Pencil Pusher

When I was a kid, I wanted to be a Santa's Helper. That didn't work out, so I decided to be a comic book artist. Although I was quite prolific, I never took it seriously enough to go far. Somehow, I eventually became a journalist of the arts as well as patron of the arts--which are like the next best things. Luckily, drawing is something anyone can do at any time. It's not like I peaked out as a teenage dork and will never get to do it again. In fact, every now and then a spot opens up in the back page of GR, and Eric and I get to fill it with our doodles.


Last week, Luke from GRSF called the office and asked me to contribute to the upcoming group show, Pencil Pushers. I respect "real" artists far too much to ever ask to be involved in a GR art show, but if I was invited by the curator how could I say no? Especially since the theme would be pencil work, as implied by the show's title, which is very lo-tech and accessible.


Long before sitting at a table to draw (about 10 p.m. last night), I thought about what would make my efforts worthy of being on the same wall as works by serious, trained, accomplished artists. I figured that the theme should have something to do with GR magazine, since that's how I got in the show. I also figured that the topic should be personally meaningful to me if I was going to go on a limb and put it out there for the public to see. It didn't take long before I realized that the original three Shogun Warriors fit the bill. I acquired the toys when I was in second and third grade with birthday and Christmas money. They were, and still are, my favorite toys, and are among my first explorations into Asian popular culture. Making three would also generate an instant body of work and establish that I'm not just screwing around


With ideas already in my head, it didn't take long for me to draw the actual pieces. No sketching, no tracing, and very few erasures--just five or six or seven aborted efforts--and I was done a little after midnight. Now the pieces on the way to San Francisco for Saturday's opening. I won't be there, but I'm excited about taking part and grateful for Luke's invitation. I just hope my drawings don't bring down the quality of the show and that their bargain-basement pricing will hopefully pay a bit of GRSF's rent and recoup my very cheap framing costs.