I grew up poor during the Great Depression. Other than the Bible, I don’t remember seeing a book at our house, not even a newspaper. Yes, Dad did have his pulp Westerns. They would have a glossy bright colored cover. The actual pages were the same as newspaper. They called them pulp fiction books. I couldn’t read them. The words were too big.
I have always liked to draw. With no training or art classes in school, my efforts were dismal. I remember in Junior high school where we did have art classes, my lack of training was apparent. For one assignment we were to draw a living room and decide on a color scheme and furniture arrangement. That was one of a few low grades I ever received.
I arranged all the furniture against the walls all around the room. Choosing colors was my downfall. I used every color in that box of eight crayons. I thought it looked great, if not spectacular. The teacher disagreed. I remember the incident because she used me as an object lesson on what not to do.
Nowadays my artistic endeavors are on the cartoon side. I use exaggerated heads, feet or other body parts to get my point across. My chickens, sometimes, even come complete with pinfeathers. My warped sense of humor shines through in my artwork.
I am almost 95 years old now. I am still at it, drawing, that is. I remember when I first started submitting recipes and stories to the Historic Union County Newsletter. The Editor required a picture with every article. At that time, I didn’t know about the art pages on the Internet, so I drew my own. Even after I found those pages, I preferred my own drawings, cartoons, that is. I emphasized whatever body part supported the recipe or story.
That is not the only place my cartoons “shine.” I don’t buy greeting cards anymore. For instance, I needed a card to encourage a far away relative who was experiencing some emotional distress. I drew a baby bear looking back at his tracks. They were going in the opposite directions. The caption read: “Sometimes, no matter what you do, Things don’t go right. Hang in there. Things get better.” The American Greeting Card Company lost a customer. I plan to do the same with my Christmas cards as well as future birthday cards.
I guess at 95 I can do whatever I want. I may be in my second childhood. I plan to stay there a while. It is a fun place to be.