Put a face on it.

Well. I have totally gone of the tracks. The train is still moving, god knows where, how and when--but I am in a portrait automatic writing moment. And, with Rob gone, I have an hour or two to knock these babies out. Quick is the theme...not over articulating things (like the portrait of Kitty or the black and whites of the glass artists I have done)--but quick, deliberate and yet not abstracted. Yet. That's the next step. I need to eat and drink portraits--which is what the two weeks at The Hartford Art School promises with one week on a digital project with Jean Tuttle and Nancy Stahl, the other with Gary Kelley and CF Payne. My teachers from the web, from books and from the current world of illustration include the wonderful and inspiring Pablo Lopado from Argentina; Philip Burke--neighborly from Buffalo; The remarkable portraits of Holbein; the same from Hirschfield and Steve Brodner. This is just the front of the work. I want to start stretching the drawing...the color, the simplicity. Who knows where this path will take me. I am hoping to do one portrait a day to push the speed, the brevity, and making it a more natural experience. Somehow I am loving glamourpus gals...Diana Ross, Twiggy...maybe Jean Shrimpton and Sophia Loren. They are all eyes and teeth. And, lets not forget about the hair.
Moving.

Kitty and I had a time in the Trader K basement getting some sundresses...amazingly pretty things for pocket change. Alex and she are going to a party tonight..."come dressed as someone from Fiction. Kitty is going as the Great Gatsby's Daisy. We bought Alex a remarkable double breasted suit that fits him to the tee...cuffs, length--whole shot from Petrune, a vintage store on the Ithaca Commons that Dominica Brockman and her totally smart and stylish husband run, buy for, inspire. Dominica liked Kitty's ripped tee (with a heart ripped on the back)--and was interested in carrying Kitty's work. She also loved Kitty's necklace. I don't know how to kick K in the behind...cause its fashion, its creative and her work. I would be SO charged. She is pretty nonplussed. Oy.

Alex is set. He is going as Gatsby. We saw new Cole Haan loafers (his size, NEW, and black) at Trader Ks ($18.), they fit...and he POOHpoohed them. Bring on the flip flops or the ripped converse sneakers.

We sat outside and had a very grown up sushi lunch (which K and A adored) after picking Kitty up from the ACT test. This was very positive for K after two shots at the SATS. We will see.

Rob is busy being a leader of the Glass conference in Corning. Too bad the weather is not cooperating (rainy now).

More later.

Thursday!


Geisha coming on. Almost done. Working on a Diana Ross distill for Jean and Nancy Stahl...with the distill to see where I can take this image. Tracing on the computer pretty fast...and its beginning to look like the first step. Its fun though. I think the summer of portraits is really great. It will be a good idea to see where this can go.

I was googling Pablo Lopato and ran into a Communications Arts Magazine brief interview with him. He cited his inspirations, which for me, has become a primary interest as it gives me a window on the work...what did the illustrator see/glean/gain from his inspiration's work. Lopato referenced this interesting Argentinian cubist, Emilio PettorutiWiki says:



"Emilio Pettoruti was an Argentine painter, who caused a scandal with his avant-garde cubist exhibition in 1924 in Buenos Aires. At the beginning of the twentieth century, Buenos Aires was a city full of artistic development. Pettoruti's career was thriving during the 1920s when "Argentina witnessed a decade of dynamic artistic activity; it was an era of euphoria, a time when the definition of modernity was developed."[1] Previously, he had been awarded, in 1912, a traveling scholarship to Italy, where he met the Futurist artists, and also exhibited at Herwarth Walden's "Der Sturm Gallery" in Berlin. In Paris, he met Juan Gris, who influenced him to paint in a cubist style. While Pettoruti was influenced by cubism, futurism, constructivism, and abstraction, he did not claim to paint in any of those styles in particular. Exhibiting all over Europe and Argentina, Emilio Pettoruti is remembered as one of the most influential artists in Argentina in the 20th century for his unique style and vision."


