Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Happy H-Day!

A happy Halloween to all my devoted readers out there in Internetland who celebrate that sort of thing. And for those who don't you can look at some non Halloween-related vintage illustrations at my Flickr site as well.
Who says I'm not accommodating!

Monday, October 29, 2007

Greece-y Chick'n!


Okay, okay.... I'm stretching it a bit with that header, but I just wanted to let all you fine folks know that the November issue of chickaDEE magazine is now on the stands! Ancient Greece is the focus for this fab ish and lil' ole me has four pages of colourful doodles for your kind edification therein. Just because the small print says "for ages 6 - 9" doesn't mean us older type persons can't pick up a copy or twelve. No I.D. required.

Friday, October 26, 2007

Kostume Kraziness : Part 2


Continuing on from our loopy last post we once again celebrate that wacky artifact of Octobers past, the kid's Halloween costume photo. Beginning today's entry we have four year old me decked out in the the most up-to-date ( for 1972 that is ) fashion for the in clown crowd. Crepe paper and an old housecoat, who needs more?



We move on to 1975 or so for this group shot of a test costume fitting from an early attempt to stage an adaptation of the unreleased fourth book from the The Lord of the Ring series - "Psst... Hey, Buddy... Wanna Buy A Ring?", at our local children's repertoire theatre. What, don't you remember the part where the great wizard Gandalf The Red enlists the aid of Whiskers the Were-Kitten, Casper the Friendly Ghost ( by the fourth book Tolkien had sold out and started licensing tie-ins with other established properties ), and the Hobbit clown twins to set out on an epic search for a reasonably-priced Bar Mitzvah ring for his sister Rose's boy Herschel in Passaic?

By the time 1978 arrived I had my Star Wars freak on, complete with cash-in lightsabre ( unlicensed golf-club-protector-tube-on-a-flashlight version ), and my Mark Hamill helmet hair.
My sister once again went for the daring, cutting-edge choice of a princess, but it was a close friend who makes this shot with what was his take on the Punk Rock look ( note red plastic knife tied to leg for that touch of intimidation! ). In retrospect it's more Gene Simmons meets pages 93 through 116 of the womens clothing section of the 1973 Sears Fall Catalog, but at least he was trying.



Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Happy Halloweek!

With a week to go until Halloween I couldn't resist the orders from the blog overlords any longer. So without further ado herewith kindly peruse your baby blues on part one of a two part kooky kompendium -- a scary 70s sampling if you will -- of Halloween costumes from years past.

How better to start this celebration of Halloween dressupedness than with a picture not from Halloween! Although it's possible this was also my All Hallow's Eve get-up that year I just had to include this photo of me as a hometown city landmark, the Nanaimo Bastion, from a 1974 city centennial parade. I don't remember much of the event ( I was only 5 or 6 ) but I do recall that the parade either started or ended at the local arena and that this fine cardboard and crepe paper construction of my Mom's won me a pair of blue jeans from the event sponsors.

Dig those crazee decorated bikes in the background.
On to October 1977 and the period of my life that was one big blur known as "The Star Wars Years" ( hmmm... I see a possible television series here! ). On the left is my sister as a surprisingly sad looking clown, starting a Halloween tradition of looking bored when having her picture taken next to me. On the right is our 9 year old hero garbed in a completely handmade Jawa costume, including authentic touches such as a Cub Scout belt ( with binocular case ) and Lucasfilm authorized Adidas sneakers and blue jeans ( not the pair I won in the first picture though ). My mom made the basic outfit and the cloth chest belts, but I constructed the headgear / cowl part. Be sure to enlarge the photo to see the penlight flashlights I installed to replicate the Jawa's glowing eyes using twelve feet of completely unnoticeable masking tape.

....and today's final foto finds my sister ( garbed as a princess in the remnants of our mom's wedding dress ) once again looking ecstatically happy in this 1979 photoshoot taken in the exotic wilds of our front yard ( notice new gravel driveway! ). I, on the other hand, decided to depart from the by now passe' Star Wars milieu with this Galactic-Space-Warrior-Hero-Good-Guy-Fightin'-Disco-Glam themed outfit. "How can I create such a stunningly dated, yet impressively goofy costume?" you ask yourself. Here's a checklist for materials ( you may require a time-machine to pick up some of these ) ...

- One silver metallic flake motorcycle helmet with face shield
- One shiny silver motorcycle style jacket turned backwards
- One piece of brown corduroy cut in the shape of the G.S.W.H.G.G.F.D.G. insignia
- One grey cloth cape ( get your mom to sew this )
- Grey cord pants
- Brown snow boots
- Star Wars "Three Position Laser Rifle" ( okay, I couldn't completely abandon the fact I was in the middle of "the Star Wars Years".)

Unbelievably I won a prize in a costume contest at our local Library for this outfit. No jeans though. What a rip!

Up next.... gorillas and ghosties and kittens - oh my!

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Toy-riffic!

After 50 years of collecting toy cars, model kits, trains and other related items my dad has decided to finally sell off the bulk of this area of his collection at this Sunday's Victoria Toy Show ( Western Canada's largest don't cha know! ) with lil ol' me lending a helping hand.
Not all the toys are in as nice as shape as the 1960s model kits shown above or the other objects in my latest Flickr batch, but the selection will be extensive and the prices rock-bottom. As well as the automotively skewed playthings we'll have hundreds of other vintage toys for sale, ranging from the 1930s to the early 1980s.

If you're going to be on Vancouver Island this weekend be sure and drop by!

Sunday, October 21, 2007

By the Makers of Drano!


...So it must be good! The latest at Flickr.

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

And now for something completely different...

This is the first time I've used this space to promote another contemporary artist, but since said person is a multi-talented public art and installation artist with a quickly growing reputation and fan base, who just happens to be a very good friend since we went to 1st grade together - I thought I'd break the rules.
If you happen to be in the Victoria, B.C. area this weekend please drop by the Burnside Gorge Community Centre for the unveiling of Tyler Hodgins' latest public art piece. I'll be there with bells on.

For more information check out the Burnside Gorge Community Centre's webpage and online newsletter.


Tuesday, October 16, 2007

1975 Au-Go-Go

It's time for another batch of nostalgia-tastic kid Glen drawings over at Flickr again. Grab your crayons and join the fun!

Thursday, October 11, 2007

Suiting up for Space

I've just uploaded a foursome of Flickr finds focusing on flights of far-fetched fiction and fact-based space suit designs from the 1960s. Float on over for the fun!

Sunday, October 7, 2007

It makes a great Thanksgiving gift!


Happy Thanksgiving weekend to all my fellow Canadians! How better to celebrate than with another shameless promotion for "Animal Tales", the newest hardcover children's book from OwlKids. It took a while for these to hit the shelves but now that they're out there I thought I'd remind you to check this wonderful collection of stories from the pages of the award-winning Chirp Magazine. Included in it's pages is the first fiction piece I illustrated for Chirp, "Manfred Meets the Tooth Monster".

Thursday, October 4, 2007

Radio Ga Ga


Motor (rola) on over to Flickr for some vintage items from my collection, including this swell 1954 Motorola tube radio.

Monday, October 1, 2007

Raise a glass for Flickr!


It's another round of spirited vintage illustrations at my Flickr bar. Skoal!