The Raven How would you describe your style? I developed my cartoon style through admiring and studying the work of famous cartoonist of the 60s, 70s, and 80s. Ed Fisher and Peter Arno were only two of many New Yorker cartoonists I admired for their humor and artwork. So, I guess it was their work that influenced my style.
Other than Ed Fisher and Peter Arno, who or what else influenced your cartooning career or style? There were many cartoonists, painters, and illustrators who influenced me. When Pablo Picasso was accused of stealing from Monet, he laughed and said, “When you take not from one, but from as many artists as I have, it’s called research.” I’ve done a lot of research of various artists. Around the turn of the last century, there was a famous American painter and teacher of famous illustrators. His name was Harvey Dunn. He said that to create a powerful work, the artist needed to relive the emotion he felt that caused him to want to create that specific illustration so that the illustration could communicate that feeling to the viewer. I believe Dunn was saying that artists can learn to create a colorful or realistic piece of art, but it’s the emotional spark within the artist that must be communicated through the painting or drawing itself. This is also true of cartooning. I believe the cartoon gets a laugh because the cartoonist is able to somehow put his own laughter at the situation in it. We all have different emotional responses to events and see things differently. A writer learns from Edgar Allan Poe’s work by imitating it, but the work will be his own because that person’s brain and experience is different from Poe’s. We all learn by doing. To get better at your work, find something you like and do it your own way.
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