I love this.  Mr. Lopato lives in a world I know nothing about...Nothing. There are a rich vein of illustrators and artists from South America that we know nothing of. I want to chase down his other influences and see what there is so see. I love the color and the more obvious cubism that Pettoruci shows...breaking the image down to basics but keeping it a bit more decorative than Juan Gris and Braque (poor, drab Braque). Picasso keeps his humor in his cubist work...using shape and line in a way that I would like to better understand. Hmmm.

Gotta go. There are 17 packages of postcards going to my Hartford class for promotional cards for our show and 3 boxes to go filled with programs and pencils. Wrapping this up. Now, I wonder where my output is? Peter H. is almost done with the lovely editing he is doing to the masterwork paper (not)...and very sweet about how fun it has been to do!  And, need to get on fixing the octopus. Have put a bit of time into it...but have been lured by the siren of our geisha girl and now Diana Ross. Bad Girls!

cool day


Continuing work on the Utamaro inspired illustrator in SF. Like what's happening. Sent a note off to CF Payne about the portrait project to get some guidance and thought. It dawned on me that the Jean Tuttle/ Nancy Stahl project was boring me to death...not jazzy enough so maybe I will do a portrait of Diana Ross (from Connecticut) and push it a bit a la Risko/ and the South American Pablo Lobato. Feeling better about this. Boredom really sticks you in neutral.

I am fiddling with our little dharma pal. funnzies. Not much to look at yet.

Cooked down a mess of chicken bones from my new favorite from the grocery store, antibiotic free, natural chickens (rotisserie style) without the terrible quicky mart seasoning and stink. Its quite delicious and it is prime for making this great new thai chicken salad that the home team have been loving (even demanding!) in this month's Martha Stewart Good Eats magazine (the small magazine at the grocery store). One of my favorite magazines cause the recipes are dumb, quick and delicious... Back to the bones, I made wonderful stock from these bones before (the best this year), so I am def. in the recycling mode with these small chickens. This robust stock may come from a robust quantity of bones. So, remind me, but next winter I am for certain going to buy the box of backs and bones they sell for $10. at the Regional Access.

The Van Engelen catalog came yesterday. With this cool humid weather, it is obvious to think about piles of bulbs--affordable piles of bulbs, more more and more. They had 250 daffodils for $74, all excellent quality, with a ton of choices from iris, peonies, frittilaria, allium. You hear me talking about these things...This is the place to buy them. Paired with teen labor...1000 daffs are going in this fall. More frittilaria maximus and allium gigantium. Do you see a trend? Maximus and Gigantium.

Its been very cool here. Maybe teen girl squad (my Wednesday teen employees) will fold things for Hartford and then outside to prune more twigs and sticks, and kill all privet. More later

picture above is work in progress...(click to see bigger)

Tuesday late night


Am all tumbled and jumbled. I figured I would just make some SF pictures to maybe right myself. These portraits are getting me all worried and confused.So as a bit of medicine, I figured I would research lovely asian ideas and art. Utamaro is a long time favorite--so the incomplete image above is a bow and wave to him. The stick in her hand will either become a brush or a pencil...perhaps a SF skyline hair ornament...And A golden gate bridge pattern in her dress. I am editing the crap out of this thing...reducing line and color which I think looks pretty good. The hair has been fun..so I am charged despite my personal confusion.

I also ran across the idea of the Hariko and the daruma doll. Daruma or Dharma Dolls are:

Daruma dolls (達磨 daruma?), also known as dharma dolls, are hollow and round Japanese wish dolls with no arms or legs, modeled after Bodhidharma, the founder and first patriarch of Zen.[1] Typical colors are red (most common), yellow, green, and white. The doll has a face with a mustache and beard, but its eyes only contain the color white. Using black ink, one fills in a single circular eye while thinking of a wish. Should the wish later come true, the second eye is filled in. It is traditional to fill in the right eye first; the left eye is left blank until the wish is fulfilled.

