Hello you bunch of beautiful reprobates. As I originally promised to be back with a new Idol Scribblings deity this week, and that is now not happening, I though I ought to tell you all why.
We had a lot of thunderstorms around our parts this week. During one of these storms we ended up with an extra cat. They came in through our cat flap to take shelter, and haven’t left since! Instead of drawing my cartoons I have been trying to track down his humans and acting as referee between him and out two existing cats. So far, to no avail. If we can’t find his humans, and he settles down a bit with our girls, he may well end up becoming a member of the family. He certainly seems to want to be with us. (In addition to this feline drama, work has been really busy this week as the UK prepares for the next stage of lockdown easing.)
Our Mystery Cat VisitorMaking himself at home until we can find his home.
Hello Idollers everywhere! I hope you are all managing to stay safe, well and reasonably sane out there. My apologies for the unannounced break last weekend, but I was somewhat under the weather, but I am now on the mend. I have a couple of bits of news for you today.
Commissions
What do you get the person who has everything? Deification! Not since the Caesars apotheosised their uncles has it been this easy to confer godhood on your loved one. In other words, I am now offering commissions!
For a consideration, I can turn your friend, family member, colleague (or even your pet) into an Idol Scribblings deity. The picture can be themed around their hobbies, interests, pets, career, favourite food, or whatever you like!
To give you an idea of what you would be getting if you ordered a commission from me, here is an Idol Scribbling of my sainted (now deified) aunt that I produced for her as a Birthday present. In case you hadn’t guessed, she likes champagne and bunnies.
Moira – Goddess of Champagne and Bunny Rabbits
Prices will depend on whether you want black and white or colour, and how many things you want going on in the picture. So it is really hard to give you an idea here, but prices start at around £50 for a black and white character with a witty blurb (unframed). If you are interested, contact me via the contact page to discuss your loved ones ascension to the pantheon https://idolscribblings.blog/contact/
Schedule
I can’t believe it’s August already. This means it is more than time for me to start putting together my second book, Idol Scribblings 2 – The Revenge of the Gods (or something like that, working title). Which I am aming to have on sale at the end of November in time for your Christmas / Hanukkah / Yule / Dies Natalis Sol Invictus shopping. Also, as previously mentioned, I have come to realise that Idol Scribblings is a marathon, not a sprint, and as such I need to start factoring in some time off so I don’t burn out. With this in mind, until the release of the second book, I will be doing two weeks on, one week off. In other words, a deity week, a beast week and then a weekend working on preparing the book.
I will keep you posted about news of the upcoming book launch, including the date and how to pre-order to be assured of getting your copy. Loyal fans who pre-order before the cut off date will be able to get their names in the book!
Remember, the first collection of deities from 2018-19 are still available, but I now only have 5 copies left! So if you haven’t got one yet, don’t delay. They are only available new directly from me. You can snaffle your copy here https://idolscribblings.blog/the-book/
My partner in crime Kris has pointed out to me that I have been banging out a cartoon pretty much every weekend for two years now (this started about 10 months before the blog did). Since I went into colour, the cartoons are taking a lot longer to do. They used to take me about 4-8 hours (all in) and now it can be as many as 15 hours. Kris timed me. I had no idea how long I was spending. I get VERY absorbed.
This is, in truth, a good thing. It’s because I am trying to keep improving my skills and make the artwork better and better. However, it is tipping my family-work-house-hobby balance out of whack. Especially as I am now partly back at work. Kris has pointed out to me that I am going to burn out if I don’t take five and make a plan. I also want a bit of time for another unrelated project that needs finishing. If this were a “proper job”, I’d have booked and taken some holidays in this time.
I have decided to have a full fortnight’s off and return freah as a daisy with a Yorkshire Day special at the start of August.
During that time, I am going to decide whether to go back to doing some of my cartoons in black and white, or whether to reduce my posting frequency slightly. Whichever will mean I can keep cartooning in a sustained way and keep my readers on board. I welcome your thoughts on this.
Please let me know if there are any favourite deities you would like to see a re-run of in these weeks.
Thank you for all your ongoing support for my idol scribblings. It would never have come this far, or even existed without you. You folks mean the world to me.
