Three Verbs: Live

The first in the "Three Verbs" series of "sketches" I did in Photoshop. I scanned some "found objects," magazine clippings, etc. This one is titled "Live."

This series was done over a few months in the winter of 2001. I wasn't sure at the time, but I can see now that they were done to express my three biggest concerns in life: 1) that I get the most out of my short life, 2) that I love more deeply the people around me, and 3) that I continue my search for truth.

As I look at these now, I revisit the emotional terrain I was on at the time. Funny, how art can have that power. It's the closest thing to time travel I have, I guess.

Three Verbs: Love

The second in the "Three Verbs" series of "sketches" I did in Photoshop. I scanned some "found objects," magazine clippings, etc. This one is titled "Love."

Three Verbs: Believe

The third in the "Three Verbs" series of "sketches" I did in Photoshop. I scanned some "found objects," magazine clippings, etc. This one is titled "Believe."

The Angry Soldier. The drawing of an embittered soldier for a larger piece that illustrates how at times in my life I've seen the world as a battle ground, and I felt like I was at war with everyone. After I came out of that funk, I kept seeing this little guy in my head, and I put him down on paper. The only thing I accomplish when I act this way is isolation, which just makes things worse. I mean, who wants to hang around a guy like this, who is angry at the world, snapping at everyone he sees? I drew this guy for me, in the front page of a favorite sketchbook, and I came across the image frequently, sometimes at just the right moment. I need these reminders to keep me in check. My songs work that way for me too. A positive message sung at the right time can be good medicine.

Floyd the Flamingo as a cowboy poet. Drew this on the inside back cover of a book I was reading at the Nashville airport, after seeing a guy sitting across from me in a comically over-sized cowboy hat. I drew the attention of a little boy who seemed perplexed that this cowboy I was drawing had such a long nose.

Another plane drawing. Floyd the flamingo, the "mascot" for my band, The Trailer Park Troubadours. He's on stage and having a good time. I may use this for posters for my solo shows.

This was drawn on the airplane last weekend after finishing a chapter on Abraham Lincoln in Sarah Vowell's book, "The Partly Cloudy Patriot." I drew this on the end sheet next to the inside front cover. Not a terribly accurate portrayal of the man, just a caricature. The flight attendant stopped twice to watch (I was in an aisle seat), and a third time to ask me, "Is that Abraham Lincoln?" and "Did you really draw that?" and before walking off to deliver more peanuts, she said, "You're a good drawer." Ha. I love that expression. Haven't heard that one since I was a kid.

Another air plane doodle from a couple weeks ago. No meaning. No grand scheme. I just start with lines and see where it leads.

I have no idea what this is all about. It started out as a doodle while watching an episode of LOST with my kids, and grew into this full-blown, um, thing. I'm developing it as a silk screen poster. Let me know what you think.

Age is a Number

This is an illustration I did for a book publisher years ago. No matter how old I am, I hope I can always find the joy in spitballs, frisbees and running around with no shoes.

Potato Face Wilson

A sketch from 1994, as I sat in a diner in Kentucky... The guy who inspired this looked no where near this bad...

God is Taking a Nap

Portrait of The Creator on The Seventh Day, 3:15 PM. I think when God does sleep, He sleeps sitting up. And I'm sure he's much better looking in person.

God's Rough Draft #1

I did a series of these, with body parts in various orders, sizes and places. I'll try and dig up the others. I did this on a crowded plane. The 9-year old boy across the aisle loved it, while all the uptight grown-ups around me didn't quite know what to think.

The Funk Period #1: "There's a Fine Line Between a Laugh and a Scream"

These next four sketches were drawn over a decade ago, when I was in a deep funk over the state of my music career. I had just lost a record deal due to the label's mismanagement and subsequent lack of funds. I can now honestly say it was the best thing that ever happened to me as a singer/songwriter. But at the time, I was very depressed.

