Patriotic Pen and Ink: An Orphaned Commission!

Perhaps it's all the deep divisions right now in this great land of ours, or (more likely) my own perverse prankishness, but when a collector contacted me about doing a commission over the weekend with instructions that he wanted me to be me, this is the idea I woke up with this morning. So, I let 'er rip. Unfortunately, at the pencil stage (below), said collector balked, informing me that he was "really not a Marvel fan." Okay. So I went ahead and inked it anyway.

Princess Diana and Mary Jane: Some Recent Commissioned Drawings

Wonder Woman and Spidey's Girl Friend are among the subjects of several recent commissions (a couple below are older and may have been posted before, but well worth revisiting).

For some reason I never warmed up to Harry G. Peter's original version of Wonder Woman; like Steve Ditko on Spider-Man, I grew up on a different, later version of the character, and it is only in maturity that I recognize the originality in their respective versions. I also have come to appreciate that Peter was attempting to do a kind of classical antiquity thing with the drawing, aping Greek figure vases by way of early twentieth century pulp illustration. I also like the early Wonder Woman's mid-thigh-length pants, which have recently come back into style as biker shorts or yoga tights (I never cared for the Linda Carter high-cut thigh look, personally).

Anyway, below are a few recent drawings along those lines, along with some other characters that are obviously not owned by me.

Wonder Woman repels the Cheetah, in a homage to an early H. G. Peter splash page.

Princess Diana takes a jog in the high-heel boots that become more or less standard early in her career.

Wonder Woman in her Art Deco hairstyle and Neo Grec ribboned sandals.

Apropos of nothing, a topless Mary Jane Watson and Spidey (pencil rough).

Spidey defends (pointlessly) Mary Jane's modesty; inked on vellum.

Wonder Woman in the more classic panty bottoms, but losing her fine featherd bustier, which chooses to fly the coop. Wonder Woman is the property of whatever corporate interests own Hollywood at the moment, but Megaton Man™ and © Don Simpson 2018, all rights reserved.

Inked version in pen and ink on Strathmore. Megaton Man™ and © Don Simpson 2018, all rights reserved.

Watercolor version. Megaton Man™ and © Don Simpson 2018, all rights reserved.

Megaton Man as the sidekick and Stella Starlight as the Captain in a sketchbook commission. Megaton Man™ and Stella Starlight™ and © Don Simpson 2018, all rights reserved.

For more racy (or at least weird) convention sketches from the past, proceed to the previous blog post.

Please consult my Commission Price List and contact me if you are interested in acquiring an original custom drawing for your private gallery!

A Couple of Recent Commissions

Here are a couple recent commissions I completed for fans and collectors. I will post more here as time allows. (Please see my commission price list posted on this blog if you would like to own an original, custom made piece of Don Simpson art!)

Here is a recent commission, 11" x 14", pen and ink and Dr. Martin's dyes and watercolor on Strathmore 400 Drawing (a very slightly creme colored paper that is somewhat thinner than Bristol). In this case the request was for a nude Wonder Woman, but there are limits to how far I will go with commissions involving my own "PG" characters, and especially characters that I do not own (please see my commission price list posted on this blog). I think the final result is funny and hopefully tasteful.

This is the inked version, before coloring. Generally, I will send a jpeg of the commission at this stage to the client for approval.

Here is the initial light blue Col-Erase pencil and graphite pencil version. Again, I send a jpeg for approval at this stage.

Every commission is different. This one is for Steve Hager's Dutchy Digest, a self-published comic set in rural eastern Pennsylvania, featuring two of the recurring characters. Steve plans to use this piece as a "pin-up" in a future issue. Artwork for publication, strictly speaking, goes beyond a traditional "commission," and is negotiable. (I should have charged Steve much more, come to think of it!!)