Drink Along with THE SWIMMER

"He seemed to see, with a cartographer’s eye, that string of swimming pools, that quasi-subterranean stream that curved across the county..."
I've recently become obsessed with the 1968 Burt Lancaster movie THE SWIMMER and keep returning to it. The original John Cheever short story is worth digging up, as well as the full screenplay by Eleanor Perry. There are lots of deep theories and angles to dive into, but I jumped into the shallow end by doodling the (mostly alcoholic) drinks of the film in my sketchbook.

There's symbolism poured into each of these beverages, and I'd be tempted to organize a screening with the full menu if it weren't for the final libation, the "bullshot".

I'll probably draw more fan art for this strange movie, and advance my own pet theories (hint: CAVEMAN), but for now, proceed safely through whatever holes your neighbors dig in their backyards.

Shrewsbury Lanes July 2025

Paradise City

I did a 2-pager for this cool comics anthology HANKERIN' FOR RUINATION, a loose set of 'covers' of every song from the album Appetite for Destruction by Guns N' Roses.

I covered the final song on the 'G' side Paradise City. Get one here! Here are some thumbnails and reference collected during my research.



I took some inspiration from the Koreshan Utopian Community...

...as well as J. Wimpy Wellington.

Have you read the great Wimpy intro strip by Kevin H?!



Thanks for checkin' it out!

NW Arkansas Sketchbook June-July 2025

July 4th Comic

BubblesCon '25 Sketchbook

Sketches done during BubblesCon '25. Thanks to Brian B. for the great show (and the sketchbook and pen). Good to see everybody!!

Vote for a Bookmobile!

I had the honor of working with a bunch of cool kids to design one of the new bookmobiles for the Saint Louis County Library. If you'd like to vote for one of their designs you can fill out a paper ballot at any county Library or do it online on the Library's Instagram Page. Here are full versions of the 3 final designs (click for a larger view):

The process was pretty similar to how clients work with illustrators in the 'real' world. I told the kids about the mission of the bookmobile and how it works. I handed out sheets of paper with templates of an empty bookmobile vehicle, along with lots of pens, markers and crayons.  I also helped them think about "design goals" : big, bold concepts that would work well if you saw the Bookmobile cruising down the street from a distance along with details that would be fun to see up-close if it was parked in front of your school. It was really fun seeing what the kids came up with! 

Common themes started to emerge: books and reading (of course), dragons and fantasy realms, nature and animals, sports, etc. The only theme I started to discourage was "food". We all got a laugh out of people thinking the bookmobile was a food truck and disappointed there would be no hot dogs on board.

I was very impressed at the range of ideas from very detailed compositions to more abstract, colorful designs. And I was surprised at how well kids started to build on their peers' concepts from previous workshops, making the designs more collaborative and inclusive of many different contributors. I'll be excited to work on final art for  any of the concepts up for voting, and I'll do my best to fulfill the visions of all the kids who attended the workshops!