fresh logo

I designed this logo for the City of Springfield's fleet of hybrid vehicles (2 and growing). They finally got installed onto the vehicles this week after several months in limbo wading through approval of sketches, the actual logo and vehicle placement. The cars do have a small metallic "Hybrid"logo from the manufacturer, but we wanted to show off a little bit that we are an eco-responsible government. More fun for me. See, the leaf and the oil drop are the same shape and they are intertwined – just like the engine uses stored power and fuel. I guess I didn't need to explain that to you. I'll post more photos of Andrew after his first Christmas! Have a merry one!

Kung Fu the flu

It's that time again! I made these graphics for the Springfield/Greene Co. Health Department. Better safe than sorry.

I got my flu shot at a free clinic they were having at a fire station. When I got there, I was surprised to find out it was a drive through clinic! I just drove into the garage where they keep the fire trucks, rolled down my window and rolled up my sleeve, stab, and I was outa there.

I'm glad I didn't need a measles/mumps shot! That line had cars driving up with people's rear-ends hanging out the window! I think I'd stick to a regular doctor's office for that one.

There was one kid in the car in front of me who was showing me where he got his measles shot. His parents were oblivious to his shenanigans. Some guy in the car next to me showed me the bird flu vaccine he must have just gotten. (right in the finger). So I rolled up my sleeve again and showed him my bulging bicep where I got my shot and he sped off. We love our vaccines in Springfield!
Stay healthy this winter!

Hangin' in my crib

Hap-bee Halloween

We took Andrew trick-or-treating on Halloween to our neighbors across the street, Jenny's grandma's and the McClure grandparents' (PaPa and Mèmè). He was dressed to kill in his bumblebee costume. I think he had fun seeing everybody, and he even got candy. The candy did get eaten, but we'll leave it at that!

growing and growing and...

He's growing hair! Ever since he was born, little Drew has had "old man hair" as Jenny says. Kind of ring-around-the-head hair with nothing on top to speak of. Now he's getting kind of fuzzy. So cute. He also is talking up a storm (gurgling/cooing) and smiles a lot when we make faces at him. Jenny does this more than I of course. She's the silly one. I took him to the doc last Thursday and he weighed 11lb 12oz and we were so proud. Later that night we saw some friends and met their baby who is 2 weeks younger than Andrew, but weighs 2 lbs more! Drew looked so small. Oh well. He's still smarter and cuter than any other baby I've talked to.

October photos

Andrew looks awful smart in this picture with Jenny – and he is, but he doesn't always pay attention during storytime. Asunday or 2 ago we put him in overalls and he looked so cute we had to have a photoshoot on the spot. We were late for church. That's not all that unusual these days.

Kathleen Turner

I'll get more pictures of the baby up as soon as I get them off the camera. Hold your horses!

Anyway, waaay back a week before Andrew was born (when we kind of had a social life), Jenny and I went to an Andy Warhol exhibit at the Springfield Art Museum. You'll never guess who we ran into! Well maybe you've already guessed. Kathleen Turner!-you know from Romancing the Stone, Jewell of the Nile, Peggy Sue Got Married, GoBots: War of the Rock Lords, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Undercover Blues, War of the Roses, Friends-Chandler's crossdressing dad, etc

Anyway, she is from Springfield and her mom still lives here, but she apparently was good friends with Andy Warhol who died in the late 80s. She was instrumental in bringing the show to our town. She was all over the place chatting with everyone, but we finally got her attention and she sat and talked to Jenny for about 2 minutes about pregnancy and such. She made us feel like ol' friends. She said she was very pregnant when she was in the studio recording the voice of Jessica Rabbit and she went in one day and her water broke while on the soundstage! She even signed the cover of Jenny's "Romancing the Stone" DVD - she just happened to have it in her purse! Fun times!

P.S. Jen has lost like 30 lbs since this photo. She is VERY skinny now!

Ozarks Bluesfest 06

This is the poster I designed for the 10th annual Greater Ozarks Blues Festival this year. That's a mouthful! I designed the t-shirts too which, if you didn't get one, better luck next year! They are in pretty bright colors to match the colors on the poster. It was a pretty good festival this year – no huge headliners, just several medium to big headliners. My favorite act was Elvin Bishop. He was a founding member of the Paul Butterfield Blues Band back in the 60s of which I am a big fan. Slide Guitar master. He signed a Guitar One magazine for me that I brought that featured a guitar lesson with him. I can't play guitar, but I try to play the blues once in a while.
The poster is inspired by old 1950s/60s screen printed show posters. You know the kind that say "One night only" and "In person". They would print the bright posters in bulk to go along with the tour then the local distributers would print the location information in black ink usually at the top. I found several examples at Hatch Show Print's web site (www.countrymusichalloffame.com/site/experience-hatch.aspx) from Nashville. They are so cool!
According to the steps to become a blues singer in my previous post (below), I will never be taken seriously as a blues singer. I guess that's why God created Bluegrass. For us happy white kids.

