Dancing Bears!

Hat-tip to Nicki!

A classic from daze of yore: my Alaskanized version of the Grateful Dead's "Dancing Bear" icon done twenty years ago in 1994 (here's a link to some more serious collector's info on the characters):

Dancing bears: A series of stylized marching bears was drawn by Bob Thomas as part of the back cover for the album History of the Grateful Dead, Volume One (Bear's Choice). Thomas reported that he based the bears on a lead sort from an unknown font. The bear is a reference to Owsley "Bear" Stanley, who recorded and produced the album. - from Wikipedia

A dear old friend long since migrated to the Lower 48 recently emailed a scan of this to me... the copy's been stuck up on a wall somewhere even after all her travels, an that just made my whole day.

A Stiff Hairy Pelt

"...mmm..."

One of the nicest and unexpected things to happen over the weekend's events was reconnecting with some friends - including one legendary character from my past in Fairbanks, who showed up sporting one of the infamous embroidered "Stiff Hairy Pelt" caps. These were part of the apparel that came out around the release of the "Beaver Fever" collection back in 1999. A coveted fashion memorabilia like this would be worth tens of dollars, if he hadn't actually put it on.
Hat-tip (literally) to the legendary Grunditz.

Welcome to Tok (Wait, What?)

Here's a random blast from the past: sometime way back in my Cheechako days I must have done some artwork for somebody... and it's now mutated evolved into something that is still clearly my original design, and based on my characters, but is somewhat stylistically different. Weird.
I serendipitously caught it from a Facebook post by a friend who took the above snapshot while in Tok, Alaska, who reported that the sign is located between the Visitor Center and the Trooper/DMV Office (hat-tip to Holly!). So on a whim I searched Google Images and found even more examples, including what appears to be the first incarnation below. I daresay the version above looks better than anything I could do - good job by whoever painted it!

(And no, that's not a Jackalope, it's an Alaskan Hare-aboo)

"Cockeyed View of Freeze Frame"

"Raisin Hell"

 

Tangentially related to this "cheechako" food-service posts, here's a fairly accurate depiction of a day job. I can't for the life of me remember who drew this caricature of me washing dishes at the old Whole Earth health food co-op, but it definitely hits the mark. 

I do however remember the awesome cinnamon rolls...good folks, good food and good times. There was something very therapeutic about spending a shift up to the elbows in warm, sudsy water, wrinkled skin and all, especially after the insanity of many years as a waiter and line cook.

"Give a man a fish, and he's creating art. But teach him to fish, and soon you'll have a pool full of exploding koi." - Neil Gaiman 

Home Port

After years of working at various eating establishments around Fairbanks, my last food-service gig was making sammiches at Home Port. Next to washing dishes, I probably enjoyed this job the most, as it was essentially a one-man operation running the deli at nights: taking orders, cranking out the subs and prepping for the next day. Leaning over the counter sporting a greasy apron and yakking with the customers, slicing meats and cheese, chopping up veggies: it was like being a waiter and cook all rolled into one.

Cookbook: Year of Soups

“Finest Dinner House in Alaska” (Alaska Magazine, 1989)

"Drawn To Extremes"

Heartland: A Decade of Doodles

ContraDancers

Random, fun little flier design for a local group of contra dancers: if I had a post for every miscellaneous organization or group that I've done such stuff for, I probably wouldn't have to blog for another year. So I won't. At least for until another week here, and then it'll be back to "normal" around here.

ContraAlaska: "Denali"

"Contralaska" was a themed series of one-page vignettes that never went anywhere, nor appeared in print. This one was based on the phenomenon of the Power Tourist who blazes across the state of Alaska in hopes of encompassing its grandeur and majesty, usually in about a week. Hint: it takes years. 

ContraAlaska: "You're Not An Alaskan Until..."

Another example of the "ContraAlaska" series, this page from 1989.

Heartland: "Tale Tales"

One last sample cover illustration from 1992 for the cover of Heartland magazine, Fairbanks Daily News-Miner. The feature article was about the propensity of many Alaskans to exaggerate, which is something I never indulge in myself. This particular piece earned me a thousand dollars and a lifetime subscription to the newspaper.

Heartland: "Helga's Gift"

Another story illustrated with colored marker for the annual Christmas special issue (1991) of Heartland magazine.

"Claus Johnson"

Heartland 1990: a scan of the original (using only the finest available markers) that I would deliver to the newspaper for them to then do the color separations from. This was used as a full-page illustration to an article about a local ol' timer sourdough character, who maintained a cultural habit of letting all the animals inside the cabin during harsh weather. Reminds me of many a long winter night in the one-room cabin with everybody, me, the g-friend, the dog and two cats, all snuggled up in between episodes of climbing the walls.

Arctic Car Tunes

The Yukon Trader & TJ's

Not too much different than what it wound up being like today, way back in the early 90's I maintained a steady client base for freelance to supplement the waitering and cartooning income. Looking back over all the truly hideous artwork now sorta makes me want to let my hands freeze solid and drop off, were it not for how much better (comparatively speaking) I eventually got. We all have to start somewhere, and for me, it was usually right around somewhere near the bottom (as evidenced by the one after the jump).

Heartland: "The Big Thrill"

Mushing Magazine: "Iditatoons"

1991: In the meantime, any Freeze-Frame cartoon panel that had anything at all to do with dog mushing would be rechristened as an "Iditatoon" and subsequently republished in Mushing Magazine. The cartoon ran from 1996 - 2005, and technically qualified me as being international, since it was shipped all over the world to any country that had "dog powered sports" as a pastime.

Karl's Burrito Wagon

For many years this place was a local institution in Fairbanks: Karl's humble little stand occupied a spot right across the street from the Gavora Mall on 3rd Street. He only offered three items on the menu: burritos, hot-dogs and lemonade, which should be an example to business models everywhere about simplifying and doing things right, especially if you only do a few. A couple co-workers of mine at the time at Clink's bought the business and enlisted me to hand-paint the sandwich boards and design a new logo.
While it wouldn't be prudent to actually state here what exactly I earned for this particular gig, part of the deal was free food. And seeing as how I hated burritos, that limited my options somewhat. Let's just say my first summer in Alaska was spent consumed with the munchies and subsisting pretty much off of foot-long hot dogs and lemonade.