Hello, friends.

I just spent a week with my son before he begins his senior year at University of Florida, where he continues to impress me with his dedication and focus. It's always hard to put him back on the plane just when I get used to having him around.

Meanwhile, life goes on.

As many of you already know, the Kickstarter campaign was a success. Thanks to everyone who pledged, which was, in effect, pre-ordering the book(s) which now become my primary focus. 

I taught a weekend workshop at the Gage, where I drew these in-class speed demos for my students:

Craftsy.com is interested in recording a second on-line class and we've set a tentative date for January. This one will focus on drawing the cluttered and busy interior.

My friends, Heidi and Kirk, will soon be sailing off on their world-wide tour so I drew their boat as they made some final preparations:

It's not all fun and games. Mundane tasks such as visits to Jiffy Lube are inevitable, but with my sketchbook along, I make lemonade out of lemons:

And finally, though subbing has served me well these past two years while I worked on my illustrated memoirs, I miss my old school, so next week I'll be applying for a permanent part-time position as a reading and math intervention specialist for the younger kids. Wish me luck!

Here is an article in a Seattle newspaper, The Queen Anne/Magnolia News. I think the reporter, Kseniya Sovenko, does a beautiful job describing some of the subtler aspects of what I'm doing in the new book. I was pleased she really captured the spirit of the project. I only wish the article had appeared sooner! In many ways she does a better job describing the new book than I do in my Kickstarter video. She does such a good job, that I think it would be great if you shared the link with anyone you think might appreciate what we're doing here. http://tinyurl.com/ngcefr6

 

http://tinyurl.com/ngcefr6

Big thanks to Tina Koyama, Donna Allen and Chelle Destefano for participating in the interview.

Meanwhile, of course, I've been drawing my fingers to the bones.

 

Here is an in-progress shot of drawing Heidi and Kirk's boat before they leave for their world tour (you may recall in Now Where Was I? I drew their boat during a sailing race):

 

 And an artist friend's workspace before applying the color:

 

Printing companies watch Kickstarter for publishing opportunities so I've received five different quotes for these books for when we're funded next week (and we WILL reach our funding goal, thanks to you!). 

As always, tell your friends. Share the new article. I'm going back to work.

Steve