Can you sing the blues?

How To Sing The Blues in 20 Easy Lessons:

1. Most Blues begin "Woke up this mornin'..."

2. "I got a good woman" is a bad way to begin the Blues, unless you stick something nasty in the next line like, "I got a good woman, with the meanest face in town."

3. The Blues is simple. After you get the first line right, repeat it. Then find something that rhymes... sort of: "Got a good woman with the meanest face in town. Yes, I got a good woman with the meanest face in town. Got teeth like Margaret Thatcher, and she weigh 500 pound."

4. The Blues is not about choice. You stuck in a ditch, you stuck in a ditch--ain't no way out.

5. Blues cars: Chevys, Fords, Cadillacs and broken-down trucks. Blues don't travel in Volvos, BMWs, or Sport Utility Vehicles. Most Blues transportation is a Greyhound bus or a southbound train. Jet aircraft and state-sponsored motor pools ain't even in the running. Walkin' plays a major part in the blues lifestyle. So does fixin' to die.

6. Teenagers can't sing the Blues. They ain't fixin' to die yet. Adults sing the Blues. In Blues, "adulthood" means being old enough to get the electric chair if you shoot a man in Memphis.

7. Blues can take place in New York City but not in Hawaii or any place in Canada. Hard times in Milwaukee or Seattle is probably just clinical depression. Chicago, St. Louis, and Kansas City are still the best places to have the Blues. You cannot have the blues in any place that don't get rain.

8. A man with male pattern baldness ain't the blues. A woman with male pattern baldness is. Breaking your leg cause you were skiing is not the blues. Breaking your leg 'cause a alligator be chompin’ on it is.

9. You can't have no Blues in a office or a shopping mall. The lighting is wrong. Go outside to the parking lot or sit by the dumpster.

10. Good places for the Blues:
a. highway
b. jailhouse
c. empty bed
d. bottom of a whiskey glass

Bad places for the Blues:
a. Nordstrom's
b. gallery openings
c. Ivy League institutions
d. golf courses

11. No one will believe it's the Blues if you wear a suit, 'less you happen to be a old ethnic person, and you slept in it.

12. Do you have the right to sing the Blues? Yes, if:
a. you older than dirt
b. you blind
c. you shot a man in Memphis
d. you can't be satisfied

No, if:
a. you have all your teeth
b. you were once blind but now can see
c. the man in Memphis lived
d. you have a 401K or trust fund

13. Blues is not a matter of color. It's a matter of bad luck. Tiger Woods cannot sing the blues. Sonny Liston could. Ugly white people also got a leg up on the blues.

14. If you ask for water and your darlin' give you gasoline, it's the Blues. Other acceptable Blues beverages are:
a. cheap wine
b. whiskey or bourbon
c. muddy water
d. nasty black coffee

The following are NOT Blues beverages:
a. Perrier
b. Chardonnay
c. Snapple
d. Slim Fast

15. If death occurs in a cheap motel or a shotgun shack, it's a Blues death. Stabbed in the back by a jealous lover is another Blues way to die. So is the electric chair, substance abuse and dying lonely on a broken down cot. You can't have a Blues death if you die during a tennis match or while getting liposuction.

16. Some Blues names for women:
a. Sadie
b. Big Mama
c. Bessie
d. Fat River Dumpling

17. Some Blues names for men:
a. Joe
b. Willie
c. Little Willie
d. Big Willie

18. Persons with names like Michelle, Amber, Debbie, and Heather can't sing the Blues no matter how many men they shoot in Memphis.

19. Make your own Blues name Starter Kit:
a. name of physical infirmity (Blind, Cripple, Lame, etc.)
b. first name (see above) plus name of fruit Lemon, Lime, Kiwi, etc.)
c. last name of President (Jefferson, Johnson, Fillmore, etc.)

For example: Blind Lime Jefferson, Jakeleg Lemon Johnson or Cripple Kiwi Fillmore, etc. (Well, maybe not "Kiwi.")

