Otter August

This little otter was for a character sketch project...unfortunately, like my Jesus illo, otter was ultimately rejected.

Working into the Night and other Musings

(click on image to enlarge)
So its a late night again working on a job and I find some vegan podcasters I have never listened to before and tune in to their 83rd episode. There is always a moment when listening to animal rights podcasts that I know I will be hearing a gut wrenching story that makes me wish I could erase it from my memory...sometimes I turn the volume down low so I can't quite understand what they are saying, but this time I didn't. (Ignorance can be such bliss, but does it harden us to atrocities?)

Anyway, they interviewed JoAnne McArthur and she told them how she met a bear that had been used to harvest his bile and when he longer had good bile they cut off his paws to make a soup with them...a delicacy in that region I believe. Anyway, what amazed Joanne about this bear who had eventually been rescued, was that he seemed to not only enjoy the company of humans, but preferred them over the other bears. She said he even tried to hug her in spite of having no paws.

After I cried and cursed humans I stopped working on my latest project to illustrate this tale of cruelty and the awe inspiring ability of this bear to still trust people in spite of us not deserving it. We humans like to talk about our humanity, but it seems to me animals are capable of not only more 'humanity', but are also able to forgive us humans for the atrocities we inflict on them.

My rescue greyhound, Georgia, is like that. In spite of having been commodified by humans she greets every person she encounters (whether they like it or not) with such joy and enthusiasm and will wrap her thin head around their legs in a kind of 'hug'.

Illustration Friday: Influence

Months back I had a small job that entailed drawing all things religious. I was influenced by medieval art when I drew my version of Jesus. They ended up not going with my Jesus (Jesus was rejected once again!) and chose another artist instead. My good friend, Heidi, ironically had the same type of job which also ended in her Jesus being rejected. Is it weird that I have that Depeche Mode song, Personal Jesus, rolling around in my head now?

Heidi & Cookie Visit

Good friend and fellow illustrator, Heidi Younger, came out for a visit with her dog, Cookie, in tow. Photos taken by Heidi using an i-phone.

Illustration Friday: Imperfect

My greyhound, Georgia, has a massive overbite that makes her look funny with her top teeth always sticking out. It is so extreme she has to use the side of her mouth to eat her kibble b/c there is about a one inch gap between her top and bottom teeth making it impossible for her to pick up food in a normal manner. So even though she is a pure breed (although the AKC does not recognize racing hounds) she would be immediately disqualified for this severe imperfection. But in my eyes, not only is she perfect, she is what humans should aspire to be.