Carefree Artist: December 2019

12/29/19

12/24/19

An old, but yet still very appropriate, passage from A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

From A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

12/15/19

Desert Season's Greetings from Me to You!

Sonoran Season's greetings from illustrator Mark A. Hicks. Art from the book Coyote Claus: A Southwestern Desert Tale.

Art from the book
Coyote Claus: A Southwestern Desert Tale

Available at your favorite book retailer or at

Sunbelt Publications

ISBN: 9781941384534

12/6/19

Recently I stopped in and signed some books at both Saguaro National Park Red Hills Visitor Center and the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. Thanks to the great staff at both bookstores for your friendliness and for helping the book sell well down there!

A Note from the Artist...

As you look around this blog you can’t help but notice a distinct change in the artwork and the tone of the content over the past few years. There’s a good reason for this -- the death of my wife due to hereditary cancer. Something that should have never happened.

I never wanted this blog to be a place where I unloaded anger and sadness because of cancer and grief. I had other plans, more lighthearted and whimsical. But when you have the love of your life take their last breath in your arms because someone didn’t have the compassion, brains and courage to speak up and share vital genetic info, it changes everything.

So, I have chosen to use my humble little corner of the world to speak up about hereditary cancer awareness and the unbearable heartache of the untimely loss of a loved one.

About this blog/art journal...

The Carefree Artist is about my artistic endeavors and adventures as a professional freelance creative. Posts might feature a cartoon, or a recently published illustration from a book or magazine assignment, or an original piece of art that I might be selling to try and raise funds for my art supply donation project. All with an emphasis on originality.

Why did I name this journal the Carefree Artist? Actually, it’s really just a wishful sentiment. A professional life in the arts, mine included, is usually anything but carefree. But oh, how wonderful it would be to really be a carefree artist! Living the simple life in a quiet and inspiring location and creating a ton of art just for art's sake!

The name was also inspired by the Carefree Highway. A road that played an important role in my life... More about this journal's name at the bottom of this page.*

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	A Holiday Offering for Those Affected by Cancer


	A Monster and Cancer's Evil


	Grief Break : Earth Day


	Some days are like this...


	Patented Inventor


	Bottling Grief


	On the Other Hand...


	Nature's Greetings


	A Jolly Howliday Children's Book


	Whip It


	The Sheep & the Turkey


	Lots of Tricks but Definitely No Treat


	Adventures in Geography


	Art, Desert Beginnings, and Someday


	Delicate Sounds of Nature


	First (and Last) Contact


	Drawing Science


	Award-winning Junior Ranger Book


	La Fiesta, NOT Tijuana


	Depressed Post-Impressionist Not Impressed


	A Bad Head Day


	Meet Dusty Pack


	Some Thoughts and a Painting for Earth Day

12/29/19

2020 Greetings

12/24/19

An old, but yet still very appropriate, passage from A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

12/15/19

Desert Season's Greetings from Me to You!

12/6/19

Signings in the Desert

And no, I do not live in Carefree, Arizona. I live in Phoenix. Land values in Carefree are, unfortunately, not particularly friendly for those pursuing freelance artistic endeavors.