Susan Boyle Toon
I think that America has some kind of schizophrenia where we want to feel good about ourselves, have no reason to feel that way, so we transfer our feelings to characters we see on TV. Susan Boyle of Britain is our latest synthetic love affair.
Susan Boyle is a very good singer, middle-aged and not particularly glamorous. She made a big splash in England thank's to the Simon Cowell show, Britain's Got Talent. And then YouTube. Simon Cowell would have us believe that she came out of nowhere and he was shocked at her beautiful voice. However, the evidence suggests otherwise. Oh, her voice is authentic but they knew what they were doing. It wasn't the big surprise Cowell claimed.
The term we have for that is astroturf. That is, grass roots that are really fake, plastic, and planned. That doesn't take away from her voice but it should remind us that overnight sensations are seldom either...
The sketch was based on the video. I kept it to the basic sketch because it fits her two dimensional character, just as Simon Cowell created her.... Thumbs up, Susan! It's funny, any pictures I've seen of Ms Boyle other than the TV grabs, she doesn't look anywhere this dumpy. Plain, yes...
I've read that the TV camera puts 10 pounds on a person, so that may be part of the problem. Since I was unable to determine exactly HOW MANY cameras are on Ms Boyle right now, I drew her as she appeared on television.
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Marker sketch on recycled paper.
Mel Gibson Caricature Cartoon Family Values
Yes, Mel Gibson isn't just another pretty face. And boy is he ever pretty! Women just love him. And obviously - since he is so pretty - he must have important things to say. And he DOES!
Mel Gibson Family Values
Mel Gibson wants you to know that he's an ultra-conservative, super-duper mega Christian! In fact, it's pretty much all he talks about. Yes indeed, he's a family values guy all the way. You just can't argue with Mel when it comes to those family values (or Jews).
But like many people who choose to wear their faith on their sleeves, Mel has another side too - that he doesn't really want you to know about.
It seems that besides being a belligerent bigot (which always seems to be okay with the family values folk) he also is probably a serial adulterer - which sort of isn't okay with them... well, you can just say you're sorry and all is forgiven, I guess. You don't actually have to be a better person, you just have to spout the right doctrines in everyone's collective faces. But Mel's wife has finally gotten tired of his version of family values, and has filed for divorce. (In this divorce matter, Mel Gibson demands a right he would never grant to a gay person, a non-believer, or a woman who thinks she has rights equal to those of a man; absolute privacy).
So here's to ya, Mel! You keep telling others how to live good conservative Christian lives while you keep porking the hot chicks in the back room. Nobody in your crowd will ever hold it against you.
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ABOUT THE ART: Basically just a marker sketch straight-up, no pencil or preliminaries. Just go for it! 9x12 recycled paper (Canson).. Markers are Letraset Tria. The original sketch took maybe 2 minutes, tops. You can find the original sketch here on my Facebook collection - I decided to color it this morning just for fun.
Pagani/Toonz.me
