Day 31: fruit cocktail

31.01.14; hmmmmm... For some reason I feel I somehow misinterpreted this wrong.... Oh well...

     That is one full month of sketches. In all honestly, I thought I would have quit by now. Too stubborn I guess. Anyway, so far so good. Thanks for checking out the sketches. If you feel like dropping me any kind of comments, please do so. And if you like what you see, please tell your friends.

     Have a good weekend!

Day 30: a mosquito

30.01.14: a little rushed tonight and not as creative as I would have liked. Then again, Kjell Aukrust has drawn the ultimate mosquito in one his books, so I just went for a study on this one...

     Can I just officially for the record express just how much I admire my wife; four and a half months pregnant, up since 5.15 this morning with the famous three year old with chicken pox who has been going NON-stop all day and is so hyper this evening it took roughly three hours to get her to sleep, and for the last hour only mummy would do. My wife was up there making up stories on demand and doing her best to calm the boss down. (I forgot to mention that she also cooked dinner and organized builders to come to the house... My wife, not the three year old...) and tomorrow she gets to do it all again. If it wasn't for the fact that today's "thing" is a bloodsucking, parasite, I would dedicate it to her. However most of what I do is for her, to her and because of her, so that's got to count for something. Honey, you are amazing!

Day 29: a roller coaster

29.01.14: I have a feeling I have drawn this sometime before... Ah, well, fun it was. Anyone wanna ink it? And yes, that is Jon Pay, Gus MacDugal and Tommy "the Kid" Bambino (from "Prizefighters & Knickerbockers") in the car. Coulda/shoulda spent more time on this one, but I have a feeling the three year old with chicken pox may give us a rough night, and I have already spent to long on it! Good night every body!

(All characters copyright and trademark, C. A. Aabø 2014)

Day 27: a crayon

27.01.14: yes, that is a crayon and yes, they did have crayons in the 1930s. They were invented by Edwin Binney and C. Harold Smith in 1903, so there! This one has to go out to the KING of crayons; my friend, my big broh: the amazing colorist F. M. Cuonzo. (Some of his color work can be seen here: http://fmcuonzo.deviantart.com) 

(Jon Pay is copyright and trademark, C. A. Aabø 2014)

Day 26: tube socks

26.01.14: yeah, so, the socks, because, well, you saw the the socks right? And the theme was tube socks, so I drew well socks... You noticed the socks?... I mentioned the socks, didn't I?

Day 25: a burrito

25.01.14: okey, this one's all on my wife; the one who warned me not to draw Jon Pay every day. I had some things on my mind today and had settle on simply drawing a burrito cause that's all I could come up with. My wife asked me what today's thing was and when told said "so you be having Jon and Gus eating burritos in sombreros?"... No choice! Had to do it. This one for you, honey!

     As for the forced perspective; sorry. Anyone who can find less than ten things with it, aren't looking hard enough.

     Jon's line reads:

     I like thisnew Mexican-themed restaurant ... Even with these silly hats they make us wear. Burrito a little too spicy, Gus?

     Also thought I had to share another double page spread. It's been an interesting week to look back over. Some of these look really weird together. Thank your everyone who keeps checking back.

     Today I say thank you to everyone who sent happy thoughts me and my family. So far so good.

(All characters are copyright and trademark 2014, C. A. Aabø)

Day 24: a trumpet

24.01.14: where to start...

     Trumpet, I think noir right away, but I also had to have it played in a smokey spotlight. And so was born Eugene "the honker" Bailey, the trumpet man. Too bad he owes SO much money to Rod the hatchet.

     Number 24 was a milestone for me. A very smart friend once told me that you have to do something 24 days in a row for it to become a habit! (Just to prove that this friend is WAY smarter than me, I can't remember if it was 21 or 24 days he said... So I went for 24, at least I'd be wrong on the right side) So that target and milestone has been reached. Thank you, Jensen!

     Have a great weekend, everyone!

Day 23: a paper clip

23.01.14: should have been a simple one, but I believe by now you see that I can't do anything the simple way. Maybe the ruler should have been broken out for this one... The name of the file is "Sticky Fingers" McClurty... Doc, before you ask; I have NO idea who he is... Pulled the name out of nowhere... Will keep practicing drawing fingerprints.

Day 22: a dolphin

22.01.14: yes, that is suppose to be my daughter playing cowgirl with a dolphin and for those of you know her, you KNOW she will be first in line to volunteer for something like this when she is old enough. Tomorrow, though, she will complain that I did not draw her as a mermaid; she has named her unborn sibling as baby Ariel...

     I believe this is my first dolphin but after her bossiness (and I am still talking about my daughter) sees this, I don't think it will be my last.

