Category: Sketchcards And Sketchcovers

New “Drawing Funny” Podcast Episode- Memphis Libraries Comic Con And MSCA Event News

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New “Drawing Funny” podcast episode is available for downloading/listening. You can find it on podcast platforms like Spotify or get it directly from the source by clicking here. ✏️🎧🎤

Nicki Workman interviewed comic creators Mike Norton (former MSCA member) and the legenarywriter John Ostrander at the innagural Memphis Public Libraries Comic Con on Saturday, May 6th (Free Comic Book Day)- plus I share some upcoming Mid-South Cartoonists Association (MSCA) event news.

Such as our upcoming May Drink-N-Draw this Wednesay...

…and our June Sat-Art-Day – both at 901 Comics East on Macon Road in Cordova.

We had a great time at the comic con at the library, and many nfolks stoppe by the MSCA table as well as the many MSCA members’ tables around the library con floor.

You can see lots of pics on our MSCA Facebook page.

 

Another upcoming MSCA event is…MSCA ART DAY IN MAY AT WFH!

Sunday, May 21, 2023, from Noon-4 our friends at the Woodruff Fontaine House Museum have invited the Mid-South Cartoonists Association to come draw at the museum. It’s a great time to practice drawing architecture, still-life, portraits, flowers, photography, and more, inside and out.
The museum is at 680 Adams Ave, Memphis, TN 38105
https://goo.gl/maps/Jr1TGEcyGLAmLY2v5
ABOUT WOODRUFF FONTAINE HOUSE MUSEUM
This Victorian era mansion was completed in 1871, has been through the Woodruff and Fontaine families, seen multiple wars and pandemics such as Yellow Fever, and once even served as the first version of the Memphis College of Art. After having been reconstructed by the Association for the Preservation of Tennessee Antiquities it has become the beautiful place presented today!
You can find out more about the Woodruff Fontaine House Museum at
https://www.woodruff-fontaine.org/
ENTRY FEE AND ART SALES
Free entry for MSCA members this day only (donations to the museum are welcome). When you arrive, just let them know you’re with the MSCA. Art created this day can be sold as prints (or originals) by the house on a consignment (25% to the museum), so we hope to offer the museum a few of our pieces that they can sell – they are a 501c3 for tax-minded people.
{General admission is typically $16 (membership for the year is only $30).} The Woodruff Fontaine House has been good friends to the Mid-South Cartoonists Association (and I’ve served on the board and am a long-time member of the museum). I think you’ll enjoy all the art opportunities you can find there in its many beautiful details!
HOUSEKEEPING RULES
Keep in mind, the furniture, flooring, everything about the property is vintage Victorian, so we want to be sure we’re super-duper respective of the property and keep it as clean as possible. We can’t sit on the furniture, but we can sit on the floors (small stools or camping chairs are OK). Also, because it is a living museum with regular operating hours, be sure to position yourself in areas that tourists can easily navigate the halls and rooms of the museum.
Indoors, feel free to bring your sketch books and sketch pads, pencils, colored pencils, ink pens/brush pens, Copics, markers, cameras, tablets, and erasers (keep the eraser dust cleaned up, please). Inside, we don’t want to use inks, brushes, paints – nothing that can stain, spill, or splatter.
Outside, feel free to set up your easels, canvases, paints, ink and brushes, pastels, but if you use paints/watercolor bring along a drop cloth/tarp to work on and be cautious of your surroundings.
Don’t forget- our next dinner meetin will be the first Tuesday next month, June 6th from 6-8pm, but we are skipping July because of July 4th/Independence Day. We’ll be back to our regular schedule with the following meeting  on August 1st.
Hope you can make it out to one or all of our events!

Bluff City Life In The 901

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On Thursday, March 9th the MSCA’s Greg Cravens and myself (Lin Workman) stopped by the WMC TV5 studios to record a couple segments for thier show “Bluff City Life” with host Gina Neely.

MSCA president Kevin L. Willams was on “Bluff City Life“ back during the pandemic (3/29/22) to discuss the MSCA’s 35 anniversary with then host Andy Mannis. (You can watch the interview by clicking here.)

We were there to talk about our upcoming events, like our monthly dinner meeting in April at Garibaldi’s Pizza, and our Drink-N-Draw and Sat-Art-Day at 901 Comics East.

I dropped off a promo pizza box press kit to the station the week before on my way out to the “Spamalittle” art show reception at GCT.

We got to the station a bit after noon, and waited up front with Jamie from the Memphis Public Libraries. We met Gina in the lobby, then hung out in the “green room” for a few minutes with the other guest on the show, designer David Quarles IV and his Chasing Paper Wallpaper associates.

It was strange to be in the studio…there were no camera operators on the news floor. The cameras were all operated remotely in the contol room, and Gina and her assistant were in contact with the director via ear buds.

And the studio was a lot greener than the actual green room! This was the big green screen for doing the Action News 5 weather.

While waiting out front Greg did a quick sketch of Jamie who was there to talk about the Memphis Public Libraries‘ “5 Fridays Of Jazz” events.

Greg warmed up a bit before our segment by doing a quick caricature of Gina while sitting off camera.

Greg got his start as a caricature artist at Opryland in Nashville, TN back in the ’80s.

Notice that Greg lettered this comic strip first before drawing in the figure.

Greg did this comic strip of Gina while off camera after our segment so it didn’t make it on the show.

Thanks to Gina and her crew at TV5. We had a lot of fun in the two or so hours we were there. Hope to get to be back on again later.