20. I don't care how tragic your life: if you own even one computer, you cannot sing the blues.

tummy time

9/4/06 - This picture makes my heart melt every time I see it. I have it on my screensaver at work which is probably bad because it makes me want to go home to see him and hug him and eat his wittle ears, mmm, numm, numm... sorry I get carried away.

Hey, buddy...a little room here?

One month old here. The bear was obviously getting in his space.

Cutest baby in the world!

This is Andrew at nearly 4 weeks old. He looks so mature for his age. No longer a newborn, he's a big one-month-old. Today, Monday, he weighed a whopping 7lbs 11oz and I think he's due for a growth spurt soon or maybe that was it. Anyway, it hardly seems possible that he's been here for 4 weeks!

His arms go wild sometimes. It's really funny to watch him stretch when we wake him up to eat (during the day). His arms do the classic above-the-head, arched-back, frowny-face...stretch. Classic!

This was at his 3-week bath. We bathe him whether he needs it or not. Just a sponge bath until his cord falls off.

Bella loves her new brother! She loves to lick him, but we don't let her much.

Introducing Andrew Kenneth!

Specs: born at 4:59 p.m. on Tuesday August 1, 2006, 6lb 10oz, 19.5". Delivered by emergency C-section. St. Johns Hospital Springfield, Missouri.
Jenny and Andrew are doing fine – they are both still wiped out, but recovering nicely!

Elseware in the world: Castro hands over power in Cuba, Israel steps up war with Lebanon, Springfield is experiencing 2nd heat wave of the summer with 100 degree temps, my roof is being replaced as I type – they better be done by the time we get home Friday! ...

Day 2

Me An' Drew

Grandma Montgomery and Unca' Jeff

McClure grandparents

Handsome Boy

This is the latest sonogram/ultrasound we got yesterday. For those who usually have trouble seeing the image on these things, I digitally modified his face just a little. I think he's starting to look more and more like me! Well, I can see it.
We just found out from the doctor yesterday that she is going to induce labor next Tuesday! So if not earlier, Andrew will be here for sure by August 1. A full 2 days before his due date! This makes Jenny very happy as she is miserable right now. She says one more week is doable. Here we go

McClure family portrait

Here is the McClure family portrait Christmas 2005 (Jenny's side)! Beautiful, wonderful family. There are some fun facts about this photo, though. Jenny is "with child" with Andrew and had just told her family minutes before this was taken, and her sister Allison wasn't really there. Christmas miracle? Maybe, but see below for the explanation! I love a good mystery...

McClure family original

Here is the original digital photo from the photographer. As you can see, it is pretty dark and there is no sister Allison. Allison was at her home in Albuquerque, NM the day we took this photo. We purposely left a spot behind me so Allison could be placed in the photo using Photoshop. Over Spring Break, Jenny and her mom went out to visit Allison so I gave her specific instructions on how to set up the photograph to most easily fit Allison in. I don't think Allison was crazy about the whole idea, but what choice did we have? I mean really. Jenny did a great job setting it up with the time of day and lighting and even the angle from below like the original had been taken. All this made the transmogrification (I don't really know what that word means) that much more convincing. Maybe in a month, I can photoshop in Baby Andrew and Allison's new husband Dave. This could get messy. Did I hear challenge?

Coming Soon

Our little Andrew weigh 6lb 5oz as of Monday 7/10. He could really come any time now and that would be fine with momma since he's on track to be a big boy. Yay!

Just the 3 of Us

Glowing

This is a portrait of Jenny at 36 weeks taken by our friend Rebecca Krehbiel. Rebecca did a great job working with us! She made us look good. As of this week, we only have 3 weeks until we get to meet Baby Andrew! August 3! We are so excited. Jenny is finishing up Vacation Bible school today where she led crafts all week for about 150 kids. I think it wore her out so hopefully she can just hang around the house from now on.

Scootin in the announcements

Here is Announcement Boy as a cartoon! I drew this for a public service announcement commercial for the Ozark Greenways organization. I drew several characters and someone else will animate them be-boppin' across the TV screen. I'm excited to see them come to life. I hope AB makes the cut. Should be on every major channel this summer and at the Moxie theater downtown Springfield. Pretty funny since AB is my hero... and soon-to-be everybody's! Go, AB go!

Andrew of the future?

