Met up with Dick Daniels at Chelsea Coffee to talk shop. Here is Dick and I going over a project he’s working on.

Just finished most recent commission for client. Teddy bears and lollipops!

Contact me for your own piece of art: rob@robsmithjr.com
My personal commissioned pieces are inexpensive compared to commercial pieces.

Picked up brochures with the artwork included last Friday, the 19th, from a new used book store on Bumby Avenue in Orlando. Thought you all would enjoy them.

All are from boating brochures involving Florida. I use like this art and wish more brochures had it today. We stood in the Welcome to Florida building on US 95 a couple weeks ago. Throughout the facility there was no illustrative artwork to be found on the brochures. Almost all photographs and digital graphics. The very few exceptions included one by me of the history of movies in Florida.

Above is this years annual Father’s Day card for my father. It’s location is in the area my father grew up. The bridge goes over a river my father used to fish in. The bridge is also an entry to the cemetery.

We celebrated the day with my father and my brother Jeff by making a trip to Inverness and having dinner at Stumpknockers. Afterward my father enjoyed a Hershey’s coconut ice cream cone from The Ice Cream Dr.

Below is a photo of my father, brother Jeff and Sandra with a giant turtle at a nearby park.

3 more books read. Hawke is the first Ted Bell book I’ve read. Very well written and more intriguing than the usual adventure series. John Creasey was one of my mother’s favorites. A tight story, thougha bit predictable. The Miami Metropolitan Experiment is a lengthy study of work my grandfather was a part of invovling the restructuring of government and consolidation of municipal and county entities. Very well written for a study. Reads as well as a novel.

Guess what I did today?

Day 1

A greeting from me as I register for the National Cartoonists Society annual meeting in Hollywood, California.

The ‘Reuben Weekend’, as the NCS annual event is referred to, started with talks by cartoonist Steve Moore, animator Eric Goldberg and the incredible illustrator Drew Struzan. I first saw his work in Variety in the late ’70s and have been a fan of his ever since. He was very kind to sign books and chat with us after his presentation. That’s me and Drew Struzan above.

Here Struzan speaks with John Read (of ‘Stay Tooned’ magazine), Nick Meglin (of MAD magazine) and Ed Black (Cartoonist, photographer and cartooning historian).

The evening of the 22nd was our annual reception. Above is Craig Anderson (of Marmaduke) and Tom Stemmle (Cartoonist and beer taste-tester).

DAY 2

We sstarted Saturday with our business meeting. First we had the old board get up and the new board get on. Below is a sketch of NCS Prez, Jeff Keane and movie director J.J. Abrams who came to the meeting to suggest us get involved with a charity he’s involved with.

Chad Frye brought some of his fantastic art. I actually begged him to bring it. He’d been showing the progress on Facebook. Admiring the art is Andy Eng (Left) and John Norton (Center).

We had a number of panels. Above is during the future of comic strips panel.

That evening was the annual Reuben awards. Above is winner for Cartoon Illustration, Sam Viviano (on right) and fellow MAD colaborator, Nick Meglin.

Here is Momma’s Mel Lazarus and Hi & Lois acrtoonist Bill Janocha.

Here’s Archie Comics master cartoonist Stan Goldberg and his lovely wife Pauline. Stan holds the secret of who Archie Andrews will pop the question to!

Here’s someone who greatly inluenced me, Don Orehek. His wife Suzy has dragged him kicking and screaming into the internet world recently with a blog and Facebook page. Way to go, Suzy!

Rose is Rose artist Don Wimmer gives the typical rection to one of Tom Stemmle’s jokes. Tom’s wife Marie quickly leans away from Tom and starts asking everyone around her who this stranger is sitting beside her. (Tom, Marie and I are good buddies and love to rib each other….Until he calls his Jersey friends to visit me…..)

The Silver T-Quare Award went to Jeff Bacon who spearheaded and organized the resurrgence of visiting military hospitals and Veterans Administration locations in the U.S. and abroad.

Day 3

The next morning the Stemmles and Jerry and Jeri Dowling and myself made our way to Mel’s Diner, made famous in the film,’American Grafitti’. To the left is a sketch I drew of an unused bar in the back.

Here I am with the closest I can get with a photo of Dino.

Tom Stemmle and I were going to a favorite Frakie haunt, Musso and Frank’s. They were closed but I did get this interesting photo of the sign as a bird came by.

Our next group stop was at, Cathy cartoonist , Cathy Guisewite’s house. There was a theme that is self explanitory by the costumes worn by Cathy’s parents. Receiving dinner instructions is agent Bill Kellog. Just past him it Family Circus creator Bil Keane.

My Swiss cheese meory fails me now! This is, gag cartoonist, James Este’s daughter and husband holding a drawing they asked me to do.

We all got to tour Cathy’s house. Here Jerry Dowling examines Cathy’s work area.

Cathy asked us all to sign the toy piano and vase. Here John Norton and Bill Schorr scribble away.

I got to meet a hero. It’s humorist extrodinaire, Stan Freberg!

After Cathy’s house we were taken to a club to hear editorial cartoonist Mike Ramirez’s band, which is on stage above.

Here George Pieper belts one out during karoake, which followed Mike’s band! Below is a sketch I made of a band member.

Sandra and Rob made their way to the Suncoast Inkslingers meeting in Pinellas County. It was held at writer Sandy and brainy scientist/bass choral singer Bill Huff’s large property.

Above is a film of Rob cartooning a suggestion by Ron Johnson at the meeting. Sandy Huff broke open a pile of sketch pads and colored pencils. Rob took advantage of them. Under the film is the drawing Rob drew. Ron is telling a story of an interesting encounter, if you can hear it.

Below is a photo of some attendees: Kurt Wright, Jim and Dan Smith.

My second attempt to film me sketching. The batteries ran out, but I got a solid minute nevertheless. I’m sketching on of the original building from the rearly 1900s of Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida. By the way, I went to Rollins, my sister went, my mother went, etc.

Below is the final sketch.

Later we had a birthday dinner at my favorite steak spot in the world – Linda’s La Cantina. Below is the table beside us as the waiters were cleaning the table.