#36 Lyndon B. Johnson (1963-1969)

The 36th president of the United States - Lyndon Baines Johnson.

I admire Johnson. He grew up in poverty, went to college to become a teacher, then eventually became a politician with the goal of helping the American people.

In the course of his political career Lyndon Johnson served as a representative, senator, vice-president and president. Had be been appointed as a supreme court justice he would have ascended to the next plane of existence and become a being of pure light.

Judging by his appearance, he was also, presumably, a big fan of Walter Matthau. I was going to do a caricature of Matthau the other day after watching "The Odd Couple", but after drawing Johnson, what's the point?

#35 John F. Kennedy (1961-1963)

The 35th president of the United States - John Fitzgerald Kennedy.

Kennedy was the youngest (43), and the first Roman Catholic president.

His debates with Nixon were also the first televised presidential debates. That definitely wasn't a boon for Nixon.

#34 Dwight D. Eisenhower (1953-1961)

The 34th president of the United States - Dwight D. Eisenhower.

Ike was one of only five army generals who held five stars (one of only nine men in all of the United States armed forces).

And who can forget that prophetic quote about the military-industrial complex:

"The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists, and will persist."

#33 Harry S. Truman (1945-1953)

The 33rd president of the United States - Harry S. Truman.

Atomic bombs, Korean war, The UN. I do not envy this man.

#32 Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933-1945)

The 32nd president of the United States - Franklin D. Roosevelt.

FDR was president during two of the greatest struggles in American history - The great depression, and the beginning of the second world war. He is the only president to serve more than two terms, and died shortly after being elected for a fourth term.

#31 Herbert Hoover (1929-1933)

The 31st president of the United States - Herbert Hoover.

An Oregonian and an orphan.

He also had a massively wide slab of concrete named after him at the border of Nevada and Arizona.

#30 Calvin Coolidge (1923-1929)

The 30th president of the United States - Calvin Coolidge.

Calvin Coolidge had one of the strangest White House pets, a Raccoon named Rebecca.

He also supported the interests of big business over those of the working class. The great depression started soon after he left office. Sounds familiar...

Batmobile White Out

The other day I was walking through the parking lot, passed a large white splatter on the pavement, and this image popped into my head.

Poor Batman. I bet this kind of crap doesn't happen to Superman.

#29 Warren G. Harding (1921-1923)

The 29th president of the United States - Warren G. Harding.

Eyebrows!!

#28 Woodrow Wilson (1913-1921)

The 28th president of the United States - Woodrow Wilson.

During all of the aggressions in Europe during the 1910s Wilson's campaign slogan for his re-election campaign was "he kept us out of the war". Upon re-election he promptly declared war on Germany.

Wilson is also the only president with a Ph.D.

#27 William H. Taft (1909-1913)

The 27th president of the United States - William Howard Taft.

The only man to have served as president, and chief justice of the United States. Apparently he preferred the latter.

It seems crazy to me to label either Taft or Roosevelt as republicans. Their more progressive politics don't even have a passing resemblance to the current GOP. If you look at the electoral maps between 1908 and 2008 they are almost completely reversed.

Stylized Animal Challenges: Parrotfish and Wildebeest

For the last entry in my posting spree here are two animal drawings that I did for the monthly Stylized Animal group challenge on devaintArt. The parrotfish challenge has already come and gone, but the wildebeest is still open (until the first week of September).

For the parrotfish challenge I drew a humphead parrotfish. Between their massive overbite, malformed noggin, and the name 'humphead' I couldn't resist drawing it as a backwater hillbilly. Plus I was reading a lot of The Goon at the time.

For the wildebeest I just did a simple faux cut-out caricature. I rather enjoy how this one turned out. There is something almost tiki-esque about the face. 

Pacific Northwest Chorus

Another quicky drawing I completed in my sporadic free time.

I wanted to try a different take on Bigfoot, and was thinking of him as a hair panchoed simpleton.

Hopefully I don't offend anyone with Bigfoot bloodlines.

Snowy Owl

Between work, overtime at work, and applying for more work (and trying, in vain, to work on my journal manuscript) I haven't had a lot of time for art. I have taken a few hours here and there to work on small projects though. 

Anna bought a Cameo Silhouette about a month ago, and to test it out I made this snowy owl cut-out. It was all cut out of a single piece of watercolor paper, and each piece was individually painted.

Lately I have been getting into birding and started keeping a life list. Counting my time in New Zealand and South America, and the lists I kept while in those countries, my count is already up to 245. Expect more birds in the future!

#26 Theodore Roosevelt (1901-1909)

The 26th president of the United States - "Teddy" Roosevelt.

Despite recent attacks from intellectual Lilliputians such as Glenn Beck, Teddy Roosevelt is considered one of the greatest presidents in American history.

Thanks to the conservation ethic of Roosevelt many of our most treasured national parks and monuments have been protected from development and degradation.

Plus, any president who delivers a 90 minute speech after being shot in the chest is cool by me!