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Drawing Happiness
Quentin Blake—who, as you surely know by now, is one of my all-time favorite illustrators—has said "I draw because it makes me feel better." I suppose that's at least one of the reasons I named this newsletter 'The Happiness of Art.' Drawing has certainly proved therapeutic for me in many ways over the years; creating art in just about any form makes me happy.
But can one actually draw happiness? Hmmm. That's a good question, and one I've been trying to find the answer to for a long time. What does happiness look like, anyway. This?
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I don't know, but as I've mentioned before, many of my drawings start out as cards or gifts for my family (including all three illustrations above) — and those always seem to make me smile. :)
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"A happy family is but an earlier heaven."
–George Bernard Shaw
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Richard Branham and Mike Meister
Last weekend I had the good fortune to attend the retirement party of my wonderful old KU Industrial Design professor, Richard Branham. As a click on that link will tell you, Richard has a long and impressive career not only as an accomplished industrial designer himself, but as a teacher and mentor to many successful designers (and by 'designers' I mean product, graphic, and interior designers, space planners, architects, and illustrators—many of whom have gone on to create their own companies and/or work at the highest levels of companies like Google, IBM, Microsoft, Adobe, Intuit, Pay Pal, Mattel, Cessna, Nike and Martha Stewart to name just a few.) |
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I also had the opportunity to visit with another one of my favorite design professors from back in the day, Mike Meister. In addition to having him as a professor, I worked briefly with Mike at Baugh-Deines Industrial Design Consultancy in Wichita years ago, and he's easily one of the most talented illustrators I've ever known. (I'm working on getting copies of some of his old illustrations to post here in the future.)
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As I mentioned in some brief remarks at the party: Mike Meister taught me how to draw; Richard Branham taught me how to think. And I've used—and will continue to use—what those two taught me, every single day of my professional life.
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Years ago, I did a small caricature of Richard that somehow ended up in the window of his design school office, where it remained for some twenty-odd years. Nobody's sure what became of that illustration, so I made a new one in the form of a retirement card for his party…
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"The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts."
–Marcus Aurelius
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"I've drawn lots of pictures for hospitals over the past years and I've discovered how much they can speak directly to people. I've seen examples of people who have been profoundly depressed, but a drawing penetrates that and changes their view of things."
–Quentin Blake
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Reminder:
Halloween will be here soon!
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"I draw every day, even if only in my mind."
–Quentin Blake
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Ripples of the Kind Heart
- SIZE: Artwork is 8 x 10 inches, matted to 5 x 7 inches (fits in 8 x 10 inch frame).
- EDITION: Artist proof.
- MATERIALS: Hand-signed, limited edition, Giclée fine art print with 8-ply gallery mat board (matted, but unframed).
- PAPER: Printed on Hahnemuhle William Turner — a 310g, acid-free, natural white, mould-made paper with 100% rag content (highly archival).
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"I don't wait for inspiration. I'm not, in fact, quite sure what inspiration is, but I'm sure that if it is going to turn up, my having started work is the precondition of its arrival."
–Quentin Blake
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Previous Newsletter Issues
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About Me
Hi. I’m D.E.Uhlig. I’m an artist, author, husband and father.
For as long as I can remember, I have loved to draw. Years ago I gave my wife a hand-drawn card for our anniversary, and she loved it so much she made me promise to ALWAYS hand-draw her cards. Then our three kids made me promise to do the same with their birthday cards. And when I posted some of my drawings online, people began asking how they could purchase my work—so I created this newsletter. I believe in something I like to call “The Happiness of Art” and I hope it makes you smile.
Official Bio
D.E.Uhlig is an award-winning illustrator whose work has appeared in numerous publications including the Kansas City Star, Christian Science Monitor, University Daily Kansan, Editorial Humor Magazine, and World Policy Journal. Commercial illustration and design clients over the years have included Samsung, Sprint, and the Los Angeles Times Syndicate, among others—and his Starbucks RedCup illustrations have been featured on the company's Pinterest and Facebook pages. In 1989, Mr. Uhlig co-founded Uhlig LLC, a leading provider of cross-media publishing and communication services in industries ranging from residential housing to book publishing to cancer care. Mr. Uhlig is married with three children and resides in Kansas City. He is currently working on children’s books, ebooks and apps.
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