Lectcha Sketch is ancient. It's been going for about seven years, I think - in an unofficial capacity - which is more time that I've put into just about anything besides life. It was born out of boredom; out of sitting for hours through various lectures at Rhodes university, doodling on my writing pad as a way of whittling away the hours before
The Rat and Parrot opened it's door (which was usually around eleven/twelve AM, but we won't go into that now).
Many an English poetry lecture was spent idly sketching with a ballpoint pen, watching the clock and letting my imagination flop around on the desk like a dying fish.
English lectures were the worst.
You'd think that a course dedicated to the creative literary expression of our language would hold some element of intrigue, but nay, it was not to be. Rather, historical, creative giants such as Shakespeare and Seamus Heaney were dissected and disseminated with as much emotion as one would a laboratory rat: "Here is the heart, here are the lungs, this is what makes it tick, write a thousand words on the Yeats' central nervous system, wash your hands and don't let the swing door hit you in the arse".
It's ironic that those student who were truly interested in the works and literature had to take separate language courses such as
Modern Fiction and
Afikaans and Nederlandic Studies (pretty sure that's spelt wrong) in order to get a little stimulating discussion. I ended up with the opinion that all English writers are
kak and that, for decent, rousing literature, you need to go elsewhere (Italy and South America are my preferred countries).
I digress heavily though.
Boredom wasn't always the main impetus behind the comics. Every now and then I would find myself inspired by some interesting kernel or theory, for what ever reason, and put pen to paper in a way that wasn't particularly academic but definitely amusing (to me at least). For this reason, some of my comics are terribly specific, and often won't be caught by anyone who doesn't know exactly what I'm talking about.
I like to think that the people who do get them feel quite appreciative though - that someone with an Art Theory background will laugh a little bit harder at a certain comic because it feel like an in-joke.
I'm all for in-jokes. You other sods can take it as it comes. ;)
Oddly enough, it is my other blog -
These Creases - that has become the home page for my Lectcha Sketch comics. Maybe it's because of their randomness and offbeat style, but it just felt right to post them there first. I guess it's because they're doodles and don't really speak volumes about my illustrative style. For whatever reason though, if you enjoy them and like a little bit of background on each (when there is some) that's the place to go.
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