Many of the Daruma dolls are male but there is a female daruma doll. It is called hime daruma or "princess daruma."

The Canon Creative Park page said about Dharma dolls: (they also have cool pdf files of Dharma dolls you can print out and assemble in a range of color!)

"The first Dharma dolls are said to have been made some 300 years ago at the Sorensen Dharma Temple in Takasaki City in Gunma Prefecture, modeled after the Zen monk, Bodhidharma. The eyebrows and beard represent the crane and the turtle, long considered symbols of longevity in Japan, and the dolls are popular as good luck charms. It is traditional to paint in the left pupil (the right one facing you) when you make a wish, and then paint in the right pupil when the wish comes true. Also, it is said to be most lucky to place the doll so that it faces south. In Japan, red and white are considered lucky and these are the usual colors for a Dharma doll. There are other dolls with different colors, based on oriental astrology, so you can select the color of the doll based on the nature of your wish and your lucky color, increasing the fun and perhaps the efficacy of the charm. "

Chad mentioned that part of the Daruma doll concept was to hold the pure idea of the Daruma and draw it without looking. He said: "I really like the darumas. They represent Bohodidarma who founded Zen Buddhism and is credited with creating martial arts. When you do it, try and detach yourself from it and create it with a pure mind free from opinion of self. It is an amazing exercise. Really, try it." "so express from your heart and let the pen do the work. Its all about sincerity and intention." So, I am fascinated with a mini sketch process of these little wonders that promise action, a journey, a wish. There is something truly wonderful in these personal commitments, reminders of promises. I seem to be fascinated by asian good luck symbols--from the Daruma and the Happy or Lucky Cat and the various Hariko figures. Maybe some simple fun illos of these guys before I get with the portraits...?

This google article from the illustrated encylopedia of Zen Buddhism gets into the story, the symbols and imagery...why no arms and legs, and why they are early weebles...that wobble... take a look>>

Back to work. R. should be home in an hour or so.

slow Monday


Messing around. Need to do some publication design today. Am thinking portraits re Hartford and need to finalize one more drawing for the thesis. Shouldnt be a biggie. Rob is out for a series of evenings this week...so I will have a window to finish that up. Also, need to get the show publications completed for the thesis exhibition. I have teenagers coming this week to fold and collate the program and notes. Postcard should be on its way too.

Rob is taking his parents to NYC today (a down and back) for some medical consultation. Poor guy...he is having an amazing work week..But, we had lots of nature with tree pruning galore yesterday. Rob took on the privet hedges while i clipped the wisteria and box hedge. Next shot, we are attacking more of the invasive shubbery that seem to take over. We have woodpeckers loving our new bird seed mix...Lovely red heads with way pointy beaks. I love woodpeckers--I dont love what they are doing to our fringe tree (now proclaimed by visitors as a jasmine).

I had two bags accepted on Bagstab . Take a look and cast a vote for my Wood Duck or Willow Skull. Bagstab is a site that you can upload art for tote bags, messenger bags or backpacks. Voting determines which products go further (with royalties to the illustrator). So, help me out and vote for one or both! Its nice to see my work in the context of what is being shown. Big stuff.

At the lake, wrapping it up to get Rob on the road for his manager on duty stint today. Alex is working on a portrait project. Kitty has a friend over and they are hard at work looking for fossils on the beach. They found me a perfect luckystone for my big award in July. The smaller prize doesnt get them. And, the prizes look great. I hope they are well received. Its the thought that counts.

