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First let me apologize to the readers of my blog for not posting in over a month and I know it’s been over 4 weeks but I’m still working on the surprise so Hakuna Matata. Until then here is a post for you to devour. So now without further ado…..

Edit: Surprise!!! Brand spankin’ new, awesome and incredible design for your viewing pleasure. Hakuna Matata no longer.

CHEYENNE — Gov. Dave Freudenthal unveiled the final design for Wyoming’s state quarter Friday, and the initial reaction from some residents was a resounding, “duh.”
“Did anybody think we were going to do something different than the bucking horse?” asked Cheyenne resident Eileen Calhoon after viewing a picture of the design.

The quarter will feature a silhouette of the state’s trademark bucking horse and rider beside the words, “The Equality State.”

The state’s name arches over the top of the coin, along with the year it entered the union, 1890. The bottom edge bears the coin production year — 2007 — and the Latin expression, “E Pluribus Unum.” Read the entire article here

Duh? I frankly was not one who had a resounding duh! My resounding came in the form of, “What the _____!

“Did anybody think we were going to do something different than the bucking horse?”

Om yeah, ME… ME ME ME ME!

Oh I just can’t believe it! Wyoming’s state quarter is going to be so boring.

Just look at other state quarters. One of the first state quarters that came out is still one of my favorites. Connecticut’s quarter is so beautiful and I can get lost in all those intricut tree limbs…Wow.

But from what I have just read, Wyoming’s state quarter will look something like this.

The most insipid design ever, wouldn’t you agree? Come on Wyoming let’s be serious. There is already a state with a horse and rider on their quarter. Delaware was the first state and their design of a horse and rider has much more depth than just a silhouette and they had less time to come up with a design. We’ve had more than seven years and the University of Wyoming logo is all we could come up with!!!

Please I could throw something together in less than ten minutes that would represent Wyoming better. The majestic Grand Tetons are something to behold by all people. I am especially fond of the mountains and so here is what I envision Wyoming’s State quarter to be engraved as.
But Wyoming is dumb and the residents spoke with a resounding, “Duh” that they want to see the bucking horse and rider. Well, well “Duh” Wyoming residents, why not be honest and show true aspects of your great “Equality State?”

That’s right. I think this quarter represents Wyoming perfectly. Now this quarter is something I would be mighty proud to flash off as I buy some chewin’ tobaccey along with my fellow Wyominites because our great state gave women the right to vote before the 19th Amendment. Because of this our state became known as “The Equality State.” Or was that really how we got our nickname? Could it be….?

Mmmmm…. Wouldn’t you just love to fondle that quarter? Hey it even has a cowboy on it. No wait two of them. *Drools* That’s more than what we get with the approved design of the bucking horse and one rider logo. “Duh” that is so cool.

Ahh ok ok, now that I have gotten this off of my chest I decided to exercise my civic right. I contacted Governor Freudenthal right away to let him know what I thought of the design he approved.

Governor Freudenthal,

I recently read an article in my local newspaper that you have approved the design for the Wyoming state quarter. I have to say that though the bucking horse and cowboy is an image that represents Wyoming culture well, I was a little disappointed that the design doesn’t have any interesting qualities. Frankly it is flat out boring and rather dull compared to other state’s quarters. Personally, I would like to have our quarter be something that others pick up and say, “Wow that’s amazing!” but with the current design I believe others including myself will just pass it off as nothing exciting.

My suggestions to improve the quarter now would be to give it more depth. I would start by giving full detail to the horse and cowboy and to add a background. An engraving of the majestic Teton Mountains, Old Faithful or of Devils Tower behind the bucking horse and cowboy would add a richness and fullness to the design, not to mention being a place to freely advertise these great features of our state to tourists. This will surely give the Wyoming quarter more life and I hope that you will consider it.

Sincerely,

Steven Held

I sent that email on Monday and two days later I received a reply.

Dear Steven Held,

I received your email about the state quarter design. I want to thank you for contacting me and I appreciate your concerns. Unfortunately I have already approved the design in question and it is now with the U.S. Treasury for final approval.

My offices sponsored a state quarter design drive and most of the Wyoming residents sent in ideas centered around the bucking horse and rider with only a few recommendations of such landmarks like the Grand Tetons and Old Faithful. With such overwhelming support I decided to make the bucking horse and rider a part of our state quarter.

However, you have brought up a good argument to combine those elements of Wyoming. I might be able to take your ideas to the U.S. Treasury before their artists strike the final proof. The U.S. Treasury is still awaiting special approval to use the bucking horse and rider logo since it is a state trademark and University of Wyoming logo and the image can’t be used on the quarter without express written consent by these institutions.

