Columbo Clothes and Laughs

(For background on how these cards came to be, please check out How the Columbo Dog Head Greeting Cards Came to Be )   Round two of the Columbo Parody Dog Head Greeting Cards !   Last week we introduced the First Four - let's keep it rolling!      1) This week we start off with a scene inspired by " Double Exposure " (1973). This features a light Yellow Labrador Retriever dog wearing a yellow leather moto jacket, adjusting a surveillance camera in a supermarket by a sign that says " Lower prices for finer meats ." The darker Yellow Labrador Retriever next to him says he doesn't know how the hell he does it .  This would be a great card for someone who got a new job, or graduated, or achieved something remarkable. greeting card how do you do it? DOGS 70s columbo parody original art print retriever   2) Next we have two cards inspired by scenes in the Johnny Cash episode, " Swan Song " (1974). First we have a Cairn Terrier, in all black, parachuting ...

(For background on how these cards came to be, please check out How the Columbo Dog Head Greeting Cards Came to Be )   Introducing the Columbo Parody Dog Head Greeting Cards !  This is the culmination of my life's work - it combines an obsession with dogs, putting heads on things, WTF Wednesday, vintage 70s clothes and decor, comedy, art, and true crime/Columbo.  There are 12 cards total in this series - presented 4 at a time, in chronological order.  All cards are 5x7 inches, flat (not folded), printed in the USA on 100% recycled paper, and come with a matching envelope.    They are all, as we say, Suitable for Framing!   The first four cards are available with tracking from skippyhaha Etsy now!     First we have a scene inspired by " Blueprint for Murder " (1972) - featuring a Golden Retriever in a rose gold pussy bow blouse telling a Black Labrador Retriever that we could've used him at the Alamo - he's got guts .      Thi...

How the Columbo Parody Dog Head Greeting Cards Came to Be:    It was around New Years 2024 when Kevin said I needed a hobby besides the pandemic. I said, "no I do not."    He said, "yes you do."  I said "okay, I will paint." He kindly got an art kit and set up a small easel in a room downstairs.    Mostly as a way to flip off AI art I started painting with acrylics.   I painted my "pandemic friends."    I painted some psychedelic stars that have been in my head since 1988.       For a big challenge, I moved onto trying to paint some favorite Columbo scenes.  The first one turned out okay.      I thought I could share these paintings in greeting card form with other Columbo fans.  I ordered 10 cards as a test from the most eco-friendly card maker I could find in the USA, and as they were being made, I painted 11 more of my favorite scenes.    For example, John Cassavetes playing the Maest...

Season 7, Episode 5, Columbo - The Conspirators (1978)     This episode was directed by Leo Penn, and written by Howard Berk, Pat Robison, and Richard Levinson.  This is technically the last of the 70's Columbo episodes and should thus end our journey into the 70's clothes and humor of this fantastic detective TV show, BUT we still have the two pilot episodes "Prescription Murder" (1968) and "Ransom for a Dead Man" (1971) to go back to and explore, so this is not quite goodbye yet!   The best outfits in this episode are:    1) Joe Devlin's layers of earth toned natural fibers:      He wears so many layers of wool throughout this episode, here he's paired some brown wool tweed trousers with a forest green button down shirt under a saddle brown wide-wale corduroy jacket and a blood red tie.  Good for playing the banjo while secretly fundraising for guns.  2) Jensen, the Winnebago dealer slash guns dealer, in his western get up He's we...

Season 7, Episode 3, Columbo - Make Me a Perfect Murder (1978)   This episode was directed by James Frawley, and written by Robert Blees, Richard Levinson, and William Link.    The three best outfits in this episode are:   1) Kay's men's shirt with nothing else:      She's in a blue and white striped oxford button down shirt and no pants. The two-tone green, yellow, and brown patio furniture here is so fresh.  She later puts on a denim skirt. Nicely coordinated with her secret lover slash boss slash murder victim's blue shirt with white short shorts.  2) Luther's pink and red ensemble:  He's rocking a bright red ribbed turtleneck under an open cotton candy pink button down shirt      His sleeves are rolled up and his light denim jeans are bell bottoms.  3) Kay's dark blood red murder outfit:  She's wearing some dark red hiphugger flares with a matching blouse and striped tie. She's carrying a big saddle brown pur...

With the end of the 70s Columbo episodes rapidly approaching, I was feeling a little melancholy about the end of this project.      Columbo Clothes and Laughs has given me something wholesome and interesting to focus on (disassociate with) for the past 10 months straight.    I posted the three best outfits and funny lines from every episode, in order, every Wednesday without fail or delay since last April! This was the most disciplined and committed I've been to anything in decades.  Posting to Instagram has brought me in touch with a couple hundred of the most creative, compassionate people around the globe - Italy, Japan, Scandinavia, the Midwest of the US and Canada - the site has attracted some really funny and kind people - artists, writers, film buffs, fishers of memes, activists, vintage slingers, and more - and I don't want it to end! So, I am planning on picking my favorite 70s Columbo scenes and painting them on 8x10 canvas with acryl...