The Active Seniors Collection: Ollie Grandpa and Heart Granny

Ollie Grandpa — © John Corney

The whole spirit of retirement, done right, is this: after a long working life, you finally have time to do the things you always wanted to. Not everyone slows down when they retire. Some people speed up. Some people get on a skateboard for the first time at 68, or ride a motor scooter through the city just because they've earned the right to, or start showing up to family gatherings in outfits that require sunglasses.

That's the spirit I wanted to capture in my Active Seniors series — a collection of cheerful illustrations celebrating older people who have decided, quite firmly, that they're not done yet.

Meet Ollie Grandpa

Ollie Grandpa is the piece above — a spirited older man catching serious air on his skateboard, silver hair flying, a flower-adorned helmet keeping him sensible, a striped scarf trailing behind him because scarves in the wind are non-negotiable. He's the male counterpart to my long-running Little Old Lady character, and he shares her fundamental orientation to life: whatever happens next, he's going to enjoy it. His name is a small pun — an "ollie" is one of the foundational skateboarding tricks — and the design has become one of my personal favorites in the shop.

Meet Heart Granny

Heart Granny — © John Corney

Heart Granny is the same character in a slightly gentler mood — a joyful older woman riding a bright orange motor scooter covered in red hearts, beaming, ready for wherever she's going. She's about spreading affection at a comfortable cruising speed, rather than catching air. Both approaches to later life have their merits.

Part of a Growing Collection

Ollie Grandpa and Heart Granny are part of a wider group of characters I've been developing over the past few years, all sharing the same fundamental idea: older people who refuse to slow down, dress boringly, or accept that certain things aren't for them anymore. The collection started with a cool granny on a skateboard back in 2022, inspired by my own mother's late-life independence in Whanganui, New Zealand, and has grown from there. Since drawing Ollie Grandpa and Heart Granny, the granny herself has continued to evolve — she's now cruising Auckland in a vintage Austin A35 as well, and she keeps trading up to more ambitious vehicles.

Available on Redbubble

Both designs are available at my Redbubble shop as graphic tees, travel mugs, stickers, tote bags, greeting cards, and across the full product range. They make excellent gifts for a beloved grandmother, grandfather, mother, father, or retired friend — or for anyone celebrating the adventurous side of getting older. I'll admit I wear the shirts myself; my neighbours have gotten used to seeing me walk my dog in one or another of them.

Redbubble runs sales periodically throughout the year with site-wide discounts across the shop, so it's always worth checking in when browsing.

👉 Browse the Active Seniors Collection

You can find all my work at my Redbubble shop, KornKob Art — or search Redbubble for kornkobart (one word).