Demo Day!

Trying something new, different and fun with an all-day in-house subscription drive event downtown at the newspaper. I’ll be set up in the front lobby offering original artwork for any new subscriber or renewal. Folks can choose between one of a set of four different designs: a beaver, a bear, a moose or a husky. I’ll be cranking them out non-stop the whole time (aim on setting up at least a couple hours early too), and got the whole process down to 6-8 minutes per drawing: approximately 1-min pencil/3-min ink/3-min wash/1-min erase, and a short period for drying. Since time is of the essence then I'll be using Dr. Ph. Martin’s waterproof India ink (both Black Star Matte + Bombay Black) which dries extremely fast and flat, a small set of Derwent Inktense water-soluble watercolor pencils (featuring go-to earthy tones like bark, oak, tan, saddle, baked and madder browns), on 6x9” 140lb watercolor paper. To shave off a few more seconds I swapped out bright Sharpies for the watercolors on the little comic strip squares on the newspapers that the critters are holding (so technically only that small area won’t be archival).

All my appearances at events this year (aside from the annual distillery tradition) have somewhat inured me to more public gigs. I figured between the Midnight Sun Festival, the Golden Days Street Fair, and the Tanana Valley State Fair, I’ve exponentially increased my exposure and promoted my brand to many, many new people. 

... contrary to early reports "did you get a shot" does not mean Patrón will be served

And speaking of exposure, I feel really conflicted about the surging rates of COVID infections as Alaska, which can be blamed on A) idiots and B) the malevolent incompetence of a Republican administration that aspires to emulate the death cults running Florida and Texas. Given my earlier rant about the equally blasé “leadership” at UAF I feel I’ve personally served as a proverbial canary in the classroom the past year. Get the shot, mask up, disinfect + wash frequently, and keep your distance, has all demonstrably worked.

This upcoming gig isn’t just talking through a simple presentation like the usual classroom lecture, but real show & tells, where you do hands-on demonstrations so folks can watch the ink hit the paper. I’m usually doodling away when at one of my tables, like book signings for example, but here the emphasis here at this event will be on doing the dancing bear thing, as opposed to sales and peddling my wares. Guess this moves the needle a bit closer to “performing” artist territory, but so far my experiences with interactions like this makes it so much more rewarding.

At the bare minimum I aim to make one for every employee at the paper, from editorial to reporting to advertising, from delivery to the print room. It’s the least I can do for such a great team of people. I also really think it’s incumbent on cartoonists – now more than ever - to step up and show support for their local newspaper. Simply put, if it wasn’t for the work of cartoonists there probably wouldn’t be much of a newspaper industry, and hand-in-glove with the rights come the responsibilities.