Elizabeth: Browse The Strips

Sunday August 18, 2019

Lynn's Comments: When I had done this cartoon and was looking at it in the paper, I realized I had missed the most important part of the joke. The sun should have been much more noticeable, and the last panel should have been a much more colourful sunset.

Saturday August 31, 2019

Lynn's Comments: The whole time the "Michael and Martha" theme ran in the strip, my son was asked if it was true; if he was really seeing someone called "Martha." Usually, his friends were able to get past the hype and see that FBorFW was "just his mom's imagination," but this story caught fire. Aaron's friends were sure there was more to this than a comic strip. It was one of the rare times when my work made one of my kids really uncomfortable.

Sunday September 1, 2019

Lynn's Comments: I'm looking back at these drawings from a grandmother's point of view now...and the first thing that came to mind was, "Why is Elly criticizing the kids when they have actually mowed and raked a lawn?!—For heaven's sake, girl, leave the complaints for bigger misdemeanors!"

Sunday September 8, 2019

Lynn's Comments: When copiers became commonplace, everyone squashed and copied their faces…and other personal things, as well. In one office at McMaster University, where a large copier was in constant use, I saw the distinct form of a cat pressed onto the plate glass surface. There were no photocopies left at the scene and there was no cat on the premises. The outcome of the caper was not known, but people did look for scratch marks on the arms of workers in the area.

Sunday September 22, 2019

Lynn's Comments: This was done at a time when several people I knew were dealing with serious health problems. The "rainbow day" remark came from my dad. My parents lived in Hope, BC. Dad and I were coming home from visiting mom in the hospital and it was raining. Set in the Fraser River Valley, Hope is surrounded by mountains. When it rains, the slanting rays of the sun always seem to make a rainbow. Dad said, "Look, it's a rainbow day!" Since we had both been in tears, it was a lovely observation. I saved it for a later time when I could use it in the strip.

Wednesday September 25, 2019

Lynn's Comments: A flashback in time: I once saw my mother at a party (after a few drinks) put a green grape up her nose and ask for a Kleenex. You never know when a flash from the past will come into your head and become a comic strip. This is what cartoonists rely on: a memory bank full of crazy scenes!

Friday September 27, 2019

Lynn's Comments: Whenever a serious story was on the rise, I always had to remember there were other things going on in the Pattersons' lives. There were other characters to include. In real life, there so many facets to every day…we don't focus on just one topic. Here, Farley comes in to break up the pregnancy storyline.

Monday September 30, 2019

Lynn's Comments: Now that I live on the West Coast, I see these images of an Ontario winter through different lenses. I miss the beauty of the autumn leaves, the warmth and the smell of a wood fire…but I sure don't miss the snow!

Friday October 4, 2019

Lynn's Comments: As Elly became rounded, I became more and more preoccupied with how she looked and how she felt. I began to feel what she was feeling, and had to keep reminding myself that this was happening in the comic strip and not to me.

Sunday October 13, 2019

Lynn's Comments: We had a small piece of property near our house in North Bay. Friends who were involved with a tree planting program gave us two dozen evergreen seedlings to plant—which we did, hoping to see at least some of them survive. All of the seedlings grew, and today, there is a forest on that land. Hard to believe I have lived long enough to see a forest grow!

Sunday November 3, 2019

Lynn's Comments: After I drew up this strip, I actually found a boot drying rack just like the one I drew here. It was home made. My guess is that some enterprising company is making them out of plastic now!

Saturday November 16, 2019

Lynn's Comments: An animator friend called me the other day. He’s been doing some work for us on "gifs" – short animated pieces that can be shared on the internet. His question was, "Can I show the bottom teeth of the dog if he's grimacing?" The answer was YES! Grimacing is the only time that my characters showed their bottom teeth!

Monday November 18, 2019

Lynn's Comments: When I was offered the opportunity to do a syndicated strip, Universal Press asked me to send 3 weeks of dailies as an example of my work. I was expecting my daughter, Katie, at the time, so pregnancy was on my mind. One of the strips I sent was me, well-rounded and trying to play the guitar. It was resting against my bouncing belly and I was saying to the baby inside, "What’s the matter, you don’t like Vivaldi?"