BLAAAAAAAAAAAAART!!!

Halfway through August CRAZIES!!!  I know it sounds like a bummer, but summer vacation's kinda pointless when you don't go to school and have a job with flexible hours, but enough about that!  Time to BLAART!!!  Excuse me, there seems to be some interference.  It's time to BLAAAAAAAART!!!  What the?!?  Who or what keeps taking over my keyboard?!?  Scroll down and find out!  Enjoy...

Uh oh!  It would seem that one of the Goblins from Dana Simpson's Phoebe And Her Unicorn has escaped and is jumping comics pages again!  One of the sweetest and funniest comics in the funny pages today,  Phoebe is the brainchild of cartoonist and illustrator Dana Simpson.  A silly tale about a little girl who happens upon a unicorn after a rock skipping accident, Phoebe and her unicorn, Marigold Heavenly Nostrils, go on all sorts of fun adventures and encounter a whole host of wacky characters, from a candy-barfing dragon to a sphinx that decides to guard Phoebe's door to selfish unicorns that inflate themselves with helium in an effort to rise up to the sky and hog the sun for themselves!  Phoebe and Marigold meet all types, including goblins, who in this universe are depicted as impish, gremlin-like creatures that cause all sorts of mischief and are only capable of speaking in BLAARTS!!!  I'm not fluent in it myself, but BLAART is now a part of the comics lexicon, and that truly is a great gift that Dana's given to us, among many others!

That's all for this week.  We'll be back next time to end August on a high note with a possible kazoo solo or two!  Until then, take care, stay safe and I'll catch y'all later! 

HE AIN'T BUBONIC!!!

Well, we've come to the end of the line...  For June 2021!  Some other things look like they're coming to an end too!  Obviously, cautious optimism are the buzz words here, with caution especially still being very important.  But things are looking up, and hopefully conditions will continue to grow and improve.  Only time will tell.  But enough about that!  Ye few but faithful want some art, so here it is!  Enjoy...

Egads!  It's a rat!  A fat rat!  But that's not just any fat rat.  It's Plague! The creation of whimsical cartoonist Cyndi Foster, Plague is the sidekick of her mute hero, Oops, a boy who lost his voice while saving the not-always-dependable green rat.  It's a very fun comic that has sadly been on hiatus for a while now.  Cyndi's done fan art and guest comics for me in the past and even gave both Oops and Plague the helium treatment, just for laughs.  I haven't heard from her in a long time, so if you're reading this Cyndi, we miss you and hope Oops and Plague will come back soon and that you're doing okay!  Most of you no doubt noticed that all of this month's art wasn't colored.  Long short of it is, I hurt my back the week before I queued these and just couldn't sit up long enough to do it.  As much as I love doing colors, I kinda like the line art look.  Leaves a lot to the imagination.

And that's a wrap on June 2021!  I'm not sure what direction I'll go in next month.  I might post some pics from Knott's and the SD Fair just to give things a different look.  In the meantime, take care and especially be safe this weekend.  Fourth of July is Sunday and, pandemic or not, people are still gonna mess around with fireworks.  Until next time, party on and I'll catch y'all later!

ADVENTURES WITH ALICE!!!

 Welcome to September CRAZIES!!!  Well, things are still in a secluded state, but we're soldiering on here as best we can.  I don't know what the future holds, but I'll be doing my best to carry on and give you folks something to look forward to every week, and this week is no exception.  So let's get on with the show and take a look at today's art.  Enjoy...

Careful Alice.  Those wonderland mushrooms have been known to have some pretty weird side effects!  Today's art comes from Animal Alphabets who, for their fourth theme, decided to go with creatures of the fairy tale realm.  Exactly how Alice, a human, fit the creature description is a little above my comprehension, but she was fun to draw and honestly, I'm always looking for reasons to draw giant mushrooms, so it all works out fine!

Well, that's all for today.  We'll be back next time with a fairy tale icon so big, you'll be huffing and puffing just to keep up with him!  Until then, Atay safe, take care and I'll catch y'all later!

HOLY FRITTATA!!! IT'S A NEKOMATA!!!

Welcome back followers of the House of CRAZY!!!  HALLOWEEN IS NEXT WEEK!!!  WOOOOOOOOOOO!!!  Sorry, gotta compose myself here.  But how can I not be excited?  I love Halloween!  I love the fall season!  And so many wonderful things are now on the horizon!  It's hard not to go nuts!  But, I have a job to do.  Well, not really.  I don't get paid for any of this but it does keep me grounded, so I'll count it as work!  Anyway, enough yammering, it's art time!  Enjoy...

