Pickled Chuck

(click on image to enlarge)

My Christmas/New Years break has been a good and very restful time for me. It has given me time to reflect on this past year and I must say it has been a very good year for me. That is not saying that it has had some bad parts........ I would say that 99% of the year for me was good. I have an amazing girlfriend, a fantastic family and fabulous friends to thank for that. I am very appreciative for all that I have. I hope that the next year will bring me all that is wonderful and more. Here is to a Happy New Year!!!!

In exactly 34 days I will be on my way to Japan. I am very excited to visit there again. I really enjoy getting to see Akiko's family. It is a real treat for me. They are always so nice to me (even when they don't understand me being a vegetarian). Also, I think that I have been able to save enough money so that while I am on my trip I will not have to worry about being too poor.

The image above came to me when I started to think about all of the early cartoon influences I have had in my life. I thought that I would try and illustrate all of those influences in my "Pickled" style. Charles M. Shulz's cartoon strip "Peanuts" was the first image that I wanted to draw. My parents introduced "Charlie Brown" and the "Peanuts Gang" to me very early in my life. I think that I was around 16 months old when I went to Malibu Beach, California with my parents to visit my Uncle George and my Aunt Kay when I first noticed Charlie Brown's dog "Snoopy". My Parents told me that my Uncle had a stuffed toy of Snoopy that I would not leave alone. I would drag him around everywhere by the neck, even through the sand on the beach of Malibu. I believe that over the years my Mother had to repair Snoopy's neck on many occassions. I also remember my Parents buying me numerous book collections of Charlie Brown and the Peanuts Gang before I even knew how to read. The Peanuts Gang was very important in my life and still is to this day. I love taking time and re-reading those comic strips from years past with my old stuffed toy Snoopy. I enjoy reading them just as much or maybe even more than when I read them as a child. It is amazing how timeless that comic strip can be.

I haven't taken the time to illustrate any more more of my early influences in my Pickled style. But when I do I think the next one up will be "B.C." by Johnny Hart.

I hope everyone has a safe and Happy New Year!!!!!

Happy Birthday Wendy!!!!

Jack