Bowling Pin of Excellence

The public has spoken. The Bowling Pin of Excellence Electric Wheel has chosen a winner! Jamie Gerhold is the winner of the coveted 2011 Bowling Pin of Excellence !!!!
Out of the many artists participating in Artomatic@Frederick last month, the public chose their favorites from the show. These nominees were whittled down to five finalists and then, BPOE organizer/creator/mastermind Roger Cutler's electric wheel randomly chose a winner from the five. We had a fun award banquet at a Chinese restaurant in Frederick last night and Roger spun the Wheel. Standing with smiling Jamie are three finalists for the award: Annie Lunsford, David Hagen (me, back left), and Phyllis Mayes. Equally brilliant, but not in the picture, are finalists Deborah Winram and Richard Schellenberg.

It should also be pointed out that the nice shiny awards given to the finalists (I call mine the "Duckpin of Excellence") were partly made from scrap aluminum provided by Artomatic mechanical wizard Carl Cordell who passed away last July.
Congrats to all! And thanks to Roger and all that voted for me. Shiny.

Griffey

Griffey, 10"x 20" acrylic on canvas.

Here's a painting I just finished for daughter Claire's boyfriend's graduation present. Claire told me Drew's favorite baseball player was Ken Griffey Jr. which made this fun because he was one of my favorites too. Griffey was a great hitter, but I really admired the way he played the outfield with a joyful enthusiasm and excitement. He could catch any ball he could run down and I think this scene depicts that. I wanted to use the same monochromatic gray colors I used in my "A Fine Arm" painting, but on the cooler spectrum for a more modern look and I think it came out well. A Fine Arm, 30"x 40" acrylic on canvas.

That new car smell

Here's a new painting commemorating the purchase of my new car! A bright red Fiat 500. It's fabulous and fun to drive and totally discreet (no one notices when I drive down the street). Though, I am afraid of monsters that like shiny red objects.

Shoeless Joe

The original and the commissioned ink and computer drawing of the 1909-11 American Caramel Joe Jackson baseball card. Mine's in mint condition and considerably less sticky! These early baseball cards were in packages of caramels (not stale pink gum).

Velvet Elvis

Yes, I admit, I own a velvet Elvis tapestry. It's gorgeous. Here's a panel cartoon from a few years back.

3 more weeks of Artomatic

My artwork is selling and I've got new commissions from the first two weeks of Artomatic@Frederick. It's all good! If you haven't made the trip out to Frederick, MD, you should. There's a lot of nice artwork by many talented artists. My space is 34C.
Click here for details.

Corporate Sponsorship

I always wondered what we'd all look like if we could get corporate sponsorship like the race car drivers. I don't own a lot of clothes with names of companies on them. I feel a little silly walking around with a giant "NIKE" or "ADIDAS" on my shirt. When I buy a new car, I usually remove the little advertising sticker or license plate holder the dealership has stuck on the back displaying their name. I'm sure some people have certain loyalties to favorite companies and I certainly like Coke better than Pepsi, but I wouldn't wear a jacket with their logo emblazoned on it. That's just me.
Now, if they wanted to pay me, I'd probably look like the gentleman above...

Snack Time DC

Finally! It's Snack Time in DC!! I've painted several versions of this theme with different cities in the past couple years as commissioned pieces, but never Washington, DC. Yummy tourists! Tasty snarled traffic! This morsel will be on exhibit at Artomatic@Frederick Sept. 28 to Nov. 6. Come see!
16" x 20" Acrylic on canvas.

Cartoons & Cocktails 2011

Here's a preview of a cartoon that I donated to the annual fundraiser Cartoons & Cocktails. It will be held Thursday night, October 20 at the Newseum. I've been donating original cartoon art to this worthy cause for over ten years. It supports Young DC and gives scholarships and support to kids interested in journalism. It's been held at the National Press Club for years and it should be refreshing and something different having it at the Newseum this year. I had heard that Redskins owner Daniel Snyder was pondering a retractable roof for his stadium so that he could put in a bid to host the Super Bowl somewhere down the road and this came to mind...

