Categories
webcomic

Voila! It’s a Duck

Cartoon of a boy in a magician's costume and a duck. The boy says, "I'm sorry, Sis! I didn't mean to change you into a duck. I meant to turn you into a dog!"

Cartoon of a boy in a magician’s costume and a duck. The boy says, “I’m sorry, Sis! I didn’t mean to change you into a duck. I meant to turn you into a dog!”

Siblings really do love each other. It’s just that there are so many possibilities when you have a magic wand and hat. It makes me wonder what I would do today if anything was possible. I want to make it clear to my siblings that I’d keep them just the way they are. They’ve turned into very nice adults, thank you. Besides, I don’t have a duck pond.

Categories
children cartoons

Leap Day Choices

Cartoon of a boy with a big mouth about to consume a birthday cake. The caption reads, "This choice may come back to haunt him."

Cartoon of a boy with a big mouth about to consume a birthday cake. The caption reads, “This choice may come back to haunt him.”

O why must birthday cake be designed so that it is not wise to eat the whole thing? I guess it’s because birthdays are meant to be shared with other people. You learn real quick in life to share some things or the choices will come back to haunt you.

it must be hard to have a birthday on February 29. But it could be fun too. Wouldn’t it be nice to live forty-eight years, yet only be twelve years old? The only hard part would be waiting for birthday cake every four years.

Categories
Off the Chip

Off the Chip: Hi, Jack!

Comic strip of two office workers. One is disturbed that the other was friendly and said, “Hi!” I drew this comic strip in 2000.

The other day, I was jogging and passed a professor I knew rather well. I said, “Hi!” He looked mortified. Perhaps it was because I was in jogging clothes. Maybe it was because I was hurtling by him at the blinding speed of six miles per hour.

I come from a small, midwestern, Indiana town where everybody knew your name and what you were up to. I thought everyone gave a nice, “hi” to everyone until I went to the big city. I soon learned to to make eye contact and give the appearance you didn’t realize the passerby on the sidewalk existed.

It’s strange, but I’ve felt more alone in big cities than I ever did in my hometown. So excuse me if I see you and assault you with a “Hi!” That’s just the way I was raised.

I drew this comic strip for a ministry that reached out to programmers in Silicon Valley. Let me know if I can help you out with a cartoon or illustration!

Categories
webcomic

Worry about no Worry

Cartoon rough of two women. One says, "I'm not scared of anything anymore, and frankly, that worries me!"

Cartoon of two women. One says, “I’m not scared of anything anymore, and frankly, that worries me!”

I drew this rough cartoon in my sketchbook during a tumultuous time in my life. I was laid off from a dream job, my wife was working at a place with financial difficulties in a town that faced severe financial hardships. We had two, young children. Though I was working, it was a temporary job. Oh, and September 11, 2001 was still fresh in our minds. There was plenty to worry about.

But all of the things we worried about never came to pass. It’s ten years later and there are a new set of worries in our life. What good does worry do for us? Live today and let tomorrow take care of itself, unless you want to worry about not worrying.

Categories
creativity

Morning Pages Reboot

The last several mornings, I’ve taken up an old habit. It’s been good to get back into it, and a joy to have a habit come back that is a good one.

Several years ago, I read a book entitled, “[amazon-product text=”The Artists Way” tracking_id=”kevinspearcom-20″ type=”text”]1585421472[/amazon-product]” It is a book on creativity by Julia Cameron. One of the prescriptions in the book is to start every day with morning pages. It is three pages of longhand writing you do as soon as you wake up. I came back to it after several months and I’m really glad I did. There are several reasons why I find this habit helpful.

It Clears my Head

I can get a lot of nagging thoughts swirling around in my mind. Did I pay that bill? Do I need to get that flea medicine for the dog? Is four cups of coffee too much for this average Joe? I can clear some of those thoughts out of my cranium if I just write them down and let things settle.

It Helps me Focus

It seems every where I go, people are complaining they have Attention Deficit Disorder. I’m sure some people have a legitimate case of ADD, but I’m beginning to wonder if it’s our society that can’t stay focused for more than a few minutes. Writing things down in the morning helps me focus on some of the important things of the day. It also helps me see some patterns when I go back and read what’s been on my mind the last few weeks.

It Gets the Creative Juices Flowing

Most of what I’ve done has been in the visual arts. Yet this writing habit has made me realize I can paint pictures in words too. It feels good for me to get things out in writing and see if there are any pictures that need illustrated among the text. I am constantly mulling over whether the pictures inspire the words or the words inspire the pictures. Getting some words down gives me a starting point. It’s a lot like doodling on paper to see what shows up. For me, morning pages are a form of doodling.

I encourage you to start the habit. I would also encourage you to find

“The Artist’s Way.” It’s a good book to read when you’re looking for a creative spark, no matter what type of creative work you are in to.