Sketches of Fishtown # 85

Sketches of Fishtown Books on Sale for Holidays....

I hope everyone had an awesome Thanksgiving. Standing on the sidelines for this year's North Catholic TurkeyBowl made for an unbelievably amazing holiday for me.

I was taking inventory of the Sketches of Fishtown books I still have. There are still a few hundred left. I am hoping to get rid of what I have left before a Volume II book comes out next year. If anyone is interested in grabbing a "Sketches of Fishtown Vol. I" book as a stocking stuffer, let me know. If you get them directly from me, I'm cutting the price down to $4. Or I will sell 3 books for $10. If interested, e-mail me: phillytoon@yahoo.com or just send me a private message on here.

Anyways, I hope everyone has an amazing Christmas season! Thanks.

Sketches of Fishtown # 84

I apologize for not getting this in the paper or on the blog before Veteran's Day. last week I was doing my quarterly grades for N.C., and I really didn't want to rush the drawings on this one. Special thanks goes to Janis Roxberry, Patty Roxberry, Bob Edinger, and Sharon Seamans for providing me with the information and photos to reference for this one. I hope I did an okay job. I am so proud of these guys and what they have done and continue to do. I am very grateful and privileged to have grown up with them.

The type might be a little small. To view it larger, please click on the photo above.

Sketches of Fishtown # 83 - Wes Mattheu & the New Way Down

I've heard this band live several times. Being a fan of a mixed bag of music, I really like their stuff. It has a great old tymie country feel, but they also hoot and holler with a lot of energy.

I see Wes around the neighborhood all the time. We bump into each other a lot at Murph's Bar (202 E, Girard Ave. in Fishtown). Wes is a good guy with a big heart and a genuine love for songwriting and all kinds of music. Making this issue was a bit of a marathon. I took the photo reference last night, then worked on the pencils while watching Game 5 of the World Series. I continued to the inks until about 3 AM, then got up and finished the piece at 8AM for an 11AM deadline for the Spirit. The original drawing was done on 11" x 14" bristol board using a Kuretake brush pen and microns. Because we wanted to get this one out to promote Friday's show, I had to get it in the paper this week. I'm glad I did. It was a nice little challenge for the beginning of my week. Whew!

Sketches of Fishtown # 82 (with help from Erin Crowley)

Thanks to my little niece Erin (I sometimes call her "E-Bomb") for writing the words for this week's issue. Erin is also becoming a really great artist in her own rite. I can't wait to see how her work grows over time. She is so smart and creative!

Philadelphia Cartoonist Society Pictionary - Next Monday 10/26/09

The Philadelphia Cartoonist Society will be holding their monthly PICTIONARY night on Monday, October 26, 2009 at Bob & Barbara's Lounge (1509 South Street in Philly) starting about 9:30 PM. 

Teams of 3 or 4 will sign up and play each other all night in a one and done tournament. The winner of every round gets a special (Can of PBR and a shot of Jim Beam) for each member of their team. The team left standing at the end of the night gets to play against members of the Philadelphia Cartoonist Society. If, by some miracle, your team beats the PCS, you'll receive yet another round of specials and a prize pack to split up amongst your team.

Generally, I host the tournament each month as an impartial judge. This month, I'm stepping down from judging so I can have some fun and play on the PCS team at the end of the night. So folks coming to play better come strong.  I act like a nice fella, but you don't want to be on the other side of the Pictionary board from me.

Sketches of Fishtown # 81

Special thanks to my brother Scott for the quote this week.