Jason Chatfield Cartoonist

Another artist told me they’re using GPT-4o as a tool for finding illustration reference instead of Google Images.

I needed to draw a cartoon of the Westminster Dog Show, so I just typed in “image of dog at Westminster Dog Show“.
That’s it.

I swear to God, this is what came back…

When I drew this back in early 2020 for the I did not anticipating it becoming an evergreen series that could run in the year of our Lord 2024 🫣

(Before you pounce on me for comparing the President to a half-eaten bag of pecans; For the record, I think Biden needs to make the decision, step back, and let someone else into the ring.
Very soon. Maybe on, say… July 4th? 🇺🇸

This’ll be my first election, voting as an American citizen. Fun!

There’s something surreal about walking out onto the streets of New York after having just witnessed the city succumb to a brutal alien invasion.

New Yorkers quietly shuffling out began ‘shushing’ the popcorn maker. The sidewalk was filled with the jumpiest of pedestrians, darting eyes over their shoulders at the slightest noise. The third film in the “A Quiet Place” series is easily one of the best. It’s hard to beat a prequel that tells a story that’s been teased for 6 years. It gives a whole new meaning to “Silent Film”.

Before the movie begins, we’re greeted with a slow zoom-in to Manhattan with the titles overlaid: “New York gives off an average of 90 decibels, which is the sound of a constant scream.”

(Read the rest in my latest post)

By & (2023)

I got to live sketch another great event for Substack Reads last night at the iconic Hotel Chelsea- with the brilliant Mary Gaitskill and Tavi Gevinson — see my Subst@ck for more...

A fun night drawing for at with Mary Gaitskill & ✍️

ATTENTION CARTOON FANS:
My pal Asher Perlman has a book out this week called "Well, This is Me"-- I won't link to it because Meta will bury this post, but google it and buy it. It's honestly brilliant.

ATTENTION MAD FANS:
This coming Friday, June 21st at the Norman Rockwell Museum, Emily Flake and I will interview each other about how MAD warped our brains, titled “Growing Up MAD”. It is part of a series of programming during the epic exhibition, “What, Me Worry? The Art and Humor of Mad Magazine”
_

From the Museum’s website:
Join cartoonist, illustrator, and performer Emily Flake and cartoonist and comedian Jason Chatfield for a lively program exploring MAD magazine's impact on a younger generation of artists and writers.

Together Flake and Chatfield will share stories about their experiences reading MAD as kids and later what it was like to be contributors to this influential and beloved magazine. The presenters will delve into some of their favorite MAD signature features including Spy vs. Spy, MAD Fold-ins, Snappy Answers to Stupid Questions, the Marginals, and The Strip Club. The conversation will also trace the importance of MAD as a space for cultural critique and irreverent satire that continues to inspire their work today.

If you can’t make it in person, they are live streaming it over Zoom.
Get your Tickets here. https://www.nrm.org/events/growing-up-mad-talk-with-gallery-viewing-and-online-via-zoom/

___

There's a great write-up in Air Mail about the MAD Exhibit this week. Ash Carter did a good job. As former MAD editor John Ficarra writes, “Some people remember where they were when man first walked on the moon. Others can recall where they were when they first heard the Beatles. Me, I can tell you exactly where I was the first time I ever saw a copy of MAD Magazine.”

My cartoon in today's Air Mail

I miss George

Check out mine and Scott Dooley's toon in today's New Yorker…

NEW YORKERS!

If you’re anywhere near Madison Square Park this Friday (tomorrow, 6/7) I’ll be drawing caricatures of people and their dogs 11am—2pm. Come by and get a free scribble of your pup!

There was a batter on the other team with black gloves. He struck out. The gloves did nothing. Illustrator Jenny Kroik said, “If he was in Columbo he’d definitely be a suspect.”

Just then, our remaining team members had returned from their odyssey through the Upper West Side to locate some cheap beer. Alas, all they found were fancy cans of Whiskey Smash and pre-mixed margaritas. We cracked open the readymade cocktails and trotted onto the field for the fifth inning.

After several groggy fumbles, they had a player on every base. Things were starting to turn…

(You know where to read the rest)

Hope thiz blows up 🎉

🎃

Went to the revamped Dangerfield's Comedy Club, now known as Rodneys. Brought my sketchbook.

I tried to start selling my art on Google storefront...
Then I got this email from Google, saying:

"Update your products to ensure a safe and positive experience for customers. Products that display shocking content or promote hatred, intolerance, discrimination, or violence are not allowed.”
It said the breach means the art would be prevented from showing “in all countries”.