The show aired on Tuesday the 14th at noon on Channel 5 here in Memphis, and uou can watch on their site by clicking the links below..

Part 1:
https://www.actionnews5.com/video/2023/03/14/bluff-city-life-tuesday-14-march-pt-4-8/

Part 2:
https://www.actionnews5.com/video/2023/03/14/bluff-city-life-tuesday-14-march-pt-5-8/

The following night we had our latest Drink-N-Draw where as you may suspect, we drink and we draw.

The gang were hanging out in the back gallery room at 901 Comics East out on Macon Road.

We had a great turnout again for this event, and the weather outside was nice and were able to draw with the lights on inside this time.

Jake did some more sketchcard mash-ups…

And I did another Muppets sketcard.

First time attendee Jose’ handed out some great promo business cards.

Our next Drink-N-Draw will be on Wednesday, April 26th from 6-8pm. It’s free and open to the public, but bring a few bucks if you’d like something to drink and/or eat.

Our next MSCA monthly dinner meet-up at Garibaldi’s Pizza on Tuesday, April 4th from 6-8pm. Same as the Drink-N-Draw, it’s free to attend but bring your wallet if you’d like to order off the menu.

Our next Sat-Art-Day at 901 Comics East is this Saturday, March 25th from 10-2.

You never know who’s gonna show up at our events!

Lin

“Spamalittle and Drawalot” – Our Latest MSCA Art Show and Sat-Art-Day Events

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It been a very busy (and wet) couple of weeks here for our merry band of cartoonists, but overall it was a lot of fun.

First up was our “Spamalittle: Knights Of The Drawing Table” art show reception at Germantown Community Theatre on Friday night.

This is the second art show that the MSCA has exhibited in the lobby of GCT, and apparently we’ll be back for another next season.

GCT will be announcing their next season on March 9th, and we’ll be announcing that show shortly after.

This art show featured “Monty Python and the Holy Grail” inspired artwork on display (and for sale) by our members.

Lots of great takes on that epic Monty Python movie! You can see more pics by heading on over to the MSCA Facebook page.

We also got to enjoy a live performance of “Find Your Grail” by Sir Muley and Annie Freres who performs as ‘The Lady Of The Lake“). This video can also be seen on our Facebook page.

I really enjoyed catching up with A.G. Howard. We talked about many of our misdaventures togeher back in our airbrush days, and some of our recent health scares and brushes with death..! Yeah, it’s been a scary few years for many of us, but always great to still be able to get together for events like this.

The cold rain and scary weather around the midsouth kept the attendance down a bit, but definitely not the sales! Several of the show’s pieces were sold that night, and two were sold before we even got set up for the reception. Heck, the show hasn’t even officially opened yet and it’s been one of our most successful ones yet.

Thanks to Kevin Williams and DaMarco Randle for hanging the art show and setting up the refreshments table for the reception. And thanks to everyone who participated in the show, braved the bad weather, and bought art. Big thanks to the staff and volunteers at GCT for having us back out again, and again.

You can check out the show for yourself at the theater during their normal box office business hours and during Spamalot performances.

The Spamalittle art show runs in conjunction with their production of “Spamalot The Musical” March 3-19 at GCT – 3037 Forest Hill Irene Rd.👑

9014537447:Box Office    9014537444:Main  Box Office:office@gctcomeplay.org

The next morning many of us were drawn together for our latest Sat-Art-Day at 901 Comics East out on Macon Road.

It was another full house for our latest sketchy Saturday in the back gallery room at 901 Comics’ Cordova location. We were surrounded by a lot of comic art on the walls – including some original comic book pages from”The Walking Dead“.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We had some of our regular attendees, as well as some new faces there. Was great to have Izzy and Timothy join us this time, and I hope they can make it back for future Sat-Art-Days and other MSCA  events.

Many folks brought their own stuff to draw with/on, but we also provided extra art supplies such as markers, pencils, pens, paper, and sketchcards for anyone who needed them.

And they were put to good use.

Like the night before at the art show reception, it was cold and wet outside, but warm, dry, and a lot of fun inside. We only heard the occasional bit of rain hitting the roof while we sketched.

The only rules we have other than have fun and be respectful of your felllow artists is that if you’re not old enough to drive yourself to the comic shop, you need to have a parent or guardian come with you.

They’re welcome to sit and draw as well, play a game in the gaming area, or hang out and watch some TV at the bar.

The shop serves beer on tap and in cans, but you don’t have to just drink beer. 901’s “Bar With No Name” also serves sodas, bottled water, snacks, and personal sized pizzas.

We’ll be back out at 901 for another Sat-Art-Day on March 25th, as well as another Drink-N-Draw event on March 15th, the Wednesday before St. Patrick’s Day.

901 Comics (both locations) also sells many locally created comics including several comics series made by MSCA members.

One of those Memphis made comics is “Stoned Ninja“.

It (and others) are published by 901’s Shannon Merritt and his own Bad Dog Comics Publishing.

And speaking of  Stoned Ninja, the creative team behind it will teach you what they know about making comics all while enjoying a beer at Crosstown Brewery (1264 Concourse Avenue, Crosstown Concourse) on March 23rd from 6-8pm.

Join writer Gabe DeRanzo and the MSCA’s own Greg Cravens (The Buckets, Hubris, Shoney Bear) as they teach the next class in Crosstown’s Creative Juices sereies- which are instuctional classes for the creative 901.

They’ll be throwing out lots of comic knowlege, and knowing Greg- probably a lot of ninja star stickers as well.