     Told you yesterday that today would not be gangster related...

     Happy comic-day!

Day 21: an ironing board

21.01.14: "...early money laundering..."

     Yes, the recurring 1930s theme continues. Yes, that is both an 1930s ironing board and iron. I do love that time period and if you can throw in a gangster-/detective-/noir-theme, all the better!! This looks like the kind of scheme Fox and the Wolf would come up with...

     Just looked at tomorrow's theme... I will impress even myself if I manage to bring the above theme in to it...

Day 20: a pickle

20.01.14: went a little loose on this one. Sorry. If you can't tell, Jon and Gus have been given cement-shoes by Smilin' Frankie Cunzo (again).

     Yep, Jon and Gus (and even Frankie) are back. Don't know if this qualifies as a "Side-step story" and it goes a long a few strips I did WAY back when, but it was there and I had to go for it. At least these strips demonstrate the hate-hate relationship between Jon and Frankie.

     For those of you who can't read my handwriting (and I don't blame you...), the dialog reads as follows:

     Panel 1:

     Jon: This is some pickle, aye, Gus?

     Gus: I know. It cost me a extra nickel

     Panel 2: 

     Jon: Not what I meant, Gus. How can you eat your lunch given our current situation?

     Gus: Frankie said I could... And I figured I wouldn't get a chance later...

(All characters copyright and trademark, C. A. Aabø 2014)

Day 19: fangs

19.01.14: yep, I worked Jon Pay in to this one too... There is of course a story behind Jon's line but it's too long and too late to go into as it's back to work in the morning. Suffice to say I blame Doc Monster and the late, great Freddy Gonzalez for it all. And it IS true there are no vampires in Cobb City, but more and more immigrants arrive there every day, so who knows.

     A little bonus today, I just liked how the "double-page spread" actually looked for the last three days, so I decided to included that as well. As you can see the allocated spaces varies and it makes for some interesting looking pages. 

     Have a great week!

(All characters copyright and trademark, C. A. Aabø 2014)

Day 18: bubbles

18.01.14: ...okey, so I might have taken the SMALLEST bit of creative freedom with this one. When I did yesterday's "thing", I just remember something I used to preach which was that everything should have a story. Took that to heart with this one and had the Magpie (from "Tears on Rain Street") celebrating and relaxing after job. Again, I believe I may be jumping the gun as I believe both champagne bottle and bucket may come later on... Oh, well...

(All characters copyright and trademark, C. A. Aabø 2014)

Day 17: a full house

17.01.14: ...I am sticking with Gus' shrubbery excuse. In my head, I just saw "Smilin'" Frankie Cunzo (from "Bullets, Babes & By-Lines"), Vito Friscati Jr. and Jon Pay playing cards, and that was that. Love all these characters. Frankie I stole from a friend's sketch book, but when I admitted this to my friend, he has no recollections of ever drawing anyone looking like this, so I guess I am off the hook. Jr was created after reading Disney's Villains book where a lot of the theories behind (you guessed it) Disney's villains are discussed. And Jon... Well, Jon is Jon.... The flappers are just a pair of Jr's random flappers. He never seems to be without them...

     As always, thanks for checking in and have a great weekend.

(All characters copyright and trademark C. A. Aabø, 2014)

Day 16: Bob Marley

16.01.14: apologies to any fans. This was not ment to a caricature or a portrait. Did not have the time to plan so I just started drawing and this is what came out. Again, far from my normal style of drawing and very enjoyable. The result... Well, I'll leave that up to you.

Day 15: shrubbery

15.01.14: ...I could have gone with the knights that say NI! I could have drawn a lot of bushes or even just a hedge, but NO I had to have Gus trimming a shrubbery to look like a horse...?!? I am sticking with Gus' defense cause that is all I got and I am hoping every artist that sees this will back me up...

     I may have combined a few future "things" here. I believe there may be a horse, a step-ladder and...those hedge-clipper things to draw further down the line. At least with the step-ladder, I'll get a second chance to get the perspective right on the steps...

     Thanks for reading (and any comments of support for my defense...)

Day 14: mushrooms

14.01.14: now, THIS one I enjoyed. I think it shows. Reminded me of when I was looking at a lot of Brian Froud's stuff. ALWAYS got inspired by looking at his work. May have to break out his books again...

Day 13: a cabin

12.01.14: didn't have a choice today. It had to be this cabin.

     This one comes with a dedication. This one and today is for my parents, both of them (but especially my dad). This was their cabin and I have not even come close to doing it justice. The amount of love, art and attention to detail they put in to this beautiful "cabin" is only rivaled by what they have put into their lives and in to that of my sister's and my own. Thank you! Nothing but clear skies ahead!