Here is my thinking. Everyone in the program comes in as an individual and leaves as an individual. Each journey is personal and the path(s) chosen aid in what each student receives. There is no wrong journey or path. And, if the journey changes, so be it...but its important that the effort put in poses questions, prompts answers and results. What draws these individuals together is the desire to change, the ability to communicate visually, and the interest in seeing, learning, growing. The ability to draw, to tell a visual tale or to evoke a feeling, a response from another person is key. To that, we are all moving forward--those of us graduating--forward, changed, changing,with a misnamed degree. There should be nothing about terminus in this terminus degree. It should all about opening the doors for change, evolution, self enlightenment. Those who were new last year are moving and transitioning from the firsties to graduates. The firsties are experiencing all that we firsties have been through: insecurity, lack of confidence, a challenge to all you know, believe in. The cards have been thrown in the air...and goodness knows if you can ever get them back in the box the same way ever again (read,this is why you are paying the money). Hopefully by the time you graduate, you will realize the cards aren't necessary, there is no order and is it really important?

Need to get the stuff ordered prior to departure. The little tree peony I planted by the back door is blooming (a beautiful clear yellow) as are the iris. When our big tree came crashing down two years ago, it cleared the way for some amazing little saplings to grow and have the light they wer deprived of. We have a very spiky/thorny tree with these heavenly clusters of flowers that smell almost like jasmine. The flowers are white with red necks and a blaze of an acid yellow in the middle. As it is cool and humid, the scent projects and has wrapped us in an otherworldly place. The bird feeders are filled to the brim with "Ithaca Blend" from Agway. We have a few pilated woodpeckers who think this new mix worth the trip.

The wonderbus awaits packing.
Later>>

Quiet before the Maelstrom


Early up this morning to get Kitty to round two, SATS. Urg. Next weekend, ACT and the following week or so tests, regents, APs. She will be a testing machine. We dropped by the farmers market on the way home (Ithaca) to admire the pink and warm red poppies, the fluffy iris and the new plants beginning to blow out. We will pick her up around noon and rush off to WinLee (our local asian grocery store) for rice noodles and Pad Thai fixins. I am on an asian cooking jag because I have never done it and found this week that its quite simple, quite plentiful yielding leftovers for those who work here and for gigantic 15 year old golf playing, track running guys. There is never enough food for them. I stocked up at the Regional Access with a case of Pesto (another 15 yr. old staple...forget peanut butter! We only eat Pesto and cheese!). They have a little broken case section at the Regional they refer to as the "bodega." I bought some lovely olive oil and some cans of curry as this is another crowd pleaser with the youth--particularly when we eat at Thai restaurants which is a new love with the home team. So, Winlee to flesh out the mis en place for asian cooking.

I took some pictures of poppies and iris along with greenery for another vector valentine I want to do using really tight, self shot reference...Sweetsy with flowers and birds and butterflies. I think this has legs and I think it might be fun to do. Am getting some headshots for my CF Payne/Gary Kelley portrait(s) done in a very distilled, graphic character manner. Flat color, some detail...proportions stretched. Thoreau is number one guy. Poe and Twain...need 3 more. Library of Congress has a digital library (specifically portraits) as does the New York Public Library which has an impressive volume of digitized images. With the NYPL, there is a bit of a trick in the downloading and saving.

Finished the tortured waterfall project. Kitty proclaims it better than last year. I proclaim it done. Done! So more time for portraits, heads, Olivia Langdon and the like (even more asian pictures like the promised sleeping pig!). It is a bit over a month before Camp at Hartford, so getting the ship in order is appropriate.

Rob has the Glass Arts Society Annual Conference (GAS) in Corning this next week. He will be working long days (with music and festivities, demonstrations and lectures). GAS comes to Corning every 10 years--so it has in our lives become a milestone. Last time, Kitty and Alex were 5 and 7. Now look. Its always fun and if you are around here, worth the less than $300. conference fee to get the full bore. Many of the glass biggies are there (along with students and the biggies in the making). Often there will be shows of work, work created on site, huge neon and kinetic glass on the Brisco Bridge. The Horseflies will be playing the closing party along with a new Jim Reidy band.

I need to make my asian food list before we jump in the car to get into Ithaca.

Tburg Farmers Markets on Wednesdays!