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Everyone in the class will get:

  • A written breakdown of The Process, spelling out the steps and the order in which they have to be taken
  • A full size comic book practice page that you classroom creators will pencil your own dialogue, characters, and action into.
  • One beer will be included in ticket price for those of legal drinking age. Must present ID at the bar to get your beer. Minimum age for this class is 13 years old.

TIckets are $30.00ea and can be purchased through eventbrite by cliking here.

Our next upcoming MSCA event is the monthly dinner meet-up at Garibaldi’s Pizza on Walker Ave. near the U of M on Tuesday, March 7th from 6-8pm.✏️🍕

The meeting is casual, free, and open to the public. Do feel free to bring your sketchbook, tablet, or other drawing supplies if you like, as well as any promo items you might want to share with the group. Plus bring a few bucks to order off the menu if you’d like anything to eat or drink. Like the Sat-Art-Days, any age or skill level is welcome to join us, just bring a parent with you if you can’t drive yourself there. We meet on the 1st Tuesday of the month (except for the 4th of July this summer).

And be sure to “Stay Tooned” for the next episode of the Drawing Funny Podcast which will be dropping later this week….which reminds me- I need to record it!

Later,

Lin

1st MSCA Drink-N-Draw and Sketchy Saturday Events Draw To A Close

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Well. gang- our first MSCA Drink-N-Draw and Sketchy Saturday events were a success, and a whole lot of fun!

Back in the day, several of us MSCA’ers would get together at Bookstar, Adam Shaw’s studio, Michaels, and other locations to draw together. It was usually on a weekend morning or an evening during the week. Other than our montly dinner meetings, in the last few years we had kind of gotten away from those gatherings, and the pandemic put a hold on all in-person meet-ups and forced us to try to keep in touch through social media and Zoom calls. Finally in 2022 we were able to start meeting back at Garibaldi’s Pizza for our 35th anniversary year, and we’ve started off 2023 by meeting at 901 Comics East.

On Wednesday, January 18th we held our first Drink-N-Draw, and on Saturday, January 28th we got together for our first Sat-Art-Day at 901- Sketchy Saturday.

For the Drink-N-Draw, I stayed after work and got the gallery room at the back of the comic shop set up with art supplies including sketchcard blanks, Bristol paper, and a variety of pencils, pens, markers, and more for attending artists to use and experiment with.

Unfortunately, about 10- 15min before we got started a severe thunderstorm moved in and the lights started to flicker. 5min before the event the power went out and stayed out..!

Luckily we had several light sources and other devices with us, so between them and the emergency lights we were able to have the event happen- even in the darkened shop.

It was a bit tricky, but we were all already there, and it was stormy outide, so we made the best of it.

901 Comics East’s “bar with no name” serves not only domestic and local beers in cans and on tap, but sodas, bottled water, personal pizzas, and snacks as well. Since the power was out, we had to pass on the pizza.

And of course, just as we were wrapping up…the power came back on! Seriously, about 5min after we started packing up for the night.

Thankfully we didn’t have any power outage issues for the Sketchy Saturday event today, and only some light rain!

This was another chance for local artists to get together, draw, share tips/techniques, exchange thoughts on the comic industry, give others a heads up on upcoming events, try different art materials, but most importantly meet others in our area who draw funny, too!

Again, we had a great turnout for this Sat-Art-Day. By my count we had 10 (plus me) today, and about 8 total on Wednesday for the Drink-N-Draw. Definitely a great mix of new folks and longtime MSCA members. Honestly, it almost became standing room only!

There were enough seats for everyone to sit and work, but next time we may have to spill out into the gaming area as well.

I was able to finish the Beeker sketchcard I started on the Drink-N-Draw night and get another one with the Sweedish Chef started today.

A new artist in town, Eman Casallos, actually knocked out all four of these while he was there, and he even showed up a bit late..! He recently moved to Memphis from the Phillipines and is a freelance comic artist who has worked for Dynamite. This guy is talented and FAST!

Artist Jake Bostain was another artist attendee, and that’s his comic above. Jason Negan brought his clip on light just in case..!

Artist/art teacher Katie Jones used some paint pens on stretched canvases for an upcoming charity art show.

Everyone was asking when we were going to be doing this again. I honestly only expected maybe a couple artists, but obviously I was wrong and folks are interested in getting together to draw like this.

We’ll definitely be scheduling more events like these at 901 Comics East. “Stay Tooned!”✏️🍺

Our next event is our monthly dinner meet-up at Garibaldi’s Pizza on Walker Ave. near the U of M and Tiger Bookstore. We’ll be there on Tuesday, February 7th, from 6-8pm. Like the events at 901 Comics East, the meeting is free to attend and open to the public.

Just bring a few bucks to order off the menu if you’d like to enjoy some pizza, pasta, sandwich, salad, or beverage.  We get together to talk toons and draw funny, so feel free to bring along a sketchbook, pick up a blank sketchcard, or even snag a napkin to draw on. We also usually have some freebies for folks to take home.

We’ll have some art show promos to hand out to anyone who’d like some to help spread the word about our upcoming art show “Spamalittle: Knights Of The Drawing Table” at Germantown Community Theatre. The deadline for turning in art for this show will be at this dinner meeting since we will be hanging the show before the next meet-up. Just see MSCA president Kevin L. Williams to hand off your art for the show in March. You can also email Kev at midsouthcartoonists(at)gmail(dot)com to join our mailing list and stay informed on all our event and member news such as the opening reception for this Monty Python inspired art show, future Sat-Art-Days, and upcoming conventions and Free Comic Book Day (Saturday, May 6, 2023).

