Here's a painting of Usagi Yojimbo for an auction to benefit Sharon and Stan Sakai. In 2009 the SCAD sequential art department took Stan Sakai to Tokyo for a little over a week. He worked with students, led daily workshops, traveled the city with us, and even got us into Ghibli studios. You can see my posts about the trip here: a Tokyo post with Stan.
On that trip,Stan led a watercolor workshop in which he produced a beautiful 11x17 painting of Usagi, which he gave to me before the paint was even dry. It was exactly four years ago (to the day). The painting now hangs in my home:
On that trip I became friends with both Sharon and Stan. Since every trip to San Diego Comic-Con included a chat, a hug, and a photo. I met up with Stan for lunch in France during the Angouleme BD festival a couple years ago. I made an appearance on his blog here. Stan carried his SCAD back everywhere and often wears his SCAD shirt. We consider him a close friend of the department. He and his lovely wife are undoubtedly one of the nicest couples I’ve ever met.
CAPS has set up a series of art auctions for benefit. It is important that Stan and Sharon know how much they mean to all of us. Please consider helping the two of them however you can: http://garageartstudio.blogspot.com/2013/11/help-stan-sakai.html
I’ve been fortunate to share several meals with Stan. Easily more than a dozen--spanning several years and several continents. He is sort of a foodie and has taken a photo of every one of those meals. It is also not lost on me that food and dining are significant elements in Usagi stories--often as narrative bookends or turning points in the adventures. I decided to paint Usagi enjoying a bowl of noodles. Here are a few sketches:
