I love Alice from Cul de Sac.

I like the way she thinks and talks and can often relate to her sentiments. Her words are funny as well as sincere, and while I can possess those qualities separately, it is rare that I am both of them simultaneously.

Sidenote: It seems my sarcastic tendencies have started to get the better of me recently. I've noticed more and more that even when I'm being sincere, people assume I'm not*. While this humors me, it's also something I've decided to work on- just tack that on to my (neverending) Self-betterment To-do list...

I also admire how she unashamedly threatens temper tantrums and freely shares what she disdains (the Uh-Oh Baby) with others. She is fearless when it comes to what she wants to communicate.

I like her.

***

Did you know Bill Watterson is a Cul de Sac fan and supporter?

In the intro of his 10th Anniversary Book, published 17 years ago, he describes Susie as smart, serious, and earnest, qualities he was always attracted to in a woman and the qualities he eventually found in his wife.

He said it would be interesting to see a comic strip from a girl's point-of-view, written by a woman.

Although Cul de Sac is written by Richard Thompson, who is not a woman, sometimes I wonder and muse about the depth of connection between he and Watterson, who has been silent for so many years.

  

* Example: I was telling some friends the other day about my passion for drumlines, and they would not believe me, which made me laugh, which made them not believe me even more. Y'all, I freakin' love drumlines. How could I even be sarcastic about that?

collage

Dolce and Gabbana models//
Mickey Mouse under Disney World, photograph by Rene Burri 1972

I finished the Juicy Jangles screenprint a few weeks ago. I was toying with adding more to it, but after sitting on it, I decided to keep it simple.

She is a reductive four-color-run print in an edition of 28 on various colors of 14 x 11" paper.

This is the first screenprint I've made in about five years and so to celebrate, she is only $25 unframed. I've listed one so far on Etsy.

Animaniacs was pretty smart, and (because I am, too,) I loved it when I was a kid. They could say things that actually meant something, and it was entertaining.

I always think of this song whenever I hear the word pistachio. I also trace my adamant aversion to high fructose corn syrup and partially hydrogenated oils back to Yakko, Wakko, and Dot. Thanks, you guys.

The arrival and departure of Valentine's Day has gotten me thinking about love which in turn has inspired me to begin a series on the subject that I will call Single and Ready to Eat Pringles*.

God forbid it ever happen, but if you were to climb into my brain for a day, you'd find that love is a popular subject there- falling in love, love lost, heartache, being single (in the South), the dating scene (in Knoxville... yikes.), being mildly boy crazy, falling for crazy boys, wondering if I'm supposed to say "men" instead of "boys" because they are men now, aren't they? That's a good question.

In my daydreams, I imagine being a legitimate writer on the subject. I have a lot of material, lots to laugh about, lots of experience in heartache, lots of wisdom gained. It's all too personal though and, despite the rising level of ridiculousness on social media sites, I think most of what happens between two people that love one another should be kept secret, sacred.

Then again, if and when I meet the man of my dreams, it might be fun to try and make someone want to throw up a little when they read my Facebook statuses. At least for a day or two!

Anyway, I don't know where this is heading, but I'd like to begin with some love-themed comics because, you know, I like comics. 

A different kind of love. Awww.

*I really did come up with this title one day on my own, but a Google search proved I'm not the only one with a witty (/dumb) sense of humor.

I don't like this because I spoon with Juicy. I love it because I spoon with Juicy, and I wish I could spoon with her til I'm old and gray. (sob)

By the way, I made a painting about spooning. I don't have an image on this computer, but you can see it here. It's called I Love You (Let's Spoon).

Fun fact: It is the ONLY painting I've sold during an art opening. I think it's because spooning is a universal love language. A lady bought it for her brother as a wedding gift.

 This is my desktop picture. Love.

What is yours?

**I heart comics**

I think about cartoons a lot, my love for them as a kid, how I think about them now as an adult. I watched cartoons every Saturday morning growing up, but the ones I think about most often were on VHS tapes my mom would buy for my sisters and me. My parents still have the tapes, but they are in Memphis along with the only VHS player I know still exists.

My affinity for children's books and cartoons most likely stem from the fact that, back then, they offered much needed respite. They allowed me to take a break from days full of shy and awkward moments and helped my brain to rest. I would visually dissect each scene with my eyes, looking past what was going on in the foreground to all that was happening in the distance. I was just as intrigued by what illustrators decided to do with the space behind as I was in the space up close- Were there tiny houses in the background? Do the colors fade? Did they merely use a pattern as the backdrop?

If I had to explain why I make art, it would be tempting to lay a bunch of children's books out on a table and show cartoons for an hour. The way I viewed these things as a child reminds me of making work today. They each instill calm and focus and help me to become lost in contentment, because, for a glimmer of time, I quit thinking about how to be content.

Today I had a hankering to see the Bread and Butter Panthers from my past, and I found them. I watched this particular Merry Melodies Cartoon, A Day at the Zoo, over and over again as a kid. It's great to see it again.