The new book is falling into place. Including a flip-book style animation in the margins and other gimmicky notions go back into the "maybe later" file. I'm at that place I've come to trust where the project starts telling me what it wants, I kill my darlings and hang on for the ride, trying not to get in my own way over-thinking things. As the new book comes into focus and the structure and arc take shape, some themes expand and others get set aside. That flip-book animation idea put up a good struggle, though.

As promised, here is the ink-washed drawing of my neighborhood Natural Foods Market:

The interview I mentioned in the last update will be in Wednesday's paper. Here's a different interview for an on-line blog:

http://superhappyawesome.co/2015/07/30/steven-reddy-kickstarter/

Mama's Mexican Kitchen in Belltown is closing it's doors as Seattle becomes more gentrified. The teacher who I interned under and whose class I took over when I first became a teacher used to bike with me to Mama's after school to grouse and laugh about school politics. After a round of complaining about the workload and recalcitrant kids, we'd say, "It's 3:30 in the afternoon, we're biking in the fresh Seattle air and have the whole evening still to shoot pool and goof off. Who are we to complain?"

On the way home from drawing the place yesterday, I turned on the radio and there was a 6-minute report about the loss of this Seattle landmark to make way for condos.

http://www.kplu.org/post/mamas-misfit-family-will-disband-when-diners-doors-close-good

In keeping with the book's title, I found the first drawing I did after being inspired by Danny Gregory's An Illustrated Life, and wondered how I would draw the same objects today. Here's 2009 and today:

We're exactly half-way to the finish, and 62% funded. Thanks again for supporting the books and independent art in general. As always, please tell a friend about the campaign.

I'll keep you posted. And now, back to work.

Steve