433. J-Lo and Bill Burr Sightings, One-Dip Portraits & The Pooperazzi!
+ My set flatlines, Draw Me Anything, Pencil Place Cards, Book reviews are in & Morris gets a cameo!
…Coming to you from the recovery room of a Mt Sinai hospital bed, welcome to Issue #433 of New York Cartoons!
Don’t panic, it’s nothing serious. Just a routine procedure involving a long camera one needs to do once they’re in their forties. Like Jerry, I’ve resisted this, as I feel the press has invaded my life enough.
With that said, I would encourage any men my age to get the procedure, as it may well save their (too busy to find the time) lives. Sadly, my dad caught it too late. It’s easier to treat if you just get it done now. Nothing brings the male ego into check like a paper gown that opens in the back.
Jenny on the Blocks
I was at my boxing training on Sunday morning when I turned my head (narrowly missing a right cross to the cheek) to see none other than J-Lo doing plyo box jumps with her trainer about 10 feet away. Her trainer, decked out in the brightest tracksuit I’ve seen since Katy Perry returned from space, was stalking the gym floor, tipping his aviators and glaring at anyone who even tried to take a sneaky photo. So, no photos sadly, but definitely another bizarre New York moment that never gets old…
Similarly, last week I’d just finished watching a video of Bill Burr tear a journalist a new a**hole on Instagram before putting my phone in my pocket and taking Morris downstairs for a walk. I tripped off my stoop to accidentally bump into Club Soda Kenny. I apologized as I looked up at who he was walking with— it was Bill Burr! on the phone to his daughter, Lola. Such a surreal moment. One of many weird little fever dreams I get to have in this city.
RELATED READING:
When Punchlines Flatline
I had a great time performing at the Comedy Shop in the West Village on Saturday night. A particular highlight was when the credit card machine started malfunctioning halfway through my set— it sounded like an ECG monitor for my set…
A chance author encounter in NYC
Speaking of chance encounters, the talented writer
dropped me a line after my chat with about the upcoming book, and wanted to talk publishing while she was in NYC for Agent meetings. Only through Substack do I get to meet real, honest humans who share the struggles of being an author —Andi is one of them. She just wrote about it on her own Substack below:Like dog people, book people find each other. Authors, illustrators, editors, and readers support one another because we believe in the power of literature to open people’s hearts, change the conversation, and challenge the status quo. We also learn from one another.
Reviews for the new book (Out in 2 weeks!) have been flooding in and I’m so glad to report they’re all good! Here’s a quick video of my sketch to finished art process on one of the illustrations in the book— all made with human hands!
Thank you to
for his kind note on the book:
Let me know in the comments if you have a dog— I have a very special treat for you… (and your dog. But don’t say ‘treat’ out loud.)
This week’s Sketchbook is a small selection of the drawings from my Draw Me Anything session on Thursday…
Watch the replay here to see the rest!
This week on Process Junkie:
Pencils Process: Personalized Portrait Place Cards!
I’m new to the authoring world, so being summoned to a Manhattan mansion opposite The Met is not a common occurrence for me —a cartoonist who still gets excited about free bread at restaurants. It’s the New York literary world's equivalent of being called to Hogwarts. Except the other students are dressed in haute couture and drinking 25-year-old scotch. These can be the kind of parties where book deals are conjured out of thin air between the amuse-bouche and the main course while I'm still trying to figure out which fork to use for my endive salad.
I got a follow-up email from the hostess, Deborah Roberts. My inclusion was clearly a clerical error that had been discovered. Or so I thought… that was until I received a very novel request from the hostess:
"She wants to commission me to draw portraits of the guests for custom place settings," I read aloud, which was true but sounded like something I made up to get the doorman to let me in. It was ingenious, really. Most of these parties have printed place-cards; some have a calligrapher hand-write them, but I would be creating hand-drawn original artwork for each guest as a place setting and a take-home party favor.
Just when I thought the value of my hand-drawn art was drying up, a new idea like this popped into the world, and I was animated to get scribbling again. I hope hand-drawn, tangible art like this is valued in the future over cheap, soulless AI-generated slop.
Keep reading below:
One Dip Wonders: The Magic of Creative Constraints
There's something absolutely liberating about working with limitations. Today, I want to share a technique I stumbled upon during what I can only describe as a "drunken fugue state in Paris" (hey, some of the best creative breakthroughs happen this way).
Picture this: I'm wandering the streets of Paris, sketchbook in hand, when I realize I'm running dangerously low on ink. Instead of packing up and calling it a day, I gave myself a challenge that would forever change my approach to sketching:
The One Dip Rule: Complete an entire portrait using only one dip of the pen in the ink well.
That's it. One dip. When the ink runs out, the drawing is done – whether you think it's finished or not.
DMA#2: Marty McFly, Dracula's Dogs, and a Naughty Squirrel...
Thank you to everyone who tuned in to today’s “Draw Me Anything” — the second one so far. The suggestions were much more creative this week, making the 30 minutes fly by.
Tune 3pm US EDT on Thursday for another “Draw Me Anything” live stream!
Click below to add it to your calendar!
Three found puppies turned into adults - one of whom just recently departed me. His name was Chaco - after the canyon in New Mexico, people used to stop me and tell me he was the most beautiful black lab they had ever seen - he was! The second is what I call a Mexi-poo (which, when read between the lines, means Mexican mutt- SHHH - don't tell him) His name is Sipapu, pronounced SEE-pah-poo. Which is the opening in the floor of a kiva where the Pueblo people emerged from the underworld into the glittering new world. The third is Chiqui, a herder breed of unknown origin whose name comes from actually being "cheeky" but needed a bit more flair! Btw, Ann Telnares recommended you and I am delighted!
Our family currently includes two dogs: Sasha, a two-year old Lab-Heeler mix (we think), and Sage, who is three and possibly a Dutch Shepherd mix? They are both rescues. Dogs are the best. Say hi to Morris for me!