Thank You Stan and Babe

I believe the genesis of my humor derives mostly from three sources, Looney Tunes, Seattle legend J.P. Patches and Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. I inhaled these legends, directly from the television, into my consciousness, out through my hands and onto paper. The results you can see in my artwork. Of course, a good measure of Al Hirschfeld and Bob McCausland (Google him, he was a Seattle Post Intelligencer Cartoonist) thrown in as well. So that mixture, of those legends, resulted in what you see today...

I was first introduces to Laurel and Hardy from J.P. Patches. (If you were a child growing up in the Seattle area, from 1958 to 1981, at some point in time J.P Patches was a fixture on your television set. Even my children, who were too young to watch him, know the Legend of J.P. Patches). Anyways...as I was saying, J.P. Patches introduced me to Stan and Babe.

As I recall, J.P. would have either show cartoons or Laurel and Hardy shorts in between the comedy skits on his show. If I remember correctly, the cartoons included, George of the Jungle and Super Chicken (Bonus!) and probably more. When J.P. first introduced me to Stan and Babe, I was immediately captivated,  not unlike the first time I heard, Bennie  and the Jets (specifically...I was in my Aunt Donna's apartment with my cousins...), like that song, the film was unlike anything I'd encountered in that medium before. However, unlike the song, the film (I believe it was Laurel and Hardy's1935 short, Tit for Tat), was produced 26 years prior to my birth! That tells you the enduring value and genius of their comedies. Still today, fans across the globe love and adore Stan and Babe, their films and their contributions to our society.  I am one of thousands (probably millions) who love Stan and Babe, their films and the laughter they brought into this world.

Win - Win - Win!

Greetings! As you may have noticed, I've opened an online store (Michael  Hopkins Original Art) to sell my original art.

Now that I have decided that my emphasis should be on my pen & ink drawings (read my last blog), I concluded (after a deep discussion with myself) that I needed an online presence that would focus specifically on my art, as opposed to relying on Fine Art America (which has thousands of artists), to do it for me. Don't get me wrong, I have no problem with Fine Art America, in fact it's quite the opposite. I love the fact that I can offer prints of my work to the public, through them, at a lower cost than what I would pay to produce my own prints and then sell  them. Also, this allows me to offer prints of my work for sale, at a much lower cost than what I charge for my original pieces. As Michael Scott would say,

Anyways...Please visit my online store and let me know what you think. I will be adding new originals for sale on a regular basis and offering some suprises!

Oh and another thing...Did you catch the first flight of the Boeing 777x this past weekend? It was awe inspiring... a magnificent airplane! I've added the CNET YouTube video below (hope they don't mind).

Enjoy your Monday!

I Love Good Cookies

I am a Caricaturist.

No, this blog is not about self discovery (I already know I'm a Caricaturist) it's more about realization and maybe a little frustration.  I guess I could compare myself to an actor who is very successful making comedy movies, however he wants to do Shakespeare. So he try's it and although he receives critical acceptance,  he goes back to making successful comedies. The reason is simple, you can buy much better cookies with a successful box office comedy than you can with a half empty theater, albeit critically acclaimed Shakespearean performance.

My William Shakespeare is Bill Watterson.  His comic strip, Calvin and Hobbes,  was (in my world) Romeo and Juliet. His work inspired me to create my webcomic. Missed Approach and the reason I'll probably continue to struggle creatively between my webcomic and my caricatures. Why, you might ask, do I struggle creatively when I'm so inspired by the art of Bill Watterson?? Well, two reasons. First reason, i love good cookies. Secondly, I hold one artist in higher regard than Bill Watterson...that man is the late, Al Hirschfeld.

If you don't know his genius, look him up (or watch the 1996 documentary, The Line King). I consider Mr. Hirschfeld's creations in the same realm as an Vincent Van Gogh's creations. He is the reason I draw caricatures,...that and the fact that I love good cookies.

The struggle continues...

Questions...

I have to wonder🤔...

Does anyone care about webcomics? I think I've created a damn good one in my webcomic, Missed Approach.

However, when examining the stats, I'm not seeing any interest in it. As opposed to what you're reading right now, The Michael Hopkins Cartoons Blog, whos' stats tell me there's a great deal of interest in this blog (and that interest increases daily). This brings me to a conundrum that I've faced before, do I continue producing more, Missed Approach's or am I wasting my time and should instead use that time instead, to focus more on this blog?

There's so much more I'd like to do with this blog, however time is infinite and I spend a lot of that time, producing my webcomic. So there's the conundrum.

What would I like to do with this bog (you ask)? Well, let me tell ya...One idea that's always been at the top of my list is to travel to different events throughout the spring and summer, drawing caricatures and bring you with me via this blog and maybe my seldom used YouTube channel (iamscribbles).

Another idea is to write in this blog on a daily basis to see if that translates into a larger audience.

Even another idea, is to use this blog to record my journey to the 2020 Las Vegas Rock and Roll Marathon. Yes, that's right, I made a resolution to run that marathon this year and I'm gonna make  it happen...besides I really need to get into better shape (my body tell me that every morning). Hopfully then, I could use this blog, not only just to entertain, but to also inspire others to chase their dreams.

Finally,  I'm exploring photography and would also like that adventure with you, via this blog.

So there you have it! As I stated previously, time is infinite and I can hear it ticking...

May the force be with you..

2000

Happy New Year and greetings from Reno Tahoe Airport (yes, I'm fueling jets on New Year's Day). I guess technically it's called Reno/Tahoe International Airport...but the only International flight I see here is a daily dose of Volaris Airline, I believe it arrives from Mexico...

The unusual thing is, everytime I seen Volaris Airline arrive I have this overwhelming, urge to break into song, namely the tune, Volare.  Of course the song was made famous by Dean Martin, however I sound more like Tony Clifton, who was occasionally, Andy Kaufman (or was he and is he still alive???)

I guess that's one of the great conspiracy  theories of my generation. Maybe Andy and Elvis are hanging out somewhere this morning, hung over from last nights celebration, drinking coffee and laughing at us all. It's a nice thought.

Which brings me to my New Years Resolutions. I usually don't stick to them, however this year I'm gonna try. So here's the list (in no particular order).

• Start creating my webcomic, "Missed Approach" again.
• Visit Elvis's home, Graceland.
• See The Killers and Thom Yorke perform in person.
• Find a relationship and keep it forever (hopefully).
• Write more often in my blog (good start, eh?)
• Oh yea...and get into shape. I've been think about photographing myself everyday and seeing how I progress. If I do, I'll share them on this blog

So what do you think? Have you made any resolutions? If so, let me know. 

Talk to you soon.