Richard Thompson & Jack Davis

Today we lost two giants of American cartooning- Richard Thompson  and Searle contemporary Jack Davis.


Richard was a huge fan of Searle and helped me out with initial contacts for the 'Searle in America' exhibition in 2013. Here is a touching tribute written by Richard on his hero's death in 2011--

'I wrote this for Mike Cavna at Comic Riffs. For a little more, go here; for much, much more, go here (it's worth it). For almost too much, but to understand Searle more fully, go here.

For a long time Ronald Searle's work exerted a tidal pull on me, as it has at some point for a lot of cartoonists. The first time his stuff hit me hard was in 1978 when I got a big, lovely art book titled Ronald Searle, and it was like a window opened. His drawings were so potent and dense and alive with comic energy. His pen could do anything; it went curling and spiraling all over the paper, describing a world that was ugly, bitter, grotesque, hilarious and sometimes, briefly, quite sweet. It made me suddenly aware of how liquid ink is, how it skips and splotches and pools when it hits the paper. It was also obvious Searle had a deep appreciation for the history of the graphic arts and an awareness of how he fit into it. This was heady stuff for a generally clueless 20 year old semi-cartoonist to be exposed to, and it took a few years for me to put my own eyes back in my head.

 Searle's style was so powerful that any other artist who mimicked its effects was pretty quickly overwhelmed by it and exposed as inferior. I think Searle himself was a little intimidated by his chops. There's a bit in his biography that tells of him taping the fingers of his drawing hand together to slow himself down and avoid becoming too facile. I've heard that he planned his work pretty carefully and his wiry, sprung lines were laid down with a lot more control than might be apparent. 

Pat Oliphant said something to the effect that going through a Searle period is good for cartoonists, as long as they pull out of it before it's too late.  The best way out, of course, is to draw and draw some more, as far away from the source of inspiration as possible and under circumstances that don't allow for cheating (i.e., a deadline). It's hard but think I managed it. 

But still, I'd give my right arm if I could draw like this-'

Richard wrote this piece on the occasion of Searle's 90th birthday in 2010

'Master penman Ronald Searle turns 90 today, and this is an update of a post from a coupla years ago. I'd meant to do something new, but I don't have the time now so it'll have to wait a few days.

Below is Searle's illustration for the song "National Brotherhood Week" from the book Too Many Songs by Tom Lehrer With Not Enough Drawings by Ronald Searle. The original hangs in my dining room, just waiting to offend an unsuspecting diner. I think it's the only piece of art I've ever bought, and when I first unwrapped it I studied it for almost an hour, sometimes with my nose an inch from the paper. For a long time his style exerted a tidal pull on me, as it has at some point for a lot of cartoonists for over sixty years. Look at those hands! just clumps of fingers sprouting out of sleeves, and look at the way he's laid out the page in bendy chains of rectangles, look at how he's balanced the various line weights and the black sleeve and the curly hair, and look at all those gormless-looking faces...

I've heard that Searle plans his work pretty carefully and his unmistakable wiry, sprung lines are laid down with a lot more control than might be apparent. His work always makes me aware of how liquid ink is, how it skips and splotches and pools when it hits the paper.  Though he used to draw not with ink, but with a kind of stain meant for I think furniture. He liked it because it aged interestingly into a greyish purple, and because it handled differently than regular ink. They don't make that brand of stain anymore, and he's drawn with regular ink for years, and better than just about anyone else.

Happy Birthday to Mr. Searle, and I hope he's well and working in his converted windmill in the French countryside.'

The Art of Richard Thompson from GVI on Vimeo.

'Ronald Searle's America' advance buzz

Kind words from a man who knows about drawing, cartooning and Ronald Searle. Nick Galifianakis was in L.A. recently on tour with his (co-authored) book on the Art of Richard Thompson and spared a night to have dinner and talk art and travel and, of course, Ronald Searle. I gave him a sneak preview of the book and he seemed impressed and maybe a little excited even . . .

The Art of Richard Thompson...BOOK TOUR TIDBITS PART II

There’s is a code among some cartoonists. A secret handshake, a password that's exchanged. And once that transaction is completed there is an immediate understanding between the parties. Understanding of what…? Of the artist Ronald Searle.

Just such a transaction took place online a few years ago between Matt Jones and myself. Matt, at the time a story artist with Pixar, is the High Priest of the Ronald Searle Religion and the keeper of the best and most thorough blog on the late Searle. 

Matt recently found time within his time-consuming regular work schedule to curate an exhibit of Searle's work at the Cartoon Art Museum in San Francisco and, because he’s been able to successfully clone himself, Matt is also completing an extraordinary book on Ronald Searle In America.