Thanks to 901 Comics East for hosting our two latest events, thanks to everyone who attended, and thanks to Vicky Neyman for getting us all the extra art supplies. They definitely came in handy and will be used for future MSCA events! If you have an idea for an event let us know.

Oh, and don’t forget that 901 Comics (East and Midtown) sells several locally created comics, including some by our own MSCA members.

Lin

901 Comics East
8551 Macon Rd, Cordova, TN 38018

(901) 249-7959
www.901-comics.business.site
On Facebook – 901 Comics East/901 Games East

Sketchy Details On Upcoming MSCA Events This Week

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If you’re free this Sunday, January 15th from 4:30 – 6 pm, go visit the MLK Day Celebration at the Withers Collection Museum and Gallery, 333 Beale Street, Memphis, TN 38103.

MSCA member Devin Hodges will be present with his comic book The Common Days of Cade!

He’ll also be set up and selling comics, zines, and prints at the Corinth Comic Con on Saturday, January 21st. The one day show will be held at the Crossroads Arena (2800 S Harper Rd.) in Corinth, MS

You can find out more about Devin and his comic on his stie at www.diastcartoons.com.

You can also find his comic for sale along with other locally created books at Comics and Collectibles on Poplar (near Colonial) and 901 Comics East on Macon Road out in Cordova.

And speaking of locally created and 901 Comics East, my hand-drawn sketchcards are now also for sale there- 551 Macon Rd, Cordova, TN 38018.

I have official artist returns for $100.00ea, and personal sketchcards drawn on my own custom blanks for $35.00ea. I’ll be adding more sketchcards and sketchcovers to the ones at 901 and The Cellar (in Bartlett) soon.

This Wednesday (Jan.18) the MSCA will be holding our first official Drink-N-Draw at 901 Comics East. It’s exactly what it sounds like- we’ll be drinking and drawing from 6-8pm at the Cordova location. 901 has a bar and gaming area and offers domestic and local beers on tap and in cans.

If you don’t drink beer, Lil’ Sweet says there are sodas, water, and some individual pizzas and snack items as well. So bring your art supplies and a few bucks to order something to drink/eat while you draw.

Later this month on Saturday, January 28ththe MSCA will be hosting our first “Sketchy Saturday” at 901 Comics East from 10am until 2pm. It’s going to be a free hands-on workshop that will focus on drawing on sketchcards, sketchcovers, and in sketchbooks. I’ll have some free MSCA sketchcard blanks to hand out, and lots of art supplies on hand for attendees to use and experiment with.

If you’re looking for art classes, the Wades and Team Toshigawa have The Comic Studio which are art classes with a comic book twist. The classes cover everything from photoshop techniques, to illustration techniques, to writing all from the perspective of comic book, manga and graphic design creation.

The Comic Studio meets virtually twice a week (Wednesdays at 12:00 noon and Thursdays at 5:00pm), and are for children ages 8-15. Look for more class times to be added soon. Know a child interested in manga and comic book illustration? Get them to the Comic Studio!

You can join The Comic Studio by clicking here!

Hope you can make it out to one or all our upcoming events!

Lin

MSCA January Happenings – 2023

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Well, after 35 years of drawing funny in the mid-south, we’re ready to do it some more next year!

MSCA MONTHLY DINNER MEET-UP AT GARIBALDI’S PIZZA

Our 35th anniversary year was packed with MSCA and member events (art shows, library display, dinners, etc.) and we started off the new year right with our first dinner meet up of 2023 onTuesday, January 3rd from 6-8pm at Garibaldi’s Pizza’s U of M location. It’s just off Walker near the Highland Strip and Southern, and across from the Tiger Book Store. We had another great turnout for this month’s dinner.

The dinner meetings are always free and open to the public, but you may want to bring a few extra bucks to order something off the menu to eat and/or drink. If you have kids who are interested in cartooning, if you are a kid and want to learn from some comics professionals, or are just a kid at heart and love cartooning then stop on by. FREE parking!

Be sure to bring a parent and/or a friend along, too. We don’t teach classes at the dinners (that’s a separate event), but we do freely share tips, tricks, techniques, and sources. (Be sure to check out our links page for more helpful info!)

Also, if you attend be sure to bring some of your latest work to show around (sketchbooks, portfolios, works in progress, printed pieces, etc.) and don’t be afraid to show them to members, or share any promos you may have to hand out. We usually have a freebie table for those items so feel free to add to them or pick up some to take home.

Don’t forget to bring something to draw with, or be shy to ask to borrow a pen or pencil. Spontaneous sketching often happens during these events, and it’s always encouraged.

It doesn’t matter what hand (or foot) you draw with, what/who you sketch, or what you doodle on – sketchbook, notebook, sketchcard, sketchcover, jam piece, or even a napkin. There’s always plenty of those around.

This month I had some of our members do sketches for the press promo pizza boxes I’m working on, so thanks to everyone who drew one for me. I’m going to be putting them together this weekend and out to the local news media soon.

Thanks to the staff at Garibaldi’s for letting us gather there each month (and the pizza boxes). It was great to finally get back to meeting in person again last year, and we look forward to being back there in the big room again throughout 2023!

