Nov 27, 2011

Round, Humpty Dumpty Day, and Portfolio Links





    Do you have the expression hump day where you live?
    'Hump day' is used to describe Wednesday's position as the middle day in the five day working week. As a 'go word' or a catch phrase, it's something that has spread into our local language surreptitiously over the last few years.
    For a long time it belonged mainly with the business generation - along with such phrases and gestures as 'touch base', 'do lunch', 'network' and air kissing.
    During the ridiculously short time I have been on the planet, I have noticed a few things. And one of them is this: Expressions are like Irish people, in that they tend to migrate. (Finnie's Third Theorem)

    So..... the other day I had to call one of our dealers and the phone was answered by a charming middle aged woman. It was a Wednesday, so, as you do, I said:
       "Hi, it's Andrew Finnie. Happy Wednesday!"
        "Yes, hi Andrew! Happy 'hump day," the woman said chirpily. She has a very refined voice, very lady like, very motherly.
        There was a bit of a pause then, as we both pondered the ramifications of her use of the adjective that proceeded the word 'day' - and what other meanings it might have colloquially. Finally there was a small embarrassed 'titter' from the other end of the phone and the refined feminine voice said:
        "Well, I never thought of it like that, you know..."
        "Oh, oh," I said, trying to think of the fast retort that didn't involve 'hump signs' or 'camel humps' or monosexual amoeba.





         But the only thing I could come out with was a meek: "Me neither."
         Of course for a lot of people Saturday night is 'hump day' - in that it is the temporal fulcrum of the weekend and everything else is down hill from there till Monday morning.
         So I offer you this image as a kind of celebration of 'Humpty Dumpty Day" - which I have just invented and am still to choose a date for (I was humping for December 25th but apparently that one is gone)
         It's genesis is not only 'hump day', but an image I saw last year by Rene Millot, whose work reminds me of Maxfield Parrish - an ace craftsman artist (first half 2oth century) who built up luminous paintings by not mixing his colours on the palette, but by blending them optically as glazes.











PORTFOLIO SITE and PRESS REVIEWS


Ahh this is sounding like a church news letter. Last Sunday immediately after church, a large white pigeon named Neville pooped in Mrs Saurekruat's left eye as she was looking up in the sky to see if anyone was really, truly watching her....

Oh  I made a portfolio site. I have a few books on the go and have finally sent one of them away - 'bout time. It's a site like this one with most of my blah blahing removed. I'd be honoured if you take a look. (There's also some press reviews here if you are curious :) )

Please click on a face and you will be magically transported to a new page. Alternatively you might like to right click open in new tab.


Red Riding Hood Cute and Cuddley Elves Dwarfs and Short People Da Vinci, Shakespeare and Medusa FRogs and Monkeys, Pigs and Unicorns The Secret of the Dancin Ducks Cute Strange Christmas Scary Fairies Jack be Nimble Elephants at The Circus The Adventures of Ralph, The Scarecrow Pinocchio and the Real Boy Fee Fie Foe Fumb! Little Witches The Case of the Stone Dog Father Gregory Discovers the Parchment Aeroplane Mirror, Mirror on the Wall The Little Matchstick Girl Off to See the Wizard! Roy Rescues the First Dog In Space Things Medieval To Hell and Back (PG rated) Book Covers, Posters, Advertisements Tarot Cards and Little Devils The Red Shoes Rub a Dub, Dub and Other Nusery Rhymes Hags and Story Tellers Aha Me Hearties! Ned Kelly, Australian Bushranger The Girl Who Span Gold from Straw Cinderella's Wild Pumpkin Ride Uncle Arthur's Picnic Party The Garden of Eden Platypus and Koala Cowboys and Cups of Tea Back Home



Any comments are very welcome. The fact that there are 34 pages of images is on the downside I think.
Thanks again for your time.

see you :) from Oz!




43 comments:

  1. Hhahahahahah! OMG! You are a riot! I had this comment in mind and then I read about Neville pooping on Mrs. Saurkrauts's eye. BWAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!
    Oh my. I will have that vision as I close my eyes to sleep.

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  2. Oh I almost forgot. Yes, some people used Humpday here but the the others looked at them in a weird way, as if it was corny and juvenile. I think that is passe' now. Nobody uses that term anymore. Here anyway. They use words such as paradigm shift. I use words and sentences like "That is such a stupid idea. That does not make sense." Then they tell me "Cecille, why don't you tell us exactly how you feel?" Hehehhe. Paradigm shift my ass! I hate business speak. Just tell me the truth.

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  3. Heh, oh I think you cannot trust pigeons named "Neville" (even with one 'l' as in 'Nevile') I once saw a cartoon drawn from a high perspective where a small crowd of people all had targets on their heads. The caption was 'How are a bird sees the world"

    Hope you are well Ces :)

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  4. Paradigm? I love that word, they uses to use it in Uni tuts, I would always sit there and nod my head sagely and think, I really should go and look that one up. :) Maybe I will one day... I think it means a kind of construct that mirrors another kind of construct as they all sit around i n a small line near the coffee machine waiting for the repair man to come and fix it ....

