It took all Summer and most of the Fall and as we head into Winter my very first collection of 'SCRIBBLES' will make it to book form. On Monday, I am expecting to receive a 'proof' copy and if all checks out it will be made available for all us to enjoy.
Some background on the project: Earlier in the year I met Pablo Antinao, a Sommelier who runs the Rustica Wine School, for whom I created cover art for his Wine Appreciation Guidebook. During one of our brainstorm meetings he planted the seed of an idea; do a 'wine joke book' filled with a series of my cartoons (it's funny how hard humor can be to create.)
I decided to take a different tact, it was something I had been wanting to do for some time, which was to post a cartoon and invite readers to caption the scene. I dubbed it the 'Caption Challenge' and it was not long before friends, associates, acquaintances and friends of friends began to chime in. Soon my Facebook was filling with 'Friend Requests'. Some of the comments and captions that came in were so funny they made me laugh so hard, tears rolled down my face!
The 'Caption Challenge' became a community - a spirited, fun competition among the captioners. To feed demand I began to post a 'Scribble' in the morning and then another one late at night. The variety of humor has been so clever and the interpretation of the 'Scribbles' pleasantly unpredictable. Everyone that captioned or commented has been so supportive, encouraging me to keep the scribbles going. 'Don't Stop' and 'Make a book' where common emails. What could I do? My only recourse was to honor those wishes.
So,
'PINOT ENVY: Sharing some wine, laughs & a smile' will be due out next week (fingers crossed). As more information becomes available I will make updates on when and where you can find the title.
Kind regards to all - drawing for you is the best! ~SW Parra (aka Surfwest)