Best Friends Forever!

I would imagine that "Honest Abe" and George "Can Not Tell a Lie" Washington would be best friends if they ever happened to meet each other. At least that's what I would like to think. Since we're talking honesty... I made George's teeth yellow. I saw a pair of his false teeth on display at Mount Vernon and, man, did those things look uncomfortable (and yellow). Can someone say, "whitening strips?" Anyway, George and Abe can swap Presidential Stories and have a laugh while on display at Artomatic@Frederick Sept. 28 to Nov. 6.
16" x 20" Acrylic on canvas.

Fetch!

A new painting for the upcoming Artomatic@Frederick. I'm participating in Artomatic again and this year it's being held in Frederick, MD from Sept. 28th to Nov. 6th at the old FCPS building, 115 E Church St., Frederick, MD. I was excited to pick out my spot yesterday at the site and will install next week!
16" x 20" Acrylic on canvas.

Sam I Am

Here's a painting of Mike's cat, Sam.
Smile, Sam!

Still Not Boys!

Some more of the spot illustration forWarren Potash's upcoming book, "They're Not Boys."
PONYTAILS!!

They're Not Boys!

I've been having a lot of fun providing illustrations for Warren Potash's upcoming training book, "They're Not Boys," which deals with training philosophy and exercise techniques for young female athletes and also to educate parents, coaches, and trainers. The illustrations will also be scattered on Warren's informative website: www.learn2trainsafely.com/
More information forthcoming nearer to publication date.

Job skills

...and he Tweets!

Accurate Market Research

Sometimes I wonder what ever happens to all those surveys I fill out...

Nest Egg

Libby took this photo of the robin's nest and so-to-be new neighbors in the backyard.
Lovely.

Shelve It!

The new Library t-shirts are in and getting rave reviews! The reversed illustration (white on black not black on white) came out well. You can still recognize Georgetown University's Lauinger Library about to be munched...

Lassos Moon

The Partingtons commissioned this family portrait. Husband and wife are huge fans of the film, It's A Wonderful Life.
In, the film, on their way home from a dance at which they have fallen into a pool, and are forced to wear borrowed clothes, George (James Stewart) offers to lasso the moon for Mary (Donna Reed). Later in the movie, Mary creates a drawing of George doing just that, with the caption "George Lassos the Moon" written in rope. Initially, Mary's gesture is lost on George, but later in the movie the illustration is seen hanging in their home.Well, Mrs. Partington has surprised Mr. Partington with the news of their pregnancy by giving him this painting. All together now.... "Awwwwww!" Isn't that the sweetest story?

The Hermanator

Former CEO for Godfather's Pizza, Herman Cain, has announced that he's going to run for President in 2012 and will be seeking the Republican nomination. I remembered doing a spot illustration of him in 1996 when he resigned from Godfather's to become head of the National Restaurant Association. The client wanted me to illustrate him in the "I Want You" pose and wearing a button that proclaimed him, "The Hermanator!" A chicken in every pot, a car in every garage, and double pepperoni for all!

Killebrew dies at 74

I just saw the news a few minutes ago that Harmon Killebrew died today from esophogeal cancer and thought I'd re-post this entry and illustration I did from June, 2009 as a tribute:
"Harmon Killebrew was a feared power hitter with the nicknames "Killer" and "Hammerin' Harmon." Despite his "Killer" nickname and his powerful stocky build, Killebrew was in fact a quiet, kind man who didn't really join in with his partying teammates. Asked by reporters what he liked to do for fun, Killebrew replied, "Well, I like to wash dishes, I guess." 
 I like Harmon.

Take This Book...And Shelve It!

