Just south of Swami's, the world-class surfing destination, is the San Elijo campgrounds. And, north of the grounds, facing the perch that is Swami's is an incredible vista looking down and over the beaches of Cardiff by the Sea. For the past week, I've been working on this drawing from graphite sketch to white and black gouache accents. [see the work]

A couple recent sketches from New Year's Eve while staying in Desert Hot Springs. The highlight was spending the afternoon in Joshua Tree–hiking through Hidden Valley, wandering around Lost Horse Ranch and ending up at Keys Overlook. The San Andreas fault cut straight across the southwestern horizon and taught its own geological lesson. The Salton Sea could be seen glaring back at the sun in the farthest distances, beckoning a visit sometime soon. Happy 2011 all. [view the sketches]

At the corner of Cornish and Santa Fe there is a great vantage point looking south towards La Jolla. For three days, I posted up with graphite and conté crayons drawing this piece before adding the final details and highlights back home in the studio. [read more]

About two months ago, we learned The Little Hope Book was nominated for "Self-Esteem Book of the Year" by the Moonbeam Children's Book Award. This was great news not only for having been nominated, but because the Little Hope Book's main theme is encouraging kids to believe in their dreams and how having Hope can be the fuel for the motivation.

Well, the results are in, and The Little Hope Book was awarded the Bronze Medal! Thanks to the Moonbeam Children's Book Award Committee for recognizing our title and for all those who have and continued to support us.

If you haven't picked up a copy yet - be sure and head over to the store for yourself or as a gift. Our print run of 1,000 is books away from selling out!

Closing out 2009 with a project like Logic Bomb Media's Flash, Paralax universe just doesn't happen often. Gary and Mauro, the über web gurus operating Logic Bomb Media are more than technically savvy programers, they are extremely innovative creatives constantly pushing their clients to new realms of possibilities. And, in my humble opinion, their most recent website takes the prize.

The idea of a 'parlax' universe had to be explained, but once I understood, i knew this was something I would be thrilled to take part in. In addition, LBM was on the lookout for a custom audio soundtrack to brand the project and they found the perfect piece of the puzzle in Eric Segalstad. The site has to be experienced to be appreciated, so if you have not already, head on over there now and see for yourself.

After completing the project, Gary and Mauro asked me for a short interview which you can read here.

Wrapping up a 312-page, 35,000+ word, fully-illustrated graphic novel on the history of The 27 Club is no small feat. However, taking second place at the 2009 Independent Publisher's Book Awards Ceremony made the effort well worth it. First place was awarded to the New York City Metropolitan Museum's "Superheroes: Fashion and Fantasy" (Metropolitan Museum of Publications) which was an exceptional exhibit to boot. So, at hearing of this great news, it was with great excitement that Eric Segalstad and I traveled to New York City to attend the 2009 Book Expo and the 2009 Independent Publisher Book Awards Ceremony.

Our Co-Publisher, North Atlantic Books, was approached by the Book Expo committee asking if Eric and I would like to take part in this year's author signings, which we greatfully accepted. It was a trip watching the attendess line up about fifty feet away, then signing away the stacks we had brought with us. Thanks to all who came out and supported The 27s!

To close the weekend out, we headed up and over to NYC's famed Providence "Church" where the 2009 IPPY Award Ceremony took place. It couldn't have been more appropriate–the 1920's styled baptist church would later become the world-famous Media Sound Sudios. "Performers like Jimi Hendrix, Billy Joel, John Lennon, The Rolling Stones, Aerosmith, Stevie Wonder, Frank Sinatra, and Barbra Streisand (to name a few) have come here to enjoy the room’s superior acoustics as they recorded and developed some of the most important albums in musical history."

A quick snag of the medal and we were off, back towards Brooklyn for a 27 Club-styled late night outing that ended the ultimate NYC trip.

Check out The 27s in the ID portfolio or pick-up a copy for yourself now.

A huge thanks goes out to long-time collaberator, Eric Segalstad for producing the "Illustrated Dreams" soundtrack. With so much of my work inspired by or purposely created for music, I knew I wanted to ask Eric if would be up for the challenge. He not only accepted, but absolutely delivered! As you will hear, the final cut surpassed all expectations. If you have not heard it already, check out the Illustrated Dreams custom soundtrack here.

And, for more of Eric's work, check out his personal site for much more than his superb talents with a guitar.