This is a funny picture of me when I was a little tike. I expect my soon-to-be son Andrew to look just like this when he gets a little older. I will cut his hair a little better though. I don't even think this hairstyle was cool in the early 80s!

here's yer sign

I think this will be my new logo. Any objections or suggestions? I think I could keep it versatile colorwise to go with whatever the project is, but the "M" outline will stay the same. Hand-drawn then digitized, oldfashioned lettering to kind of go with my style preferences. I'm a little bit country and a little bit rock 'n' roll. A little less on the country side though. Got it?

Baby Steps

Over Memorial Day weekend, Jenny and I painted the nursery and started unpacking the baby furniture. My brother, Jeff helped too. Now all we have left to put together is the crib. Should be easy, right? I've already heard horror stories. This sounds like a job for...somebody else! We are now meeting the doctor weekly until Baby Andrew is born. Give or take 9 weeks. Yay/Yikes! We are also starting childbirth classes tonight for six weeks of fun on Monday nights!

light and fluffy

"Danger" is my maiden name

This is the latest and greatest.(?) Ozark Outbreak in Sector 7... get it Double Oh 7. This poster is being printed as I type and will be hung up in the high schools for this last week of school. The Health Department is conducting an exercise in June to see if our plans for mass medication will work in the event of a pandemic like Bird Flu or other forms of bioterrorism. I hope it works. This poster is meant to remind summer school kids of this event and to recruit helpers to play the role of "sick and dying patient". Hey if nothing else, the kids get to take a free field trip during summer school and get a cup of m&m's (medicine)! Can't beat that! mmmmm.

Marky LIVES!

He's alive! He's here! And he's...fat?! I helped get the artwork ready for this real live mascot. I objected to the inflatable suit because it makes his arms and legs look fat and we want to promote kids getting skinny (see the previous post). They didn't listen to me probably because the price was right or something. Taxpayers' money you know. I don't know his girlfriend-he never calls to let me know what's going on in his life. They grow up so fast!

Schoolhouse Rock

This is a character/mascot/ logo I made a year and a half ago for a program by Springfield's Parks Department. They named him Marky after me because I'm super cool – I didn't suggest the name, but I didn't resist. Step Club is an exercise program partnering with the elementary schools where if the kids show up to school a half hour early and walk around the track so many days a week, they get a prize or something. I think they get one of the tshirts I made. A super cool tshirt! Oh yeah and they get skinny. This is to target the obese kids to get them more active. Kids these days...so young and reckless with their eating. Kids behinds are getting so large these days and we need to do something about it. I heard Arnold Swartzenegger is starting an initiative called No Child's Behind Left Alone. I heard that.

Its the pits

It may finally be safe to let your children play outside again. Unless they are deathly allergic to bee stings or pollen or air. Then don't let them go outside. They could die. Then get eaten by some illegal pit bull without a muzzle. You're a bad parent.

White tripe

Jack White from the White Stripes. Kind of a weird guy. He married his drummer, Meg and took her last name, White. I forget what his last Maider(?) name was. Then when the band started getting famous, he told press Meg was his sister. Then they got divorced and stayed together as a band, then he got remarried to a super model in a boat on the Amazon river. This sketch shows his transformation between his last two albums. I like him because he can rock out a song on guitar all by himself and a lot of his songs are from the Blues!

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Don't party too hearty! Que hora es? Mas o menos taquitos y burritos! Que pasa? Chiquita banana es muy facil y lugar el leche! Si, me llamo Marcos. Donde esta el bano? Yip, yip ooweeee-i-i-i! Donde esta mis pantelones. Gracias. No hablo Espanol.

Olympic proportions

This is a poster I did for a Winter Olympic event at the Ice Park in Springfield this last winter. The whole event was geared to college kids and kids, but this poster went up around the college campuses and into the college newspapers. I thought the poster turned out well (kind of an Old Navy feal), but the event was kind of a bust- partly because of the weather. And I guess it's hard to get college kids to do anything en masse in a family-friendly atmosphere. Oh well. I had fun making the image of the wreath with a Sharpy marker sketch and a copy machine. The background is an old oil painting sketch from art school that I scanned and turned blue.

PITBULLS WILL EAT YOU!

I am making several images for the Health Department this week. Springfield is putting into effect a ban on pitbulls which means there are strict rules and regulations for owning one in the city limits. Things like microchipping each dog, $50 annual fee, rabies shots and (the dog) must be spayed or neutered. These images are going on the informational sheet that tells owners what they have to do to keep the breed. Since these are going to the owners who love their dogs and think they are big teddy bears, I have to make the dogs appear more friendly and happy (less likely to rip your arm off). Kind of funny. This image is of the puppies that you have to register within 5 days following the same guidelines. They look so cute! I'll post some more later.

