Greetings, I didn't want to let the New Year pass without a post on what I've been up to and what's up for this year.
One of the things about my drawing style that has become apparent for me is that it lends itself to cartoon. It's doesn't matter what I'm attempting to draw. I could have the most serious intent behind a work and it still looks like a cartoon. The options here are to develop, develop, develop the drawing skills past this stage or hang out here and see what happens. Last year at this time I was on the fence with this decision, but I may have just crossed over.
This piece above is for a graphic novel that I want to develop about being a bookkeeper. For anyone reading this who has ever worked me, yep, I'm going to write about you and draw you. Hopefully, I still have clients after this and friends.
In the larger world, 2019 ended badly meaning that 2020 isn't starting out well. You can fill in the catastrophe du jour for yourself. Cynicism though is obedience and there's no more room for it. Included here are some links to break down cynicism and to remember that good things can come from the smallest actions.
1. The New Yorker released this short video on the resilience of nature and that even the humble Bolas spider has a life and personality. See here for the video.
2. Michael gave me this purple button that I take with me every where I go. It says ART SAVES LIVES. It's happened twice where a man says to me: "How many lives has art saved today?" My response is always: "It saved mine today." And it does, every day. The Atlantic released a video recently on migrants from Syria living in a camp in France. Art is saving their lives and giving them hope of a different and better day (video here).
3. Talk Poverty Weekly is a great place for legislative news that affects the low income and the vulnerable in a our society. They recently included a piece on African American quilters called Finding the Threads (article here). If you've ever made a quilt or had a quilt made for you (or wanted to make one), you'll appreciate this story. Art is a mirror that shows us our lives and as one person said in the article it's a love letter to the future.
4. Racism in the United States has been steady, but it's changing as more people talk about it. Especially as more people with white privilege talk about. There's a small non-profit that develops curriculum to help early learners and their parents overcome the trajectory of racism. The blog post from their website is here. Their non-profit works specifically with white people to understand how racism supports white privilege and how to get over it.
The world is changing and sometimes it seems like for the worst, but all these other things are happening and they are small steps toward better. If this isn't enough for you to feel somewhat better, here's this to help you over the top.