Pandas & Penguins

Pandas & Penguins

I have a soft spot in my heart for pandas and penguins for some reason—mainly, I think, because they're fun to draw. Or maybe it's the simplicity of their black and white color schemes, or because they somehow remind me of my little black and white puppy at home.

Anyway, I was sad to read that Pan Pan, the world's oldest male Panda, recently died in captivity. He was 31, which is 11 years older than wild pandas usually live, so there's that. And Basi, the world's oldest female panda, is 36 and still doing well in China. And let's not forget that Pan Pan produced over 130 descendants…

That's a lot of little pandas! (Perhaps one of them was the little panda who was recently caught on video playing with his new friend: a snowman.)

By the way, do you know what a group of pandas is called? Click here to find out – it's almost embarrassing.

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“She taught me that life goes on, and that I had a choice. To lament what I no longer had or be grateful for what remained.”
― Louise Penny

“Morning will come, it has no choice.”
― Marty Rubin

1. How to make a book the old fashioned way.

2. Hotels for Book Lovers.

3. Bambi was my middle daughter's favorite movie growing up, and the memories of watching it with her always make me smile. As an illustrator, the unique visual style of the film intrigued me, and the artist responsible for that look—a Chinese immigrant named Tyrus Wong—recently passed away at the age of 106. His story is interesting. Here are some examples of his work, an article explaining how ‘Bambi’ got its look from 1,000-year-old Chinese art, and a very in-depth discussion of the background art in the film.

4. Speaking of Disney movies, tap into your inner child with these old animated Disney GIFs. (My personal favorite: Robin Hood.)

5. James Joyce, with his eyesight failing, draws a sketch of Leopold Bloom (1926)

"Shut your eyes and see"
–James Joyce

"There is another world, but it is in this one."
–W.B. Yeats

Each month I give away one hand-signed, limited edition Giclée fine art print (matted, but unframed) to a lucky newsletter subscriber. Winners—who are notified via email at the beginning of each month—may select one of the prints shown below.

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“When nothing is sure, everything is possible.”
―Margaret Drabble

Until next week…

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About Me

Hi. I’m D.E.Uhlig. I’m an artist, author, husband and father.

For as long as I can remember, I have loved to draw. Years ago I gave my wife a hand-drawn card for our anniversary, and she loved it so much she made me promise to ALWAYS hand-draw her cards. Then our three kids made me promise to do the same with their birthday cards. And when I posted some of my drawings online, people began asking how they could purchase my work—so I created this newsletter. I believe in something I like to call “The Happiness of Art” and I hope it makes you smile.

Official Bio

D.E.Uhlig is an award-winning illustrator whose work has appeared in numerous publications including the Kansas City Star, Christian Science Monitor, University Daily Kansan, Editorial Humor Magazine, and World Policy Journal. Commercial illustration and design clients over the years have included Samsung, Sprint, and the Los Angeles Times Syndicate, among others—and his Starbucks RedCup illustrations have been featured on the company's Pinterest and Facebook pages. In 1989, Mr. Uhlig co-founded Uhlig LLC, a leading provider of cross-media publishing and communication services in industries ranging from residential housing to book publishing to cancer care. Mr. Uhlig is married with three children and resides in Kansas City. He is currently working on children’s books, ebooks and apps.

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