Here's a commissioned t-shirt design based on Snack Time for the Georgetown University Library Access Services Division. I think the shirts are going to be gifts to the student workers. The book-shelving monster is devouring GU's Lauinger Library!

Vote Early and Often

Cartoonist and friend, Al Goodwyn has made it to the tenth and FINAL round of "So You Wanna Be a Cartoonist?" Fifteen cartoonists are left and voting continues the rest of this week. It takes seconds to sign up and vote a couple hundred times for Al! Click here to VOTE.

Carrot Ride After Dark

On the heels of Carrot Ride's triumphant exposure in last week's Express, demand for me to make the image available on dark shirts on Zazzle has been overwhelming (are you two satisfied now?). Shamelessly announcing that Carrot Ride is now available on dark shirts. And look how GOOD it looks on the Hipster! 10.40% off this tax day weekend! Click me to shop. Many thanks to Christen for the assist on this. Free shirt to you!

And what is art?

Caption quoted from today's Express:
"David Hagen's Carrot Ride is part of an Artomatic exhibit at Reagan National Airport...You don't need a ticket to attend the exhibition...which features a large painting of a bunny riding a carrot. Sure, there are other works, but this is a bunny! Riding a carrot! Look at his little bunny face. We're sure the other art is nice, but there's probably only one piece that features a bunny riding a carrot. And what is art? Art is a bunny. Riding a carrot."
I think I might have to make up t-shirts, "Art is a bunny. Riding a carrot."
Coming soon...

Exercise & Eating Healthy Alphabet

What can be more important than exercise and eating healthy, Eh? Here's some line art I drew for the American Diabetes Association. The challenging part for me was coming up with healthy activities and healthy food for each letter of the alphabet and then having them all fit comfortably within the inside of the letter. These were then distributed nationally to schools to be colored and cut out. Sounds like fun activity in itself! Now... can you find where did I put that zucchini?? 10 points for the first correct answer!
Email me if you'd like a copy of the alphabet.

Artomatic Takes Flight!

My popular painting, Carrot Ride, will be participating in the art show, "Artomatic Takes Flight," which will run from March 3rd to June 25th, 2011 at Reagan National Airport (in the hallway of Terminal A). Everyone's invited to the opening reception to meet the artists, eat free food, and possibly get a TSA pat-down from 6-8pm, March 10th. Hopefully, the exhibit will brighten some weary traveler's day. There's an online article on Examiner.com with details and a slide show of other participant's artwork right here.

Masterpiece!

I framed the painting for the future charity auction. The frame reminded me of something Richard Thompson might draw. Read about Team Cul de Sac here to donate to this worthy cause!

Team Cul de Sac

Cartoonist and friend, Richard Thompson (Cul de Sac), was diagnosed with Parkinson's last year. He's managing things well and his friends and fellow cartoonists are coming together to support "Team Cul de Sac" to donate money towards Michael J. Fox's foundation for Parkinson's research. To donate to this cause, click here. Cartoonists are donating original artwork for a charity auction and for a book that will come out next year with the profits also going to this worthwhile cause. The theme of the artwork is to celebrate Richard's characters and the strip Cul de Sac. I scanned a couple of Richard's strips and isolated each character and assembled them in Photoshop (below) to form an Otterloop family portrait. I then painted them all in acrylic on canvas, 16" x 20." I'll need to find a beautiful gold frame to complete this masterpiece. More to come...

Wilted

I came across this b&w illustration I did a couple years ago and I can't remember who the client was. It was in a folder with other random b&w spots. It may have been for someone's website. I still like it.

Doubleheader!

Need I say, "Two heads are better than one?"
They ARE sporting the Championship Belt!!
New purple paint, new painting.
16"x 20" acrylic on canvas

Snack Time Baltimore!

Another Artomatic "Snack Time" commission. This time, Zoe, the family cat, devours Charm City! May need some Bromo Seltzer after eating the Bromo Seltzer Tower.
16" x 20" acrylic on canvas.