Be Not Afraid

space

I went to a funeral today it was the music that gave me the most comfort.

Fear of Success

secret

I mentioned a few weeks ago on this blog that, "failure" is my new favorite word.

I'm going to go ahead and make it the word of the year now that we are about half-way through 2012.

I have been working hard to fail my way to the top. One of the keys to failure is trying to succeed.

Which means I have to do my research to find out what successful people do.

I've been listening closely trying to hear their secrets.

Here is what I have heard so far:

1. Work hard.

2. Have confidence

3. Do the work you love to do.

4. Hang around with supportive people.

5. Get out of your comfort zone.

6. Work hard.

7. Don't be afraid to fail.

Is that seven? Did I just write a book?

Anyways, back to the drawing tablet. I have some failing to do.

P.S. This is my new theme song.

Some Some Summertime

shiny

I know there are still a few days before the official Summer Solstice and school isn't even out yet. 

But, I've got my beach sticker ready to slap on the old beach wagon and I am so glad my favorite season is shining down upon our sandy shore.

Happy to be here.

Home Run

hurry

Grace (the girl in the drawings of the past few posts) has been roaming the woods for weeks now.

Grace has been happily exploring. Her actions have been inspired by the "topic of the week" on the Illustration Friday website.

She was at home in the forest, comfortable. I could have kept her out there for a while. There are endless possibilities in a playground of trees and wildlife.

My ten year old daughter has been watching her progress.

Last week my daughter said, "The next picture should show her home. I want to see where she lives."

I think she wanted me to prove that she did have a home.

The "topic of the week" is "hurry".

Hurry home, I thought and sent her on her way.

Same as It Ever Was

faded

Spring comes late around here.

Last week it was 50 degrees and drizzling.

I was starting to regret my decision to put my parka away for the season as I sat on the damp bleachers of the misty Little League field.

The next game I went to I had short sleeves, sandals and was worrying about getting a sunburn.

My favorite part of the late Spring is the green.

Sometimes you don't know how much you miss something until it comes back.

The color of the new leaves and grass are so bright it hurts my eyes.

This weekend my tired, grey little town was full of people and traffic and cookouts and noise.

It happens every year.

It is still a surprise, just when you think it will never come it does.

Makes me realize that the same old can be new again.

And so can I.

Wide Awake

sight

It is all real.

It is all a dream.

Mrs. Rice and the Brats of NIHM

kernel

This past week was Teacher Appreciation Week.

This always makes me think of the teachers who made a difference in my life.

One teacher came to mind this week when I was showing my daughter, "Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of N.I.H.M." at the library. 

My daughter asked if I had read it. I had not.

My fifth grade language arts teacher, Mrs. Rice read it to me and our class.

I wasn't that big a fan of the fifth grade. 

Art class with the beautiful Ms. Fisher and Mrs. Rice reading aloud made it bearable.

I had a second thought about Mrs. Rice this week when I was thinking about "kernels" in the woods.

I remember pig nuts (hickory nuts) were fun to open when the outer husk got dry enough. 

I also remember going out and collecting about a hundred acorns an crushing them on a rock in an attempt to make acorn pancakes just like the boy in, "My Side of the Mountain", which Mrs. Rice also read to us.

I barely got a tablespoon's worth of acorn flour, so I never made the pancakes.

I did get a love of books and an appreciation of teachers.

To all my teacher friends,

Remember that you are making a difference, if fact the little things you do could make all the difference in the world.

Grace

hitched

Sometimes the right thing to do is to not try to figure what the right thing to do is.

Keep on moving forward.

With Grace.

Summer is Coming

We really only have two seasons on Cape Cod. 

Winter is almost over and soon it will be Summer.

This means I will have less time in the studio. My office job hours will increase and the kids will be out of school.

I love Summer, but in order to make the most of it I need to spend the "Spring" getting as much done in the studio as possible.

I have been
working on my website,

tweaking my portfolio, 

working on some book dummies,

reading, 

researching,

sketching.

I have also been doing these other creative things:

Here is a mailbox that I painted for the local Habitat for Humanity fundraiser auction. 

I did another poster for an Off-Broadway play.

The play is written by Amy Witting, directed by Bricken Sparacino. 

My brother Michael  (aka the father of awesome) is acting in it.

Teacher Appreciation Week is here.

Go to my website to download this free coloring card and show the love.

Speaking of Love!

My daughter, who can and does run creative circles around me made this cupcake for her fourth-grade science project to demonstrate the Earth's layers.

Mmmm, magma.

Down the Rabbit Hole

jump

Feeling a bit like Alice today.

'Would you tell me, please which way I ought to go from here?'

'That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,' said the Cat.

'I don't much care where -' said Alice

'Then it doesn't matter which way you go,' said the Cat

'But I don't want to go among mad people,' Alice remarked.

'Oh, you can't help that,' said the Cat: 'we're all mad here. I'm mad. You're mad.'

'How do you know I'm mad?' said Alice.

'You must be,' said the Cat, 'or you wouldn't have come here.'

                            Lewis Carroll - "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland"