exhibit of the Hans Christian Andersen Award-winning artist Lisbeth Zwerger, who ranks at the top of my favorite living illustrators.

Getting to meet Zwerger was itself a thrill, but seeing her pieces in real life was one of the most inspiring experiences in my life. Unlike Rockwell, Zwerger’s pieces start tiny and are blown up for publication, allowing the slight pencil marks, brush strokes and paper stock to  gain additional texture and weight in print. As an illustrator who always wants a vice-tight grip on my linework and color, her loose renderings and messy watercolors challenged me to continue to branch out in my own work.

Hence the painting above. I did it very small, on a far coarser paper than I usually use, and did my best to keep the color loose. I also focused on rending in ink only those aspects that absolutely had to be, and leaving the rest for watercolor. Full disclosure: the idea was my wife‘s. I personally find the concept of a mouse playing violin to be repugnant. They’re far more suited to the oboe.

Anyway, for anyone interested in beautiful views, great architecture, good food, fantastic museums, and American and literary history, I’d recommend a trip to Massachusetts. And if you’re interested in gold chains and sleeveless sports jerseys with the pastiest arms imaginable sticking out of them, you’ll love Boston.

For those playing at home, that was THREE terrible puns in one gag cartoon (FOUR if you count the blog post title).

Can you find them all?

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

So, high on the work of others, I decided to attempt my own (less ambitious) What Are You Like piece:

How about you guys? I’d love to see some of the favorite things of everyone out there. How about this: if you decide to make your own What Are You Like piece, send it over to me and I’ll collect everyone’s together in a future blog post.

Sound good? ‘ight, get to it then!

If you are reading this, things are worse than I could have imagined. The old gypsy must have been right about the curse of the monkey paw I bought off that mad scientist on Friday the 13th, that it would bring me nothing but bad luck and scabies. But the lure of unlimited power and the ultimate conversation piece was too great, so I didn’t listen. Now I have paid the ultimate price. My blog, like all modern blogs, is linked to my heart via a monitor no bigger than a Yugo, so when my vital functions cease it automatically uploads one final post (you know, basic web 2.0 stuff).

Friends, this is that post.

But mourn me not! For my death is your gateway to a magical musical adventure. That’s right, tonight, as I lay blue and lifeless at the bottom of a bathhouse jacuzzi, you gain access to my exclusive Hallowen mix MP3 (previously available only to high-ranking Obama cabinet members and the 1993 season cast of Baywatch). This is how I want to world to remember me, not for my combative YouTube comments or perpetual flatulence, but for my love of lite lite rock.

Enjoy, and Happy Halloween!

Killing Me Softly: A Halloween Mix & Album Art

(Right-click on the links to download)

Tracklisting

1. 1939 – Hayden

2. A Home A House An Institution A Love A Doctor A Death Another Death – Adam Shearer And Adam Selzer

3. Dead Man – M. Ward

4. Mad World – Gary Jules

5. John Wayne Gacy, Jr. – Sufjan Stevens

6. Henry Lee – Shearwater

7. The Spider Song – Townes Van Zandt

8. Werewolf – Cat Power

9. Dark Was The Night – Kronos Quartet

10. I Came To Your Party Dress As a Shadow – Piano Magic

11. Hunter – Portishead

12. Dark Night of the Soul - Sparklehorse, Danger Mouse and David Lynch

To take a relevant example, look at William “The Jolly Roger” Powell’s 1971 classic The Anarchist’s Cookbook. The author saw two already successful products, anarchism and cookbooks, and synergized them into a popular new product, perfect for those anarchist housewives looking to try out fun new recipes (I assume – I haven’t actually read the book). Inspired by The Jolly Roger’s double-up piggy-back, we decided in 1972 to develop our own line of anarchist-related books for the family. And we had all sorts of great ideas for titles in the series, like The Anarchist Guide to Etiquette, Spain for Anarchists, and Talking to Your Teens About Puberty (and Anarchism), to name a few.

Unfortunately, we were only able to publish one title, A is for Anarchy: An Anarchist’s Alphabet.

Citing an enthusiastic endorsement from Abbie Hoffman emblazoning the cover, our publisher reported more copies of A is for Anarchism were stolen then sold. Hence, they canceled the rest of the series. Lesson learned? Maybe sometimes the success of a product isn’t measured in units sold. Maybe, just maybe, it can be measured in the amount of money won from a favorable verdict in a breech of contract lawsuit.

ALSO, in case you are wondering why I wasn’t able to post anything last week, you have this man to blame:

Justin Townes Earle, son of Steve Earle and namesake of  country music legend Townes Van Zandt, has been touring in support of his fantastic new album Midnight at the Movies, and I was lucky enough to catch his show at the Tractor Tavern last Monday. Sorry about that! Well, not really.

By the way, I have been to a lot of concerts here in Seattle, and I defy any locals to name a better venue than the Tractor Tavern. I love that place.

Here he is, folks, the winner of the first Contestaroo: Chris “Lopez” Lopez, host of the podcast Classic Rock Liberation and all-around good buddy. We brainstormed a bit after he won and decided to make his illustration broadcast-related so he can use it on his site. And what could be more broadcasty than an LP sticker of Lopez DJing into an old-timey mic? NOTHING, except maybe if the podcast was named Edward R. Murrow Liberation or something.

Anywho, if you’re into classic rock at all, I’d recommend taking a listen his podcasts. They’re well produced and feature a lot of bands you’d probably never heard of, along with historical contextualizing of bands we’re all familiar with. Good stuff!

If you’re unfamiliar with Jeannie’s work, you owe it to yourself to check out Obsolete World, her portfolio site. Picking up a print at her Etsy site is not a bad idea, either. And if you have no idea who eluvium is, by-golly, go here, here and here.