Wednesday, January 17, 2007

Ventura Highway

Yesterday I wanted to draw something, but I didn't know what. While I was considering my options, my iPod played "Ventura Highway" by America (the band, not the country). I like that song, but the last verse is quite puzzling:

"Cause the free wind is blowing through your hair,
And the days surround your daylight there.
Seasons crying no despair,
Alligator lizards in the air... in the air."

Alligator lizards? Is that just a normal alligator in the same way that I'm a human person? And if these are just typical alligators, what are they doing in the air... in the air? If Ventura's vast alligator population has evolved to the point that they've mastered flight, I'm not "gonna go"... I know.

36 comments:

Anonymous said...

ROFL! The expression on the face of the one with the balloons is priceless. Love that. So glad to know that I'm not the only one that is puzzled by certain song lyrics. I think many songwriters MUST be on something when they're composing. My crud...LOVE THIS....so funny.

Karalenn Hippen said...

I laughted out loud when I looked at the balloon gator. He's so impressed with his floating tail! Me too. He's pretty cute stuff.

The one with the parachute looks like he was just pushed out of a plane by his brother that was trying to get even with him and now he's annoyed that he has to think of something to do back to him worse. (Sorry, I watched a funny "Malcolm in the Middle" last night with that theme in it.) Great drawing!

Unknown said...

heheheeh magic I tell ya!!! Never dissapointed my friend!

Jennie Hoffer said...

Aww, those guys are the best! :)

Tim Bye said...

This is fantastic! The alligators are so funny and the sky is really impressive. What programme do you use to colour the images?! Keep up the good work

S.T. Lewis said...

I use Photoshop for coloring. I tried to use Painter once, and I learned that I don't know how to use Painter. I've learned lots of shortcuts for Photoshop.

Thank you all for coming to my blog and saying stuff... you're the coolest!

Joe said...

This made my friday eve morning a good one.

Ryan Wood said...

Hilarious! Love their expressions, mister.

Adrian Ropp said...

Love it! This is one of those great drawings that, even though it doesn't make any sense, works just fine without the explanation. Great color choices and fab drawing as always. I do have to say, though, that para-gator has the most thought provoking expression. Why is he so embarassed by the other gators? If you're going to go to the trouble of renting a plane to jump out of, you might as well trying to enjoy the trip down. Lizards are funny that way, I guess.

Jason said...

You know it's the end of the world when lizards and gators fall from the sky. It's been raining cats and dogs for awhile now. Nicely done.

Hans said...

Lol that's hilarious! Awesome characters and nice colors. Haven't seen those guys yet here in Tampa. I guess the Ventura gators are a little more advanced.

Take care,

Hans

Jed Henry said...

I love the expression of the dopey one with the baloons. Awesome.

flipstudios said...

frickin wicked!!!! i love this one. but then again i love them all. cheerio

J. Nowland said...

Hey Shane... Man I thought I saw everything... when I saw an elephant fly.... but flying Aligator Lizards... well that just made my head explode.... you know... like... like in Scanners... anyways.... You have some great stuff on this blog... and these Aligator Lizards are really helpin' that cause.... 'til next time... Check Ya Later.... PEACE!
J

Adam Ford said...

Great as always. The colors come together especially nicely.

Jarrett said...

Wow! Wow! Beautiful piece and such natural posing. Lovin' it man. This is fantastic.

Patrick said...

The world would be a better place if Alligators could really do this sort of thing. Of course it would'nt be too amusing if one of them swooped down and bit off someones head... Well, then again... Great artwork as usual!

Unknown said...

Awesome animated characters!!

Ryan Bullard said...

That would be the most terrifying highway ever.

Andrew Glazebrook said...

Love the expressions on these 3,especially the one hang gliding !! Great work !

Ken Chandler said...

I nearly burst my apendix when I saw the gator with the balloons. Too dang funny Shane! What a riot.

But seriously, I've been wondering what that meant too. I can only guess that they were smokin' LDS when they saw this apperation. I see this stuff all the time, and yes the misprint is a joke, one I'm sure you'll get.

Theresa H. said...

How fun!!! I love these critters. Makes me want to take up flying. Haha! Terrific job.

Cheers,
Theresa

Healthy living said...

This is a sweet illo.! great job! the gators totally have a personality of their own!

valerie walsh said...

Dear Shane you are awesome! My husband managed this band for many years and i know the meaning of this phrase, it means "Smog". That's what they are implying in "Aligator Lizards in the Air". We were talking about this song the other day and John said only very new born babies have not heard this song. Love your very clever and well done painting!!!

Michelle Lana said...

Very cool! great work!

Piotr said...

haha awesome ST! love the expressions!

Terry said...

fantastic man

enandrews said...

awesome

Pickledog said...

Totally awesome stuff!!

Franfou said...

wow ! very cool crocos !!!
nice work !

Melissa H. said...

The expression on these guys is great! I love the cranky one with the parachute. Beautiful work.

Anonymous said...

I wondered about that lyric, too....thanks to ValGalArt, now we know! Makes sense...LA smog, Ventura highway...that gator/lizard with the parachute looks peeved that he had to take the boring way down when his friends are having a blast!! haha! Great artwork, Shane!

prof500 said...

Great drawings!

This web site
http://www.everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=691587
analyzes the song lyrics in depth, and says there really are such things are alligator lizards. I wonder if they sometimes live up in trees ("in the air").

Anonymous said...

Hehe nice pic, but I think the "alligator lizards" are cloud shapes. ;p

Anonymous said...

I always thought the "alligator lizards in the air" referred to the lizard like visions enduced by psychedelic drugs like peyote that were pretty common in those days. Same reason Jim Morrison of the Doors is the lizard king. However I've heard the band always denyed the idea. You can see a good example of the typical visions here http://youtube.com/watch?v=3lnJ0uvbSK8

Anonymous said...

Awesome! These look like they came out of real cartoons!

Growing up in Southern California we actually had Alligator Lizards. They're lizards that'll clamp onto anything. One time a boy down my street was walking around with two hanging from his ears. He regretted it when the bruises showed up...