Tburg Farmers Market opened last night with great festivity with Mayor Marty doing the honors, drawings and give aways, and all the beauty of the food, the friendly farmers, the freerange this, and grassfed that. Locavore Central. I love this new locavore name as it works for the way I want to shop, cook and live. I guess there are a bunch of us as we were swarming. We got there late and missed the baskets of strawberries...but the new garlic with their long green ends draping over all of our arms were snapped up for .75 a robust bundle. We also bought hot italian sausage from a nice smiley lady who has two kids under two, and the organic meat business blossoming. Simply Red was selling pulled pork. A few wineries were doing tastings and the honey man, wellll... you know how I feel about him! We are so lucky with the local farmers, the new CSA farmers who have moved to Tburg (Community Supported Agriculture), the Amish, the individuals in agriculture and food. And we often have little tables become big booths who then leave us for fame. We are blessed. Then there are "the creative sorts" who sell jewels, crazy stuff made out of used teeshirts (the baby clothes are to die for), ceramicists, natural cosmetics folks. No shortage of things to spend your money on. More hometown pride. Its a wonderful thing every Wednesday to know that this sort of communal thing is happening. I need to force myself out of my lair to get with the people. It's always fun.

Peter Hoover is doing the round two on my paper. Commas in the right place--verbs and active words galvanizing the text. And, he will ask "is this necessary" and the answer resoundingly is always "NO!"

work in process


I was messing with Double Happiness--and seeing if color helped/hurt. Dunno. Its pretty rubber. While I was solving the world's problems last night(read, I woke up at 3 and my brain clicked on superdrive)I was thinking about illustration, taxes, business, and getting Kitty through this college gambit.There is just so much personal stuff that time will help to resolve, but having the bones of planning and thinking put in place is necessary so that the home team can get what they need out of the experience. Bones. Hmm.

I created about 10 bodies of work--all but doing it. Was thinking about the CF Payne and Gary Kelley project (week one at Hartford this July) which is sort of open as it can be working on your personal work (thesis or otherwise) or a portrait of a literary figure. I am thinking that I bend it a bit (and check with Chris today) and work either on the body of work (Holbein inspired pictures of local friends/kids) or to take a few heads and work with them wearing my Picasso/Braque/Juan Gris hat....with a nod to this great illustrator I admire, Pablo Lobato. I love his charactures and would love to see if I can do a distill like this with my logo/symbol design background. I think it would work? Do you? I am sort of charged up to pursue a decorative approach to portraits...and I am leaning this way and with Chris Payne who is noted for his ability to stretch a face...it might be great. As I write this and look at Pablo's work fresh...I am definitely going to do this. Now, the literary figure...could be Twain because I have been reading about him and have a nice little pile of images to work with. Could be Ben Franklin? Could think about someone more dramatic though...literary literary literary.... I like Dante. But not photos. Back to Twain...you get a bookish, cuter Einstein. Reading about Twain, I find out that he was well over 10 yrs. older than his wife--meeting her after striking a friendship with her brother Charles who was on the "Quaker City" cruise to Europe to do his "grand tour". Twain is a really wonderful writer with wit, snap and a tremendous amount of edgy "tude" that the sweetness of his public writing doesn't communicate.

Finished the first round of edits to the thesis. Will meet with Peter, my editor within the next day or so for the second comb through soon. New waterfall on board today. Haircut too!

dull Jack


Its been a long few days. I am busy plugging Peter's edits into my paper which is not much of a party. But it is good for me (like spinach). I am learning some new things, and it is all moving towards finish. One more round of edits...redraw of octopus...and I will be done! I am feeling a bit liberated, but not free yet. Still waiting for my imprinted pencils and stretched output (all but the octopus again), and my decorated shoes. It is a bit of the "Jack is a dull boy" for me as its been so focused and heads down.