Fun!

*New Yorker Softball: Season 2024*

Each week, the New Yorker softball team meets at the softball diamond in Central Park and plays writers, fact-checkers, and cartoonists* who work at other magazines & media organizations based in New York like Vanity Fair, Rolling Stone, Paris Review, and many more.

I am probably the least valuable member of the team, with the knees of a septuagenarian and the pitching arm of an old chair. Each week I will document our wins, our losses, and everything in between. So, get your lukewarm light beer out, and get ready for another season of Dispatches From the Dugout!

Thank you to everyone who took this little experiment from 'side hustle' to 'actual gig' over the past 2 years. I couldn't do it without you.

Good morning.

Another take on the kid at the Picasso Museum

There’s a wooden attic space dedicated to Picasso’s 1943 piece, ‘Man with a Lamb’. He designed it while he was living in Nazi-occupied Paris and insisted that he intended no symbolism or message. It’s hard not to find one though. Lamb looks fu***ng uncomfortable.

More at 🔗 in bio

An excerpt from "Quiche Lorraine on Pablo's Patio: An unforgettable halfternoon of wonder at the Picasso Museum in Paris."
..So, here I was. Meditating on Matisse with a mouthful of quiche.
Eventually, the security guard came over and said something to me in French. I thought he was asking if I was ok, but it turns out he just wanted to borrow a chair. As he walked away, he held up his watch and said “Closing soon!”

I threw my scraps in the bin and did one last lap of the floors, this time with sketchbook in hand. I quickly took a scribble of a mask, and a couple of sculptures before descending to the gift shop, where an unexpected gift awaited.

As the doors closed, I snatched up a couple of overpriced sketchbooks and a tin of Faber Castell watercolour pencils and took my place in line. I looked ahead to the cashier’s window and let out a spontaneous laugh.
The kid behind the counter looked like fu***ng Salvador Dali, except the only thing melting was my brain. I couldn’t stop grinning at him. He didn’t seem amused at my guffaws.

I sketched him in the courtyard as the doors closed behind me.

(Comment below if you want to read more)

(Couldn’t get a good photo so I photoshopped this sketch… more Real ones coming this week in a new Paris Sketchbook). See more Paris Sketchbooks on my ($üBs†)

The first time I visited the Musée du Louvré I was about 26. I hadn’t been to a big gallery before. It blew my tiny mind to pieces; I spent days wandering around and breathing in the masterpieces I’d had to write essays about in Art History. 14 years on, I popped my head back into the pyramid to see if anything had changed. (Spoiler alert: It hasn’t.)

A week of OLED Drawing Screens...

1. Last week, Wacom released a 13" OLED pen display called the Movink.

2. Then yesterday, Apple released a bunch of new iPads, including a super-thin 13" Tandem OLED iPad Pro.

3. Today, last but not least, Xencelabs released a really nice, super-light 16" OLED pen display. I've been running it through its paces for a few months. Here's what I thought of it...

I had to check if a blob of ink had flung onto my screen (not the first time today.) The sequence of letters and words in the email seemed to tell me I’ve been nominated for not one, but two divisions for this year’s Reuben Awards!

I honestly can’t believe it. This is my first time being nominated. I certainly don’t expect to be lugging home any awards in August, shrinking in the shadow of ink-slingers like Nick Galifianakis (Washington Post), Johnny Sampson (MAD), Brad Guigar, and Evan Daum. But I’m very chuffed.

The National Cartoonists Society's (NCS) Reuben Awards honor the year's best work in all areas of cartooning. The NCS's highest honor, the Reuben Award, is given to the prior year's outstanding cartoonist. The event will be held in San Diego, CA in August.

I’m very grateful to my fellow cartoonists for even considering my work for any of these things.1 This December I’ll have been a professional cartoonist for 20 years. This a nice nudge to keep going amid trying times.

--One of the nice things is getting to share the nomination phase (always the best phase) for the book excerpt with my friend and writing partner, Scott. He’s elbow-deep in newborn fathering duties because he takes his book research VERY seriously.

Thanks again, friends.

https://www.newyorkcartoons.com/p/22-jerry-seinfeld-is-doing-a-netflix

Jerry Seinfeld is doing a Netflix movie about Pop Tarts. He dropped in to Gotham tonight to do some new material before leaving a little nugget on stage.