The Tribune News asked Rubes cartoonist Leigh Rubin to interview Zits and Baby Blues writer Jerry Scott about his fine art exhibit coming up at The Frame Works Gallery in San Luis Obispo, CA.
Q. In addition to the cartooning, you?re also a fine artist. How did that come about, and how do you select your subject matter?
A. When I was in high school, I played football ? on the offensive line. Linemen are the guys who get hit first on every play. They do the groundwork, creating opportunities for the backfield players to score touchdowns.
And that is kind of how I see my job in the comics business. I can draw, but I?m the writer on both ?Baby Blues? and ?Zits,? the guy who plows forward first, creating the idea and opportunities for my comic strip partners to embellish with artwork. Both aspects of the comic strip ? the writing and the drawing ? are completely interdependent, and one is not more or less important than the other. But the artwork is what comes to mind when a comic strip is mentioned because it?s the more visible aspect of what we do. I started painting to satisfy an itch I had to be the artist for a change. I love it.
You can see more of Jerry’s work on The Frame Works Gallery website.
I am the proud owner of a Jerry Scott painting.
Nice painting, Jerry. Well done.
Great interview & very impressive paintings! As an aspiring cartoonist & painter myself, it’s always interesting to hear how others juggle the two mediums. Plus, the gallery is right in my own backyard, so I’ll definitely check out those paintings in person.
I usually stick to acrylic abstracts, but I’ve also done larger versions of some of my cartoons: http://www.basketcasecomix.com/images/bad_luck_painting.jpg
I am the proud owner of a Jerry Scott original painting, it’s great!