I’ve actually been doing some writing, and some surfing. No drawing. It’s busy season for painters AND I had to take a break, go to Portland for the “Heroes and Villains” Fanfest with my son, Sean, my ex daughter-in-law, and my grandson, N8.

No, I wasn’t recognized as the villainous wave hogster I am, and I do have some things to say about Portland; I just need some more time. It’s a bit like being caught in the tidal surge at a point break; it’s easier to run back up. I’ll have something new soon, as soon as my son tells me how to get the photos off my phone and on the site.

Thanks for checking in.

…AND, no, I didn’t go surfing yesterday; and I’m not going today. NOW, others did, and others are. In fact, I believe my friend Adam “Wipeout” James is somewhere out on the coast for the combo swell and the combo event, today being Fathers’ Day and all.

AND, I do have a couple of friends who surfed late enough Friday, June 16, in the Northwest dusk, with sundown after 9pm, to almost be surfing on World Surfing Day.

It’s painting season, delayed by a cold and rainy winter, that after an early and rainy fall; and I need a really good reason, or a really solid swell, to justify heading out in search of the elusive Strait wave. OKAY, I did sneak off once last week. Couldn’t help it.

In looking for a photo to go along with this ‘why you don’t have to worry about me snaking you right now’ piece, really googling for a shot of a car, in the northwest, with surfboards on top, and, maybe, one of those cartop carriers I always mistake for surfboards while I’m heading for a job and some lucky folks are headed in search of the, as mentioned, elusive Strait waves, or even the combo coast variety.

WHOA! What I found is one of my own photos, with (and I partially staged this- “Hey, you, park here. Okay?”) my car in the foreground (the car that’s still up at a car repair shop in PA with mice/wiring issues that left me stranded at the North by Northwest Surf Shop, three or four hours of hanging out not necessarily improving my relationship with Frank, or Trish, who had to come up and rescue me). There actually had been at least one more VW, part of the (perhaps, it’s a guess) loosely connected (if not united), definitely hip if not hipsters tribe/group of surfer/adventurers another friend (probably one of the earlier alluded-to friends, I don’t have THAT many) as ‘The Westfalians.’ You may note the semi-matching sweaters and designer dog.

NOW, obviously, there are absolutely NO WAVES; and, yet, one might wonder why there’s no board on the soft racks. AND NOW I’m wondering, trying to remember.  Wa-aaa-ves. AND NOW I’m getting ready to go to work. Good luck.

…or write. I don’t get sick often, but downtime during painting season means I must take some advantage of being home. I did a first draft of a short story, got my latest batch of “New Yorker” cartoon submissions doctored-up and sent off, semi-binge-watched a documentary series on Roku with Trish, and did these two drawings.

Yeah, they do come with some explanation.

Originally, the first drawing had the car at the top, which I was pretty happy with; and then the rest of the drawing went south (not on surf route 101). So, I redid the top, probably a little cleaner, and added the lettering. Fine. Now I’m not completely pleased with the bottom drawing. So, maybe next time I’m sick…

The lower drawing… still thinking. I did want to do a color version just to see if it fits with my sort of ‘in the cathedral’ concept for the piece, but, actually, I’m feeling a lot better, and I’ve got to go. Later.