A Little Holiday Spirit!

With the season of giving upon us I feel it's important to remember that the giving should extend beyond those we call our friends and family.

Therefore, for the month of December, I will be offering sketches, like this one, of simple busts on colored paper for $10 of any single character (real or made-up) and all money made from these sketches will be donated to CARE, a humanitarian agency that is dedicated to serving individuals and families in the poorest communities around the world. And for this month they will be matching every dollar that is donated.

So, for $10 you get a nice original piece of Kevin Nordstrom art and you'll have helped out a wonderful cause!

If you'd like more info on CARE you can check them out at: http://www.care.org/

Hocus Pocus - The Rise of Billy Butcherson

Well, kids, here it is!! My official Halloween illustration!

I decided to go with one of the all time best Halloween movies. HOCUS POCUS!! This movie was Halloween for me as a kid and I know it's the same for many others. I'd drawn a Hocus Pocus pic before but I was never completely happy with it and I REALLY wanted to get Billy Burcherson in there.

I hope everyone has a safe and wonderful Halloween!!

Why Children's Books?

When people find out that I write and draw for children I’m inevitably asked, “Why?”

 Turns out being a children’s illustrator can be a bit awkward in social situations. It usually goes a bit like this, “Kevin, this is Mr. Whatshisface. He constructs airplanes for the army and is the Head Surgeon at Very Important Medical Office. Mr. Whatshisface, this is Kevin. He draws the darlingest things for little kiddies.”  

Mr. Whatshisface will concede that there is a place in the world for what I do and he maybe recalls being a child once upon a time. He’ll point out that there are greater artistic opportunities that he’s sure I’m in pursuit of and entertaining children is merely a stepping-stone. Certainly, I long to fill galleries with opulent pieces of art that show my deep inner turmoil or make a political statement. After all, I’m very talented, he’ll say, and I shouldn’t waste my time drawing Fart Monsters. He’ll then politely remove himself from the conversation in search of someone of more interest to him.  

The truth is, I love drawing and writing for children, and here’s why: Magic, Nostalgia and Laughter.  

Let me explain.  

Books are magic. Children’s books especially. Think of the book WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE by Maurice Sendak. When you go back and look at it, there’s very little to it. Very few words and it barely gets into the inner workings of its fantastic world or even the Wild Things themselves. But that’s where its beauty and its magic lies. To a child that openness allows their imagination to take hold and build all of that themselves. And when that child closes that book he/she can still have endless adventures of their own in the land of the Wild Things.

If you were lucky, that book was a part of your childhood in a big way. You remember being fascinated by those creatures and begging your mom or dad to make you a Max outfit so you can run wild tell them you’ll EAT THEM UP!! You also probably remember moving out of your parent’s house and, while going through your old things, you found that book and your face lit up as all the memories rushed over you. And now, as an adult, you probably read that book to your kids and watch with unutterable joy as they play the same games and you shudder dramatically when they tell you that they’ll EAT YOU UP!!

That nostalgia carried for generations and will continue to do so for many more. And when we’re old and our minds start to go backwards we can take comfort in the fact that the childhood memories of having a wild rompus with the great Wild Things will be waiting for us.

I want to give that to children. I want to give them worlds to play in and characters who will stand by their side through all their adventures. But most of all, I want to give them laughter.

Children know how to laugh like no one else. They laugh unabashedly at anything and everything they find funny. As children we see the world through very clear windows. Granted, they’re small windows but they’re unobscured. As we get older and our view of the world gets larger, our parents, teachers and our own experiences take over our view. We’re told that this is funny and that is not. That it’s impolite to laugh when someone farts. But when you’re a child, none of that matters. If you walk into a room of businessmen and let loose a long, loud fart that sounds like a choking moose, you will be met with uncomfortable glances and looks of disgust. Perhaps one slightly enlightened individual will not be able to contain a snicker or a grin. But if you walk into a classroom or a playground filled with children and let that Fart Monster roar you will be met with an almost endless bombardment of laughter and joy. They will go home and tell their parents about the grown-up who farted so loudly that he came a foot off the ground!

Children find such joy in such simple things. Perhaps, I draw and write for children because I envy them of that quality and, having left the joyous life of childhood behind so long ago, I wish to recapture it as best I can by sharing in it with them. Or perhaps there’s some switch in my brain that never quite clicked on all the way, which leaves me regarding children in a much higher esteem than adults in most situations. Or perhaps I just deeply wish to be able to fart loudly in public areas and be able to laugh hysterically afterwards without being looked down upon for my obvious social retardation.

Either way, entertaining children through writing and drawing is where I intend to spend the majority of my time. I may never cure diseases or build complex machinery but when your children or grandchildren are running through the yard because they’re flying with witches under a full moon or are battling an ancient race of Fart Monsters commanded by the treacherous Queen Tootin-Often to ensure cleaner air to breathe for the whole world…. I did that.

And I'm damn proud of it.

Kingdom Keepers Calendar

So, my piece was chosen to grace the cover to the Kingdom Keepers 2014 Calendar! If you're a fan of the series be sure to swing by and pick one up!

Kingdom Keepers 2014 Calendar!

Batman Fun!

I miss drawing superheroes....