Garibaldi’s Pizza
3530 Walker Ave
Memphis, TN 38111

(901) 327-6111
www.garibaldispizza.com

MSCA DRINK-N-DRAW

This month we’ll be experiencing our very first MSCA Drink-N-Draw event hosted by 901 Comics East out in Cordova on Wednesday, January 18th from 6-8pm. We’ve been known to drink and draw at our dinner meetings, and at con-related drink-n-draws, but this is officially our first! 901 Comics East now has a bar, gallery space, and gaming area. We are looking to make this a quarterly event at the friendly neighborhood comic shop.

The bar serves beer on tap and in cans- including some local brews. If you don’t drink beer, there are sodas, water, and some individual pizzas and snack items. So bring your art supplies and a few bucks to order something to drink/eat while you draw, and a designated driver. There is no theme or no real rules (other than 21 or older if you plan to drink beer), so feel free to draw or work on whatever art you’d like. ✏️🍺

901 Comics East
8551 Macon Rd, Cordova, TN 38018

(901) 249-7959
www.901-comics.business.site
On Facebook – 901 Comics East/901 Games East

Take Germantown Pkwy. to Macon (Malco and Whataburger), go about a half mile up and after the post office take the left at the 3-way stop, and then a right at the next 4-way between the school and apartments. Continue on Macon about another block or two, continuing straight after the 3-way stop at Dexter. The comic shop will be on the right in the shopping center next to the Pit Stop food truck court (the Greenline runs behind the shopping center).

There are several locally created comics for sale at 901 Comics as well!

MSCA SKETCHY SATURDAY

Later this month on Saturday, January 28th the MSCA will be hosting our first “Sketchy Saturday” at 901 Comics East from 10am until 2pm. It’s going to be a free hands-on workshop.

If anyone is interested in joining in on creating some sketchcards and sketchcovers please stop on by. I’ll have plenty of sketchcard blanks and a few sketchcover comics to share while they last, but if you need any 901 sells some blank sketchcovers, too. 

I’ll have some markers to use and extra Bristol paper to play on if anyone needs them or wants to learn how to color with markers. I’ll have a mix of Copics, Letraset, Prismacolor, and Sharpies on hand, plus some extra pencils, Pigma Micron and Gelly Roll pens, and other art supplies.

Please feel free to bring any supplies you’d like to use and/or your own sketchbook to work in. I’ll have some card sleeves for finished cards ((901 sells packs of 100), and we’ll have some art books for folks to look through for those who might need some inspiration and/or reference. We’ll be in a comic shop so that should help with getting inspiration, too!

Some of you may remember many of our members getting together at Bookstar on Poplar, Adam Shaw’s studio on Broad Ave., Michaels in Olive Branch, and other locations when we’d get together to just hang out, draw, and have fun together. If you’re not interested in drawing on sketchcards or sketchcovers, do come on by and like I said bring a sketchbook or other art project to work on with us. 

As with the drink-n-draw event, if this goes well we’ll look at doing more “Sketchy Saturday” type of events in 2023. We’d like to keep these casual and more of a social sharing of ideas and techniques than an actual art class, but if anyone would like to host/teach a class or if there is something you think would work as a project just give me (Lin Workman) or MSCA president Kevin Williams a yell- midsouthcartoonist(at)gmail(dot)com.

These gatherings are to encourage setting aside time to draw, being social/networking, and sharing ideas, news, and techniques with others. Hopefully it will give us some additional meet-up opportunities for anyone who can’t make our monthly dinner ones at Garibaldi’s. 

Kev  sends out an email reminder before events so be sure to join the mailing list. I try to post heads up online on social media and our site here, but here’s the 2023 dinner schedule if you need it.

Our podcast Drawing Funny is now in it’s third season and we’ll have a few more episodes dropping in January, including the 50th episode- “stay tooned!”

And if you’d like more info on the MSCA and/or how to become a member, either check out our ABOUT US page, shoot Kev an email, click the player above, or stop by an event and ask us in person.

I hope you can attend one or all of our 2023 events- we’d love to have you join us!
Lin

New “Drawing Funny” Podcast Episode With Info On Upcoming 2023 MSCA Events

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The first Drawing Funny episode of the new year is available for downloading.

You can listen on most podcasting platforms such as Spotify and Apple, check out the Drawing Funny website at www.drawingfunny.com, or click the player above.
(Run time 52min, 5sec)

Show notes: For the first 2023 episode of Drawing Funny I’m joined by MSCA president Kevin L. Williams (aka Soloman Blues). We took the show on the road did some recording over the weekend while in the MSCA’s secret mobile recording unit. We were on our way home from seeing the Alabama Blues Brothers perform at the Princess Theatre in Decatur, AL.

We discuss some of the Mid-South Cartoonists Association’s 35th Anniversary events that happened in 2022, some of the club’s history (founded in March, 1987). Plus we share info on upcoming events for this year including our next monthly dinner meet-up at Garibaldi’s Pizza this Tuesday (January 3rd 6-8pm), our Drink-N-Draw (Wednesday, January 18th 6-8pm) and Sketchy Saturday (January 28th 10am-2pm) at 901 Comics East, and “Spamalittle” art show at Germantown Community Theatre (March 3-19).

Garibaldi’s Pizza
3530 Walker Ave
Memphis, TN 38111
(901) 327-6111
www.garibaldispizza.com

2023 MSCA Monthly Dinner Schedule- next dinner January 3rd 6-8pm.

MSCA Drink-N-Draw (Wed. 1/18/23 – 6-8pm)

We’re going to be starting off the new year with our very first MSCA Drink-N-Draw event at 901 Comics East on Wednesday, January 18th from 6-8pm. We’ve been known to drink and draw at our dinner meetings, and at con-related drink-n-draws, but this is officially our first. 901 Comics East now has a bar, gallery space, and gaming area. We are looking to make this a quarterly event at the shop. The bar serves beer both on tap and in cans (including local brews), as well as sodas, water, and some individual pizzas and snack items. So bring your art supplies and a few bucks to order something to drink/eat while you draw. There is no theme or no real rules (other than 21 or older if you plan to drink beer), so feel free to draw or work on whatever art you’d like.