What'd I say

Ray Charles. I loved the movie Ray. Except for the drugs and cheatin on his wife, he was a decent guy. Well his music is great anyway and I like his voice alot! I try to sing like him in my car, but my wife gets mad when I close my eyes and sway back and forth while driving.

911 recruitment poster

This is a poster I made at work for Springfield's 911 Call Center. They were having a career day (yesterday) that I heard was a raging success! They wanted something high tech, CSI-ish/24-ish for males age 25-35 so I had to borrow a season of 24 from my brother's roommate. Jenny won't let me watch those "scary" crime drama shows normally. She even covers her head during the commercials. After watching a disc of season 3, I felt I had the idea. I needed a model for the main image, and I thought to myself, "why don't you do it, goober, you'll never be asked to be a model by anyone else!" So I took off my glasses and put on a headset and had my colleague Chris shoot me in front of his computer. My trick with taking off my glasses worked because even people around the office didn't recognize me in the poster. I think it's a Clark Kent/Superman thing. By day, I'm a simple graphic designer, but by night – Super 911 Telecommunicator Boy! Not very catchy. I used Photoshop to trim a few pounds off my chin and cheeks. I love Photoshop!

Sketch

Here's my sketch of Bono. From U2. Nice guy, though I've never met him. He seems nice though. nice.

Christmas Parade

This is the image I did for a Christmas Parade last Christmas. I had so much fun doing this that I think I will do a lot more in this cartoony funny style. It makes me smile.

2005 Bluesfest poster

This is the poster I painted and designed for last year's Greater Ozarks Blues Festival. Buddy Guy was the main headliner along with Tommy Castro and Rod Piazza. Those three were worth the price of admission for the weekend! (though I got in free for doing the artwork) I am currently working on this year's poster for 2006. Fun stuff!

Eric Clapton

Sketch of Eric Clapton. Guitar god. I don't like much of his smooth pop stuff, but I get all tingly inside when he plays the Blues or the classic stuff when he was in Cream, John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, Derek and the Dominos, and Blind Faith. The small one is what he looked like around the early 90s.

sketching around

Sketch of Jimi Hendrix. I'm working on caricitures this year. I may clean up and finish some of them just for fun. Who would you like to see? FYI I fixed the comment button so anyone can post a comment and you don't have to sign up for anything.

Friday, good!

I am listening to a CD by Tab Benoit, Fever for the Bayou (2005) that I checked out from the library. He is a Louisiana boy with a deep Louisiana accent, and he sure can rock. He is one white blues player that really sounds black. He does some swampy Cajun waltzs and other traditional smokin' blues. I have Tab's debut CD "Nice and Warm" (1992) on my computer at work and it is a blues classic! Very good!

Well today is Good Friday and it is a good day. Perfect weather, listening to the Blues, flowers blossoming on the trees, and Cashew Chicken in my tummy! I had to treat myself today, Springfield Chinese food was calling my name. Going to KC this weekend to spend time with the fam and hunt for Easter eggs. Jenny always finds a way to weasel out a "head start" so I'm sure this year she'll play the six month pregnancy card. She's got to use it while she's got it I guess. She got to the head of the line on an airplane last month because she was crying and told the stewardess she was pregnant! I wish I could strap a pillow on under my shirt and get special treatment, but probably noone would believe me. Go Jen! Here's the latest specs on Andrew according to a weekly email we get:

At just over a pound and almost a foot long, your baby is long and lean. Curled up, he is about the size of a soccer ball. His skin is still thin and translucent, but that will start to change soon, and his brain is growing rapidly.

Newman/Brando

Maybe I'm crazy. Any resemblance to Baby Andrew's first photo? I don't care what you think, this is my blog.

Baby Andrew

And here's Baby Andrew! Let's give him a round of applause! Isn't he cute! He's a very handsome young lad. This is a 3-d ultrasound that we got with our regularly scheduled ultrasound appointment at the end of March. Jenny hates when I say this, but he's got that pensive, brooding look on his face like a young Marlon Brando or Paul Newman. Those aren't (weren't) bad-looking guys! Or maybe he kinda looks like his Great Grandpa Montgomery (Poppy). Either way, I can't complain – I got those good looks too.

Bluesman

Image I did for Bluesfest T-shirts '05