Hydrangea

Tags

Daily doodle, Journal

Here’s yesterday’s doodle in color. I’m having fun adding bright colors to these flowers.

I’m Back!

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Art, blog, Journal

I’ve returned from my trip to Americas Mart in Atlanta.

It was a great show! I’ve attended this show almost every year since about 2001. Americas Mart is a trade show held in downtown Atlanta where buyers go to buy merchandise for retail stores. Here’s a view of Centennial Olympic Park from the hotel.

I’ll try to post some photos of my collections that were on display at the show later this week if I can get permission.

 

Trade Show Hiatus

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Journal

I’ll be away at a trade show for a few days. I hope to be recovered and posting again by January 16th.

In the meantime children’s book blogger, Donna Parker, has created a blog post about the second children’s book I illustrated. Donna’s blog is called Excellent Kids’ Books, and the book I illustrated is called “Mabela the Clever”. It’s an African folktale retold by Margaret Read MacDonald. Here’s the link—

http://excellentkidsbooks.blogspot.com/2012/01/my-middle-childs-favorite-book-mabela.html

When I return from the trade show, I’ll reply to any new blog comments and post some photos of my new stuff. Preparing for this show has been a challenge, and it will be exciting to see my new work on display!

Sunny Winter

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Journal

Just a simple observation today.

It has been a very unusual winter in Southern New Hampshire. It has been warm and sunny every day. Outside of a freak snowstorm in October, we’ve had no snow to speak of this season.

Trading the Half Empty Glass

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blog, Inspirational, Journal

There are two ways of looking at things in life.

Is it possible to see things both ways? I think I go back and forth between glasses. At times I see things half empty. Other times I see things half full. I’m trying to see things as half full more often than half empty – and I’d say that’s one of the goals for this blog.

 

 

 

The Simple Pleasures

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Art, blog, Journal, Writing

It’s the simple pleasures that make life delicious.

Is it a sign that you’re eating too many crullers if you can draw one without needing to look at one?

Work Can Be Fun

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Art, blog, Inspirational, Journal

A big trade show is coming up, and I’ve been focused on finishing up work in preparation for it. It’s the reason I didn’t get around to posting anything on the blog yesterday. The coming week will be challenging.

It could be a very stressful time, but I’m actually enjoying the work. I’m learning that work can be fun, even when there’s a great deal of pressure. It seems to have a lot to do with attitude.

Shower Meditation

Tags

Inspirational, Journal

The other day Zendictive gave me a link to a blog with a post about meditating in the shower. Here’s the link Zendictive Left:

http://zendictive.wordpress.com/2011/12/28/reflections-from-a-friend/

It inspired today’s doodle.

 

Happy New Year!

Tags

Inspirational, Journal, New Year's Resolution

Today, I’m posting two images from my Reflections Calendars for comparison.

Here’e the January 2011 image.

Here’s the January 2012 image.

This is the time of year I look back at my work to see if I’ve grown. Then, I try to figure out how I can experiment and stretch myself with my new work. I’ve always had the philosophy that I want my work to consistently show improvement. I strive to make each piece better than the last. It’s not always possible to achieve that, and I may have reached a plateau in my work. But I will be striving to improve this year.

Happy New Year!

Late-Night Burgers and Fries

Tags

Creating a Character, Finny and Wood, Journal

Last night was a fun evening, but I’m dragging myself this morning!

Last night I went to an open mic session at Club 99 in Nashua New Hampshire. It was lots of fun, and I got to see my best buddy perform in front of people for the first time in a very long time. There were some really excellent performers there, and everyone had a great time!

It’s good to get out of the routine, occasionally – but I don’t think I would end an evening with a burger and fries again. Next time, I plan to eat before I go!