The Nekomata.  A creature of Japanese folklore, its roots can actually be traced back as far back as ancient China even.  There are several variations on its origins and nature, but almost all seem to agree that they are cats capable of producing fire and have two tails.  That was more than enough for me to run with it when Animal Alphabets made this one of their creatures for their mythical themes!  This piece is another one I'm fairly proud of color-wise.  I know my style is far from amazing, but I do feel I've always had a skill at matching colors.  It's probably the part of cartooning I enjoy the most.

Another week down CRAZIES!  We'll be back next time with a revealing look at some old pals who've come back to help us send October off on a high note.  So be sure to come back and check it out!  Until then, take care and I'll catch y'all later!

BRING OUT THE IMP!!!

We are back and smack dab in the middle of October!  Things are moving along rather rapidly as they often do here.  With any luck, I have all my Halloween decorations up by this point and was able to get a few more trips to Disneyland and Knott's Berry Farm in while getting a few good days in at the day job.  But now is not the time to discuss such things.  Now is the time for art!  So let's dive in and look at some!  Enjoy...

Imps.  Mischievous little gremlins that love to cause trouble when you're least expecting it, for many years they were believed to be responsible for the awful pranks that plagued many communities.  Come to learn later on that it was just a bunch of teenagers who lacked discipline.  *Cough* No matter the source, they have existed in folklore for millennia, and when Animal Alphabets put out this theme, I knew I was gonna join in!  I'm pretty proud of the colors on this one.  Seems like a good fit for Halloween!

That's all for today folks.  We'll be back next time with some more mythical art that'll have us all a little hot under the collar, so be sure to come back and check it out!  Until then, take care and I'll catch y'all later!

HYDRA?!? WHERE'S CAPTAIN AMERICA WHEN YOU NEED HIM?!?

Welcome back CRAZIES!  After a brief interlude we are back with some art!  Since it's October, I felt some creatures often associated with the scary side of things would be more appropriate for this month's posts.  And what could be scarier than a Hydra?  Your mother busting out baby pics in front of your prom date?  Well, I suppose that can be pretty terrifying.  I went to prom stag, so I wouldn't know!  Anyway, I think y'all came here for art, so let's get to it!  Enjoy...

The Hydra.  A creature of Greek and Roman mythology, somewhat dragon-like, that sprouted two new heads for every head that was lost.  A straight shot to the heart was pretty much the only way to kill it, unless you were willing to wait out old age!  Hercules and Jason both fought one through myth and movies and today, it gets the CRAZY treatment!  This was originally part of Animal Alphabets' mythology run, which has been seen quite a lot in recent months.  Times have been a bit busy lately and these scary creatures are fortuitously convenient!  Plus, it's always nice to go back and clean things up a bit!

That's all for today.  We'll be back next time with a creature known for its small stature but mischievous nature that rivals any tall enough to ride a roller coaster!  So be sure to come back and check it out.  Until then, take care and I'll catch y'all later!

THE HIPPO AND THE HIPPOCAMPUS!!!

Well, it's the final week of September and excitement's at an all time high!  Rather than drag this on, I'm gonna cue up some Earth Wind And Fire (September of course!) get straight to the art.  Sound good?  Great!  Let's do this!  Enjoy...

The Hippocampus.  Pretty much the horse equivalent of a mermaid, they don't get too many appearances in fantasy films.  Thankfully, Animal Alphabets respects them and gave them an entire day to be loved and admired by all!  Given that "Hippo" is part of their name, I thought it would be funny for it to encounter an actual hippo as the full name of "Hippopotamus" means "River Horse!"  See?  We learn something new everyday!  Hopefully the hippo is mindful of the little snail by the rock!

And that's a wrap on September 2019!  Hopefully y'all enjoyed more of these mythical creatures.  I plan to rustle up something spooky for October, so be sure to come back, especially next week as we kick things off with pictures from Long Beach Comic Con 2019!  Should be a blast!  Until then, take care and I'll catch y'all later!

POTOO GRIFFIN FLOATS TO THE TOP WITH A BLOATED FAT RAT!!!

