I came up with the format in early December. I moved to New York about a week and a half later. The schtick just built up slowly, day by day.

But the other day a friend of mine made a compelling case for me to start doing so.

Not sure what to think yet…. Not caring what other people think is harder than it looks. Especially AFTER you get successful.

My favorite cartoonist for the last while has been David Shrigley , long since before he was hired by Hallam Foe to animate the title sequence. Musicians have always inspired me far more than other cartoonists, with perhaps the exception of Charles Schultz , Saul Steinberg , Ralph Steadman , Ronald Searle and Edward Gorey. Instead of carrying a portfolio around, I just keep a couple of hundred images on my iPod.

Seems to work well enough. Luckily my format is well suited to the device. Everything I own would easily fit in the back of a small pickup truck. The same was true for my late paternal grandfather, probably the most resonant influence in my life. I find it very liberating to have a format that allows you to store a few years worth of work in a single shoebox. One of the smartest moves I ever made was to figure out that making money indirectly off the cartoons was far easier than trying to make the money directly.

If I could teach gapingvoid readers just , that would be it. Nor have I ever envied the people without them. You have to ask me to give you a drawing.

And I have to be in the right mood at the time. Powerful magnets for Bullshitters, to say the least. I have no artistic ambition outside the cartoons. No desire to write a novel or anything like that. I would never recommend to a young person to pursue a career in fine art. Even if she had a talent that was off the scale, I would be slightly hesitant.

Doing it repeatedly, day-in, day-out is far, far harder.

The longer it takes you to become successful, the harder it will be for somebody else to take it away from you. I increasingly find that, as I get older, the only subjects worth writing about are Love, Loss, Religion and Ambition. It took me many years to just let it go. If the early days, most of my drawing was done sitting at the bar. Nowadays most of the work is done at the kitchen table.

They both have their pros and cons. I can totally see why so many artists eventually become recluses, living in the boonies.

Cash For Cartoonists Program | The Comic Art and thinking of D.J. Coffman

In the early days of the cartoons I was living in Manhattan. I think a lot of ex-New Yorkers feel that. I have never really given any serious thought to changing my format in all these. Sometimes I find that odd. What matters is the question.

The good news is, my drawings will probably be worth a lot of money. May 8, at 2: May 9, at May 9, at 3: Your email address will not be published. Who Are The Happiest Artists? When I was ten years old, I was having a nice chat with my mother about what I should be ….

At last count I had 5, of them.

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That was over a year ago. Not sure what to think yet… 5. I never expected the cartoons to get successful. The way most cartoonists make a living utterly horrifies me. Constantly setting new goals, artistic or otherwise, is harder than it looks. I want to draw cartoons that rip the face off the reader. But in a good way. Drugs and alcohol are lousy substitutes for inspiration.

The older I get, the more solitude the work seems to require. The format works for me because it forces me to keep things simple. No artist wants their best work behind them. But that day always comes. Somehow I managed to get the B-Plan baked into the A-Plan. I feel extraordinarily fortunate and grateful.

Comments WT says May 8, at 2: Hugh, could you please elaborate on number 16? I would really appreciate it. Leave a Reply Cancel reply Your email address will not be published. Are you ready to work with us? Home Culture Design Services Clients Press Our Story Blog Contact Us Subscribe For Free.