Sketchy Saturday (1/28/23 – 10am-2pm)

Saturday, January 28th the MSCA will be hosting our first “Sketchy Saturday” at 901 Comics East from 10am until 2pm. It’s going to be a free hands-on workshop for anyone interested in creating some sketchcards and sketchcovers. We’ll have plenty of sketchcard blanks and a few sketchcover comics to share (901 sells some, too), plus some markers, and extra Bristol paper to play on if anyone needs them. Please feel free to bring any supplies you’d like to use, or if you’re not interested in drawing sketchcards or sketchcovers, do come on by and bring a sketchbook to work in.

Some of you may remember many of our members getting together at Bookstar, Adam Shaw’s studio, Michaels, and other locations when we’d get together to just hang out and draw.

Like the MSCA Drink-N-Draw event (Wed.1/18, 6-8pm), if this goes well we’ll look at doing more “Sketchy Saturday” type of events in 2023. We’d like to keep these casual and more of a sharing of ideas and techniques than an actual class, but if anyone would like to host/teach a class just give me or MSCA president Kevin Williams a yell: midsouthcartoonists(at)gmail(dot)com.

These gatherings are to encourage setting aside time to draw, being social, and sharing ideas, news, and techniques with others, and give us some additional meet-ups for anyone who can’t make our monthly dinner ones at Garibaldi’s.

901 Comics East
8551 Macon Rd.
Cordova, TN 38018
www.901-comics.business.site

Just take Germantown Pkwy. to Macon Rd. (Malco and Whataburger), go about a half mile up and after the post office take the left at the 3-way stop, and then a right at the next 4-way between the school and apartments. Continue on Macon about another block or two, continuing straight after the 3-way stop at Dexter. The comic shop will be on the right in the shopping center next to the Pit Stop food truck court (Greenline runs behind the shopping center).

SPAMALOT/spamalittle (March 3-19, 2023)

Germantown Community Theatre
3037 Forest Hill Irene RD.
Germantown, TN 38138
www.gctcomeplay.org
901.453.7447

Happy New Year! Stay warm, stay dry, stay safe, stay tooned, and keep drawing funny!

Linwood

Dinner And Drawing – Our Latest MSCA Get Together At Garibaldi’s

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Hey, gang- we recently got together for our monthly dinner meet-up at Garibaldi’s Pizza over in the U of M area off Walker and Highland near Southern.

We had a good turnout again this month, and had a good time discussing what everyone has been u to lately and sharing some art.

 

 

More freebies were available for folks who attended. Kevin brought some more MSCA postcards, Jack Chapman brought some art books to give away, and I brought along some Free Comic Book Day comics from my day job at 901 Comics East, more MSCA sketchcard blanks, and a few of the promo trading cards (featuring my art) from the upcoming Nosferatu Series Two card set produced by 4 different publishers: RRParksCARDS, Attic Cards, Leg Day Cards, and RJF.

I’ll bring a few more freebies to the next meeting in October including the Nosferatu promo cards, and some new MANOS trading cards I just received in the mail.

Oh, don’t forget that  if you stop by any of our local Memphis area comic shops- Comics & Collectibles, The Cellar, and 901 Comics, or The Art Center you can snag some free MSCA and Drawing Funny podcast swag.

We discussed a lot of the recent events like the Zine Fest, and upcoming events like Monster Market, Memphis Comic Expo/DonnieCon, MidTownCon, annual NCS Fest/Reuben Awards, and the ongoing MSCA display at the Hernando Public Library.

annual

The Monster Market is an on-line store which features original art, prints, and other monstrous merch. There will be an in-person open house on October 1st at Marshall Arts. I’ll have some of my “Scared Silly” prints, canvases, buttons, stickers, magnets, and more available for sale there, as well as some of my hand drawn sketchcards. Dale Martin will also be a part of the artist line-up for this year’s market.

The Memphis Comic Expo (AKA “DonnieCon“) is back in the M-Town with over 70,000 square feet of expo space featuring comics, artists & writers, a cosplay contest, panels, vendors, voice actors, food, drinks, and more!

Agricenter International
(Entrance in Wing C)
7777 Walnut Grove Road (near Germantown Pkwy.)
Memphis, TN 38120
FREE PARKING on premise.

Expo Hours:
Saturday 10:00 am – 6:00 pm
Sunday 10:00 am – 5:00 pm
VIP Ticket holders will have early entry privileges at 9:30am both days.

Tickets are now on-sale, but VIP tickets have sold out.

Our own Greg Cravens is the Membership Chairman for the National Cartoonists Society and will be in attendance for the NCS’s annual meeting and awards. This year it’s being held in Kansas City, MO. If you’d like to find out more about becoming an NCS member, be sure to ask Greg about it, or check out the NCS website at www.nationalcartoonists.com.

When I got home from the MSCA dinner I had some NCS Icons pins waiting for me in my mailbox. You can order some here. I also recommend checking out the NCSFest online. Lots of great interview, panels, and other cartooning videos to check out.

