playing and painting

The hubbahubba and I have been together for nearly 15 years. I recall hearing him play guitar in college and feeling chills. There’s this beautiful undercurrent in our relationship – we flow in and out of a constant conversational stream about music and art.

During the first part of our relationship he had a band. He met some sweet guys and they wrote original songs, practiced, invested in studio recording time, produced albums, loaded in and out of shows (playing to hundreds and sometimes a dozen), promoted and pursued his dream.

I watched from the sidelines and supported him wherever I could… He stepped away from his dream to breathe and I began chasing my own dream. I practiced, created original art, invested in supplies and inventory, produced prints and cards, loaded in and out of countless shows (often with zero sales and sometimes with dozens of sales), promoted and pursued my dream.

Part of why we make so much sense is our experience pursuing artistic dreams and supporting each other through the years.

To celebrate our upcoming anniversary, I will be creating music themed work this week.

Here’s to many, many more years of playing and painting together. ^_^

 

summer rain

hope blooms

Come find us on SATURDAY ONLY at Ghirardelli Square for the Etsy Summer show! We’ll be there from 11-5pm.

I hope you have a great weekend!

Sloth and baby sloth hanging from tree

the slow life

open swim

Father and daughter in swimming pool

generations

generations

alex & the flash

alex

12 years ago I met a rambunctious 2-year old named Alex. He climbed anything he could, locked himself in and out of rooms, and somehow made being stubborn adorable.

I didn’t know that years later he would become my nephew. He was the first child I spent time with in my adult life. He and his brother lit up our lives with goofiness, climbing antics and conversations we still laugh about today. It feels like a gift to be around a child from the very beginning. I can appreciate what a wonderfully kind and calm person he’s become. Our daughter, even at such a young age, is already enamored with his calm aura and warm spirit.

Sadly, our nephews and their family are leaving the state. I cannot begin to put into words what it will be like at our family functions without their family. I’m sad for us all as we experience the loss of their presence in our everyday lives. And I’m truly sad that our daughter will not be able to play and learn from Alex. I think they would’ve been great friends.

A few months back Alex asked me to draw him with the Flash for his birthday. Because of my book deadline, I didn’t get a chance to draw it until today.

Happy belated birthday, Alex.

independence day

grandadventure

Today is India’s independence day! This illustration is from 2011 (hard to believe!) which is around the same time that I was pitching Pashmina. Today I am finishing up the final step (copyediting) before sending over the entire book to my publisher – there will be minor changes along the way, but for all intents and purposes – I’m done!

And now I’ll start creating new illustrations – I have years of lovely moments that I can’t wait to draw ^_^

Happy, happy Monday!

walking on sunshine & more

 

walkingonsunshine

I returned from San Diego Comicon on Monday and commenced 10-12 hour workdays to complete Pashmina. The convention was my best ever, not because of sales (honestly, they dip every year) rather is was the feeling of being ushered into the greater comics world. Meeting editors, journalists, and librarians – I’ve worked on Pashmina for 4 years and even though Fall 2017 feels far away, it’s closer than I’ve ever been to sharing this book with everyone. I’m nervous but also thrilled.

Plus, I’m almost finished! My deadline is in 2 weeks! My favorite phrase currently is “After Pashmina is done…” I have stacks of books to read, groups of friends to see and trips I am looking forward to enjoying with my family. Oh, and after a multi-year hiatus, sometime in late August I will begin to create & share NEW illustrations  ^_^

Meanwhile, we have an overstock of prints due to some shops we work with shuttering their doors. There are lots of prints on sale on our online shop!

That’s all from me – back to coloring Pashmina. Have a lovely weekend!

 

dub nation