Idol Scribblings the Book and Idol Scribblings the Exhibition were both launched on Saturday. The launch was a lot of fun, made so by all the fantastic people who turned out to get their hand on a copy and to enjoy the art and mince pies.
Here are some pictures and a video of the event to give you a taste of the exhibition.
Photos of the launch party by Lana M Louise photography (Twitter: @lanamakesart )
Video by Josh Matkin of The Pickle Jar ( Twitter @ThePickleJar3 )
Mock up cover only. I am still working on the final version.
Hello Idollers everywhere!
So much is happening behind the scenes at Idol Scribblings,
that it is high time to share a post to tell you all about it.
On 30th November Idol Scribblings – The Book will be officially launched. A collection of 52 deities, ancient and modern, for all occasions. You can pre-order your copy NOW! (More on that below).
I am frantically working on turning the Idol Scribblings pantheon into a beautiful tome for you all to enjoy. I’m tidying everything up, putting it in order and adding some finishing touches like the pictures you see here. My wonderful partner in crime Kris is lending me his typesetting and graphic design skills to help make it look perfect. He really is much better at that stuff than I am. There is so much I have to think about that I never realised until just now. I am having nightmares where I am chased by bar-codes, copyright notices, ISBNs and RRPs.
As if that wasn’t going to keep me busy enough, from 30th
November until 14th December 2019 there will be an exhibition of
Idol Scribblings artwork to accompany the book launch. This will be at the
Coterie Gallery in Riverside Precinct, Rotherham. Come and see your favourite
gods and goddesses up close, accompanied by humorous installations. I am
putting a lot of thought into the staging to create a suitably mythical
experience for visitors. You will get to find out why I keep seeing adverts for
plastic bananas on Facebook lately.
You will be able to purchase the book, and order high
quality framed and unframed art prints from the gallery in various sizes. There
will be a launch event at the gallery on Saturday 30th November from
10am until 12 noon with mince pies and drinks, a chance to get your book signed
and other strange rites.
The Coterie Gallery in Rotherham where the launch event will take place.
Anthony Carroll, who runs The Coterie Gallery has been immensely kind in giving me gallery space for this fortnight. The Coterie Gallery is a brilliant community arts oriented gallery which takes a chance on new artists like me. The gallery is always free to enter. It’s well worth keeping an eye on their Facebook page, as they have some fantastic exhibitions on from immensely talented people you may not have heard of before, as well as Anthony’s own beautiful work.
Your name included in the list of thanks to Idol
Scribblings supporters in the book
A VIP invitation to the launch event on Saturday
30th November 2019
Signing and personal message (on request)
An early bird discount of £2 per copy.
My undying gratitude for your help to make this
book a reality.
If you want to order more than two copies for posting, or
would like a copy posting outside of the UK please send me a message via the
contact page here -> https://idolscribblings.blog/contact
and I will get back to you with a quote for postage.
Thank you for reading. I hope you all have a fantastic
weekend.
You may also enjoy this little video about the birth of the
Idol Scribblings project.
Hello Idollers everywhere! Today I am here to tell you about one of my other art projects. Before I start, however, a quick PSA about Idol Scribblings.
From this week onward Idol Scribblings will be posting new deities weekly. I am aiming for these to be posted on Sundays. I have now almost caught up on sharing the earlier cartoons. I have a few in reserve so I can have the odd week off if needed.
The Strangefish Project
Over the last six weeks I have been working on another project for the superb Prog Rock Band Strangefish. They are celebrating 30 years together as a band this year, and I have been a fan for about 18 of those. Even more so since Kris (my sparring partner) joined them on bass guitar last year. Their music innovative, intricate and whimsical, and is that rare and beautiful combination of both cleverly complex, yet thoroughly pleasurable. They are also one of the most entertaining bands I have ever seen live. Every show has immense energy and lots of silly shenanigans. You can find out more about them here https://strangefish.band .
Strangefish in real life.
This project started as a silly caricature of one of the band members, and developed into a set of six portraits to celebrate their anniversary. It was great fun unlocking each band member’s inner strange fish. They are drawn using pointillism technique, and each one took about 15 hours to produce. That is considerably longer than I can afford to take on my deity cartoons.