Steven Tyler Commission

It seems that most of my commissions lately have been either rock stars or drawing people's pets in genre movies..... I guess there are worse things to do.

My Facebook: www.facebook.com/mrdinks

Zombie in Love

A little zombie fun based on the kids book Zombie in Love by Kelly DiPucchio.

Batman Concept

This is a Batman design I started playing with. I like the way it came out but I don't think I like the pointed shoulders. It works nice if he's silhouetted but I may remove them 'cause they look out of place when you start to see him in motion.

I miss drawing superheroes.

I was asked to do another submission for the Kingdom Keepers Calendar. After talking with the woman I learned that Maleficent plays a large role in some of the books. She's one of my favorite Disney bad guys so I jumped at the chance to draw her only to learn that they can't legally use the Disney movie version so I had to give her a bit of a redesign while keeping her recognizable.

70's Keith Richard

A little commission fun!

So, you remember this puppy?

Well, it got except to be put up on Qwertee, a t-shirt site that sells a different t-shirt every day. Only thing is I need YOU to vote for it to actually get made. So, if you'd be so kind, stop by:

http://www.qwertee.com/product/he-s-the-brains-sweetheart/ 

And drop me a vote. You won't regret it!! Every vote comes with a free hug!! You know... unless you're smelly or something....

It is perhaps the greatest thing in the world when you find that person in your life that you know will ALWAYS be by your side. That person who is there when things are darkest in your life, even when there's nothing they can do to fix it. They're with you, arms always outstretched in loving comfort and support.

Star Oz

A t-shirt design that I've been wanting to do for a long time now.

Kingdom Keepers Calendar

This was done as an entry into an art contest for a 2014 calendar for a series of young adult books called Kingdom Keepers.

My biggest difficulty on this was that I'm completely unfamiliar with the series. But it takes place in Disney amusement parks so I made sure I had a good time by jumping right into the Haunted Mansion.

My Facebook: [link]

Here's a few more poem/drawings I've done recently. The Fart Monster was a special favorite of mine..... cause I don't care how old you get, farts are ALWAYS funny.

The Kiddo Jerome poem was done traditionally for a friend which is why it wasn't added to the image like the others.

THE TERRIBLE TALE OF KIDDO JEROME

There once was a boy named Kiddo Jerome
Who decided one day to run away from his home.
He lived on the streets causing mischief aplenty
But he was killed by a mob just before he turned twenty.
They say he still haunts those dim, darkened streets,
And he flies through the alleys spouting terrible shrieks.
So if you find yourself walking through the alleys at night
And you hear a soft sound like the wisp of a kite,
You’d better hurry up and get yourself home
Before you hear the terrible cry of KIDDO JEROME!

P.I.CKLES

When I get a commission to draw someone's pet I groan to myself. Drawing people's pets is usually soooo boring. So when my fiance's best friend came to me and asked me to draw her cat Pickles I felt that usual  groan begin to echo in my head but then she said "But I don't want him to look realistic. I want him to be the star in a detective noir film! You know with a trench coat and everything!"

In a single moment that silent groan became a very audible "WOOHOOO!!" I had a stupid amount of fun on this one. I was genuinely sad when it was done.

This is a little something I did for my fiance but I thought that most people would enjoy it and relate to it.

Minerva & Mr. Ruffles

It's been awhile since I've done a digital painting so when I got commissioned to do one I had to shake of the rust and get back into painting mode. Thus, this little diddy was born. I have no idea what's going on here but I like the overall feel of it.

Don't forget to check me out on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mrdinks

Like the Ducks picture I did, this was done for the Neil Gaiman Calendar of Tales project. This was from the story for February. I did two versions of this because I wasn't sure how well this would work out in full black in and white so I did a version in desaturated warm and cool gray tones.

Trust the Ducks

I've been working on a few pieces for an art contest to illustrate several short stories written by the great Neil Gaiman. Each month got its own story and I chose two in particular that jumped out at me. I just finished up this one so I thought I'd share. This one's for the month of April. I chose it for two reasons. One: it's my birthday month so it seems appropriate. Two: I absolutely adored one of the last lines. I liked it so much I made it a part of the piece.

Well ladies and dudes I've got my Facebook page up and running. I'll be posting lots of works in progress as well as updates on my much-loved Bud-A-Bean & Mr. Dinks project. If you're excited, bored or just really really wanna be awesome be sure to stop in and check me out.... in a totally non-stalker like way of course.

Also be sure find all your friends, family, neighbors and even that creepy guy who stands behind you breathing heavily in the super market and tell them all to like my page and maybe hit me up for a commission or two.

Take care, kids and I'll see you all on the inter-web.

All the best.

Oh, here's the link! I think you need that and stuff --------------->  https://www.facebook.com/mrdinks

This was done as a personal piece as both a throw-back to my childhood and all the adventures I had but also as a tribute to the future life I've begun to build with my fiance.

So, I'm working on setting up a Facebook page for my artwork as well as creating a webcomic. Once I've got all the info I'll be sure to post it up. For now, here's a little teaser for both!

Meet Bug-A-Bean who's been joined with my ol' buddy Mr. Dinks as they come to Earth on a shooting star in search of a new home.