We are halfway past September CRAZIES!!!  I love this time of year so much!  Fall just has a magical way with me and I hope the season's been good to you all as well!  But hey!  It's art time!  So let's get to it, shall we?  Enjoy...

Those darn Potoo Griffins!  Or gryphons.  Gryffins?  Look, these creatures have like ten different spellings.  I can't keep track of them all!  Guess it depends on the cultural origin since many speak of them.  Today's theme again comes from Animal Alphabets.  Since Griffins were the mythical beast they chose, I thought I'd toss in a nod to my pal Cyndi Foster, the wonderful artist behind Oops, the tale of a boy and his rat, his big FAT rat, and the adventures they get into in a medieval world where griffins frequent the land!  The rat in question is Plague, a scoundrel in every sense who usually gets poor mute Oops in trouble.  Potoo Griffin, who's more or less Cyndi's mascot, is a young, silly griffin who's still discovering the world.  And because he's young, his wings don't quite work yet, so he puffed up Plague and road him to snacks galore!  Hopefully, Plague won't let his swollen pride get the better of him this time around!

And that's another week down.  We got one more then its October!  But we still gotta finish off September, so be sure to come back and we'll send the ninth month of the year off in proper fashion.  Until then, take care and I'll catch y'all later!

DON'T FAWN OVER A FAUN!!!

And we're back!  Moving along here, we are now into week two of September and with any luck, I'm already putting the final touches on my Halloween builds and getting ready to set up my yard, though given past history, I'm probably way the hell behind on things and now trying to juggle 15 tasks at once.  Maybe this'll be the year it's only ten tasks?  We shall see.  Anyway, you came for some arts, and I happen to have some!  Enjoy...

Hey hey!  It's Mr. Tumnus!  Narnia's nicest albeit somewhat creepiest resident!  Animal Alphabets strikes again here.  The theme was a faun, so I went with the one most people are familiar with.  Not sure if James McAvoy looks back on this role with fondness, but I'd like to think he does.  He's done many big things since.  Narnia was a stepping stone of sorts.  Now that Disney inadvertently has the film rights to Narnia again, part of me wonders if they'll continue the series or just start again from scratch.  The original films weren't bad, but there was room for improvement.  I will always be of the opinion that the rhino should've mashed more fools than he did when he charged into the White Witch's army!  Only time will tell I suppose.

And that's that!  But fear not!  Another post is coming next week!  And I think you all will find it quite uplifting!  Until then, take care and I'll catch y'all later! 

RAR WITH TODD, THE CANDY DRAGON!!!

WOOOOOOOOOOO!!!  No I'm not doing my Ric Flair impression, though I think we all gotta salute the "Nature Boy" every now and again, I'm celebrating the end of February!  Now before any tears are shed, let it be known I have no issues at all with the second month of the year.  In fact, I've had a lot of fun days in February over the years.  But if y'all know me well enough, you'd know some VERY good times are rapidly approaching, so yeah, I'm pretty excited for the coming month!  But we gotta finish this month first, so lets do this with a candy-coated cameo!  Enjoy...

This is Todd.  He is a dragon.  In fact, he is a Candy Dragon!  What sets him a part from other dragons?  Aside from looking like he may reside at Santa's Workshop in the off season, he also spews candy instead of fire, making him a safer dragon, though he still has sharp teeth and claws.  A dragon's still gotta dragon yo!  This colorful little fella comes from the wonderful comic series Phoebe And Her Unicorn, the tale of a spunky little girl named Phoebe and her Unicorn pal, Marigold Heavenly Nostrils.  Together, Phoebe and Marigold have all sorts of fun encountering fantasy critters like goblins and dragons while exploring a real world that sometimes proves even stranger than any fantasy realm!  Dana Simpson is the creator of this delightful, all-ages tale and a pal on Twitter.  She's also very kind and very supportive of other creators, knowing the ins and outs of web comics all too well.  When Animal Alphabets picked Dragons as their mythical creature for the letter D, I knew I had to draw Todd!  It should be noted that his eyes are actually red.  GoComics doesn't really do any archive feature without actually looking through ever last strip of the comic you're looking up.  So, I made a judgement call and thankfully, Dana liked it!  Kinda gives his eyes an M&M's, hard candy vibe!  Be sure to give Dana's comics a look.  They are fun reads for everyone!

