Jo Ann Allen Boyce (left), Braved Mobs in Integrating a School #obitpix #joannallenboyce #civilrights #naacp #brushdrawing

My son plays an ultra-realistic first-person shooter game on his computer and he says it’s extremely stressful. Maybe that’s why I found a big bag of weed on his desk.

Happy Hanukkah!

Iain Douglas-Hamilton, Who Studied, and Protected, Elephants #obitpix #iaindouglashamilton #gouachepainting #illustration #portraitpainting

The cats have fleas and Helena and I likely will get cancer from the toxic spray we used to kill the pests. Conri and Janie fought treatment—the former hissing, the latter drooling. Both were traumatized, but afterwards Janie ran right into my lap. She still loves me.

Blowing out the candles with her hands so as not to spit on the cake.

Helena doesn’t celebrate milestones and if I bought her something for her birthday she’d return it because we should be saving not spending money. That’s why I made this and placed it on an old frame. She loves it, but wants to know who the painting is of.

Happy birthday to this deep thinker!

Joseph Byrd (bottom left), Who Shook Up Psychedelic Rock #obitpix #josephbyrd #fluxus #unitedstatesofamerica #penandinkdrawing

Guess who performed at the open mic and who performed in my imagination.

Looking for inspiration and finding a heap of it in the new collection on the graphic art of Roy Kuhlman: Reluctant Modernist (Fantagraphics).

John Noble Wilford, Times Reporter Who Covered the Moon Landing #obitpix #johnnoblewilford #journalist #nyt #brushdrawing

Mountain Head

Unstill Life

Cora Weiss (left), Lifelong Champion of Social Justice #obitpix #coraweiss #socialjustice #penandink #drawing

It’s best to do what you’re good at. The Kid had a facility at gunslinging a person dead. Charles Neider can kill you with a word. The Authentic Death of Hendry Jones (@McNallyEditions) #FridayReads

Cowboy in Leftover Paint

Janie Surfing the Web

I'm kinda exhausted but for the first time in a long while i feel like i'm doing good, funny work (or something close to it) again

Chuck Kesey (right with older brother novelist Ken and parents), Probiotic Yogurt Pioneer #obitpix #chuckkesey #nancysprobioticfoods #brushdrawing #illustration

Seeing a row of Aqua-Net in a drugstore triggers the sense memory of art school. My girlfriends set their hair (and mine) with it. The scent was sexual. It was also practical. I found it made a decent fixative for pastel drawings. #tbt

While I prefer Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes, Christopher Plumber is no slouch in Murder by Decree (1979). James Mason is fine as Dr. Watson, and Donald Sutherland brings the mustache.

There’s a cemetery behind my office building. I walked through it at lunch to say hello to Rodney Dangerfield. I also passed a street person getting their feet washed by health workers from UCLA (not pictured, I was scared they’d want to wash mine).

Pam Hogg, Clothes Designer Who Went to Extremes #obitpix #pamhogg #postpunk #designer #gouachepainting

At some point last month, I drew my 3,000th obituary. A few years before that I thought it was time to stop the practice. I still feel that way. While obsession can improve craft, it seems to stand in the way of something that I won’t know until my hand is forced to go elsewhere.

The words are taking over! @ohthehorrorla #zombie #horror #comedy #webcomic

Janie’s Morning Ritual

Frank Gehry, Titan of Architecture #obitpix #frankgehry #architect #gouachepainting #illustration

I’m a boomer, baby, so why don’t you kill me.

The Blue Gardenia (1953) is an okay noir, but holds a special place in my heart. That’s because the murder victim is an artist, played by Raymond Burr, who sexually assaults the wrong woman, and Nat King Cole is featured singing the title song.

My Front Yard at High Noon

Steve Cropper (second from left, with members of Booker T. and the MG’s: from left, Booker T. Jones, Al Jackson and Lewis Steinberg), Guitarist, Songwriter and Shaper of Memphis Soul Music #obitpix #stevecropper #staxrecords #memphissoul #oenandinkdrawing

My daughter told me she prefers Oxford commas. I just don’t understand kids today.

Mining My Memories: Birthday (proof I never liked birthday parties)

The view from my new office.

Helena polishing her piece for tonight’s performance. She’s working blue. Be there! Ensemble Studio Theatre (EST/LA), 7 pm in Atwater Village (3269 Casitas Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90039).

Daniel Woodall, ‘Country Noir’ Novelist of ‘Winter Bone’ #obitpix #danielwoodrell #novelist #countrynoir #penandinkdrawing

Turn Trauma Into Art

Scenes from the oddly titled noir, Manhandles (1949), featuring the durable Dan Duryea.

Reginald T. Jackson, A.M.E. Bishop Who Helped Sway Votes #obitpix #reginaltjackson #bishop #ame #penandinkdrawing

After 15 years working remotely, I’m a commuter again. While Simon does the driving, it’s still a trek to go from our northeastern house to the wilds of Westwood. I don’t get home until after eight, which used to be my bedtime. On my first day back, Ada left this on my desk.

Though I don’t remember anything about The Missouri Breaks (1976), I must have seen it because I held onto Jack Nicholson’s “You know what woke you up? You just had your throat cut” line. It’s a great movie, holding different tones together into a cohesive narrative, and it has a stellar cast.

Kai Erikson (second from left, center, his father, psychoanalysis Erik Erickson), Sociologist Who Probed Invisible Scars of Disasters #obitpix #kaierikson #sociologist #penandinkdrawing #illustration

Terms created in the last century that sadly continue to be relevant in this century. East West Street: On the Origins of “Genocide” and “Crimes Against Humanity” (@IReadVintage) by Philippe Sands #FridayReads

Everyone is great in Twentieth Century (1934), but Carole Lombard and John Barrymore turn ham into full-course meal.

Give My Creation Life in Leftover Paint

Walter Dowdle, Public Health Leader in Times of Crises #obitpix #walterdowdle #cdc #microbiologist #penandinkdrawing

Jewba and Willy, when I had two cats who liked each other #tbt

Did Adam Ant steal his jaunty style from Edgar G. Robinson in Barbary Coast (1935)?

When I exiting the freeway I saw this panhandler only because he had a cat.