I am struggling with another illustration of the local tall waterfall...If you don't get the reference right, the waterfall looks like a mass of ugly vertical stripes. So, I changed the reference and tried redrawing from that. Shot more reference this morning and hopefully it will work. Higher point of view and the water was not as frothy/swishy...more linear. The light was relatively flat which worked better to give me obvious highlights and shadows. As an aside, Shady accompanied me on my shoots. She was intrigued by the birds and critters at Taughannock--and with my encouraging her to jump up on a low wall...she jumped (this doggy girl must truly have springs in her back legs) a good six feet up on a much higher wall to begin to trek on something with a furry tail and a fondness for trees (anything for squirrels).

A week more of school. There are concerts, tests, and all sorts of closing out including SATs and ACTs. Wow...And we have to have the "distance team" party I promised to Alex that we would do before everyone separates before summer.
I called Cayuga Nature Center and am signing Kitty and Alex up for 2 full days of volunteering. There are tons of projects to do...and I dont want 5 full unscheduled days of teenagerdom this summer. Unscheduled means me driving the bus to the mall etc. and work not getting done. Yikes. The golf course is not a 9-5 x 5 days a week activity.

Need to go make some dinner. Maybe tonight will be another musical exploration into the diversity of Bob Dylan (Alex's new passion and Rob''s old fondness). You never know.

Prom Mom






Yesterday it was hairdresser, corsages, Bakers Acres (for hanging baskets), drop offs, picture taking, delivery and then some. Kitty (in her $40. beaded dress) and her friend, Sarah (in a big green dress) were off on an adventure...and seemed at 5 a.m. to have had a lovely time filled with dancing, fashion, friends and fun. I was running support the entire time...but how often does one have a high school prom to go to. As you can see, both girls were lovely and we had a perfect day (with prime iris) to take pictures to capture the hairdos, dresses and lip gloss.

Alex, Rob and I had dinner and on the way back noticed filled parking lots around the Cass Park Ice Skating Rink! Roller Derby and the Sufferjets (our Ithaca team) were up against Rochester. We parked, paid our donation and were delighted by the antics, the Sufferjet cheerleaders (our own Ithaca kind in zip up maroon jumpsuits) and the crowned royalty of Trumansburg there in force, sitting in their folding chairs on the sidelines to watch the pulcritude and brawn that these gals exhibited. Everyone was into it...very funny and camp. The skaters had novelty names (Thea Pocalypse, Steel Candi for instance)--with great uniforms and a grit (along with black lipstick and mouth guards) that was remarkable. One false move and you could have a careening gal knocking you down. Legs are regularly broken (according to Amanda --dressed to show off her tattoos in a Sufferjet tank and a very cute utility kilt (maroon corderoy)--. She is threatening to start a team in Oneonta. That's our Mandy. Go to a new college and start a new club! Look out Hartwick...things are about to change!

Am being tortured by an illustration of a waterfall which I should be doing versus talking to you. And, from what my clock says, its time to cook dinner. Whoa. And, there is promise of a freeze tonight...so all the plants and hanging baskets should come in this night!

Saturday fun


Competed the Fu and this piece, Double Happiness late last night. Wanted to post for you. Want to do two more chinatown pieces if I have the chance between now and July. I might have the chance. I just love this stuff..and having a group of 4 or even 6 would be great. More work gets me better. I really futzed with these..and finally after not touching them for a while, got them to where they needed to go. Sleeping pig and waving cat are in the lineup. Maybe a cut paper dragon?

I have a page on Zazzle where I have taken some of my patterns and illos and repurposed them to custom Keds sneakers. Pretty cool. I will have the Double Happiness and Fu shoes for the SF crit in July. New resource for everyone. Its pretty great as you can (trying to figure it out) customize your page, create product (produced on demand), determine price and mark up...and no inventory whatsoever. And, it isn't Cafe Press which has the same sort of thing...only it seems so rote.

