Harpo

Completing my Marx Brothers series (with apologies to Zeppo and Gummo) is this picture of Harpo.

I find the dichotomy of Harpo's stage character to be fascinating.

On one hand, he was a puckish tramp creating havoc at every turn. On the other, he was a captivatingly brilliant harpist whose playing spoke more of angels than of clowns.

In one of the movies (I forget which) Harpo sits down to play, and just before he begins he looks heavenward for a moment, his usually animated face peaceful and radiant. This always breaks me up inside. I don't know if this was meant as a tribute to God, parents or to music itself, but it seems to me a beautiful gesture of gratefulness.

A grateful clown. Not a bad role at all.

Chico

Just in time for the Christmas season – the man who believed "there ain't no sanity-clause" – Chico Marx.

One of my favorite scenes in "A Night at the Opera" is where Chico plays the piano for an adoring crowd of children. His 'pistol-shot' style of playing (thus the pose) is a riot to watch.

Groucho

When I was a boy, I was occasionally allowed to stay up late and watch old movies on TV. My favorites were the Marx Brothers' comedies.

I'm sure I couldn't have understood half of Groucho's rapid-fire insults or logic-twisting pontifications, but I knew in my own limited way that this was a comedic genius.

In the photo that I used for reference, Groucho is wearing a hat very much like his brother Chico's. I removed it for a more typical appearance.

The cherubic pose is hilarious.

Blue Jay Way

Winter is about to stride into Upstate New York.

The last few nights when I've taken my walk around the circle I could feel it coming. It's been warm, but there is something unsettling in the skies - a certain tell-tale grayness like an old man's woolen suit coat.

The warmth is a ruse. It keeps me from seriously searching for my gloves and boots. But soon one morning I will awake to three feet of snow, shocked, dismayed and totally unprepared. The Old Man will have tricked me again.

My wife is a bird-lover, Blue Jays being one of her favorites, so I drew this bookplate for her to put into all those gardening and cookbooks.

Blue Jays seem to get along well with Old Man Winter. They flit about the snowy trees in a dazzling display of royal blue tones. Observing them is one of the many small things, that when added up, make winter tolerable for me.

Of course finding those boots would help the situation, too.

A Likeness(?) of Shakespeare

Here's a portrait of William Shakespeare that was copied from another artist's portrait of Shakespeare which was itself a copy of an earlier artist's portrait which was itself a copy of a yet even earlier artist's depiction of... well, you get the point.

Oh, you don't? Okay, I guess I'm just kind of apologizing (in a round-about way) for continuing the perpetuation of what is probably a totally fabricated and unsubstantiated 'likeness' of the great bard.

But hey, if I drew him looking like Karl Malden you'd be outraged. Really you would. You'd be saying to yourself "Since when does Karl Malden wear frilly collars and an earring?"

Spooky Image No.4

Edgar Allen Poe.

Writing, writing, endlessly writing – to overcome the pain, to overcome the sorrow.

Lenore, his tragic muse, sadly looks on as he works his poor fingers to the bone. The Raven also looks on, but not in pity. Should our hero begin to dose, the feathered fiend spurs him on with a shrill caw and a peck at his disheveled coiffure.

This sketch that was to be the basis for an ink drawing... then a scratchboard... then an oil painting. But it seems the bell has tolled for all of those projects. Will I ever finish more than this sketch?

I know what the Raven would quoth.

Spooky Image No.3

All aboard!

Here's a fun little piece I produced for a train company promoting its Halloween 'Ghost Train' excursions.

In my drawing Jack O'Lantern has replaced Casey Jones at the throttle, and if the Grateful Dead sang the truth about old Casey, the passengers are safer with this pumpkin engineer anyway.