I painted this in 1 B.C. (before child) but it's still one of my faves:

I was wonderfully surprised this morning when I got a direct tweet from Steven Freak'n Pressfield regarding my tweet about his bestselling novel Gates of Fire. I've read it twice (which I rarely do) for inspiration in my historical fantasy writing. If possible, I'm even more impressed after the second read. He is genius at filling in the gaps of historical knowledge with details that are fascinating, emotionally charged and believable. When you read it you can't help but feel completely at home in a setting that hasn't existed for 2,500 years.

As a result I spent some time on http://www.stevenpressfield.com, where I read this:

Mr. Pressfield believes in previous lives. He believes in the Muse. He believes that books and music exist before they are written and that they are propelled into material being by their own imperative to be born, via the offices of those willing servants of discipline, imagination and inspiration whom we call artists. Mr. Pressfield's conception of the artist's role is a combination of reverence for the unknowable nature of "where it all comes from" and a no-nonsense, blue-collar demystification of the process by which this mystery is approached. In other words, a paradox.

There's a recurring character in Mr. Pressfield's books named Telamon, a mercenary of ancient days. Telamon doesn't say much. He rarely gets hurt or wounded. And he never seems to age. His view of the profession of arms is a lot like Mr. Pressfield's conception of art and the artist:

'It is one thing to study war, and another to live the warrior's life.'

 

Wow. I think Pressfield just became my new idol.

Yesterday my hand illustrated Cupcake Tee was included in the Etsy Treasury "Remind Me Why I Love Arizona" (link will expire 7.20.09): http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=71227. Thanks to Betsy/SweetLifeSpiral for including me!

Thanks also to Tamdoll for featuring my Rocket Onsie at http://tamdoll.blogspot.com/2009/02/blast-off.html!

...in ink and watercolor:

Thanks to everyone voting for me in the Roxy contest! Votes count every day until the end of July.

I've been getting a lot of emails from those of you trying to vote and not having success. Here's how to make sure your vote counts:

Go to http://www.roxy.com/category/index.jsp?categoryId=3569591&pg=3&ref=4fa8beb4-fd93-41ce-8bfd-ab259132c7b2. The first image below is what you'll see. Click "vote for this design." You'll then get a pop up. Enter your info and click "submit." Next you'll see the third image below (and that the number of votes hasn't changed.) Click "vote for this design" again. Another pop up will thank you for your vote. This last pop up is how you'll know your vote counted.

I'm so lucky to have such awesome, supportive friends and family! Thanks guys!