Unplanned Break

Since I last wrote, my art practice and business have been coming along at a snail's pace. I have wanted to come back to my creative calling several times in the last couple months but it's not until now that the ball can start rolling again. Thankfully, I have another business as my day job that pays my bills. But with that business comes responsibilities to it that have taken my attention away from the artwork. Also, since January, I've been dating! Although it is a positive change, it took me away from my previous art schedule. Now, I am trying to regain a new balance of work, relationships, rest, and art. 

​My next children's book, Daddy Emu, is closer and closer to completion. I recently bought the barcodes and ISBNs for both a hardbound and electronic version. I bought a font that complimented the artwork and added the text to my illustrations in the GIMP program. It's called Cinnamon Cake, and you can see an example in the above illustration. The next step is to put my illustration files into two Adobe inDesign files which can be sent to Ingramspark. Update: I finished watching the tutorials on inDesign! 

Everything about writing and illustrating a book takes a long time. Case in point, this last week I finally received the formal copyright letter for my first children's book, Otters on the Sea, which I sent to them in the middle of 2021, which brings the US government's response time to nine months. I can't complain, though. The entire process has united my artistic talents and interests in a remarkable way which has intensified, rather than discouraged, my joy in creating. 

I'm looking forward to sharing future failures and successes with you!