Also available as t-shirts on RedBubble:
Mama: http://www.redbubble.com/people/raycaspio/t-shirts/5047559-1-mama-thelma-harper
Eunice: http://www.redbubble.com/people/raycaspio/t-shirts/5047542-1-eunice

This is my new illustration based on the Family sketches from The Carol Burnett Show and the Mama’s Family series. The relationship between Mama and Eunice has fascinated me since childhood so I wanted to explore it a bit in this piece.  I’m finding that a lot of the illustrations I have done or want to do deal with relationships.

On both shows, Thelma Harper (Mama) was played by Vicki Lawrence and Eunice Higgins, Mama’s daughter, was played by Carol Burnett. Both women are comedy gods to me. The sketches and series featured Betty White as Ellen, Mama’s eldest daughter, and Harvey Korman as Ed Higgins, Eunice’s husband.  Check out YouTube for some great classic clips of these two ladies at work!

Buy direct from Ray:

Select

11" x 17" Matte Print $33.00

COMING MASTER 11" x 17" Print

It’s also available for purchase on RedBubble at the links below:

Greeting cards and postcards: http://www.redbubble.com/people/raycaspio/art/4709685-2-coming-master
T-Shirt: http://www.redbubble.com/products/configure/16910266

A few weeks ago, I was given Seasons 1 and 2 of I Dream of Jeannie (Target has some great, inexpensive TV DVD two-packs!).  We’ve been watching the series and we can’t believe how much we’re enjoying it!

Barbara Eden and Larry Hagman are perfect as Jeannie and Major Anthony (Tony) Nelson.  Likewise with Hayden Rorke’s Col. Dr. Alfred Bellows and Bill Daily’s Major Roger Healey.  The writing, especially on Sidney Sheldon’s episodes, has proven to be smart and laugh out loud funny.

As a kid, I caught the occasional episode of Jeannie, but I was more of a Bewitched fan then.  Now that I’m older, I appreciate the adult humor and sexiness of I Dream of Jeannie that’s woven into every episode.  Jeannie and Tony have a reciprocal loving relationship with neither superior to the other, unlike Darrin and Samantha.  More often than not, Tony laughs at Jeannie’s tricks, which is so refreshing for a man on television of that time.  I love the chemistry that Jeannie and Maj. Nelson had.  They’re perfect for each other.

My goal with this illustration was to capture the fun and brightness of Jeannie, and show her with the joy that Barbara Eden imbued her with.

I’m going to continue to love the rest of the series and in the meantime, I hope you enjoy the prints and t-shirts of this piece!

Even though I’m a child of the 1980s, I found most of my heroes in reruns of 1960s and 1970s television shows.  They were all women.  One of those women is Jaime Sommers:  The Bionic Woman, played by Lindsay Wagner, who won an Emmy for her portrayal.

I’ve never been one to enjoy the tired cliché of the alpha-male character.  Lindsay imbued Jaime with a strong sense of feminine energy, intelligence, understanding, and unending compassion that I feel is lacking from so many female heroes of today.  Jaime was part-superhero but all woman, often solving problems primarily with her mind instead of her Bionic parts.  Her Bionics weren’t used to inflict violence.  She was a hero I could, and still do look up to, as well as Lindsay herself.

In the third season of the series, Jaime got a Bionic Dog called Max (aka Maximillion/Maximillian).  That’s who Jaime is running with in this illustration.  Running is, after all, Jaime’s favorite way to de-stress, and dogs are great de-stressors.

I’m very happy to be reliving this great series through Region 2 DVDs as I continue my recuperation from three herniated discs.  It gives me Bionic Inspiration.

The Bionic Woman: Jaime & Max

Available as a t-shirt: http://www.redbubble.com/people/raycaspio/t-shirts/4329390-4-the-return

This is the fourth in my ongoing series of comic book covers based on the Lynda Carter Wonder Woman television show!  I’m particularly proud of this one because when I look at it, THAT is the Wonder Woman in my head.  I’ve finally given it form.  I decided to add the sketch and digital inks that became this illustration.

