Gardening cartoon bee

Gardening cartoon bee is typical of the type of toon I drew when I self-syndicated in the late 1980's. Nice and simple, quick and easy to draw, I submitted hundreds, using the "shotgun submission" technique, to lower-paying gardening, business, kids and religious magazines who purchased one-time rights. The same batch of 5 to 15 gag cartoons would be sent to several periodicals at once. The checks were small, but they added up. As with any cartoon you see on this blog, this gardening cartoon is available for licensing.

An Unexpected Honor

New Woman Magazine was a very good cartoon market in the 1980's. They ran this cartoon of mine in 1985 and I was happy to receive their check. But freelance cartooning could be rewarding in other ways, as well. Sometime after the appearance of this cartoon in the magazine, I received a phone call from David Wachsman, President of David S. Wachsman Associates, Inc...an ad agency in New York City...who wanted to purchase the original to present to a colleague on the occasion of his birthday. While I was unwilling to part with the original, we did strike a deal. And a short time later, I received a personal letter from Mr. Wachsman which said, in part, "You are a wit, an artist and a gentleman. Thanks for being all three. Thanks in particular for your swift response to our request for a copy of your good Grand Marnier cartoon to present --- in framed form---as a gift to the man most responsible for that good product's popularity in the United States. It's being presented today, and we know he'll enjoy it." Presumably, the recipient did enjoy the cartoon still has it...somewhere. Perhaps on the wall of his office...? (This cartoon is copyrighted by the artist and any unauthorized use is prohibited.)