Long John

It’s been a few weeks, so we can finally unveil this year’s New Year’s card that went out to friends and family. This was fun to do (though I stupidly deleted the Procreate file that had the time-lapse saved with it) because I really enjoy drawing exaggerated, cartoony versions of me, my wife, and our animals as much as the serious, chiseled-jaw grimaces found in Long John.

I think the stars of this year’s drawing are the cats––Martha and Rose––as they are flung forth by the bursting arrival of 2024. Martha is the one desperately grasping to my hoodie while Rose tumbles through wide-eyed through space seemingly been caught unawares.

As of June, our cats (yes, named for characters from the British sci-fi television series, Doctor Who) are fifteen years old and still have as much energy, ability, and attitude that they had as kittens. Only recently does it feel like they’re starting to get just a little rickety, maybe taking just a few more seconds to consider before making huge leaps. But only just.

As much as they seem like team players in the drawing, they are actually quite skittish and solitary. They are so solitary in fact there are many friends who have still never seen them. So, like with all art, I enhance the truth a little to make the message more clear. Who knows how many more new years we’ll get with our girls, so I’m glad that, even this long into the game, they can still steal the show in a New Year’s card.