The Barker Cartoon Museum

I am beside myself. (I’m standing next to a mirror.) About the Barker Character, Comic and Cartoon Museum in Cheshire, CT. My pal over at David Wasting Paper said it’s “the country’s largest collection of comic strip, cartoon, TV, western and advertising collectibles.”

At first I was like, “Uh, okay. Sure. It’s probably all right.” Then I saw... this:



Just one little itty bitty Popeye display case at the Barker. Jeepers. And admission is only $5. What a deal!

See more photos and read about David’s visit to the museum.

Barker Character, Comic and Cartoon Museum (BarkerMuseum.com)
1188 Highland Avenue (Route 10)
Cheshire, CT 06410

Here’s a Google map for you.


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Summer Comes To Boston, By Way Of Aaron Meshon

I love, love, love this June 13th cover for Boston Globe Magazine, by illustrator Aaron Meshon. It’s so vibrantly colorful I can almost taste it. (Colors do that to me. Yum.) Look how he put in the little people, on the dock there, they’re but color blots; and the heat, flowing Bob Dylan flame-style, outta the hot-dog stand; and the whale nibbling marshmallow sails. Why, it’s downright summery.

Except, I wonder — the guy driving, he sure is paying a lot of attention to something out the window (giant cooked-but-still-living lobster claw?) and not watching where he’s driving that blue Paul Bunyon-sized automobile. Will he mow down the little pointy trees, the ice cream ferris wheel, the living flowers?

Nah. He must be parked. Nobody messes with pink log slug. Go pink log slug, go!

Check out more of Meshon’s work at www.aaronmeshon.com.

Caricature Of Warren Buffet (And A Book Recommendation)

Warning: book recommendation coming up. I read Warren Buffet’s Management Secrets, by Marry Buffet and David Clark, and it’s awesome. Awesome. Proof that you can be nice on the inside and get nice stuff on the outside. I got the book because Small and Big’s shareholders are all like, “Dividends! Results! Guillotine!” And because of the subtitle: Proven Tools for Personal and Business Success. Among the morsels from the booky book:

• The best companies to work for and invest in have a competitive edge: they either sell a unique product that doesn’t change much from year-to-year (Coca-cola), sell a unique service (H&R Block tax service), or are a low-cost buyer/seller a product/service that everybody’s continually in need of (Walmart).
• Work at a job you love. The people who are most successful love what they do. There’s no point in suffering over bucks — if you’re working only for the money isn’t that a form of greed?
• “Praise by name, criticize the category.” Give others credit for the success, small and big, and do it publicly; but if you’re going to criticize, criticize the bigger picture instead, like an entire job profession (bankers). If you must criticize a specific person, praise them first.
• Win arguments Ben Franklin style. Instead of arguing with someone, agree with them. When you’re on the same side the person is more likely to listen to your ideas. This is huge and not about lying and, well, too big to explain here. Read the book.

Best Of Twitter Witter

My favorite tweets. Also, your crystal ball and fortune cookie told me to relay this message: Joy will be enhanced by following plfrederick on Twitter. When in doubt listen to your inner cookie.

Caricature Of Dolly Parton

Dolly Parton
With apologies to Ms. Parton, her fans, her family, and her descendants

Caricature Of Stan "The Man" Smith

Stan The Man Smith
And his little eyes.

Caricature Of John F Kennedy, JFK

John F Kennedy
For the love of God I don’t know where this came from.
It was supposed to be a caricature of Sean Connery (like this one) but somehow JFK squeezed himself in there. Or maybe it’s Robert Kennedy?

No Head Trips

Another Caricature Of Sean Connery

Sir Sean Connery
I like this caricature of him in later life.
More than the younger one.

Caricature Of Sean Connery

Sean Connery
When he was a young buck.
More of an illustration really, but who’s counting.

Meditation Cupcake

Another Caricature Of Cameron Diaz

Cameron Diaz
The second variation. (This is the first.)

Caricature Of Cameron Diaz

Cameron Diaz
Here's another caricature, more extreme.

Cartoonists' Dinner Today!

