my grandfather (mother's dad) was a political cartoonist for a small kansas newspaper in the mid-thirties. i don't know many details about the man (he died a couple years before i was born) but i've been told by my mother that i've inherited a handful of traits from him--a love of drawing being one of the more prominent.
when i was in my late teens my mom gave me a sketchbook that he composed back in 1924 (my grandfather would have been 19 years old at the time). the drawings inside are sublime and rendered with such a lightness and ease of touch that my heart aches at their innocent beauty. with each image i feel i learn a little bit more about my roots, his era and true artistic integrity.
despite being gone for over 35 years, i feel he can directly communicate to me through his lines...and in turn, i sometimes try to do the same with my work for him.
he was a natural draftsman to the highest order and i long to create drawings with but a shred of his grace and soft-spoken expertise.
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