Are Ya Tyer-ed Yet?


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Here are the next two pages of “Beaux and Arrows” from Jim Tyer in 1963, and the next episode of “Lane Allen’s Diary”. I don’t know if Tyer wrote these stories as well as drawing them, maybe Mark Evanier would know. Cathy and I got some painting in on Thursday morning at the Pasadena Tournament of Roses headquarters. They occupy the former Wrigley mansion over on Orange Grove. It’s certainly impressive what a fortune Wrigley made out of chewing gum! We enjoyed painting the mansion in the morning light, it was 80 degrees! About 32 painters were there, including master painter, Jason Situ, and our leader Walter McNall. Walter used to work for Mrs. Wrigley when he was a teenager, cutting palm fronds off the trees. He learned to shinny up palms when he was stationed in the South Pacific during World War 2. Unfortunately, Walter lost his job when he made Mrs. Wrigley nervous with his death defying antics. He also told me a story on Eisenhower. It seems that the bathroom on the first floor of the mansion is called the “Eisenhower Bathroom”. Ike was supposed to be Grand Marshal of a Rose Parade (1950s?) and they were holding up the parade while Ike visited the “facilities” in the Wrigley mansion. Well, a long time went by and Eisenhower didn’t emerge. Finally, a frantic knock on the door and hurry up call revealed that Eisenhower couldn’t get out of the bathroom. He locked himself in! Of course, Ike was finally released in time to assume his seat on the float.

At the critique,  Walter chastised me for making my palm fronds too detailed, with too many small brush strokes. It’s always a juggling act to do a good watercolor, between drawing, light and shadow and composition, it’s easy to get too caught up in the details. Cathy did much better with her oil of the mansion, doing her shadows in lavender hues and the light parts of the building in a light gamboge/ochre. I don’t know what we will do for Turkey day, but I hope all you dear readers have a great Thanksgiving! Enjoy these comics and we’ll see you soon.

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