Yes, in the woods, but they are civil about it.
Art Institute, Chicago
Two sketches for "Cat and Rat," a black-and-white book that's been floating around in my head for years.
A man in a meeting he probably didn't want to attend.
Ruff sketches for a book about dogs.
In 2011 a little boy asked me if I thought a snail could go around the world. I have been playing with the idea ever since.
I used to draw shoes at meetings
because no one could tell what I was up to.
Drawing of a John Singer Sargent portrait of Charles Deering
Last leaf.
Forensics meet. She had a passion for her
words that only comes with youth.
Walter Hamady, proprietor of the Perishable Press, professor of
typography & bookmaking at UW Madison, and a great influence on me.
PechaKucha is an event where a bunch of people gather to hear interesting presentations so I can draw them.
Soccer match, DeKalb, Illinois
Created for an unpublished book about parents. This was going to be "Mom Hair" and "Dad Hair."
Lobby of the Miramar Hotel, Santa Monica
Outside the kitchen window, winter, 2020
My brother, Peter.
(This actually looks like him)
Marshall Ross, creative director and one the smartest, funniest people I ever worked with. He also introduced me to Amy Krouse Rosenthal, which changed my life.
Marshall Ross. A lousy likeness but the shoes are not bad.
My cousin, Marty Nash, an artist in Minneapolis.
Panera Bread, Santa Monica, where I spent a lot of downtime working on a book.
Screaming babies aside, I think children are better travelers than adults.
We were watching an outdoor play and this plane flew overhead.
No offense to anyone named Boris,
or to anyone who owns a house.
My translation of Amy Krouse Rosenthal's dog, Cougar, who barked wildly whenever the mail carrier arrived.
I like to think this happens all the time.
Outdoor jazz concert, Geneva.
A doodler couldn't ask for a better doodling opportunity than a marketing focus group, where you sit behind a one-way mirror, watching people pontificate about a matter of great importance (in this case, motor oil), while eating M&Ms.
Guy at a focus group who watched and commented on some terrible commercials in exchange for lunch.
Bill Westbrook, Ernie Schenk, Susan Hoffman and my left foot while judging an advertising award show, which is where a select group of people voluntarily spend two days locked in a room to look at advertising, for no pay. Hard to believe, isn't it? 1991, San Francisco
Susan Hoffman, creative director at Wieden & Kennedy.
Bill Westbrook, who was my boss years later.
In retrospect, the best part about judging advertising awards shows was the opportunity to meet other ad nerds and draw them.
More advertising award judging. At least this time it was in Hawaii.
Lee Clow, a living legend in the advertising business. Hawaii, 1997
Mark Fenske, copywriter. Hawaii, 1997
Gary Johns, art director, San Francisco
No cats were harmed in the production of this drawing.
Pancakes at my brother Ted's house the morning after seeing Ry Cooder. Chicago, 1982
Dancing pirates.
You are what you eat.
Two sketches for an unpublished book about hugs.
I don't write nonfiction because it wouldn't allow
me to come up with silly stuff like hugging sharks.
When in doubt, draw birds.
Kim Witczak, Minneapolis
Our dear friend, Linda. I glanced over at her during a church meeting and drew this.
A watercolor palette turned into something by use of a brush pen.
Minneapolis Institute of Art
Wascally Waccoon, unused book sketch
Amy Krouse Rosenthal's leather satchel – beat to heck and full of magic. Drawn at Book Expo, New York, 2015.
Upstanding lady
Our cat, Reba, a bundle of hugs who used to bring us her toys whenever we played ping pong. R.I.P., Reba
A feeble representation of a portrait I'd put right up there with Sargent's Madame X. de Young Museum, San Francisco
Jamie at PechaKucha, drawn quickly with a brush pen.
At a utility board meeting in Madison, 1982,
back when people smoked in public.
An accumulation of cumulus.
Brush pen, dampened thumb and Photoshop
Chris Bangle, head of design at BMW, trying to explain car design to a bunch of marketing dorks. Munich, 1996
"Air Portraits" from a book tour.
My brother, Ted, 1982, Chicago
Jan N., 1982, Chicago
Pencil and highlighter markers.
Two guys from film productions.
We used to live on a street popular with walkers, so there was a constant stream of models.
City Council member, apparently unhappy
with the art direction of a document.
It's not a fetish, just something I like to draw
A tiny, throw-away doodle that didn't get thrown away
Kevin Molony's dogs, London
Spotted while watching the 2004 presidential debate. It went downhill from there.
Her name was Hope.
San Francisco
My sister's front yard, Wisconsin
The eyes and mouth are drawn, so it counts as a drawing.
We end with a woodcut by my Dad, because it all started with him.