art – Page 18

‘305 Day!’

Still lots of things going on this season. I missed the Lake Worth Chalk Festival last weekend and a few other art events, but managed to get to this past weekend’s Gifford Lane Art Stroll, which is a block party in our village. It’s a yearly thing – 25th year, this year and it brings out the whole village. It’s like a tv show where the full cast shows up for an event and they are all in one scene.

It was also “305 Day,” on Sunday, which is the area code for Miami and on March 5 (3/05).

The hit of the block party is cucumber punch which is delicious on a hot day, which always seems to be the case for this event each year – it’s been a cool winter, but Sunday was totally hot.

The first year I went, 20 years back, I didn’t know the cucumber punch had gin in it, and I really had my fill, I was feeling no pain. Now that I know the ingredients, I take it easy.

They used to serve the gin at a friend’s house where everyone lined up outside his green door and he and his wife and friends would serve it up to thousands. I guess after 23 years they felt enough was enough with the non-stop traffic through their house, so they have it out in someone else’s driveway now. So last year, I went to the driveway for the first time and got some punch and people started talking to me. But the homeowner was not having it, she started yelling, “Tom, you have your punch, now get out of here!” I couldn’t argue with her, because she is 97 years old! She’s a spry 97, but still.

This year while it was outside her house, she wasn’t around. She’s an avid bike rider at her age, so maybe she was out bike riding!

Anyway, it was a great day, I think I saw everyone I know there which is always nice. There’s a lot of food, live music and kibitzing. A perfect day for a small village.

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Not sure if I’ve ever eaten a parsnip; have you?

This cartoon was published Friday. I wasn’t sure if I should use it or not. Originally it was a simple one, where the snowman with the broken carrot nose says, “Carl is in a mood today.” And that was that. But I changed it to the parsnip not being orange enough and I wanted to see it people would get it. I don’t think most did. I don’t want to say it flopped, but it wasn’t as popular as others.

I don’t even know if I’ve ever had a parsnip and I think I only know what a parsnip is because I watch cooking and food shows, even though I don’t cook. But as I’ve said in the past, I find cooking shows very relaxing, so I watch a lot of them, yet I am never struck with the idea of actually cooking something other than in the microwave or air fryer.

Parsnips

Parsnips look like white carrots, and possibly when ordering in or eating out, they might have come as a side dish along with carrots and other veggies, so possibly I’ve tasted one, but I don’t think so. I might have thought they were overcooked carrots that turned white, the way broccoli does when it’s overcooked.

Roasted carrots and parsnips.

I try everything, so it’s not liked I deliberately turned down parsnips when I had the chance to taste them. I’ve had bison burgers and ostrich burgers and liked them. I’ve had duck and goat and liked them. I’ve had Korean food and all sorts of Asian food from Thai to Indian and being in Miami I’ve had Haitian food. I just don’t think I’ve ever had parsnips.

Once I was in NYC with a friend and we were looking for a place for lunch. As we walked through the city he would suggest places. My friend is a snob and as we looked at places, mostly exotic types, and he would suggest places, I would say “no, not that one,” and we would keep walking and then he finally said, “What does your sensitive American tastes want, a hamburger?”

I had to explain to my snobby friend, who was from out of town and didn’t get it, that I was turning down places that were empty at lunch time – they didn’t have one customer eating there which is not a good sign, and the rating on the front had a “C” not an “A” which is what you look for in NYC and other cities that have ratings on restaurants. My friend wasn’t wise enough to realize that, he thought I was being an ugly American, when I was trying to be a wise/safe eater.

We ended up at a wonderful Korean BBQ restaurant somewhere in Midtown Manhattan, you know, one of those places where you cook your own food at a fire or possibly it was a stone, in the center of the table. Not sure if they use parsnips. Probably not. But one day I’ll try one and report back.

UPDATE: I just tried a parsnip! A few hours after writing this blog post I was at Whole Foods. I went to the hot bar to get lunch and there were carrots and parsnips. Only the dish was called “Carrots with turmeric,” and if I hadn’t written this post, I would have thought the white carrots were just discolored from the turmeric! But I realized they were parsnips and I bought some and know what – they taste like carrots. White carrots. And since I don’t really like carrots, I probably won’t be eating them again anytime soon. 🙂

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An art-filled weekend

Lots of art shows and boat shows and all sorts of things on President’s Day Weekend. I spent a lot of time out and about with family and friends. First day was hot and humid, second day not as bad and on the second day, I seemed to know every other person that walked by, it was nice.

I parked my car far away from the festival, most of us do, so that when we leave, we aren’t stuck in all that traffic which is on top of the events. When I walked back to my car Saturday, I was dying. I was telling people it reminded me of the final day of Naked and Afraid where people are trying to make it to the extraction point and barely making it. I have a habit of not drinking, or eating, and it catches up with me.

We spent a lot of time at the children’s area, both days, where I still have Baby Shark playing in my head, but one area I liked is where there were easels set up and small kids painted. Some of the work was amazing. One eight year old girl did this fish painting that reminded me of Matisse or something similar. Amazing to see how the children created things. I noticed one interesting thing – the kids draw a lot of trees and water, which is what we are surrounded by and interestingly enough, the trees are palm trees! We are in Miami, so they paint what they see, what they know.

