9/19/19

Talk Like a Pirate (and look like one too!)

Talk Like a Pirate Day mask
Ahoy maties! Today is International Talk Like a Pirate Day. If ye gonna be talkin' like one. Ye better be lookin' like one. Now get ye landlubber hide over to www.imHalloween.com to download this here colorin' page of mine.

9/8/19

Delicate Sounds of Nature

Verdin (Auriparus flaviceps)
From my Little Things of Nature Portfolio -- Sketches Afield.
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Know nature. Learn to be still.

 

Everyday, just as the sun begins to rise, there's a brief span of time when the natural world tries to remind the noisy and distracted humans of my city of nature's beauty. Shortly before the cacophony of yapping dogs, leaf blowers, and car traffic fills the air, a tiny songbird, whose population is declining because of loss of habitat, sings its delicate three-note song to welcome the day.


Are you listening?

 More from my Little Things of Nature Portfolio:



9/1/19

Well, I Thought it was a Good Idea

folioMARK Stock Art, Published Art, Fine Art, and Cartoons from the catalog of artist and illustrator Mark A. Hicks
At this point in my career -- after nearly 35 years of being a freelance artist and illustrator -- I thought I would begin to catalog all my artwork. And while I was at it, make some of the physical art available for sale. Maybe license some of the images that I own the reproduction rights to too.

Then I started going through my previously published artwork and a sense of panic set in. What the s*#$% was I thinking! There are literally thousands of pieces of original art in my portfolio! There's artwork from books, magazines, greeting cards, and other assorted publications and projects to go through. Most of it has been published and some of the art has won awards. It needs archiving to be sure. It needs to have the publication as well as copyrights and contracts matched and noted. Then, to put the art on a website, it needs to be digitized, watermarked (so some loser doesn't illegally reproduce it), resized, optimized, uploaded, etc., etc., and etc. Hello Mark! This is going to take a while. Not to mention I'm still busy working on assignments and other art projects. (And obviously adding even more to my portfolio!)



Who said art can't hurt you? Cartoon by Mark A. Hicks, artist and illustrator