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  5. Andreww I'm so happy to be in OZ again! Always magic

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  6. Ahhhh! Good morning. I saw that cartoon too. Clever cartoonist. Too bad we did not know his name.

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  7. Leave it to you Andrew, to give Humpty Dumpty creepy eyes. I love it. I think he is my new favorite version of Humpty Dumpty. This illustration is very Alice in Wonderland-ish. It is sublime :) I'm loving his little squat arms and legs. He also has on the perfect outfit and the environment is just right.

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  8. Hola Buenos días, me he quedado maravillada con su trabajo es realmente bello, te trasporta a un mundo lleno de fantasías, colores, imaginación a volar, realmente genial, es un honor haber entrado a su blog ilustrativo los niños quedaran encantados con su libros hasta Yo.
    Saludos y que Dios lo bendiga siempre

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  9. Hi A, cool site, congratulations!
    ....
    So now I know that tomorrow is the day before Hump Day!" Very important to know it.
    A particularly good hump day can last the rest of the week ;)

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  10. I think hump-day should be the third Wednesday every February. It´s dark, it´s dreary, it´s dull... we´d need a hump that day!
    :-)

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  11. So THAT's what happened to W.C. Fields! Good grief, you have reincarnated him into your egg! And he looks quite right shocked about it too. Hehehehe, my first glance at the sign on the wall read "No Humping."

    I think your blog should be Hump Blog. Because all the other blogs I see will be downhill from here.

    You are superb.

    And I'm so ticked by your Navigate by Pictures page! Well done. It looks marvelous! Happy bottom-of-the-hill day!

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  12. Andrew my friend..it's been too too long since I've visited and I do apologize! I hope that you have been well. Your recent illustrations are marvelous..from Humpty Dumpty to Mirror Mirror...wow! The dead rat made sense to me..oh the frustration of a yipping animal..I do hope that the neighbors and you have come to an understanding. Thank you SO SO much, my dear Andrew for leaving such wonderful comments recently..I have been so delayed in writing to you..but I do hope you know I appreciate it so much when you stop by so THANKS! And I am off to visit your portfolio links now..again, my apologies for not viewing them sooner!

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  13. Ahh Laura, and I am so glad that you are posting some of your thick juicy expressionist work! Your last one reminds me of Vlamink for some reason :)

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  14. Hey Ces, it was the Far Side ... I knew all the time but I was trying for a little suspense ... I get so little excitement these days, they don't let me out the front door much, and when they do they always insist that Madge comes along....
    http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_BDlPOF4YZl4/S_gZCXUOQII/AAAAAAAAAYc/NXI0LKMjicE/s400/larson4.jpg

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  15. Karen thank you so much! Ahh you know, after seeing your avatar I realised that he needs a mo for movember! Ahh that will give me something to work towards next year :) see you!

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  16. Saludos Carmen! ¡Muchas gracias por su comentario amable! Sus pensamientos son muy apreciadas, y me alegro que te gusten mis trabajos, que está a medio camino entre asustar a los niños y darles una emoción. Espero que se vuelvan más emoción! Me pregunto si Google va a mutilar traducir esto? Bueno, eso lo hace más divertido eh? Salute!



    Greetings Carmen! Thank you so very much for your kind comment! Your thoughts are very much appreciated and I am glad you like my work, it is halfway between scaring children and giving them a thrill. I hope they get more thrill! I wonder if Google translate will garble this? Well that makes it more fun eh? Salute!

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  17. Haha Art, you made me chuckle, like 'heeheehehehhe" I sound like a coyote in an children's cartoon. Thank you for checking out my site. I need to ask you a few questions on how you tabulate your images..

    cheers from here :)

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  18. Janne, well I am sounding more like a coyote now! But louder, ahh I will remember that date, you are very funny. :) Good luck when the snow falls, I promise I will google advent!

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  19. Hahaha , well I am having so much fun Bella, to tell you the truth, I thought it said that too, and I thought, that's it my career is flumoxed before it even got flamooed (It's a cow thing) hiding subliminal messages in kid's illustrations, what will happen when the press finds out ? (Answer: they won't)

    Thanks for looking at the site :) The image map thing is a great boy toy thing. Men never grow up, do we? Just out :)

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  20. Hey Shirley, well I am so excited about your latest book, and it's a pleasure to leave comments on your work, your work always makes me smile and be happy in a good way (as opposed to being happy in a 'bad' way) :)

    Your water colours dance across the page so lightly. They only bad thing about them is they make me jealous :)

    see you!

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  21. Oooh, I like his shoes. You know what they say about a giant egghead's shoe size....

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  22. You and Bella have feet and shoe fetish.

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  23. I love the navigate by thumbnails. Really a beautiful way of giving an overview of your work, and the top banner has a nice look with the Celtic Cross. Humpty Dumpty has always made me feel uneasy, and I think you've shown him exactly right. Loved the mirror mirror too! All impressive. I'm awed by how much you accomplish!