There are a limited number of sets of 6, 6×4 prints of these pictures for sale. They will be going on the band’s merchandise page shortly.
I hope you enjoy the pictures and also discovering the music of Strangefish. If you are in a band or other creative project, and would like to commission some artwork from the Idol Scribbler, please drop me a message via the contact page .
Dave Whittaker – Drums
Dave Whittacker – Drums – The Rocktopus
The Rocktopus’ eight prehensile limbs and unnatural rhythm make them ideal Prog Rock drummers and it’s three hearts make it quite bold (or in some cases, bald). It warms up using four of it’s eight arms and uses suction cups to hold onto sticks. If the stage is perfectly level, they will squirt ink from both sides of their mouth. Although they are of a naturally cheery disposition, don’t pick a fight with a Rocktopus. They are always well armed and will give you a good vibraslapping.
Joanne Whittaker – Vocals
Joanne Whittaker – Vocals – Michaelangeljo
Found in the waters off the west coast of the UK, this species of chelonian is so famed for it’s singing performances that its other common name is, “The Turn Turtle”. It lives on a diet of tropical cocktails. When not singing they have been observed schooling large groups of young fish.
Bob – Guitars
Bob – Guitars – Jellybob
The most mysterious of all sea creatures, the Jellybob says little but expresses much through their guitar playing. In their natural habitat they have to patiently endure constant harassment from exuberant singing cuttlefish. Although mildly venomous, the Jellybob will only sting when it fancies having a good laugh watching someone try to wee on themselves.
Paul O’Neil – Keyboards
Paul O’Neil – Keyboards – Keyhorse
The male Keyhorse has a very small territory, about half a square metre. This is very useful when venues are small or other musicians want more stage. They are able to use their tail to hang on to things when faced with strong ocean currents or nutty singers. They can change colour almost instantly, during courtship or after playing a bum note.
Steve Taylor – Vocals
Steve Taylor – Vocals – Scuttlefish
Scuttlefish are sometimes known as the chameleons of the sea due to their ability to rapidly alter the colour and pattern of their skin or, in this particular species, the colour and pattern of their shirt!
Kris Hudson-Lee – Bass
Kris Hudson-Lee – Bass – Kristacean
The Kristacean is a Rock Lobster, found off the shallows of the North East coast of England. It’s can often be found playing the Sea Bass. It’s never seen a Tuna though.
I first met Carrie-May in a muddy field some time in the later half of the fifteenth century. Well, not really, but we were doing a jolly good job of pretending. She is a woman of many passions and varied skills. She can serenade you on the cello, calligraphy a beautiful passive aggressive note to your neighbour, excavate the remains of your ancestors, massage your head or shoot you down like a mangy dog with a longbow with equal finesse. She is also a superb artist, you can check out her creative work at Closer to the Hedge.
Carrie-May suggested Senna – Goddess of Regular Occurrences and Wantoo – God of Sound Engineers.
If you were a deity, what would you be the god of? God of Multiple Interests, Unfinished Projects and the Easily Distracted
What should your worshippers leave as an offering on your altar? My worshippers should leave me half finished drawings and unused craft supplies. They might also play hymns on musical instruments they are not very good at.
What would your sacred animal be? My sacred animal would be a magpie (make of that what you will!)
I challenge you to a duel! Choose your weapon! My weapon of choice is a blunt craft knife and a badly played cello for ranged attacks.
I would very much like to introduce you to some of the original Idol Scribblings Hive Mind who helped come up with the names of some of the first comedy deities.
They are, truly the loveliest bunch of odd-balls anyone was lucky enough to call “friend”. Their wit and unconventional wisdom has saved me from crushing ennui more times than I can count. Today I am going to introduce you to four of the crew. (I will introduce you to some more of them in future). As you will see, they are all extremely interesting people.
Should I be worried by the fact that everyone’s answers to the bread question included an exclamation mark?
Wendy Barrows
Wendy with Loki the Cat
Wendy Barrows is one third of the team behind the music and video gaming channel “The Pickle Jar”. You can follow them on Facebook here.