I would have taken pictures of the art, but parents don’t like strange men taking pictures of their kids’ art and especially their kids.

The paintings take forever to dry and they don’t offer to frame them which would be a great little business in itself, so after waiting a long time for the things to dry, they just sadly end up in the trash. All that beautiful work just thrown away. Not a good finish to all that creativity.

We had our usual hot tea and scones at the English tea room which is always part of the event, and listened to fantastic music by local bands. One great band had five or six members and I personally knew three of them, which was cool.

I may pop over again today for day three. I usually go all three days only because it’s hard to get back into the neighborhood once you leave due to all the traffic. So we’re sort of stuck here until the circus leaves town.

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I’m being used for clickbait!

I find it amazing at how many people don’t mind stealing others’ intellectual property and think nothing about it.

When this cartoon was published earlier today, people started commenting on social media. Some said due to Netflix’s new policy of no account sharing, they would be dropping their account. It’s sort of cutting off their nose to spite their face. But they don’t think it’s a good idea to support the streaming service they like.

This reminds me of some of these sites that are clickbait. I’m on on a few now. Not deliberately. And it’s happened before. The sites shall remain nameless here.

A guy reached out to me last week and asked if I would answer a few questions for an article, which I’ve done so many times before. Next thing you know, they placed 60 – not 6 – 60 of my cartoons on their site and sort of placed the answers to my questions in between.

When I complained, they sent me this long spiel about how this is their method of publication – basically that’s how they do it – they take your work and make it theirs. They didn’t say it that way, they said that’s how they “showcase” it. One bad part is that they are then copied around the internet and others do the same thing – they take a bunch of my cartoons and make clickbait out of it. The only difference is that they go on my site and pick and choose so the cartoons are different.

I’ve interviewed artists for many years and I’ve asked permission to use a few of their pieces to show off their work which was part of the articles. I also had them send me images when possible, so that they were in control of what was shown. But the text was the majority of the work, and a few of their works complimented it, along with a photo of themselves. Here are some on my 10 With Tom site – interviews I have done without stealing anyone’s work.

I’m fuming over this plagiarism by these other websites and I find it amazing that they have a link on them for “removal” of articles. When I brought that up to one of the sites, they said that is for people who post their own stories on the site and want it then removed, which I find to be B.S.

I sell some Tomversation items on Etsy. I saw my actual stuff picked up and being sold in Asia somewhere, they just snapped up the images and cartoons and are using them.

Many years ago, before I was an editor or writer or anything, I was taking photos at an arts festival and one of the artists yelled at me. He didn’t like me taking pictures of his work right out there on the street where it was being shown. I learned a lesson back then and I never again took people’s work for granted or took photos of it without asking their permission.

Yes, I’m guilty of taking Starry Night and other images whenever I’m in museums. I’m not sure where they falls into this. And my cousin goes to museums and draws the work. Not to sell, but to just practice his art. So I’m not really sure where to draw the line (draw the line, no pun intended).

I guess I should be happy that they like my work and they are keeping the copyright and my website part of the images intact, which is a good thing. I guess.

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There’s always one . . .

This is one of those cartoons that just took off. It really went viral with thousands of likes and shares. It seems that everyone can relate to it. Many people see their own city and many people see themselves or someone they know as that person.

I see this all the time in New York. It’s freezing out and and out comes some guy in shorts and sometimes shirtless, running down the street or in the park. Quite a few people say they have seen this with the person wearing flip flops. I don’t think I’ve seen that.

I actually envy them when I see them. I’m bundled up and they are half naked running through the streets. Most of the people I see are running or jogging like this. But the opposite may be true of them – they may not be able to handle hot weather since it seems their bodies prefer the cold.

In Miami we have the opposite thing – the temp goes down to 70 and people are bundled up as if they are in the Tundra. I saw a lady just yesterday dressed as if the city froze over. It was 69 degrees at the time. I was driving by and I was tempted to stop the car to take a picture for this story.

I’ve been going by Jason Chatfield’s credo – “Don’t curate your art to what gets likes. Curate it to what you like.” I’ve been doing that and people are responding and getting the gags.

Some of the comments the cartoon received:

I am one of those people… I am from Erie PA

I see “these people” all the time in North Myrtle Beach, SC! I’ll be all bundled up with my thin, Southern blood and there are “those” that are in shorts. I’m always thinking that they must be from Canada or Buffalo.

In Chicago. We have a light snowfall in tree limbs and on the ground today, but still some guys in shorts.

Just saw one in Kroger’s and it’s 34 degrees

Maryland but here we’re wearing flip flops!

It seriously seems to be a pandemic in the Boston area!

My daughter and nephew !!

Obviously not from Oregon, would be wearing flip flops!

Wisconsin, I see it all the time.

Me. I don’t feel the cold!

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Finding my audience

My cartoons get a lot of eyes on them, but I am never able to pin down my audience. I’m called “Boomer” by younger people and the older people sometimes don’t get the gags.

