Artist From Oklahoma Turns Doodles Into Full Time Comic Work

Peter Bedgood is an artist who grew up in Broken Arrow. He has turned his love for art into a full time job of making comics.

He joins Tess Maune on the Arca Continental Coca-Cola Southwest Beverages Porch to share more about his creations.

How did you begin this career?

I became a screenplay writer and moved out to LA for a decade, so it made sense that I used my cartooning skills on a movie that I was helping create called Hoodwinked.

Over the years, I illustrated some children’s books and did some album covers. It only made sense that the human beans came out while I was a transporter at the hospital and we had to get nurses to sign our patients in and out as quickly as possible so we can move onto the next job. And drawing cartoons for the nurses that took 30 seconds was a way that I could ingratiate myself as quickly as possible.

After I was fired for being a terrible employee, a nurse's assistant pulled me back to their break room and showed me the wall full of all the cartoons of mine they had kept and realized, then and there how impactful a simple doodle could be.

The beans come in very handy when there’s a need to say something, but I am embarrassed to say it or I don’t think it’s that funny I can put it in the Beans' mouth and it’s easier to take.

Where has your art taken you?

I’ve been asked to teach in schools across the state and across the world: Holland and Germany, where I discovered that kids in Germany, loved Hoodwinked, and Holland, and even though we didn’t speak the same language. Art transcends language.

I’ve been doing Evan Hughes comedy posters for over two years. Now we had a collection show that included stand-up comedy at the Circle Cinema last year and that was three days of 20 comedians each day comprised of all the people that had been on the posters. It was a great time. I think we’re gonna do it again this year.

Where can people find your work?

You can find my work at pbedgood on Instagram, Peter Bedgood on Facebook, Peter Bedgood on TikTok, or Peter Bedgood on Threads. He also has calendars for sale at Decopolis, as well as greeting cards at Decopolis and at Lambrusco‘s. The response from the community has been overwhelming.