Category Archives: commentary

Anthony, El Conguero #doodle

Anthony El Conguero - doodle no. 1684 by David doodleslice Cohen

2013-04-03 #1684

I drew this one back in November and finally got around to scanning it tonight. It is inspired by a cool dude named Anthony who plays his congas frequently on Baker St. alongside The Georgia Aquarium and World of Coca-Cola. He’s a super-friendly guy and always talks to the tourists and kids who come through that area in droves. Just one of those people who seem to shine a lot of positivity into the world.

Also posted in art, Doodles | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments closed

Doodler’s tip #3 – Splurge on the good paper #doodle

doodler's tip #3 Splurge on the good paper - doodle no. 1678 by David Doodleslice Cohen

2013-03-07 #1678

Doodler’s tip #3
Splurge on the good paper once in a while.

Like this drawing – it is made on a 5×7 inch piece of heavy hot-press watercolor paper. Yummy.

Also posted in art, Doodles, mad scribblings | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments closed

Be a Beacon 2013 #doodle

Be a Beacon 2013, doodle no. 1674 by doodleslice david cohen

2013-02-25 #1674

I feel like this doodle has been long overdue.

I often talk about the beacon principles on my podcast and have written about them before, but besides being a useful set of perspectives when approaching your personal branding they are also important components of my outlook as an artist. If you were to draw a great big venn diagram encompassing brand therapy and my doodle art, this “Be a Beacon” message would be a big part of the overlap.

be a beacon venn diagram

Also posted in art, branding, Branding Thoughts, Doodles | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments closed

Icarus in Green

I guess I’ve had Icarus on the brain lately. Last night I attended a wonderful event, an Icarus Session, which was the brainchild of Seth Godin and hosted locally here in Atlanta by Judi Knight at her Urban Oasis. It was a fabulous night – I think just about everyone was a fan of Seth Godin’s work, but more important than that, most of the people there got up in front of the room and talked about the passion behind what they do. This was a night of discussing and sharing the art you do, whether you happen to be an artist or not. There were singers, coaches, yoga instructors, non-profit leaders, web designers, painters, landscapers, soldiers, etc. and all revealed a glimpse of their journey and vulnerability. It was enriching and refreshing.

But that’s not the only Icarus thing I’ve been preoccupied with – I’ve been working on this poem for a while now, and I thought I might share it here today as well:

Icarus in Green
by David Cohen 2013-01-02

every verse weaves
another feather into the armature of wax and green branches.

I grow bolder as the plumage thickens turning my arms into wings
Light and strong enough to dare the sky
now aloft,
Am I not Icarus reborn?

I stretch, I soar, arms burning, giddy
hungry for her unquenchable fire
the Sun
my radiant unreachable marble

composing line after rhyme I grasp for the living, life-giving inferno
a verbal photosynthesis
my wings of grass beat beat beat
greening for altitude

I sweat, not with the effort
but the broil

a feather falls as wax softens
but I compose green new feathers to keep me aloft
Thrust abundant in the wax
beat after feet
line after rhyme

Climb! Son of Daedalus, climb!
Climb! Above the gray clouds!
Bask now in the heat of eternity’s fire!
Pound your emerald wings!
Pound your pink thumbs on this tiny keyboard.
Pound until the last feather falls

A green blizzard is coming
a sudden final molting as the warm wax liquifies and runs

Oh treacherous wax!
Oh melty melty wax!

I, Icarus 2.0, fall again.
And even falling I belch green feathers of rhyme
Slapping them to the barren contraption,
They find no purchase
The sticky residue no longer sticky enough

And still I fall
And hit save

But my lines linger
Wafting slowly down
their fate no less certain,
all shall fall as I, to the oblivion of the sea
But no feather falls as fast as I

And perhaps yet a fine feathered line will tickle the fancy of a passing breeze
and ride upon her whim,
floating onward by some smiling zephyr’s grace,

Float on, my green wafting child
Float on

Also posted in art, Doodles, love, mad scribblings | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments closed

More hug, less harm #doodle

More hug, less harm - doodle no.1642 by doodleslice David Cohen

2012-12-16 #1642

I made this doodle on Friday when I first heard the news about the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary. I was about to head off to a client meeting when my eye caught a posting that seemed ominous. Since I had a few minutes to spare I clicked the link and read the news and watched a short video that recapped what was known at that time. It wasn’t very detailed yet, but it was more than enough to be horrible. I felt punched by a wave of emotion. The fact that this was an elementary school – the last time of innocence for so many kids in this grow-up-too-fast world – it was so much to process. Too much to make any kind of sense of. I knew had to put something out to find a handle and some balance for myself. I don’t think a drawing has ever come out of me so quickly or with such urgency.

I realized then that I was late for my appointment so I didn’t have time to do what I normally do with my doodles – scan them, clean up the scan to remove any dust marks and try to get the color a little closer to the original, then make a post here. I snapped a quick shot on Instagram which I’ve been mostly using for things in my sketchbook or doodles on the go in restaurants and such. I wanted to put the thought out there right away, but I also knew I wanted to come back and share a little bit more with this one. I just couldn’t do it right away.

I finally got around to scanning the drawing today and I hope you find it a warm thought, a small comfort. Maybe as a thought, as a practice, it can help you if you ever feel a little out of balance in this world where senselessness and horror can so quickly appear from nowhere and eclipse our vision. It is harder to see in moments like this, because the shadow is so big and mirky, but I have to believe that the shadow is always smaller than the light. I have to believe in good and the practice of spreading the good and the positive.

More Hug, Less Harm.

Also posted in art, Doodles, love | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments closed

awesome flow chart #doodle

awesome flowchart - doodle no. 1638 by Doodleslice David Cohen

2012-12-06 #1638

Did you notice anything AWESOME today?
Yes? AWESOME!!!
No? OK. Try again tomorrow.

Doing something awesome is nice too, but that’s a lot of pressure. Noticing awesome is important though. It can make you feel better, it can make others feel better, it can counter-act a lot of the dreck that we get fed in the news. Try to notice the awesome – and remember sometimes very humble things are awesome. And when you do notice something awesome, if you think of it, share it with me please.

Ok? Awesome.

https://www.equationarts.com/2012/12/awesome-flow-chart-doodle

Also posted in art, Doodles | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments closed