I was sorry to learn today that Drawn, one of the bright go-to points on the web for regular shots of cartooning and illustration inspiration, has ended its run after 8 years.
Started in early 2005 by cartoonist and illustrator John Martz, and eventually drawing on a collaborative rooster of artists, Drawn was always finding and showcasing bright talents and wonderful work by a large number of creators.
Along with Cartoon Brew, 100 Years of Illustration, Boing Boing and a few others, Drawn! (at the time with an exclamation point in the title) was one of the models on which I based the format of Lines and Colors when I launched it in August of 2005.
Though the scope and intention of the two blogs were different, I always thought of Martz and the Drawn crew as kindred spirits in the presentation of inspirational posts about art and artists.
Martz has written a farewell post, Drawn 2005-2013, on his personal blog explaining the decision.
I obviously disagree with his sentiment in regard to the continued relevancy of art blogs (grin), but I understand his decision.
The current archives are still available at the original address of http://blog.drawn.ca. Martz indicates that they will eventually be moved to an archive address.
I will be among many who will miss Drawn as an ongoing blog, but I want to emphasize that the archived pages are not to be overlooked as a source of continued exploration and inspiration.
Thanks to John and the other Drawn contributors for many years of enjoyment!
(Image above: Drawn! front page as it appeared on the one year anniversary of its launch.)
