My Dad turns 75 tomorrow. There were times over the past ten years since he’d been diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma that I didn’t think he’d make it to this day. There were times over the past weekend, when I wasn’t sure. But after a troubling past month, there are encouraging signs that he might be back on the mend again. The milestone gives me pause, and I’ve been doing some thinking about time, and anniversaries and what may lay ahead both in my personal life and in this business that I’ve found myself in. I started this freelance illustration business almost 25 years ago (my 25 year anniversary will be next spring, when, back in 1989, I left the security of a 9 to 5 job and a steady paycheck to try my hand at drawing pictures full time). 25 years ago, my Dad was 50, 2 years younger than I am now. My son will turn 25 next year, 2 years younger than I was when I started this business.
Anyhow, on to the work I’ve managed to squeeze in during the past two weeks. Above was an illustration for the Boston Globe (click on the small sample to see a larger version) on ‘Workplace Happiness’. I last had an assignment for the Globe 2 years ago, and was very excited to see them back for more. Below are a few illustrations for GreenPrints magazine that I also did last week, plus a ‘drop cap’ and a few ‘doodads’ for this issue and the last.
I also had a few assignments for the Wall Street Journal this past weekend, one a ‘weekend’ piece, plus a series of 5 spots of ‘face washing myths’ that I finished up yesterday afternoon (one of the six pictured was an original version of one that they had me revise).
In addition to all these, I also managed to finish up the last of the large book project I’ve been working on, and steeling myself for the work on the 2nd of these two large projects, once the OK from the editors comes in. (Due to contractual obligations, I’m unable to share any of the illustrations from these book projects until after publication).