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  24. Hi Andrew.... Love the "Hump Day" conversation.When I first saw the eyes of humpty I instantly thought of moonface from the faraway tree..... Love Humpty Dumpty and good luck with the books. I am about to check out your portfolio.

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  25. Oh, hmmmm, wow, I thought hump day was the day the camels were fed.

    I have always had a fondness for Humpty Dumpty, and this is very much Maxfield Parrish-esque! Mah-velous!

    My goodness! You portfolio sites are amazing! Honestly, I think you live in another dimension where everything has exploded exponentially. Rock on!

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  26. That only good thing about being delinquent in my blog visits is that I get to enjoy a good long tour of recent work from some of my favorites! You've been busy, Andrew...fabulous pieces as always (love Mirror Mirror), and the new portfolio site is a real treat. The "hump day" post makes me laugh - isn't it funny that, in this day and age where anything goes, we're still tickled by that word? Just this morning, my husband and I saw a sign reading "Speed Hump" instead of "Speed Bump". Much giggling ensued.

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  27. Andrew,
    I gradually update, here in your 'home' ...

    Well, I loved 'Mirror, Mirror on the Wall' -
    a dose of suspense and fear always been sufficient to nightmares ...
    the design is fantastic!

    Humpty Dumpty is charming, his figure, the scene details ... as well as everything here!

    Your Portfolio is great, I really liked the news and the way you organized all your work!

    ... and we are on Wednesday ... Hump day!?
    we do not have this expression here, but I liked hearing about ...

    The amount of work that you have, impresses me a lot!
    Always faithful in your way! Congrats!
    a hug.

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  28. Love to come here to see your new illos but I also learn always something new:)
    Beautiful portfolio:)

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  29. Yes, they say "hump day" here in Kansas, but as far as I can tell, it's only the college students who do, which is really pretty silly, as many of them don't have Friday classes. I can't imagine anyone from any kind of business answering the phone that way. It is a beautiful beautiful page all those thumbnails put together. It's quite the collection.

    Happy hump day to you, by the way.

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  30. Hehe Bella and Ces, sister twins you are :) Ah, at first I gave him bare feet, then gnome's shoes, then I thought, nah he is meant to be Mr Prissy so let's make him Miss Prissy... you know, it's the little details that count :) That's why he has a plastic flamingo in his garden - a plastic flamingo, the only true witness to his ignominious down fall ...

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  31. Linda, thank you so much and thank you for your crit of my site before too, with the logo and 'about' - it helped muchly. After I made this image I googled humpty images, and yes, he is CREEPY, even the kid friendly ones are CREEPY .. just up my alley :)

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  32. Melissa, be careful we have sent rain your way, big southerly here :) Oh I like rain, especially when I am not standing in it. Thank you for checking out the site!

    Ahh Hump Day, I think triple J loves to hark on it!

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  33. Hey Krista, . Camels? Heh, yes Mother Nature made an interesting creature with Camels .... it's the lips and teeth I like! :)

    Maxfield Parrish-esque! I will write that in my resume :) But seriously what wonderous artist he was. So well disciplined. I would love to emulate him. Not just his illustrations but his paintings.

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  34. Sarah, thank you for making me chuckle. We have those signs here as well, I think it's the sound of the word that cracks us up, and how innopcent the sign is. It just shows that we are all innocent at heart, regardless of how we see ourselves ... I know I am still waiting to grow up... :)

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  35. Greetings Denise! Thank you for coming to see my work. The Mirror one took ages, I just couldn't get the right angle and the lighting. I nearly gave up on it, but in the end had a lucky break I think :) It's all about luck with mirrors, to get the angle.

    Ahh today is the day after hump day, it is the first day of summer here , yipppeee :)

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  36. Monica, ahh I just saw your Zebra - great minds think alike ;) That toy bought me back to my childhood (last century) I am glad you learnt something, I learn new things every day, and are lucky enough to forget them immediately, so I can learn them again the next day .... but don't tell anyone :)

    see you

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  37. Theresa, haha :) Happy Hump day to you too :) College students? They are just like us but silly I think. Thank you very much for commenting on my work. ! I discovered how to do that image thing by using Imagemap in Paint Shop Pro. I stumbled on it, I should really read the manual .....

    By the way, I have been enjoying your pen and inks, it's a rare thing to find people working from real life. Good on you.

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  38. hello, i think i just had a happy humpday with you! :D

    xx

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  39. Hello Mita :) Ahh it is so wonderful to see your exquisite work again ..... :) Happy Friday to you my friend :) But your moustache ? I must trim mine :) see you

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  40. Good weekend, romantic, handsome and intelligent man!
    twins? uhmmmmm ... not in my plans

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  41. If Humpty Dumpty falls can I keep the shoes?

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  42. We don't use hump day as we speak spanish here...I think there's no similar expression for that one, only mitad de semana or midweek and miércoles for wednesday.
    It's just another boring weekday for us.

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  43. I'm visiting the portfolio now :)
    Have a great weekend, Andrew.

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Hya! Thank you so much for leaving a comment. I appreciate your time and thoughts.