I’ve been a professional writer for about 20 years, and it’s a career I deeply enjoy — although it doesn’t always give me the opportunity to be as creative as I would like to be. So that’s why I’ve always had side projects allowing me to explore some of the interesting thoughts that continually swirl around in my brain. I’ve written numerous short stories, and I’m about halfway through my first novel. I’m also a rapper known for creating complex rhyme schemes. But it was when I created my first single-panel comic that I knew where I wanted to invest most of my free time.

Growing up, I was always the first to grab the morning newspaper, and I immediately flipped to the one-panel cartoons. I was in awe of the ability to create a funny situation each day within the space of just a few small panels. Years later, I became friends with a guy who shared my unique sense of humor, and we decided to create our own single-panel cartoons. I soon realized that you don’t have to be a great artist to make people laugh with a silly doodle and a clever punchline.

Those comics were generally more traditional three-panel strips, but when I created “Eyewash”, I settled on the single-panel comics format. This was my not-so-secret way of paying homage to one of the biggest influences in my formative years: “Far Side” creator Gary Larson. Challenging myself to come up with a new situation each day without relying on recurring characters gave me a newfound respect for Larson’s ability to churn out hilarious comics for well over a decade. He’s clearly my biggest inspiration for creating these one-panel comics, but I can credit humorists ranging from Mark Twain to Dave Barry for helping me refine my own wit.

Most of my one-panel comics include pretty basic illustrations, which benefits my limited artistic abilities, but I still try to make the artwork as legible and recognizable as possible. That means I spend some time creating several rough drafts before reaching the final version. In some cases, this can take a few hours as I try to figure out how to draw what’s in my mind, but I can knock some of the easy ones out in 15 or 20 minutes. (Naturally, I prefer the easy ones!)

As for coming up with the premise for all of these single-panel cartoons, I’ve kind of developed an ability to pay attention to the fleeting jokes and gags in my mind that I previously just ignored. For some reason, wordplay comes naturally to me. My wife might not always love the constant dad jokes that come spewing out of my mouth, but it does provide a steady stream of material for “Eyewash.” I do experience writer’s block from time to time, though, and I never force a concept that just isn’t working. Some days, I’ll come up with five or six new ideas, then I might go for a few days without anything. But now that I’m more than 200 single-panel comics into the process, I think I’ve finally reached a pretty good balance.

Some comic artists try to include a moral or political message in their work, but that’s not my goal. One of the reasons I chose the name “Eyewash” is that I want each one panel comic to be a quick splash of levity that can provide a distraction from all of the arguments and division that you can find everywhere else in our modern society. My goal is to provide something that will make people from all walks of life laugh.

This project started out as just a casual hobby, but I’m truly honored by the kind feedback and encouragement I’ve received from folks around the world. Too often, social media encourages us to trade our individuality to satisfy the algorithm. But I’d much rather reach a smaller audience by showcasing my own perspective than post a bunch of bland, homogenized content in the vain pursuit of more followers. And if there’s one thing I’d like anyone who reads my funny one-panel comics to take away (other than a smile), it’s the importance of being true to yourself. Not everyone will appreciate your point of view, but it’ll mean a lot more when you find the ones who do!