Recently there was that cartoon with Mariah Carey. I noticed on another website, Comics I Don’t Understand, that a large part of the readership did not know who she was.

The other day there was a Rachael Ray related cartoon. Some didn’t know who she was.

I’m not sure how people don’t know these household names. You don’t have to watch their shows or listen to their music, but how can you not know pop culture issues? You may not be into sports, but we all know famous athletes. Same with musicians I would assume. But guess not.

And that brings me back to my audience. A lot of times I refer to things from the past. You know, people or events and the younger generation doesn’t get it.

“Don’t Yuck My Yum,” is a common phrase these days used by Generations X, Y and Z, but many Boomers don’t get it. But you don’t really have to know the phrase, it sort of speaks for itself.

Anyway, who do I play to? I figured it’s best to stick with my own generation since we have more in common and the gags are more familiar to them, but now when I’m Yucking their Yum – then they don’t get me.

Then there was this priest cartoon. So many people didn’t get it. They told me so in the comments on social media. It’s simple – it’s a young priest who is hot inside the church so he either pulls up his cassock. That’s it. No hidden meaning.

I did it at the same time as I did another priest cartoon which was published on December 5. Nothing having to do with priest molestation or anything like that which is what some people were thinking. The guy could have easily been in a judges robe or a graduation gown, anything long that he had shortened due to the heat. Maybe if it ran in the summer, more people could identify with it.

This influencer/influenza cartoon went over big, people liked it a lot.

I was watching tv, I think The Today Show and they were talking about the flu being around this winter. The doctor kept calling it “influenza” which it is, but why not call it the flu? I guess because he’s a doctor. Anyway, every time he said, “influenza” I would think, that sounds like “influencer,” and there you have it. This one I really love, I laugh out loud every time I see it.

Sort of like the “ice hole” one. I hear something and it turns into something else.

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It’s an original Hazel!

I bought an original “Hazel” cartoon by Ted Key, done for the Saturday Evening Post.

It’s hand drawn and colored.

Hazel has always been one of my favorite single panel cartoons, along with Our Boarding House, Out Our Way, of course The Far Side and a bunch of others.

I watch Hazel on tv too, one of the nostalgia channels shows two episodes every morning and sometimes I watch, and listen, as I’m drawing.

I may or may not sell this and the same with the recent Peanuts cartoon cel I purchased.

My goal has always been to sell ephemeral items. I’ve done that in the past with Flintstone cartoon cels and old magazines and magazine advertisements, too.

This Hazel cartoon is from an estate collection of original art.

This early Ted Key ink and watercolor cartoon is done on paper that has been mounted to a board. This would have been done to give to an executive for their wall or even a retirement or going away gift. The cartoon has a hand written caption that reads “You’ll Have To Speak Up” with OK RUN written in blue pencil.

Overall paper that art is on measures 11″ x 8 1/2 inches. It’s not easy to find any hand colored Ted Key originals, so this is extra special.

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I bid and won this Linus cartoon cell

I bid on and won this Linus original cartoon cell created by the Bill Melendez Studio for A Boy Named Charlie Brown in 1969. I was the first Peanuts movie.

I bid on another one featuring Charlie Brown and another character, but didn’t get it.

My cousin works for the auction house that sells orignial cartoon art. They are based in Hoboken, so every time I come up from the PATH train (subway), one of the first things I see is the buidling he works in. I’ve only been inside once.

He told me a month or so ago about some of the Peanuts art they had getting ready for auction. He wasn’t allowed to show it to me, but he informed me about it.

A few weeks ago he texted me about two hours before the auction ended and I bid. I now have this great thing to add to my original cartoon art collection.

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Honoring Charles Schulz

I usually don’t publish a cartoon on Saturday, but today I did because it’s a special day. Today would have been Charles Schulz’s 100th birthday. And to celebrate, cartoonists are adding something Peanuts-related to their strips and panels to honor Mr. Schulz, Charlie Brown and Snoopy and the gang.

Mine are published at the usual places:
TomFalco.com
Facebook.com/Tomversation.toons
Instagram.com/tomversation.toons

But you don’t have to go to these places because here it is.

To find all the others, check your daily newspapers or look online for the comics using the hashtag #Schulz100

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Les Demoiselles d’Avignon

I went to Moma the other day, to what else – to visit Starry Night. But on my way as I walk through the museum, I always come across Les Demoiselles d’Avignon, the Pablo Picasso painting, which he created in 1907. I took this photo the other day.

It’s always striking to me because I created a duplicate in college. The original is 8 feet by about 7.5 feet and my recreation was about 3 inches by about three inches. We had to recreate a famous piece of art by cutting out the colors from magazine images.

I haven’t seen the one I created in years, but it has always stuck in my head. and the first time I came upon the original in MoMA a few years back, I was really taken aback by the size, since in my head I’ve always seen it as a 3″ x 3″ image.

We have to clean out my parents’ house soon and I’ll find that piece I created in my old room and when I do, I’ll share it with you so you can see how my recreation compares. In my head it’s perfect, but of course I’m sure it’s far from it.

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