Weekly drawing: Narooma Kinema

Family night out to the movies

Amber and I loved going to Narooma Kinema. They sold you the tickets then they'd run upstairs and load the film, plus the added bonus was we could ask for the poster. There's something magical about the charm and homely feel of small independent cinemas. To me they are what seeing movies is all about.

Joel's favourite movie experiences:

1. Annie and all the Muppets movies at Narooma Kinema.

2. Buster Keaton with Blue Grassy Knoll playing a live soundtrack at The Valhalla. 

3. Star Wars at Roseville cinema.

4. Erik the Viking at Avoca Beach Picture Theatre.

5. Mad Max 2 and Rocky Horror Picture Show at the Bermagui community hall while Dad played a gig at the Le Marlin cafe across the road. 

Weekly drawing: At the tip with Dad

Bermagui tip collecting yellow bricks

There were lots of good things to salvage at the local tip. Our best score was a pile of yellow bricks. We used these to make a windy yellow brick path to our front door through the spotted gums and burrawongs.

Weekly drawing 68: A whole lotta drawing

Illustration for Sydney Children's Hospital ICU Randwick

Illustration for Sydney Children's Hospital ICU Randwick

letter to my Grandfather

Darth Vader on parenting

Drawing with fun Libby

DIY Kids bamboo tepee from stuff around the house

Tepee ingredients

1. Bamboo

2. Old Inner bike tube

3. Double bed Sheet

4. Bull dog clip

1. Bamboo cut from back garden

Old Inner bike tube to tie the bamboo

Double bed Sheet held on with Bull dog clip

Weekly Drawing 64: Butch Minds the Baby

This weeks drawing is based on one of my favourite Damon Runyon storys Butch Minds the Baby. I have loved Runyon's writing ever since Dad first read me his stories as a boy.

To me Runyon's humorous and sentimental tales of the underworld have influenced many great works such as Tom Waits lyrics on Small Change and Guy Ritchie's script for Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.

Butch Minds the Baby is about an Ex-Criminal (retired safe opener) who can't afford to get caught another time. Even though he's looking after his baby boy while his wife is out of town for the night. Harry the Horse, Little Isadore and Spanish John convince him into one last job. 

"…Big Butch is considered the best safe opener east of the Mississippi River in his day, but the law finally takes to sending him to Sing Sing for opening these safes, and after he is in and out of Sing Sing three different times for opening safes Butch get sick and tired of the place, especially as they pass what is called the Baumes Law in New York, which is a law that says if a guy is sent to Sing Sing four times hand running, he must stay there the rest of his life, without any argument about it."

Damon Runyon

Butch Minds The Baby

Weekly drawing 62: Resting Tiger

My daughter and I worked on this one together...

A hand drawn wedding card for my sister and her fiancés' wedding this weekend. 

I really like handmade cards. They're fun to make, and we would never find a font on the computer like this one.

Weekly drawing 60: Yellowtail kingfish

I now draw where ever I can. This was drawn while looking after my daughter at the playground. Chalk has become a great new way to mix parenting and art. Plus lots of kids enjoy joining in and drawing something themselves, which is fun.

Yellowtail kingfish - character study for a new book I'm working on

Drawing at McNeilly Park, Marrickville with Libby

Weekly drawing 58: Harold the crow's nest crow

Harold's favourite saying "alert but not alarmed"

Up in the crow's nest by Libby and Joel

Libby in the moment

Being a creative parent can be hard to find time to create while caring for a baby. 

But lately I've had some really golden moments drawing with children. 

Which is a great way for us all to have fun and I get still get to create. 

The next two photos are of chalk drawings I did with Libby and other play friends at Jarvie Park in Marrickville.

Chickenpox Chicken on a skateboard. 

 Libby and a friend added the details such as spots and the thing that looks like a 

choker necklace, I was told this is actually a trampoline. Which I find oddly amusing.

Weekly drawing 54: Ibis infestation and child art

Feeling inspired this week, so it's two drawings...

Drawing 1

Ibis infestation is a kids book idea 

Eat your worms about eating the right foods. 

Why would an Ibis's would love eating Subway Wrappers,
McDonalds rubbish and hairy bits of chicken instead of foraging
in their native wetlands far from the cities?

Drawing 2

Sailing in a storm

My daughter 18 months has started enjoying to draw (scribble, scribble turn the page scribble, scribble). She has trouble understanding why I won't let her scribble all through my sketch book. So this is a drawing we did together, in my sketch book to prove that I can share too.

Weekly Drawing 52: Sketching on the train

I have finally reached my personal goal. Draw a picture every week for 12 months. It's been a good challenge and I feel inspired by the process. I have drawn everywhere from trains, playgrounds, pubs and hospitals.

It has been one hell of a crazy year for me:

• We moved house, packing up a large share house of 5 years discovering things we didn't even know we owed such as 5 garden rakes.
• I become a stay home Dad and so my wife could return to work after 12 months maternity leave. Being a stay home parent is a massive change, goodbye 7.5 hour working day. As I write this our little girl is sleeping in the next room.
• I thought my baby daughter could die when she diagnosed with a heart condition and spent 2 months in intensive care and 1 month in the ward. 
• My computer died.  

Despite all this, I have managed to achieve what I set out to do. Draw faster ideas, jot down silly ideas and do what I love. The great thing is my sketch books is full of ideas and drawings. My Children's book portfolio is filled with new material. Unexpectedly, I discovered the process helped me deal with some really big emotional challenges with my daughters condition. I think it has kept me sane during this turbulent year. 

Thanks for all the support it's really appreciated.

Joel Tarling

P.S 

I will have a small holiday and return for another Weekly drawing in 4 weeks time

Weekly drawing 46: Liberty watching Singin' in the Rain

Liberty watching Singin' in the Rain

Weekly drawing 39: Mother and child

"They had always been together, for a time they were one..." Joel Tarling

Weekly drawing 37: Reading is fun - drawing two

For more information see:
Weekly drawing 37: Reading is fun - drawing one

Weekly drawing 37: Reading is fun - drawing one

Westmead Children's Hospital has a great children's library for patients 'The Book Bunker'.

My wife and I have enjoyed the great collection of books available in hospital for our child. It's an amazing resource and it has allowed us to travel light because it means we can borrow and return all the books, DVD's and talking books we need without leaving the hospital.

So this weeks drawing is the start of an idea I had to promote 'The Book Bunker' and encourage children that books are so much fun. Even monsters in their spare time are sneaking off to read.

I thought it could be incorporated into a poster and children could colour the poster in themselves.

For more information about The Book Bunker see link:

http://www.scholastic.com.au/corporate/bookbunker/

Weekly drawing 34: The Little Warrior

Two sketches drawn from my daughter's bedside in intensive care.

1. The Little Warrior returns
2. The Warrior grows up

Weekly drawing 31: Hope

CICU - Sydney Children's Hospital Randwick. Little babies hooked up to monitors with hundreds of chords. No parent wants to see their child like this.

This is a hard ward, but I wouldn't want our poor little baby anywhere else. These people are saints.

Weekly drawing 32: Trust

..."trust me Little one, I'll get you back home. So rest yourself there's plenty of time" ...

The Elephant and the Baby
By Joel Tarling