And speaking of checking out some cartooning, the Hernando Library display cases are full of original art, printed comics and zines, newsletters, promotional materials. art show invitations, and more from the club’s 35 year existence in the Memphis area.

 

We showcased some production art and tools of the trade from back when art was literally cut and paste, like some examples of  our early logo and original promo flyer.

 

We tried to include some original art and notes next to the finished printed materials to show a peek of the  process of creating the art.

It was fun to be art archaeologists and MSCA historians as we dug though the club’s archive box and history scrapbooks. There was so much we had forgotten about or didn’t know about. Definitely a learning experience for Kevin and me. Soooooo much more we wanted to display, but just ran out of room.

 

We’ll see about adding in other items next time. We’d love to do a future  one  featuring original comic art and final printed pages/covers by MSCA members.

If you get a chance to stop by the library it will be up for the rest of September, and will be followed by a Ghostbusters display by the Memphis Ghostbusters. Oh, and for the holidays a LEGO display by Kevin Thorn is coming up in December..!If you can’t make it by, you can see more pics on the MSCA Facebook page, and a few more will be added as soon as I get the pics Kevin took while we were there.

First Regional Library (Hernando Public Library – established 1950)
370 W Commerce St
Hernando, MS 38632
www.firstregional.org

HOURS:
MONDAY  9:30-7:00
TUESDAY 9:30-7:00
WEDNESDAY 9:30-7:00
THURSDAY 9:30-7:00
FRIDAY 9:30-5:30
SATURDAY 9:30-5:00
SUNDAY CLOSED

The dinner meetings are casual and open to the public. Bring whatever art you’ve been working on, favorite art book/comic or recent art tool purchase to show, or some promo swag to hand out- and any art questions you may need answers to.

Please be sure to introduce yourself and let us know you’re there to hang out with the MSCA.

The room is reserved, but occasionally some folks don’t realize it and unintentionally join us.

 

 

This month there was some drawing done during dinner…go figure! There has been talk about trying to get back together to do more zines, and we will have another art show at the Germantown Community Theatre in spring 2033.

Dinner gatherings are always the first Tuesday of the month  starting at 6:30pm (or a bit earlier if you’d like) at Garibaldi’s Pizza, 3530 Walker Ave..Our next one is Tuesday, October 4th.

Feel free to bring a friend or family member, and be sure to bring a few bucks to order off the menu. You and your stomach will be glad you did- lots of great pasta, sandwiches, and pizza to choose from!

Hope you can make it out and join us for dinner…and some cartooning conversation.

Lin

Garibaldi’s Pizza

3530 Walker Ave
Memphis, TN 38111
(901) 327-6111
www.garibaldispizza.com

^Additional photos by Kevin L. Williams.

MSCA Members Featured On TV, On-Line, In Print…And In Person!

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Hey, gang-

Lots to talk about- it’s been a busy week or two for several of our MSCA members…and one heck of a milestone for one!

Yep, happy 50th birthday to our president Kevin L. Williams!

Kevin celebrated half a century of being on this rock by hanging with friends last Saturday at First Congregational Church in the Cooper-Young neighborhood.

Muley The Mule And Friends performed for a room fool of party-goers and were joined by a special guest(s)…

Kevin’s friend Zach Haumesser and puppet pal Sebastian T. Frog flew in from Buffalo, NY – and boy were their wings tired..!

Okay, yeah- that joke was pretty bad…

Muley/Kevin and Sebastian/Zach performed with Missy Mule/Janet Wade, Buford Dog/Martheus Antone Wade, and Roy Duck/DaMarco Randle.

 

They did several numbers before we all had cake, and believe me there was plenty of cake, cookies, and other goodies to be had.

 

I really think Sebastian was just there for the cake…never get between a hungry frog with a fork and dessert!

 

 

Out in the hallway as we all made our way in there was a huge sketchbook for everyone to sign in, write birthday messages, and/or draw in which was a lot of fun to add to- and look at!

Before Nicki and I went by the birthday party, we had to stop by Marshall Arts (over near Sun Studio) to drop off my merch for the upcoming Monster Market in October.

The Monster Market is an on-line store which features original art, prints, and other monstrous merch. There will be an in-person open house on October 1st at Marshall Arts.

I’ll have some of my “Scared Silly” prints, canvases, buttons, stickers, magnets, and more available for sale there, as well as some of my hand drawn sketchcards. Dale Martin will also be a part of the artist line-up for this year’s market.

Speaking of sketchcards, I was on Episode 33 of the Penciled In Podcast, with hosts and sketchcard artists Lindsey and Ingrid. You can watch the episode on YouTube here, or listen on Spotify here.

We not only talked about drawing sketchcards, but also my beginnings in art, being a member of the MSCA and DeSoto Arts Council, art techniques, donating art to charities, and some of the times I’ve actually taught art classes like at the DAC and Little Art Hose Project.

My art has been featured on the promo cards for the upcoming Nosferatu Series Two trading card set being published by Attic Cards, RJF, Leg Day Cards and RRParksCARDS (4 publishers teaming up to produce a single card series). I’ll have sketchcards as part of that set, plus if anyone would like one I’ll have a few of the promo cards with me at the next MSCA dinner meet-up at Garibaldi’s Pizza on Tuesday, September 6th. I’ll also have some MSCA sketchcard blanks and other swag with me, too- just ask if you make it out to join us.

A few months back Kevin Williams had been featured on TV5’s “Bluff City Life“. Last week, we had two more MSCA members featured on the show…

.

This time is was Martheus and Janet Wade from MAW Productions at  ToshigawaUniverse.com.

