A little about the Idiot

I, the idiot, is more commonly referred to as Charlie Donahue. I reside in the wonderful city of Chicago, Illinois, where I am currently study and work as a web designer. Have some web design needs? Feel free to check out my work at www.chdonahue.com. When I'm not doodling or designing you can find me riding my bike, playing Wii or eating. What can I say, I really like food.

This site was created as a way for me to not only have an outlet for my love of drawing but also as a way for me to work with HTML and CSS. By creating this site I was able to work at my own pace on something I loved.

I am happy to say I have stuck with this site for over a year now and it has become something I am truly proud of. My inspiration comes from a variety of differnt things. Sometimes I draw what is directly infront of me, in a still life situation but with a single object. When I don't find inspiration surrounding me I turn to Google. Ah, Google. Sometimes just searching for a word or if I have an object in mind. Perhaps that doesn't seem as fun or inventive, but who knew after a year or so one could run out of random things to doodle.

Gradually the site also became a way to put a little extra cash in my pocket. I took the drawings I created for this website and put them on to greeting cards. There is a definite lack in the old ways of saying Get Well, Happy Birthday, or other congradulatory phrases. Email and social networking sites have become a new avenue to express these things and, even though I am in love with the internet, I feel they lack a bit of personality. Also, most of us don't get the joy of recieving actual mail from the people we love. Our mailboxes are stuffed with junk mail and credit card bills. So because of this, I wanted to create some simple cards that could be use for different occasions. Bring back the old ways through snail mail or even by hand. Each card is drawn, cut out and pasted onto a 100% recycled material and biodegradable card (I also love the planet).

My mediums for my doodles change often. I have a real love for graphite and Sharpies though. I just love very stated lines. From time to time I add color with either colored Sharpies or colored pencil. I don't use it as much as some would like but my doodles are usually just quick drawings with little time to color. Every now and then I also bring in some old school crayons and markers. Perhaps just a small throw back to being a kid.

I don't necessarily pay much attention to who views my site. I mainly just do it for myself and hope that the happiness I put into it goes out into the world and brightens someones day.