HIT THE ROAD!
Posted by John Dykes at 10:14 pm on May 22nd
Here's a shot taken from the traffic-cam to give us a quick indication as to how the traffic is starting to flow this Memorial Day weekend ... Remember to get an early start, cause 'As California goes, so goes the nation'....
ERROR!
Posted by John Dykes at 11:04 pm on April 28th
Here is a piece that ran in yesterday's Los Angeles Times... A chronicle of the rise in movie prices over the years.
And a note received:
Dear Sir,
With all due respect I wanted to point out a serious error in your cartoon on the front page of the Sunday edition of the Los Angeles Times Business section on April 27, 2008. This is a part of the article titled "Reel Fun's Still a Real Deal." You have listed movie ticket prices for various years in the history. As an example, however, .35¢ (this is point 35 cents) is not the same as $.35 or 35¢ (the last two are the same and mean 35 cents). In fact, .35¢ is not even a Penny. You have put in the price of movie tickets as .27¢ and .69¢ for the years 1942 and 1961. I hope I have not offended you by bringing this to your attention. However, I hope that the result will be that this type of mistake will be avoided in the future.
Regards...
Derek Simmons, Deputy Design Director, was great to work with....
AUSTRALIA
Posted by John Dykes at 10:33 am on March 27th
Is it really a 37 hour trip to Australia?? Well... not exactly. But a departure at 5pm Friday from Boston, to an arrival in Brisbane at 6am Sunday... it sure seems like it! And well worth it... We made the three week trip last August. Here are some paintings and some select photos. I'll post more as I create them.
A bike ride from Brisbane to Redcliffe Penninsula ... we thought would be a few hours, was actually about 8.5 hours. the plan: ride up and stay over night in a motel, then ride back the next day. Turns out the standard bike trip for folks that take the 'tour' includes a majority of the trip by train. Agh! Needed to purchase a 2 inch thick street map and refer to it constantly. Arrive after dark. Ouch. Oh, and, no motel reservations were made in advance. Needed an extra day rest before returning.
We spent a week driving north to Airlee Beach, then back.... (North gets tropical.... looks like Hawaii in places). A great way to see the country and meet people.
The main north-south route - like our I95, is an undivided 2 lane road that is shared with road trains... triple tractor trailers. They get your attention... as do their 'creative' signs.
Not 90 minutes from downtown Brisbane, is an area of rainforests up in the mountains. A trip highlight. But as you drive towards the area, it is a dry, and arid desert. No sign of anything remotely rainforest.... until you get up past a certain point, it starts like a hollywood set, complete with hanging vines, screeching birds, and strangler fig trees. See to believe.
Australians are funny people.
Whitehaven Beach is one of the only places on the globe with pure silica sand on its beaches. So fine, your legs sink past ankle deep at the water's edge. Locals use the sand to polish jewelry. We brought some home. Patti, Greg, and Jeff check it out....
Fine accommodations! Exchange rate is in our favor.... some real bargains to be found, which certainly helps on a long trip.
NEW REPUBLIC
Posted by John Dykes at 12:58 pm on March 24th
What would baseball be like if all players were fully juiced on steroids??... And it was just fine?? This was the angle we took for the current New Republic cover story. An in depth article on the subject covers everything from the history of competition all the way through today... a fascinating read.... Art directed and designed by Joe Heroun and Christine Car. A fun assignment! Now I gotta get back to the gym.
ILLUSTRATING CONNECTICUT
Posted by John Dykes at 3:25 pm on January 31st
This just in:
BRIDGEPORT -- Illustrating Connecticut: People, Places, and Things, an exhibit that explores the history and culture of Connecticut through the art of illustration, will be on display in the Burt Chernow Galleries at the Housatonic Museum of Art, Feb. 7 - April 4. The list of illustrators exhibiting includes notables such as Bernie Fuchs of Westport, Guy Billout of Fairfield, Kinuko Craft of Norfolk, Randall Enos of Fairfield, Bob Kessel of Norwich, Leslie Cober-Gentry of Fairfield, who, notably, lives around the corner where John S. Dykes used to reside, but now resides in Massachusetts, and wishes he consumed much more diner food than he does now, because there are no great diners in Sudbury, but at least his cholesterol levels have plummeted (LDL), and Hal Mayforth of New Hampshire...(Some excellent diners in Montpelier, BTW)...