Got an out of print book of the love letters between Mark Twain and Olivia Langdon. I am beginning to fall in love with Mark Twain (I guess there are a world of people who are in love with him). Then the drawing for Nancy Stahl and Jean Tuttle. Surprisingly, marinating on this one is good. building some layers into this thinking and image.

This morning is prom hair and corages. Then it's prom prep and prom pics. Onward to promsportation. Then it's PROM Promrepast, promtastic promness. We get to wake up at 5 and pick them up. Between prom and afterprom is a bus promsportation. I guess one would say I am a PromMom.

Gotta run. The hot rollers await!

Green


It's never easy. I spent yesterday foodling around with the new computer and how to efficiently get it going, fonts loaded, life continuing with relatively little fuss. However, small things change--like the type of fire wire that is accomodated and the whole porting of files over wheither it be from Time Capsule or from a hard drive back up which I had as well. But, not to complain, if its not hard--then the sweetness of having a fully operational setup is not as sweet. More to come today--but I feel its with only one hand tied behind my back, not both. And the promise of sweetness is at hand. Can you say FAST. I will be able to get back to full crankage...really throwing the work out...and big files too!

I recolored the fu dog to my delight (ready for Picture Salon). Double Happiness is having some tweaks and the Octopus redraw, this weekend. I hope this afternoon I can do one or both...or sock in Peter Hoover's good edits and have the paper finished. I need to finish something and move on. Then, Livy waits in the wings. I am glad the other work from Chris Payne and Gary Kelley hasn't sailed over the transom yet as I want to have the wits needed for their project. I need to be freed up to think about these projects. Am getting fired up about the portraits.

We had a soaking rain last night (that's what Chet, the Lawnmower man proclaims we need regularly). Its a dark grey morning with lovely humidity and the grass is velvety in its lush green-ness. We are on to herbaceous peonies along with all of the garden's iris are blowing out. The hosta that were given to me as a present from our painter have expanded exponentially as always. I do not know what Timmy fed these things, but he brought me 3 plants originally that I split before spading them in. Last year, I split them again--and quite honestly, I could split them into threes right now and have plants that are plenty big and robust at the end of the season. But, I think I will wait and see how huge they become.

Alex is here glowering at me. Gotta go and pour the orange juice!

Got my postcards from PSPrint. Did something new this time using their uncoated paper and the whole look is better as the color doesnt seem as pushed as it normally does. Now I wait for my pencils (for the table favors for Hartford). I finished the thesis announcement postcard and will get into approval mode today. It was pretty much make a list, and tick things off the list yesterday with more of the same. It has been wild dealing with a tremendous amount of do it, do it, revise it, revise the revision, redesign and then do it, do it. Nothing is touched once and amended....its endless.

I have another illustration for the local triathlon that I think I am going to do something with photoshop and brushes as the entire thing is a horizontal design with some spray (dotty) and blocky walls. Its worth a try. Going to do it all in one color (black and white) to save them some cash..and push me a bit more. On the list. Must get this done and out of the way.

Need to finish up the labels for the Stonecat's sausages. There is this legal "how to handle meats"spot that needs to go on the sausage which to my delight I found that I do not need to use government ugliness...but can design my own as long as the content is there..So we can make the label a bit better (using the fonts established and my kerning and tweaking the text to look a bit better).

I posted my Creative Quarterly note to Facebook and am getting some interest in my work from the portrait of Kitty. Possibly some local wine labels. Maybe do this in trade? Get the work out....Also, there is some interest in my being in a show that a colleague from Syracuse and Hartford is putting together. Pretty exciting as there are a ton of big league hitters included...Nice to be asked and considered.

Rob is in New York for a Museum event they are doing with their curators. Hope he has a nice time as he is not tied down to meetings and should get out and see some things. I think a bit of unstructured look about is good medicine for everyone--particularly Rob who drives so much creative work and is in a pressure cooker all day long.

Kids downstairs. Need to be taken to school and then the list tick off needs to happen.
No gym today.