By the wonders of technology (in particular the WordPress blogging system) I can post a post to appear in the past or in the future. This means if I don’t get around to blogging on one particular day I can post in the past and you probably won’t be any the wiser. Unless I admit to it like this of course.

I went to Cookham yesterday… I mean today… to visit my old church, pick up a certain large item and see some friends for lunch. All in all a most enjoyable day, but it did mean I was rather too exhausted to blog. Perhaps I should take Sundays off anyway – we shall see.

Posted by Dave at 10:34 pm on May 22, 2005 and filed under Mundane.

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I’m making an effort to go and see a few Exhibitions around the place to inspire me a bit. The second one yesterday was the Robert Crumb exhibition at the Whitechapel gallery, which also only has a day or two to run. Robert Crumb, for those who don’t know was a hero of the alternative comic scene in the USA from the 60s onwards and is very highly regarded amongst cartoonists. I have to say that I’d not recommend everyone go and see this show as some of the work really is rather offensive – “Crumb has chronicled our basest desires for 40 years” says this interview from the Guardian.

However, the man is very very good and there is much that any cartoonist could learn whatever they might think about some of the material (and it really is only some of the material). The figures, shading, light and dark and the overall quality of the work is superb. And once again, a video that went with the exhibition helped put things into context.

Mick Hartley has more to say about Crumb, including a link to comments by Times cartoonist Peter Brooke.

OK, time to practice my cross-hatching…

Posted by Dave at 1:27 pm on May 21, 2005 and filed under Cartooning.

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I set off for London today with the intention of seeing the Caravaggio exhibition at the National Gallery. Unfortunately by the time I got there the queue was huge and I wasn’t feeling too well so I decided not to queue but to go and look at a less fashionable exhibition instead. Just as well I think, as I would probably only have got a ticket for some time this evening, if at all. I ended up looking at a superb room or two of paintings by John Virtue who paints huge black and white canvasses of London scenes. There was a very good video to go with it which I sat down and watched for twenty minutes which not only showed him doing the painting but also him talking about some of the other paintings in the National Gallery which have influenced him. So, feeling rather better by this point I went to look at a few Turner and Constable paintings as well. As I say, not the headline act, but no wait, no crowds and still most enjoyable. Before I left I also had the chance to see the Westminster Retable (England’s Oldest Altarpiece) which is also worth seeing if you’re there.

Posted by Dave at 8:34 pm on May 20, 2005 and filed under Art.

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I’m very aware that the CartoonChurch.com site currently has rather a UK focus, which is slightly out of order bearing in mind the interest in the site from people around the world over the last few weeks. Particular issues which have arisen so far have been paper sizes, availability of the greetings cards and licence prices. Please click below if you’d like to know more about what I’m planning to do about these issues.

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted by Dave at 10:10 pm on May 19, 2005 and filed under CartoonChurch progress.

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I’ve just put the second cartoon worksheet up on the main CartoonChurch.com site – this one is entitled ‘Trinity‘, so would be ideal for Trinity Sunday (this Sunday, 22nd May) or at any other time. I’ve designed the worksheets so that I would be happy to give them to a youth-group-aged audience, but older or younger ages than that would hopefully be able to usefully use them too.

I’ve just realised that it doesn’t say where the Bible passage is from – it’s Matthew 28, perhaps if you use the worksheet as part of a group you can ask them to guess!

You’ll note that I’m asking people to pay for a licence to allow you to photocopy the worksheets – £3 per worksheet (you can do as many copies of the sheet as you like) or as part of a £35 ‘all site’ licence. I hope people feel the prices are fair. A lot of time was spent agonising over them and I hope people appreciate I have to make a living somehow. There is part of me that would love to be able to supply resources people could use for free, but until someone comes along who will pay me to sit and draw all day that’s the way it has to be.

Posted by Dave at 3:26 pm on May 18, 2005 and filed under Worksheets.

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I’m planning a series of Cartoon Blog posts on some of the cartoonists I like. I started a week or two ago with Australian cartoonist Leunig, and promised that I would post some more links, so here they are:

Some cartoons (A bit slow on dialup, but not too bad).

Interview from the ‘curly flat’ website which has a lot more on Leunig.

Rowan Williams and Michael Leunig reflect on things of the Spirit.

Posted by Dave at 1:31 pm on May 18, 2005 and filed under Links: cartoonists.

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A post entitled ‘Drawing in Public‘ from the blog entitled ‘The Drawing Club‘. It is the blog of a drawing group, oddly enough.

Go on, have a go.

Posted by Dave at 2:41 pm on May 17, 2005 and filed under Art, Links: bloggers.

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Using the worksheets in New Zealand
Projecting in Purley
Secondary school post church group in High Wycombe

If you’ve written online about using the resources send me an e-mail (dave(at)cartoonchurch.com) and I’ll add a link.

Posted by Dave at 11:49 am on May 16, 2005 and filed under Sundry posts.

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Thanks to all the people who’ve taken the time and energy to link to CartoonChurch.com and the new Cartoon Blog. Taking a leaf from Diamond Geezer’s blog, here’s the top 20 places you’ve arrived from so far in May:

1. Typing in the web address or directly by some other means
2. The Wibsite / The dullest blog in the world / Old Cartoon blog / Windsor Report
3. Church Marketing Sucks
4. Jonny Baker
6. Bloglines (and, to a lesser extent, similar blog aggregators)
6. davewalker.info
7. Planet Telex
8. Easy as falling off a blog
9. Ship of Fools boards
10. Lake Neuron
11. Gospel Notes
12. Morning somewhere
13. Just Charlie
14. No diggity
15. nealb.co.uk
16. 42
17. Sansblogue
18. The digital tree
19. Connexions
20 (equal). The adventures of… / John Heron Project

I’ve missed out the search engines and people who’ve used a cartoon without permission and without a link (would you believe it).

Posted by Dave at 10:40 pm on May 15, 2005 and filed under Links: bloggers.

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Here’s a Pentecost cartoon by Seán O’Brien. I think it might be slightly better than my own, but then the latter is quite a few years old now.

Did anyone use the Pentecost worksheet this weekend? If so it would be really helpful to know how it went as I’m on the verge of drawing lots of new ones. You could leave a comment in the comments below or send a quick e-mail to me at dave(at)cartoonchurch.com. Thank you!

Posted by Dave at 11:20 pm on May 14, 2005 and filed under Cartooning, Worksheets.

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An extremely busy day yesterday. Many thanks to my Mum for coming to the CRE and helping.

Mr Kercal has a picture or two on his blog of the stand. Yes, that is a jacket.

Today I had a croissant. I had to butter it with a fork.

Posted by Dave at 9:54 am on May 13, 2005 and filed under CartoonChurch progress, Festivals and Exhibitions.

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[Update: Just to say that CartoonChurch.com will once again be at the National Christian Resources Exhibition at Sandown Park in Esher from the 9-12 May 2006. This year I'm on stall E68 in the downstairs bit. Please do come and say hello!]

The third day at the Christian Resources Exhibition. Lots more leaflets given out, so many in fact that I had to rush around yesterday trying to find somewhere to do copying. A vote of thanks needs to go to Alex, who has helped me out on the stand for the last 2 days. Click ‘read the rest of this entry’ for a picture:

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted by Dave at 9:25 am on May 12, 2005 and filed under CartoonChurch progress, Festivals and Exhibitions.

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