David Dazzler, teenage (?) magician. Performing on the streets of Alexandria for children who looked equal parts mesmerized and terrified.

He really did not look well.

Went to Alexandria on Saturday in a party of seven (three of them minors). Some kind of dog-fest going on downtown. Cool buildings--would like to do more studies, but we had to keep moving!

Discussing the baby (Alexandria, VA, 1/7/12)

Let's just say Friday night's "Wizards of Waverly Place" finale did not meet expectations.

Just like my Selena Gomez caricature.

Some other Jackalope studies from "Boundin'." He's a character with potential, I tell ya!

A few years ago I piced up a way cool (I thought) stuffed animal version of the mythical Jackalope from Pixar's short film "Boundin'." The film (which I liked) was the product almost entirely of old time animator Bud Luckey, an impossibly romantic figure, a native Montanan, and a throw-back to the wide-open days of animation's past.

I always liked the look of the character, so I started noodlin' around with drawing him--first ia the stuffed animal, then found the short on the Bonus Features Disc from the nieces' The Incredibles.

Model sheets and the like are a big weakness in my skill set. But I'm having fun.

My cousin Steve's birthday was coming up a month or so ago, and I wanted to do something a little special. This usually means either spending too much money, or breaking down and doing a drawing.

I chose the latter.

But to do so, it's always nice to find a good card to start with. Especially if the card's theme/look/punchline spawns an idea for the interior drawing.

So when Dear Wife and I stumbled upon this one, I knew exactly where I'd go from here. We snapped it up.

And I drew a pretty funny interior that cleverly played on the cassette tape theme, but also the idea that Old School both has its good points, and bad.

So, great. I felt like a wonderful human being for conceiving and executing a loving tribute to the anniversary of my dear cousin's birth. A stamp was bought, the letter was mailed, I sat back and awaited the plaudits.

(Yes, plaudits.)

Problem was, no plaudits were forthcoming. Dear Wife and I were distracted, having plunged headlong into a moving all our worldly goods into storage and crossing the country for a few months' sojourn in the wilds of Virginia--but still, I was bugged.

I checked in with my cousin's wife.

"Didja get the card??"

Reply was "Negatory, good buddy."

?!?!?!

I'm bummed. I'm angry. The U.S. Postal Service (howevermuch maligned by others) had never let me down.

Well, dang.

We reached Virginia (drove it, brother--three days). I checked with my cousin again.

Same reply.

I stewed.

That card + drawing was too good to let disappear in some postal vortex.

I started hunting for a replacement card.

Modernity, as we all know, has done much to "flatten" our consumer choices, wherever we are in this great nation of ours. But where greeting cards are concerned, VA. offered significantly fewer options than Californy.

It took a few weeks of dedicated searching, but I found a replacement. The exact same card.

Awesome.

And with a little elbow-grease, I recreated the original drawing (no photo reference for either--and this one was straight ink. I work without a net, often with disastrous consequences--lemme tell you, I've screwed up the first drawing and had to buy the same card again more times than I care to remember!).

And that's what you see here. Because I decided on one last triple-check before mailing the Birthday Redux, ("Oh, the embarrassment," I thought, "Were Dear Cousin to receive TWO near-identical drawings!" As a semi-pro, I know that's a no-no: much too much of a "look-behind-the-curtain" to allow a civilian...they might stop believing in my magical drawing powers).

So, I emailed my cousin Steve one last time.

"Are you really, really, really sure you didn't get that (great) birthday card I sent??"

He replied, "The one where you drew me with super-huge arms? Oh yeah, I got that. Thanks."

!!!!!

Here's the Redux version. (Kinda muffed the brachioradialis/extensor carpi radialis longus....)

Last one from the airport series. Intense!

My niece drew this portrait of her dog Eddy--"Eddy Boy," as we call him. I find it incredibly soulful.

So I put it on t-shirts for the whole family!

We will all be driving one...and we will all have Spell-Check implanted cerebrally....