And that's a wrap on February!  I hope y'all enjoyed the creatures of ancient mythology.  I had a lot of fun drawing them and once again wanna thank the team at Animal Alphabets for creating such a fun theme!  I promise there's even more waiting to be posted in the future!  Speaking of the future, the art will be going on hiatus for the next few weeks, but fear not!  I got a pretty good substitute waiting in the wings!  What could it be you ask?  Well, remember when I said some good times were coming in March at the beginning of the post?  Well, one of those is WonderCon!  And it just so happens, I got some more con pics to share from the past!  So be sure to come back and get in the WonderCon spirit with me!  Until then, take care and I'll catch y'all in March!

THE SAUCY CENTAUR!!!

We are back!  This mythical beast theme has been a lot of fun to post so far!  Outside of Hogwarts, Narnia and Middle Earth, these critters don't get much attention, so I'm happy to shine a spotlight on them and even happier that Animal Alphabets gave so many artists a forum to share them on!  Hopefully, other creators out there will be inspired to put these creature to page or even in more dimensional forms!  But hey, we still need to get to today's art, so saddle up and give it a gander!  Enjoy...

The Centaur.  Half man, half horse.  Ain't much more to it than that.  Clearly, this is going to be a very interesting "Birds & Bees" speech when Mama Centaur comes home!  Centaurs play a big role in many fantasy realms, most notably those of Narnian origin, but they've appeared in other mediums as well.  The Centaur I tend to remember best is the cyclopian one that the great Ray Harryhausen did for The Golden Voyage of Sinbad.  He was a true master of not only special effects but creature design as well.  His creatures were amazing and looked as if they could work in the real world.  I'm honored to say I met him way back when and cherish the brief moment I spent with him.

And we're done for this week.  Next week, we'll wrap things up for February with a scaly tribute to a sweet comic!  Until then, take care and I'll catch y'all later!

A BASILISK!!! TIME TO BAIL!!!

Here we are again!  At the midway point of February already!  Well, I can't really chalk this one up to any kind of weird speed up in time.  It's a short month.  The middle comes quicker in February!  But hey, you're not here to debate quantum physics.  You wanna see another mythical beast!  At least I hope you do.  It's okay to lie and say you do even if you stumbled on here accidentally while looking up cat vids, I'll totally be cool with it!  Anyway, here's the next beastie!  Enjoy...

The dreaded Basilisk!  A terrifying snake-like creature with a poisonous bite and deadly stare!  In some mythologies,  the Basilisk has short legs while others depict it as a straight snake.  The stare also has differences among the myths as some claim its stare can turn a victim to stone, much like a Gorgon, while others claim it merely paralyses a victim.  Either way, I think we can all be thankful this critter doesn't currently exist.  People have a hard enough time leaving regular snakes be, let alone giant ones that can kill you by merely making eye contact!

And that's all for this particular week!  Be sure to come back next time to see a figurative horse of another color!  Until then, take care and I'll catch y'all later!

TONGUE-TIED IN MYTHICAL MAYHEM!!!

Welcome to February CRAZIES!!!  We made it through another dreary January and I'd say the wait was worth it!  Know why?  Because now we know the fun of Spring and is that much closer!  Boysenberry Fest!  WonderCon!  Easter!  Shamrock Shake Season!  Do I really need to go on?  But first, we do have to get through February which has its own fun to be had if we're gonna be fair about things.  So let's dive in with some fun art kicking off a fun month with creatures of legendary proportion!  Enjoy...

The mighty Alphyn. The body of a lion with the arms of an eagle (which is weird as an eagle's arms are actually wings, thus making the alphyn a four-legged animal), an exceptionally long tongue and a knot tied in its tail.  Okay, I'm gonna be honest folks.  This isn't a very practical creature.  Its front legs would stymie any kind of fast movement and its long tongue would probably hinder chewing.  Don't even want to know how the tail got knotted!  But hey!  It's mythical!  That's still cool, right?  Today's art came about from the great Twitter art collective Animal Alphabets, which picks a new theme every round of letters.  This particular round revolved around creatures of ancient mythology, which happens to be among my favorite subjects to read up on!  The Alphyn is a creature I often mixed up with a Gryphon, so it was nice to get things cleared up!

And that's all for today!  The whole month's gonna be mythical creatures, so I hope y'all are ready for some fantasy!  Be sure to "slither" back next week for more mythical fun!  Until then, take care and I'll catch y'all later!