Performing Spripple Monkey.

Categories: artwork

Tags: Mario, Nintendo, hand drawn, scribble monkey, fascist tyrant, cards

Date: 15 July 2014 20:58:18

I don't often bring it up but my son is autistic. Which means certain formats and actions are followed or fallen into and become, in odd ways, routine and ordinary.

Most nights, for example, I'm asked to draw between 10 and 30 cards with Mario faces on. The cards have to be a set size (or they risk being folded up neatly and, if we're lucky, thrown into the bin but more often that not are put in his mouth or thrown on the floor). They have to look as close as they can to the set cards given (or they run the risk of... well... you know) and they have to be uncreased, unsmudged etc. (or they etc again).

Tonight I drew these while son boy and I sat in the shed of skulls*.

Directly after drawing them he demanded one more and I snapped and said 'you are a fascist tyrant and I am not a performing scribble monkey'. It's the sort of thing we all say at each other in the family, fairly frequently.

So he drew me this:

Which I love and will keep somewhere forever. So, of course, I drew him one more card to add to the set and, for the sake of the blog, we put all of the cards together for a group photo. I seem to have drawn quite a few, and suspect I'll draw more, until the next routine shows itself.

* 'cos, y'know, having a shed of skulls is perfectly normal and ordinary. I have no odd moments, honest.