Everybody Loves Mike Hamm

Known as much for his big smile as the red moustache that perched atop it, Mikey Hamm was a true star. He has been dearly missed by family and friends from coast to coast, or perhaps I should say around the world, because surely I'm not the only one who said goodbye from across the ocean.



I've been working on and off on these drawings of Mike this year, coming back to them between long breaks, and I think they are nearly finished. I drew them for Mike, for his family, and for his friends that miss him. His birthday is a few days away, so what better time to share them?

When I first decided to draw Mike, I knew I couldn't draw merely one portrait; Mike was a man of many faces: candid, outrageous, silly, and sincere. I looked at dozens hundreds of photos that flooded his facebook page and picked a few that inspired me. I decided to keep them relatively simple, with bright splashes of colors that remind me of Mike. I tried to make them drawings that Mike would have liked.

I think I will run a screen print edition when I'm back in Texas. I haven't printed anything since my wedding invitations, and I find screen printing to be a very therapeutic act. I don't want any profit from them, but perhaps if people are interested, I could ask for a donation to a charity of his family's choosing in exchange for a print. What do you think?

If you would like a print, please let me know in the comments or by email. I would like everyone who wants one to be able to have one, but I also don't want to print way too many.