And I can say “extraordinary” with confidence because I was indeed privileged to preview the book over dinner with Matt while on The Art of RT book tour in LA. Peeking at this work in progress is the cartoonist's equivalent to witnessing the creation of the Ten Commandments.

A slight exaggeration. 

Slight. 

It is a beautiful book, a loving homage to a most brilliant cartoonist - and I know a little something about beautiful books on brilliant cartoonists.

In fact, I'll bring them together with “my” brilliant artist’s own words on Searle. First, some background:

Many of the interviews in The Art of Richard Thompson were conducted by email, with the interviewers sending questions and Richard answering accordingly. Early in this process, however, Richard broke his hip, an obviously terrible development that slowed down both Richard and the book. So instead, Richard dictated his answers to me. 

The good part about this approach was that I could draw upon decades of conversation with Richard, as there was a good chance I’d recall what he had said about this artist or that, and then, when appropriate, nudge him for more. The bad part was that, because of time constraints, this often meant overly taxing my pal during a time when he was quite beat up. 

Of course, Richard got even with me because taking dictation from him usually meant, due to his diminished lung capacity, in order to hear him I had to bring my ear to within 2 inches of his mouth, resulting in the side of my face being covered in Cherry Coke spittle and whatever kind of cheeseburger he was eating that day.

Such was the dynamic when Richard was giving me answers to Peter de Seve’s questions about Richard’s influences. Pete was the last of the interviews and the deadline was looming, with a ton of graphics work left on the book, so after prattling on about a variety of artists that left an impression on him, Richard finally said “okay,” indicating that he was through. I looked at him incredulously.

“You’re not done,” I said through my ketchup-sprayed face.

“I’m not?”

“Richard…Ronald Searle?”

“Oh!”

So my exhausted pal gave me two sentences on Ronald Searle. That was it.

“Richard, you’re not stopping at two sentences on RONALD SEARLE!” I exclaimed while picking bits of french fries out of my bushy eyebrows.

Sigh. He dug into his reserves, and gave me a bit more, and stopped. I pushed. And pushed, back and forth…and then Richard unveiled the following thoughts:

“Searle was just such an eye opener. I was twenty, I guess, and I was aware of him, but I didn’t know his work in the fullest…then I got that book, the Searle book with the theater curtain on the front and the binding split because I’d leave it open for reference (meaning copying) more often than it could take…

“For one thing, he could do anything with ink, anything he wanted to, he could do splashy lines, dry brush lines, skippy lines, rapid and staccato lines, stitchy lines … you could feel the weight of history behind his lines, in that he was aware of where they’d been before he used them.

“And the seriousness of some of his ideas… his awareness of art history and such, and that a cartoonist could have that gravitas hand in hand with sublime silliness had not occurred to me.

“Mimicking him was idiotic, but learning from him was necessary. Pat Oliphant said that everyone has a Searle period they go through -- suddenly that’s the only way to draw a lamp or a building or a person or a pig -- you can’t get away from it… until you find your own way, hopefully. Searle was such a gravity well that you could not help but be somehow deformed by his presence.”

I stopped typing before he finished and just looked at my drained friend. Though I’m fully aware that Richard is as eloquent with words as he is deft with his draftsmanship, I am still awed.

The great Ronald Searle inspired the great Richard Thompson, then and now. Matt Jones’ upcoming book is a loving tribute to Searle doing just that, for so many of us.'

Support the book by pre-ordering from Amazon here

Tribute

Cartoonist Nick Galifiniakis is a huge Searle fan and created this fantastic tribute to his friend Richard Thompson and all the great cartoonists who came before him. He explains the piece thus:

Less than a year ago, I created this drawing as a tribute to my now shaved-head, brain-electrodes implanted pal, Richard Thompson, a genius who can now also jump-start my car. 

The piece was for the very worthy book by Chris Sparks, "Team Cul de Sac." Proceeds go to fight Parkinson's.

The concept (abbreviated so I don't bore you) is simple: the greatest cartoonist that ever lived, Ronald Searle, surrounded by a pantheon of great illustrators, is anointing his heir, Richard Thompson.

If you don't see your favorite cartoonist up there, don't worry, he or she is represented by the anonymous cherub touching Searle's shoulder.

(Strange, sad, side note: Ronald Searle passed away a month after I made this picture. My heart is still broken and daily I tell myself that, cosmically, I had nothing to do with accelerating the death my 92 year old hero)

So here is, "The Anointing of the Heir":

A beautiful tribute I'm sure you'll agree. Richard  Thompson is an accomplished cartoonist and creator of the popular Cul de Sac strip-he is bravely battling Parkinson's Disease- see his blog post on drawing while being operated on-you can't keep a good cartoonist down!