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.

Farewell friend

This week I've had to say goodbye to my oldest friend, Mikey Hamm. I don't remember exactly how we met, but one of my earliest memories is hiding in a bush with him around age three. I thought we were going to get married, but I couldn't picture Mikey as a grown up, so I would imagine his little boy head sitting atop a grown up body in a tuxedo, standing at the front of the church. When his family moved away for a few years, I cried.

Though we weren't close in junior high or high school, I was happy we rekindled our friendship as adults. He was a little less blonde as an adult, but just as sweet, with an outgoing, cheerful and silly attitude and a legendary red moustache. We laughed a lot about the past and celebrated our adult lives, from my marriage and travels to his big move to New York. He was so excited about life, and I'm still in shock that he's gone. I thought we'd have years yet to rebuild the friendship that dwindled in our teenage years. I thought he'd be a hilarious old man.

When someone is taken from you suddenly, it makes you realize how precious life is. Appreciate your loved ones, and tell them how much they mean to you. You never know when it might be too late.