postcard war: a stranger comes to town

"Pick an apocalypse, any apocalypse." 

~ John Gardner, from Grendel 

Early in the 2020 pandemic under travel restrictions and limitations on gatherings, my brother challenged me to a postcard war.  Game on. 

The rules are simple: the "winner" is the one who sends either the most audacious or highest quantity. I'm an overachiever. I try for both. 

I created this set with ink and pencil over found city images. Entitled "A Stranger Comes to Town," my work is inspired by the postcards of Steve McDonald, "Fantastic Cities," and the writings of author John Gardner, who taught that there are only two plots in all literature:

1. one goes on a journey; and
2. a stranger comes to town. 

I grew up in a military family that had moved 17 times by the time I was 13 years old, making me, at once, always on a journey and always the stranger. 

Rover, wanderer, nomad, vagabond

Call me what you will...

~ Metallica, "Wherever I May Roam"