When I'd pick up a pen or pencil to draw, all I could come up with were these shadowy, dark figures, as if an unrecognized part of my personality was ripping itself out into the light from the cover of my usual pleasant, optimistic demeanor. Jekyll and Hyde indeed. So, anyway, here's a little departure from the usual tongue-in-cheek stuff, for what it's worth...

The Funk Period #2: "A Pauper in Prayer"

The Funk Period #3: "The Soul Collector"

The Funk Period #4: "The Crush"

Pretty self explanatory, I guess. Drawn while waiting in a doctor's office.

Boundaries. They're a Good Thing.

We're dog lovers at our house. If you're a dog lover, you get this drawing. People shake hands. Dogs, well, they greet each other differently. We were laughing around the dinner table one night pondering what the world would be like if people greeted each other the way dogs do. We decided that for people, it's good to have such boundaries.

Insecurity

This is an adult version of the dream I had as a child that I'm sitting in class in my underwear. (You've had those dreams, right? Tell me you had those dreams.) Our insecurities come out in such dreams. In this drawing, I wanted to imply nudity rather than show it, and the look on the truck driver's face says it all.

My Dinner with Death

This accompanied a poem I wrote a long time ago about the Angel of Death visiting a guy who takes the news rather well, and actually invites Death in for dinner, coffee and conversation. Death enjoys the man's company so much that he grants him a reprieve.

The Real Tooth Fairy

I drew this to get a laugh out of my kids, who were tooth fairy believers at the time. My son looked puzzled, stared at the drawing for a long time and asked, "Really, Dad?"

The Jingle Writers

Any art form, when done solely for commercial purposes, is immediately looked upon by the purists of that field as a "sell out." Jingles are to music what illustration is to the art world. My take on all that? Relax. It's a rainbow. Take your color and chill out. Make art that satisfies you, and if you're lucky enough to have it also feed your family, then it's all good.

The Crack of Don

"The Crack of Don" was one of the first songs I wrote for my band The Trailer Park Troubadours to play and record. This is the sketch that sort of accompanies the song.

Portrait of the Songwriter as An Old Man

There was a restaurant on 16th Avenue in Nashville where I used to eat lunch, just to sit and gawk, see famous people, see noteworthy songwriters, etc. This guy was a regular there. I sketched him quickly one day while waiting on a club sandwich.

My Brain is a Suggestion Box

I was talking to a friend of mine going through a lot of inner struggles years ago, and she said she had talked to so many people about her problems, and read so many self help books, it seemed like her brain was a suggestion box.

The Only Times I've Ever Grown Was When I Got Pushed Out of My Comfort Zone

What keeps you going, pushing you out of your comfort zone?

The Feeding

Here's another one with a myriad of meanings. I guess I was feeling kind of "drained" when I drew this on a plane ride to Seattle years ago. I remember that trip because I left my sketchbook in the seat pocket when I got off the plane. I called Southwest Airlines and a very nice lady in charge of lost items (who's brother was an illustrator) packaged it up and mailed it to me. She and I talked about art for 20 minutes or so.

The Milking

This was drawn years ago, when I was on a record label that I didn't particularly care for. The feeling we all had (I wasn't the only one) was that we were being bled dry, not only of our money, but our talent and energy.

Yeah, I know – pretty dark, but I was glad I had an outlet for all that negative energy. I always feel better after having "drawn through" my problems. It's almost like how I feel after a workout.

The Double Chin

You tell me what it means. Another airplane doodle that got out of hand.

The Last Man on Earth to Get The Cooties

"I rolled up my sleeve and exposed my cootie shot.
I said, 'Ain't nothing personal, man. I'm sorry.'"

This is from a song I wrote which is on my album New Good Old Days. I started writing this song when I was about 13, but I was writing it and illustrating it to be a comic book. (I'll try digging around for that original panel. I have it around here somewhere.)

I was thinking about how there had to be somewhere a man who was the last one to be tagged on the playground and given The Cooties before everyone around the world had their shots. It would of course mean being ostracized for life.

I drew this on the plane, on the way home from somewhere.