Day 12: luminescent plankton

12.01.14: ...yep, told you this was a weird one... Felt like I was back in art-school. And my wife got her way; not every drawing is Jon Pay inspired. This is as far as I think I can get from Jon Pay and Cobb City, although... If the put to the challenge, I am sure (co-)writer Doc Monster will find a way of getting this bad boy in to a story (@Doc: your brain is working on it right now, isn't it?).

     This was fun though. And for those if you with good eyes, yes, I did start out ambitious and had a few more planktons in there. As my kneaded earaser started to crumble along with my motivation, I stopped after one.

     Tomorrow is Monday, back to the old grindstone. Have a great week!

Day 11: a fire escape

11.01.14: felt like this ended up being a little departure from my normal style and became more of a study of a fire escape. Wanted to have a chase-scene or something like that happening, but it was not to be. Oh, well... Fire escapes are actually one of the coolest things to draw, pain in the tush to draw, but very cool. Will Eisner could tell entire stories on a fire escape (I believe he did once or twice actually) and they are great for romantic love-scene or dramatic, action-packed chase-scenes. In other words, I enjoyed this one too. I know, tomorrow's one will be a bit more of a challenge...

     I try not to look at what the "thing" am going to draw further ahead than one, so not to be tempted to skip any of them. I do however see what is coming up when I finish one. That way I have time to be creative with my spontaneity the next evening. And I have to say, tomorrow's is a doozy and something I have never drawn before and never thought I'd be asked to draw!

     Thanks for reading my ramblings and I hope you enjoyed today's "thing".

Day 10: a bottle opener

10.01.14: first off, I did NOT come up with the Brassknuckle bottle opener. Was simply looking for a little reference, and there it was...scary... But that inspired everything else, so there you go!

Secondly, for you young whippersnappers seeing this and wondering what the #&€$¥#% a bottle opener is, find somebody older to explain the concept to you. Now if you know what a Brassknuckle is, but have no clue about the bottle opener part, than I am worried...

And thirdly: YAY! I am in the double digits! Only 632 more to go!

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Day 9: an ottoman

09.01.14: okey, so technically this is three ottomans but I got carried away, alright?! Some really cool ottoman "uniform" reference out there, not to mention the mustaches.

Day 8: a string quartet

08.01.14:  a string quartet... Not sure if this is what they had in mind but I could not pass up the opportunity/excuse to draw the Funginis again. Unfortunately broke my "no eraser" rule... Oh, well... Also believe this is the one that had taken me the longest so far.

Day 7: a sandwich

07.01.14: a sandwich... What more is there to say?

Day 6: Van Gogh's ear

06.01.14: Jon's line, which I could not fit, should read: "I found it, mr. Curator. The fact that someone would cut it off again, I would classify as both a gross act of vandalism AND extremely ironic..." 

(With humble apologies to Van Gogh)

Day 5: a desk chair

05.01.14: Had to throw in my character Jon Pay again as this is his chair. I am trying to keep things simple, but I have a tendency to get carried away. Thus, in stead of using two technical pencils with different lead, my normal preferred choice of weapon, I am simply using a traditional HB pencil. Also doing my best to not use a eraser. Things may, of course change over time...

Day 4: a skunk

04.01.14: a skunk. It stinks...

Day 3: an anchor

03.01.14: Had fun with this one... Again a little gangster related.

Day 2: a hammock

02.01.14: For those who REALLY want to see it, that is my character Jon Pay relaxing with a cold one!

Day 1: a rolling pin

01.01.14: A simple start...

The explanation

Hey, I'm Charlie.

I am a graduate from the Joe Kubert school of cartoon and graphic art, inc. in Dover, New Jersey. For years I worked as a professional cartoonist and illustrator. Unfortunately circumstances changed and art has gone from fulltime job to a part-time job, to a occasional job, to a hobby to some thing I do some times. It got to the point were it was almost "that thing I used to do".

Xmas 2013 by brother- and sister-in-law, in an attempt to inspire me to get drawing again, gave me the book "642 things to draw". I saw this as a challenge and since 01.01.14, I have drawn a "thing" a day and posting them for friends and family on Facebook. One of my oldest friends stated early on that this is not good enough and that it should be shared with more people. Thus this blog. 

Will do my best to catch up over the next couple of days and then post on both places at the same time. I hope you find these sketches at least a little entertaining. My goal is simply to apply the writer's statement to "write something everyday" to drawing: draw SOMETHING every day.

Please let me know what you think and enjoy!

Charlie