W.P. Morse: Cartoons & Illustrations @wpmorse - Tumblr Blog

Mistaken Identity

Paul and Nancy pick up Nikki and her friend to head out for the camping trip. Nancy is not amused by being mistaken for “Mrs. Huen”.

#Relationships

Respect Your Authority

Respecting your boss’s authority is a good way of not having to make the hard choices yourself.

#Resumes

Mermay 2026 - Day Thirty-One - Sea Foam

I assume today's prompt, sea foam, was a Little Mermaid reference, which gives this year's challenge a rather depressing ending.

Still... I'M DONE!

I think this year went pretty well, with more solid pieces than not. I think my biggest problem, personally, was that while I'm a much better painter than when I started these challenges, I also have much higher standards. Which means I'm putting down pieces that I would have bragged about two years ago.

#illlustration #little mermaid #mermaid #mermay #mermay 2026 #watercolor

Mermay 2026 - Day Thirty - Chibi

I'd already done several pictures of my little mermaid, Cammie. So, I didn't really see the point of today's prompt, "chibi". Fortunately, I realized I'd been getting "chibi" and "moe" mixed up, and chibi was another word for "super deformed".

This made things easier and more fun.

#illustration #watercolor #the mermaids of herschel cove #mermay 2026 #mermay #chibi #super deformed

Mermay 2026 - Day Twenty-Nine - Portals

While it didn't particularly inspire me, I eventually found a good idea for today's prompt, portals. While I have mixed feelings about how many pictures feature Camie and Doris this year, they usually provide me with entertaining material.

#illustration #watercolor #mermay 2026 #mermay #little mermaid #the mermaids of herschel cove #mermaids

Some Variety

While Michelle’s views of the future are optimistic, the others find some of the fine points concerning.

#Business Meeting #Drinks

Mermay 2026 - Day Twenty-Eight - Icon

Icon was one of the prompts I had been dreading. It was one of the ones that, for the life of me, I couldn't think of anything whenever I thought about it.

I finally went with Mermaids worshiping an icon of Dagon. (Though the image is actually an Apkallu)

I definitely bit off more than I could chew on this one. It took far longer than my average time.

#illustration #watercolor #mermay #mermay 2026 #the mermaids of herschel cove #dagon #icon

Mermay - Day 2027 - Iridescent

"Iridescent" was a prompt that I wasn't looking forward to. This time, however, it was a logistics issue. Lighting effects are one of the things that challenge me the most in watercolor. Which means I have to keep practicing.

#illlustration #watercolor #mermay #the mermaids of herschel cove #mermay 2026 #jellyfish #mermaid

My Copious Free Time

Michelle has lots of ideas, which usually means Nancy has more work to do. And more things to do with her “free time”.

#Business Meeting #Drinks

The Kitties Love Us

Despite their current success, the Circle Band is making an alarming amount of their revenue doing cat food commercials.

#Continuity #Meeting

Mermay 2026 - Day Twenty-Six - Shel Silverstein

"Now, you can search the world for pretty girls 'Til your eyes are weak and dim But don't go swimming with the mermaids, son If you don't know how to swim!"

When I first saw this prompt, I wasn't sure about it. My feelings about Shel Silverstein have always been mixed. Make no mistake, his work is great. It's just that my first exposure to him was a collection of his adult cartoons that I was far too young to read (One of the cartoons, "How Bullshit Grew," still triggers a gag reflex whenever I think of it)

While I was wondering what poem to illustrate (I was leaning towards the Unicorn song), I discovered just why Silverstein was on the prompt list. Once I listened to the song, I knew exactly which part of it to do.

#illustration #mermay #watercolor #mermay 2026 #the mermaids of herschel cove #shel silverstein #the mermaid #mermaid

Give Her a Raise

As Nancy explained, thanks to Michelle changing her job title, Dielle got promoted to personal assistant to the CEO. However, things are still very unofficial; this is something you have to explain to the CEO.

#Business Meeting #Drinks

Some Spontaneity

Michelle uses spontaneity to her best advantage.

#Business Meeting #Drinks

Mermay 2026 - Day Twenty-Four - Avant Garde

When it comes to prompt lists, "Avant Garde" means "do what you want as long as it's weird". This usually provides way too many options. Fortunately, a good friend of mine had a very good suggestion before the brain freeze set in.

#illustration #mermay 2026 #the mermaids of herschel cove #mermaid #avant garde #wagon #rowing #watercolor

Mermay 2026 - Day Twenty-Three - Olympics

"Olympics" is one of those prompts that gives far too many options. I went with the hammer because my father threw it in college.

Besides, there was the comic value of it being heavier than the mermaid expected.

#illustration #watercolor #the mermaids of herschel cove #mermay 2026 #mermay #mermaid #hammer #olympics

Mermay 2026 - Day Twenty-Two - Botero

While I didn't have any problems with today's prompt, I wasn't expecting much from "Botero". While I had to remind myself who Fernando Botero was, I was familiar with his work. I was expecting I'd just be doing a cartoonishly fat mermaid.

Fortunately, while going over his work, I was steered from his paintings to his sculpture. Using this as a template, I came up with something far better than I expected.

#illustration #the mermaids of herschel cove #mermaid #mermay 2026 #mermay #fernando botero #watercolor

They Changed The Time

To be honest, it’s not clear whether the meeting time was changed or if Ms. Wan is using it as an excuse to be fashionably late.

#Celestial Bureaucracy #Meeting

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W.P. Morse: Cartoons & Illustrations