She is also a keen amateur musical theatre performer, and strives to keep Yorkshire cultured with the help of the Maltby Musical Theatre Group. If ever Wendy appears to be unhappy, please give her a cat to cuddle. If this does not work immediately, just keep adding more cats. Wendy has an impressive property portfolio, in Minecraft. She manages to tear herself away from the consoles now and then to do her “proper job” in education. If she can find enough coffee to achieve lift-off that is.
Wendy’s contributions to Idol Scribblings include coming up with the name Idol Scribblings. This suggestion won a poll of the original Hive Mind Members to become our title.
If you were a deity, what would you be the God of? The God of Sarcasm. Obviously.
What should your worshippers leave as an offering on your altar? Large bars of Mint Aero and fluffy pajamas.
What would your sacred animal be? The domestic house cat.
What is the correct name for a hand sized, spheroid, bread product? A bread roll, or just a roll, as that is the correct term!
A biopic film of your life is being made. Who should play you? Joan Cusack.
Adam Broadhurst
Adam and Bandit
Adam Broadhurst is the lead singer of the truly excellent folk-metal band Under a Banner *. When not rocking hard he can usually be found up a mountain, in the rain, with his dog. He can probably be best described as a traditional dark, brooding, English romantic poet, in a camper van. When forced to perform penurious servitude for material gain, he teaches English in the West Midlands (and therefore I blame him entirely for the accent).
If you were a deity, what would you be the God of? The God of Rain.
What should your worshippers leave as an offering on your altar? A soggy OS map.
What would your sacred animal be? A soggy, oily Shag.
What is the correct name for a hand sized, spheroid, bread product? That’s a cob if hard and a bap if soft!
You are going to star in a movie fight-scene. Choose your fight-scene soundtrack. The Lark Ascending by Vaughan Williams (this would be a very non-violent fight)
* My band Ethryll will be supporting Under a Banner in Sheffield on the 28th September. Details here.
John Kennard
John and the Mystery Hands.
John Kennard is one of the few drummers I have known who can read a book without getting a blister on the end of his finger. He is also a tenor (ladies!) and chorister with Chandros Camber Choir. You may have seen him at one of the BBC Proms concerts performing as a penguin impersonator. This is especially impressive as in real life he is a Racing Hippo. Should you ever need to win John over as a friend, invite him round to play board games. John’s superpower is his ability to unknot giant nests of tangled cables. Seriously, this guy would make Gordias sweat.
When he needs to eat, John works as a Technical Architect. John is great at pointing out a genius joke or pun opportunity that I have missed for a deity. He has contributed to the writing of Semolina – Goddess of School Dinners, Piccaeolus – God of Wind Musicians and Houmous – God of Dips. All of which are coming soon.
If you were a deity, what would you be the God of? The God of Atheists
What should your worshippers leave as an offering on your altar? The blue pills, (they should be taking the red ones).
What would your sacred animal be? The Babel Fish (cf Oolon Colluphid).
What is the correct name for a hand sized, spheroid, bread product? A very large dough-ball!
You are being abducted by aliens and taken to their home planet. They will let you take one luxury from your home town (Worthing) to introduce to their world. What are you going to take? A horde of creakily-rampaging geriatrics.
James R Turner
James and his Yorkshire Juice.
James is a music reviewer, critic and journalist who is very highly regarded on the Progressive Rock, Folk and Alternative Rock Music Scenes. He writes for Spirit of Progressive Rock website, and he also works in Public Relations for Bad Elephant Music. James R Turner is known to his friends as “The Big T” (well, that’s what we call him when Mr T is in the room). He was, allegedly, the inspiration for one half of Waldorf and Statler. Once, James and I brewed a cup of tea on a fire tornado made using white spirit and a Trangia (DTTAH).
James lives somewhere in the South West with a lot of animals. When not working at things that are actually interesting, James works in banking. James has been a great supporter of Idol Scribblings, he has contributed a hilarious deity which is to be published this week (No spoilers).
If you were a deity, what would you be the God of? The God of Indecision
What should your worshippers leave as an offering on your altar? CDs and Real Ale.
What would your sacred animal be? The West Highland White Terrier.
What is the correct name for a hand sized, spheroid, bread product? Bread cake!
If you had to pick one celebrity voice to narrate your inner monologue for the rest of your life, who are you going to choose? Peter Capaldi as Malcolm Tucker.
Idol Scribblings 