June 3, 2006: I know I shouldn't be making excuses, but I so much want to be "out there as an artist" that I've dug into my past and came up with this sketch from my days in junior high school. I was very much into art then, drawing, painting, sculpture, photography, . . . the works. This was a class exercise in which we were to pick a painting and copy it. (A common and very useful exercise.) As rough as this is, I'm determined to get back to this level, and beyond. In the meantime, I'd be interested to know if you recognize the original artist. (I don't remember.)

June 1, 2006: Life's been keeping me busy besides which I'm still cooking up a picture for the word robot, a personal favorite because of my love of science and technology. But getting hungry to be an IF participant again, I whipped this up the other night spurred on by another personal favorite, chocolate. Normally I wouldn't feel good unless I took a long time being meticulous, but for me the whole idea of getting involved in IF is to not wait until I can create the perfect picture. In a sense it's to prove to myself that I can have my cake and eat it too.

April 16, 2006: My drawing tablet now works. Here's what I've come up with using ArtRage 2 and Photoshop..

April 16, 2006: I was brainstorming with myself, to figure out what to do for this week's word, while my non-functioning drawing tablet was threatening to leave me high and dry. (Yes, I've a penchant for puns and irony.) Out of the clear blue my good friend in New Zealand sent me this photo he recently shot. It's the morning dew on the lid of a barbecue grill. In appreciation I'd like to recommend his website http://turnkeylivingwebsites.com/ for those interested in setting up a website of their own that's easy to maintain through a content management system (CMS).

April 9, 2006 (my first time!): I was up in the air, as you can see, as to how to proceed with this website until my sister introduced me to the website illustrationfriday.com. Now I'm inspired by all the good folks at illustrationfriday to once again pursue my early love of art. No matter how long it takes me to get up to speed it's about the journey, not the destination.

Email comments to [email protected] (that's a one, not an L). Be well and promote art and peace.