Here are 6 of my paintings that will be included in the show. This series, for the most part, was created back at the turn of the century, when I was living in Connecticut eating donuts and stuff.
9 out of 10 Drawgers will attend the opening on Thursday, February 7, 2008, according to the latest Rasmussen poll.
The museum is located on the campus of Housatonic Community College, 900 Lafayette Blvd, Bridgeport, CT, less than 150 yards off I-95 (Exit 27) and Rte 8 (Exit 1) in downtown Bridgeport, one block from the Arena at Harbor Yard.
Gallery hours are Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Saturday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 4 p.m.
For more information, call 203-332-5052 or log on to "http://www.housatonicmuseum.org/"
I love painting these sorts of things - interviewing average folks, keeping the process fun and engaging, painting interesting subject matter. Eating.
SLOW PLEASE
Posted by John Dykes at 9:12 pm on December 28th
The U.S. Department of Transportation contacted me a while back and asked if I would be willing to participate in a new campaign they were undertaking. It is a multi-tiered multi-lateral campaign to reduce excessive driving speeds on our nations highways - something to which we all can relate. The main effort is to get crazy maniac drivers to slow the hell down through a series of well placed, thoughtful, slow the hell down signs.
Art Director Marina Enahosa was a pleasure to work with - emailing words of encouragement daily - and even sending flowers and chocolates when the burden of coming up with another brilliant idea seemed, well, miles away.
The designer, Feliciera - who like Cher and Madonna, goes by only one name - was a real pain in the ass. We chased concepts through 16 rounds of roughs and came full circle back to my original ideas. (Please don't send her a link to this.)
Here is the first in the series of new road signs - some of which you may have already spotted. Please feel free to post photos you may have taken while on the road.
Barack Obama - big supporter of slow the hell down.
Winter Baseball
Posted by John Dykes at 11:41 am on November 27th
Do not despair! There are plenty of ways to satisfy all of your baseball cravings during the winter months! This piece was created to illustrate 'A Fan's Guide To The Offseason' for Major League Baseball. I was fortunate to have a few pieces accepted into the Society of Illustrator's 50th annual exhibition, and this was one of them. Medium: Acrylic on cheap cardboard from the back of a pad of tracing paper. A few details follow...
BUSINESSMAN GONE MISSING
Posted by John Dykes at 12:31 am on October 26th
Law enforcement officials in the greater Wahlahbafa area ask your help in locating the unidentified businessman (pictured) last seen in the vicinity of The Great Hole.
Hot Tips Line: For real Hot Tips, call 978.443.7772
We are pessimistic in our hopes of ever finding the guy, so The Wahlahbafa Chamber of Commerce will move smartly ahead and auction the businessman's fine automobile at or before NOON tomorrow. Henceforth. Proceeds will fund plenty of alcohol, tobacco, and firearms for the Annual Wahlahbafa-One-Helluva-Holy-Holiday-Hootenanny Extravaganza. Our sincere condolences go out to the businessman's family, but this really should be a blast!
The Businessman gone missing in Question: Tall and trim, not too much nose, dark eyes, dark shoes, stylish raincoat.
Search and rescue teams are working 24/7, yet there is no sign of the businessman gone missing.
SAFE TO TRAVEL
Posted by John Dykes at 5:37 pm on October 17th
The Republic of Breefiztan has just LIFTED TRAVEL RESTRICTIONS to this Caspian Sea gem.
History: Breefiztan has been inhabited since the stone age. The region's climate and terrain are best suited for nomads practicing the cultivation of mulch.