Episode No. 15 (including the pilot movie):  The Return of Wonder Woman

This episode marked the switch from a World War II setting to the modern day (in this case, 1977), and also a change of networks from ABC to CBS.  The premise was:  Wonder Woman returned to Paradise Island after World War II since the Nazi menace had been taken care of.  In 1977, fate intervenes, and IADC Agent Colonel Steve Trevor crashes on the uncharted body of land in The Bermuda Triangle known as Paradise Island just like his father before him.  Princess Diana rescues him and finds out that she’s still needed in the outside world:  this time, to stop a terrorist plot.

In the “new” series, Major Steve Trevor (Lyle Waggoner) was now Colonel Steve Trevor, Jr., Private Etta Candy (Beatrice Colen) was gone, and Joe Atkinson (Normann Burton) replaced General Blankenship (Richard Eastham) as “the boss” of the series.  That wouldn’t last very long.  Diana Prince was no longer disguised as a mousy secretary:  she was on her way to becoming a stylish woman of the 1970s.  By the end of the series, she’d even ditched the glasses and bun/ponytail she used to disguise herself.  I prefer the CBS series to ABC because of the new confidence Lynda Carter gave Diana Prince and Wonder Woman.  In describing the dualities of the role, Lynda Carter has said she always considered Diana Prince as who the woman really was and Wonder Woman as what she could do.  I heartily agree with that interpretation.

The first time I saw this particular episode was on the old fX Network in 1994 because it never appeared in syndication on the networks in my area before that.  fX edited it down to one hour long episode and one half hour episode, cutting scenes in the process, so I was delighted to finally see it in its entirety when Columbia House released it on VHS.  Of course, now it’s on DVD, but Warner Brothers edited out the opening teaser and the cannon shot that preceded the theme song.  There are a number of odd choices WB made on the DVD release so hopefully one day they’ll actually release the complete series, unedited.

OK, let’s see the art!

This is the second in my ongoing series of comic book covers based on my favorite television show ever, Lynda Carter’s Wonder Woman!

Episode No. 44 (including the pilot movie): Skateboard Whiz
“A teenage skateboarder is manipulated into helping an extortionist win at illegal gambling.”

Wonder Woman No. 44: Skateboard Whiz

http://www.redbubble.com/people/raycaspio/t-shirts/4139081-2-hiya-ro

Here’s the second Rhoda t-shirt:

http://www.redbubble.com/people/raycaspio/t-shirts/4230693-4-hiya-ro-ii

Lynda Carter’s “The New Adventures of Wonder Woman” television series could continue…in comic book form, at least!

The New Adventures of Wonder Woman No. 61
11″ x 17″

I always wanted to do an illustration of Wonder Woman (Lynda Carter) and Andros (Dack Rambo) based on The New Adventures of Wonder Woman episode Mind Stealers from Outer Space.  So, here’s an updated Wonder Woman rescuing an updated Andros from an updated Zardor!

The Rescue of Andros
11″ x 17″
Pencils, colors: Ray Caspio
Colors: Kevenn T. Smith

Detail of Wonder Woman:

Available as a print:  http://www.redbubble.com/people/raycaspio/art/3376081-4-esmeralda

Available as a t-shirt:  http://www.redbubble.com/people/raycaspio/t-shirts/4110646-1-esmeralda

Available as a print:  http://www.redbubble.com/people/raycaspio/art/3376104-3-mortal-samantha

Available as a t-shirt:  http://www.redbubble.com/people/raycaspio/t-shirts/4110630-1-mortal-samantha

“Mortal” Samantha
8″ x 10″

Available as a print:  http://www.redbubble.com/people/raycaspio/art/3376115-3-witch-samantha

Available as a t-shirt:  http://www.redbubble.com/people/raycaspio/t-shirts/4110605-1-witch-samantha