Steven, I’ll see what I can do but I must also keep the other residents of Wyoming in mind and they want to see the bucking horse and rider logo.

Sincerely,

Governor Dave Freudenthal

Residents who said, “Duh” wouldn’t you rather have this be your state quarter?

I hope so.

In my last post I took you through my initial idea stage and posted my early sketches. I left off by asking if “You’re thinking what I’m thinking.”

So what is that cowboy thinking? Of putting that crawfish in a nice warm pot of course! The first time I drew the crawfish, he looked too smug. He needed something else, something that would balance his happiness. Aha! I sketched in a beer mug. Yes! This is great!

Also my first hitchhiker looks a little too happy. If he were actually cold, he wouldn’t have a big grin on his face. It also doesn’t make sense for him to be as happy as the guy in the pot. So I drew another more depressed looking crawfish.

Now normally I have to come up with a number of different ideas to arrive at a finished conglomeration but this sheet of sketches seems to be coming along quite well.

However, looking at the entire sheet of sketches all I could see was a huge mess! Time to go through the process of cleaning things up and redesigning parts.

My first order of business…. GUILLOTINE! Yes that’s right Mr. Cowboy, you just aren’t working over there. Boot to the head! I redrew this part moving Mr. Cowboy and Joe Schmo’s heads to the other side and redesigned the car a bit.

Then I scanned all my sketches into my computer so I could work with them in Photoshop and Illustrator. Now if I had a tablet PC I could’ve skipped this step entirely and drawn all this out on my computer screen. Maybe someone out there would like to donate or buy me a gift for my birthday?

In my next post I’ll show you how I cleaned the images up and put them together for the final design.

A lady from my dad’s workplace contacted me to design a T-shirt for their 2006 Crawfish Boil. She gave me free artistic license to do what I wanted but suggested one of her ideas of a crawfish wondering around the cold snowy fields of Wyoming dreaming about a nice warm pot to be boiled in. I decided to go along those lines of what she suggested and began thinking of how best to depict that.

Before sketching I had to know what those little crawfish boogers looked like. This is why I love Google and the Google Image Search. Here’s an image I got, dang aren’t they ugly?

Well that crawfish is fine but seriously who would want that thing on their shirt unless you’re Cindy Crawfish?

I then searched for crawfish cartoons to see how other artists drew those ugly things so they could possibly look adorable. I came across a page completely dedicated to the creatures. Trapper Arne’s Crayfish Page.

Ok… Well that’s really facinating Trapper Arne, but as much as I love crayfish, as you call them, I have a project to do. This cartoon image on Trapper Arne’s website gave me an idea, not only was this crawfish (or crayfish) nicer looking but it gave me the idea to draw a crawfish hitchhiking out here in Wyoming with a sign saying Someplace WARM. Here are some of my early sketches.

Then I needed some guys to pick this creature up. Hmmm the guys I drew first are really crude and uglier than crawfish, let’s give them some character! Why not a cowboy hat on one. Yeah! Go Cowboys! and some lines to indicate that they are in a car. Viola!

Stay tuned for the next post as I continue my Crawfish T-shirt design and if, “You’re thinking what I’m thinking.”

Trudging through the mass pages of muck provided by blogs on the internet you sometimes come across a great one with an entry that is inspiring. I found such a story on the blog Random Asides.

True character is measured by the way we treat creatures more fragile than ourselves. Here, Tarra the Elephant observes a fledgling bird.

With gentle curiosity she creeps closer to learn more about this funny little creature perched on a wire. (Check out more pictures of Tara here and here)

I find this inspiring that a creature as powerful as an elephant is intuitive enough to tread lightly around a little bird. All too often it seems that those bigger than others, whether in social stature or in other ways, overlook everyone below them. I guess you could call it a big head. Wouldn’t it be nice if humans could learn from Tara’s example? It is a good lesson and one that we all should learn from. As Winnie the Pooh once said, “If people were superior to animals, they’d take better care of the world.”

If you like these pictures please visit The Elephant Sanctuary. It’s an amazing place where retired elephant performers can live out their lives in peace. No chains, no tricks. They’re free to play and socialize in a free-roaming environment which is a stark contrast to the show circuit.

After my recent death threats I turned to Jesus for guidance. He quickly sat me down and had me watch on of his shows, ‘Toon Trouble. Needless to say I was enlightened, “Right Jesus?”