They were on with host Gina Neely to discuss their two creator owned comic series “Shinobi Ninja Princess” and “Jetta: Tales of the Toshigawa“, working on comics as a family, and having their comics picked up by Scholastic. You can watch the interview online here.

And in other news- Roy Duck’s right-hand man DaMarco Randle was featured in an online interview with MemphisVoyager.com.

DaMarco discusses being inspired as a kid by watching art programs on TV, later earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the Memphis College of Art, recently creating murals around Memphis, and the importance of always having a strong support system around him.

You can read the interview here and see more of his artwork at www.DamarcoArts.com.

If you have any member or industry news be sure to let me or Kevin know by emailing us at midsouthcartoonists(at)gmail(dot)com.

Lin

Return To The Little House Art Project

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This past Saturday morning Antonio Johnson and I (Lin Workman) joined fellow MSCA member Grace Smith at the Little House Art Project in Southaven, MS. Antonio was there to share some techniques in Clip Studio Paint on his laptop, and I was there to have the students draw sketchcards. Grace is a longtime student at the art class and helped us and instructor Rebecca Treadway with getting everything set up and organized.

I’ve come out to the classes a few times now- teaching how to draw comics, covers, and creating characters with shapes.

I was first invited out by Vicky Neyman, who at the time was the director of the DeSoto Arts Council. Unfortunately for this class Vicky was home sick and couldn’t make it.

I don’t consider myself a great teacher, but love sharing what I know with others. I always get a bit anxious before the classes start, but end up having a fun time talking toons with the students. Antonio and I both discussed writer/artist’s block and how intimidating it can be staring at a blank page. One student was worried about her characters being too similar. We gave her some ideas of how to fix that and a ‘lightbulb‘ popped on over her head. It was great to see someone’s eyes go from frustration to inspiration. We just gave a few suggestions and told her what we liked about the characters, as well as some ways to battle future creative blocks. Look forward to seeing what she does with her characters and art moving forward.

The MSCA’s Martheus Antone Wade and Kevin L. Williams have both been Little House art instructors as well.

Kevin brought Muley The Mule along and taught them how to make paper bag puppets and draw toons.

Martheus taught comic book art and some martial arts instruction.

Antonio had a \S/uper time drawing with the class and seeing some of their work in their sketchbooks and devices. Many of the students in the class work digital, while some only prefer to work traditionally. I brought along some MSCA sketchcard blanks, my markers, and some reference books. We had around 20 or so autistic art students.

I think the class had a great time, too- especially after they understood exactly what a sketchcard was! Hey, most folks don’t know what they are…I didn’t when I was first introduced to them.

I had a few students ask me, “What do we do with them..?” and “What do we draw on them..?” I explained that they could draw anything they wanted, with anything they wanted, and do anything they wanted with them when they were done.

Sketchcards are basically blank trading cards you can draw on in pencil, pens, markers, paint- or whatever. They are usually the same size as baseball cards, but some are larger and some are smaller. They can be collected, traded, gifted, or sold. I gave them all some plastic sleeves to protect their cards. Last time I was there I was able to donate some Bristol paper and markers that weren’t used for the Quick Draw panel at MidSouthCon that year, plus leave behind some art books for them to share.

The sketchcards I do professionally (for companies like Topps, Cryptozoic, Breygent, RRParks CARDS, etc.) are randomly inserted into trading card packs- kind of like golden tickets in Wonka chocolate bars. Sketchcards are very sought after collectibles and can go for anywhere from a few dollars each to several hundred…or more!

Some of the students also just sketched, filling up entire sheets of paper which is always fun. I really need to do that more often myself. Been too long since I’ve worked in a sketchbook.

The artistic autistic group recently did an art show at the Southaven Library in conjunction with the Southaven Arts Council. It’s become an annual event for the artists.

It was on display in the lobby of the library for the month of April– which is Autism Awareness Month. It was a great mix of traditional and digital art.

Thanks to Vicky, Rebecca, Grace, and all the volunteers and students at the Little House Art Project for having us out. I hope to be back again soon. Really wish I had a group like this to hang out with when I was growing up and learning. Makes me thankful for getting into the MSCA in my twenties, and one of the reasons I try to promote it and any art groups I encounter. It’s so important to share knowledge and inspire each other.
Lin

 

PROJECT DESCRIPTION
Little House Art Project began as an idea born of an art program for special needs children, but why stop with artistically gifted, special needs teen?  Many teens yearn for art instruction. It is an opportunity for all teens to learn more about fundamentals of art.  Studies in light sources, painting still life, and more will be explored in this series of classes.

Little House Art Project
2126 Stateline Road East
Southaven, MS

Ages 12 & up – 10:00 a.m. to Noon

$20.00 – All supplies included
Limited seating  – The Arc NWMS will adhere to the most recent safety guidelines given by Governor Reeves or our local leaders.
Reserve your spot today.

PAYMENT OPTIONS
1.  Click the DONATE button to pay for your $20 class fee.
2.  Bring a check for $20 made payable to “The Arc NWMS” to class.
3. Bring $20 cash to class.

Scheduled Dates for 2022
August 13 (rsvp August 10)
September 10 (rsvp September 7)
October 8 (rsvp October 5)
November 12 (rsvp November 9)
December 10 (rsvp December 7)

Please contact The Arc NWMS for more information at
901-907-9041 or admin@thearcnwms.org.

www.thearcnwms.org/little-house-art-project

Episode 42 – “Little House Art Project”