2016 Newsletter

I’ve been able to do a little bit of traveling again. Magic events have taken me to some familiar and some new places. On the new list was Minneapolis, Minnesota. My first visit to the state. Some great times in Philadelphia visiting some fellow Magic artists after the event. And a mini vacation in DC after that Magic event with Laurie. When possible I always try to visit an art museum on any trip I make. There’s so much amazing art out there to see and visit again and again.

This year I completed a very successful Kickstarter, a fundraising platform. I created some token for gamers. It was just supposed to be a simple project that ballooned into a 6 month project. It was a bit more than I bargained for. The best part was I heaped a ton a new art assignments onto myself. 

Every year I do what I can to make room for a class or two. This year I went out to San Diego to take a class at the Watt’s Atelier. An added bonus was the attendance of so many friends including the instructors.

I was also able to take a calligraphy class. It's a lot of fun. Something I'll probably do again.

I still run my own little workshop. I really enjoy being able to paint from life.

While visiting California I had the crazy fun opportunity to visit the offices of one of my favorites video game companies, Blizzard. If you’ve not played their games maybe you saw the Warcraft movie this year? What a treat to be given a tour by the art director for a game I would later start getting commissions from, Hearthstone.

Once again I’m humbled to have had a few of my paintings hanging in museum settings. I still think of all the times I laughed at my dad when he said my work would hang in a museum one day. It’s not the same as being in a permanent collection but it makes me happy nonetheless. I was proud to have work hanging in the Maza Children's Museum and the Canton Museum of Art.

This year we combined our vacation time and a sports event. Laurie and I completed the Dark Side Challenge at Disney World. We ran a 10k and a half marathon on the grounds. Star Wars themed no less.

I hadn’t run around the park like a kid since, well, since I was a kid. We visited all the parks and wore ourselves out. 

Laurie is the Cubs fan here. I’ve never seen as many games as I have this year. I still had work to do so I’d be sketching at the bar tables many nights. It was such a fun time to see the team do so well, winning the world series and all.