You going? Maybe I'll see you at the New England Chapter of the National Cartoonists Society (whew, a mouthful) in Somerville, MA. Keith Knight, one of my fav-vor-ite cartoonists, is the Honorary King Guest Speaker Extroidinaire. Woo hoo! Check him out at K Chronicles.

Get And Stay Tooned

Heads up on an awesome cartooning magazine called “Stay Tooned”. I read this issue here and it is jam packed with more jam than you can imagine about cartoonists and cartooning. I’m very impressed, and my chickens gave it five eggs up. Plus toast. For the jam.

Here’s what dee mag has to say about itself:

Stay Tooned is the magazine for working cartoonists, aspiring cartoonists and fans of the art of cartooning. Each issue features profiles of professional artists who draw comic strips, comic books, editorial cartoons, caricatures, greeting cards, advertising illustrations, children’s books, magazine cartoons, web comics, and/or who work in the fields of animation and gaming. Rounding out the interviews are articles and columns pertaining to the art and business of cartooning in America. Each jam-packed issue is loaded with drawings, photos and information sure to enlighten and entertain aspiring and seasoned cartoonists.

Says artist Joe Bluhm of “Rejects” fame, the magazine’s publisher and editor John Read “does it ALL himself for the love of the art, so support him by subscribing to this truly unique publication.”

Get more information at www.staytoonedmagazine.com.

Caricature Of Eleanor Roosevelt

Eleanore Roosevelt
No one ever draws her pretty. Eleanor, you’re pretty to me and Mr. Roosevelt, and probably some blind people.

Receiving Isn't Always A Walk In The Park

Here’s a nice story from an author and artist I enjoy very much, Sark, in her book, “Eat Mangoes Naked,” where she discovers something about receiving:

I was on my book tour and in Washington D.C. to do the radio show, NPR. My limousine driver was named Muhammed, and he had heard my interview on the radio and said he'd felt very moved by what I’d said. Muhammed then declared,

“You are very gifted and I really wish to serve you today.”

I explained that he was serving me by driving and asked him to take me to a park. I got my tennis shoes out of the trunk, and Muhammed ran over and said,

“Please allow me to tie your tennis shoes.”

He dropped to his knees before I could even answer. As he tied my shoes, tears came to my eyes as I remembered that the last person to tie them had been my dad.

I am embarrassed to admit that I then noticed that he wasn't tying them very well! They were loose, and the shoelaces were too long. I suddenly realized that I felt extremely uncomfortable at receiving his help, and had to find fault with it in some way.

So I practiced receiving by going on my walk without adjusting the laces, and smiling as they flopped around.

Sark’s website is at PlanetSark.com.

Another Caricature Of Charles Laughton

Charles Laughton
A second caricature of the actor (here’s dee first).
His sloppy mouth and face were fun to draw.

Caricature Of Charles Laughton

Charles Laughton
The original Quasimodo, the Hunchback of Notre Dame
(second version)

Facial Feature

A test to pair my writing with my caricatures. The feedback I’m getting is that my writing’d work better with a perhaps gentler style. I agree. Now if I could just teleport into the future, where I have a personal drawing style that works....

Another Caricature Of Céline Dion

Céline Dion
That Singer Lady
This is the second drawing. It’s more eccentric, more caricaturey.
Here’s the first. Both are drawn from the same photo.

Caricature Of Céline Dion

Céline Dion
A Titanic Singer
(second version)

As The World Turns

My cartoon for the June issue of the Pet Gazette. Last month’s cartoon, Romancing the Garbage, didn’t print in the newspaper as well as could be, so this time I went with a pure black-and-white line drawing, and with three panels instead of six. I’m still trying to find my style.

Ack, I have a pimple in my ear. Why do I have a pimple in my ear?

Pineapple Pete started out as a cat (it’s one of 100 nicknames I call my kitty), but the peanut gallery thought a goldfish was funnier. I was also contemplating a ferret but I’ve never lived with a ferret. I’ve never had that special connection of being owned by a furry snake with legs.

(A shout out to all the pet dogs, cats, horses, parakeets, hamsters, bunnies, honey bees, chickens, chameleons, guppies, goldfish, sunfish, snakes, turtles, hermit crabs, Sea Monkeys, and rocks in my past! Sorry if I missed anyone. There are only so many letters in the alphabet.)