Author: liza

How A Not Funny Cartoon About Hurricanes Might Happen: video

Everyday, ideas present themselves. Sometimes I don’t notice them. Sometimes I have to chase them down. The best ones are ones that present themselves, I let them develop but don’t chase them. Chasing often leads to false sounding/seeming ideas. Forced.

Here is a case where I wanted to do a regular old cartoon about whatever, not political, I was open to anything. As you see from the cartoon above, it ended up being about the hurricanes we are experiencing in this country and in the islands. It may not be funny, you may think it’s stupid, doesn’t work, etc. But the process shows how it came about. In this way, I don’t think it’s forced. And it’s about a topic I eventually wanted to draw about anyway at some point: the pain and suffering we are witnessing, and the tremendous empathy we are witnessing in this country.

Here is a video of my process as I did the cartoon on my tablet (I posted this on Instagram and retreaved it a little late so the first piece is gone, sorry) Umbrella video

 

 

 

Drawing ‘The Late Show With Stephen Colbert’ For CBS

I love my job. Live drawing is taking me to all kinds of places, and last night it took me to the Ed Sullivan Theater to live draw the Late Show with Stephen Colbert for CBS This Morning. I am a huge fan, so it was beyond great to be there. Didn’t get to meet Mr. Colbert, but loved the show and loved being in the theater (with so much history!)  Charlie Rose was one of his guests– Charlie is a co- host of  CBS This Morning , the news show I live draw regularly for. 
 While outside the Broadway theater, waiting for my producer to arrive, I crossed  the street, thinking  I’d draw the building.  As soon as I began on my iPad,  I felt overwhelmed with the detail and knew I had little time to get it done properly. So I put the tablet away. But my instincts told me I had to draw the building, so I grabbed my iPhone (a figure of speech because it is pretty much always in my hand) and did the line drawing on my phone with my finger and tweeted it out. The Late Show retweeted it!  After the show, my producer asked me to color it in, so I did the color on my phone. 

 

The show was very fast paced, as you can imagine. I was standing in the back, behind the audience, and drew as much as I could. The band was so great, Stephen was spot on with his political humor, and Charlie was funny and seemed very relaxed as usual. It was great to see the other guests as well–Jessica Williams is hysterical! 
Wherever I live draw,  when I am done, I always feel I should have drawn more, particularly behind-the-scenes people and things.  I hope they invite me back!  

 

The Politics Of Women And Clothing

I drew this sketch recently for my New Yorker’s Daily Cartoon submission. They didn’t take it, but I wanted to publish it anyway. It’s in response to the woman in Saudi Arabia recently who posted a video of herself in a mini skirt and subsequently got arrested. She was eventually released. While we in this country are aghast at what is policed re women in Middle Eastern countries, it is important to remember what Western countries do, and how they police what women should and shouldn’t wear.

Women are told what to wear and if we are not wearing what a culture deems “correct,” we are “corrected,” so to speak. Society is beginning to notice how wrong victim blaming is, when a woman who is sexually assaulted while wearing a short skirt is?—?in many parts of the country?—?accused of “asking for it.” CBS News reported last week that in the US Congress, sleeveless dresses are not considered “proper business attire,” and thus women are open to being barred from entry if so clothed. In response, Representative Martha McSally wore a sleeveless dress in Congress, in violation of a rule that women are not to do so; and there was even more pushback. There are more examples, and many of them are much more subtle.

Every day is a political day for women around the globe. Here’s to more pushback.

Live Drawing at CBS This Morning: Bill Nye The Science Guy!

As resident cartoonist for CBS News, I sometimes go into Studio 57 to live draw the guests and crew behind the scenes, working to bring the show live. Today was a particularly fun day for two reasons:  Bill Nye The Science Guy was one of the guests (!) ; and secondly, it was a chance for me to hang out with an old pal. Bill and I were close friends in high school,  and have kept up our friendship since.

I have enjoyed watching Bill’s career take off over the years, it’s just wonderful.   In high school, he was proudly a nerd and a very prominent one at that.  I was not, I was the shy artist of the class.  My locker was just outside the chemistry room, so, guess what?  Bill would pop out of the lab and try to tell me all sorts of facts and theories that he was working on. And it was with the same exact enthusiasm you see when you watch him on his shows.  That’s how our friendship began. 

Bill talked today about how we should all think like scientists and nerds, with the belief that the problem can be solved.   I love that idea and the curiosity that such an attitude brings to the table.  And he talks about changing the world and that everyone in their own way can contribute to that change. Yes! 

Below are some drawings I did today, and a few photos. I love my job. Enjoy!

 

Trump’s Promises: His First 100 Days

100 Dayscopy3_640X480We are approaching President Trump’s first 100 days in office?—?a traditional milestone used to judge how a new president is doing. It seems as if he is hell-bent on a) trying to push through promises he made b) creating drama to distract us from the fact he has not done a whole lot, all the while promising more than he could deliver.

In an AP interview , Trump claimed “I’m almost there on most items.” He’s not. In an interview with CBS News, President Trump said he thought being president would “be a lot easier.” Well, it’s not.

For some fact checking of his claims on progress in the first 100 days of his presidency, read this.

I drew the above gif for CBS This Morning/CBS News, and here is the tweet.