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bunker cartoon gallery

Labor Pains

August 9, 2009 · 6 comments

labor“Labor Pains”

Cartoon Pen & Watercolour 9″ x 12″ 

Copyright 2009 Jean Burman 

Yes… it’s irreverent.  But heck… someone has to say something and it might as well be me (grin)  This is the second cartoon that would have otherwise gone off to the Rotary Cartoon Awards had I not found out that the cartoons had to be without captions… and then later discovered (after the closing date) that captions were fine…  (okay *sigh* it’s complicated)  

For those not in the know about doings here in the Sunshine State…. um… well… what can I say?  

It’s a great place to live!

A bit of background though is probably necessary for the decipherment (yes… there is such a word ~grin~ I checked it) of the above cartoon and now follows:

  • Queensland currently has a Labor State Government led by Premier Anna Bligh.
  • Anna (rumour has it) is a descendent of Lieutenant William Bligh commander of The Bounty.
  • Mutiny broke out on the Bounty on 28th April 1789.
  • The ship was commandeered by Christian Fletcher who later sailed off into the sunset.
  • Before doing so… Bligh and 18 loyal supporters were pushed off onto the high seas in a 23 foot (7 m) launch.
  • They were given food enough and water to last for three days… along with a sextant and pocket watch.
  • No maps or a compass were issued.
  • They sailed for a year and a day and washed up on the shores of Timor 3,618 nautical miles away (oh okay then) not a year and a day but 47 days later.
  • All but one survived.
  • Um… you didn’t really need to know any of that… but it was rather interesting don’t you think?  Grin.

I’ll close with a quote from J.C. Beaglehole who once wrote:

 ”[Bligh made] dogmatic judgements which he felt himself entitled to make… he saw fools about him too easily… thin-skinned vanity was his curse through life… [Bligh] never learnt that you do not make friends of men by insulting them” [or their intelligence] 

The apple… after all… may not fall so very far from the tree.

I rest my case.  (((chuckles)))

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People are the Same Wherever You Go

March 18, 2009 · 24 comments

Cartoon Pen & Watercolour 8″ x 12″ 

Artwork & Content Copyright 2009 Jean Burman

(unauthorised use prohibited)

The Women of the World Exhibition at the Bunker Cartoon Gallery in Coffs Harbour was completely wonderful. You might remember me mentioning previously that I had entered two pen and watercolour cartoons 8″ x 12″ Mothers Make the World Go Round and If Women Ruled the World.

You can click on the links (above) to see them again.

The four hour road trip down the coast to Coffs Harbour on Friday was well worth it to see those two “good friends” take their place amongst the many entries from around the world. 75 entries in total… representing artists (cartoonists in this case) from 13 different countries. Russia, Switzerland, Iran, Brazil, the Urals (and of course Australia), just to name a few.

I was surprised by the number of international artists… but I guess there are not that many women cartoonists in Australia. And the President of the Australian Cartoon Association who officially opened the show remarked on this fact… stating (rather bravely I thought in a room full of women) that around 80% of cartoonists in this country are male. Quite frankly… I was surprised the percentage wasn’t higher than that… but there you have it.

Judging by the message overwhelmingly conveyed in each and every cartoon on display… women do have a lot to say about the world in which they live and their individual experience of it. The commonly occurring themes brought home to me… that the issues women face across the planet are pretty much universal… from the Ukraine right around to the Americas.

It was fun to find myself hobnobbing with a bunch of total strangers at the Opening. Sometimes not knowing a soul can be enriching. I have been to Openings in all kinds of places but for some strange reason they are always pretty much the same. As I look around the room, I see people I swear I should know.  Everyone looks kind of familiar! LOL

When it comes down to it… people are the same wherever you go. And more to the point… artists are artists wherever you go. They don’t wear badges but you can still spot them at forty paces. They are usually the ones with their noses pressed up to the glass muttering “I wonder how that was done?”. And it’s comforting to know we have that common bond… especially when we’re rubbing shoulders with a bunch of total strangers!

Surprisingly… here in Australia it is not dangerous to drive on the wrong side of the road (grin) But taking photos whilst driving is risky business wherever in the world you are! LOL

I had intended to stay overnight but decided instead to make the four hour return journey home to the Coast that night.  I should add… I like night driving.  And to tell you the truth… it was one of the best decisions I could have made.  I had the road to myself on one of the most brilliantly clear moonlit nights imaginable.

In places the road follows the magnificent Clarence River along it’s length… and bathed in the moonlight… the river took on an almost magical quality. But that was nothing compared to the view from the top of the range behind Byron Bay.  The ocean… a silver sheet spread out across a vast horizon…. illuminated the dark night sky… and threw the valley below into a dark and peaceful stillness.

It was all rather beautiful!

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Women of the World

February 26, 2009 · 14 comments

Pen & Watercolour 8″ x 12″

Artwork & Content Copyright 2009 Jean Burman

(unauthorised use prohibited)

Well… it’s been a race against time but I have my entries packaged up and winging their way… as we speak… to the inaugural International Women of the World Exhibition at the Bunker Cartoon Gallery in Coffs Harbour.

This exhibition is being held for the very first time in 2009… to celebrate International Women’s Day… and runs from 13th March to 11th April 2009.  The event is for women only… and cartoonists, illustrators and caricaturists from all over the world have been invited to submit their work.

I have submitted two cartoons.  The first is “If Women Ruled the World” and is a whimsical take on the state of the nation (aka the world) if women were to dominate it’s halls of power.  Let’s face it… we women are the only ones with our priorities right when it comes to the big issues of shopping and shoes.  I realise that this particular theme will likely get me into all sorts of political hot water but it’s just for fun (and in the words of Jane Austen)

“For what do we live but to make sport for our neighbours and laugh at them in our turn”.  She said it… not me… I’m just reporting what she said!  (((chuckles)))

Pen & Watercolour 8″x 12″

Artwork & Content Copyright 2009 Jean Burman

(unauthorised use prohibited)

The second cartoon is a re-make of my earlier cartoon “Mothers Make the World Go Round”  I think it’s an improvement on the first… and as I simply couldn’t bear to part with the original “original” I did another to send away to the exhibition.

Cartooning has… for reasons unknown… been historically (hysterically?) dominated by men… (it is a man’s world afterall girls – wink & grin)… so it’s great to see that this time the girls are going to get a guernsey of their own… and for a cause that’s close to our hearts as well.

International Women’s Day began in 1911 and remains a major day of global celebration for the economic, political and social achievements of women past, present and future.

I hope you enjoy my cartoons as much as I enjoyed making them.

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