Lonely Week pt 2 (Getting Back in Gear)

Hey folks. So begins week #2 of the wife being gone and I'm the main man in the house. I've spent most of my weekend working the day job, sleeping when I can and taking care of poor little Scotty, who battled the flu. I had a bad stomach virus on Friday/Saturday as well. I also spent times keeping the house clean, and cleaning up surprise messes like this:

Yeah, some laundry detergent spilled. Great!

I'm getting excited for the holiday season. So much so that I already decorated the house a bit for Halloween. James helped out too...

I forgot to mention that I did a show flyer for my pal Corey's band NAGAZI. You can see them at Rubbles in Mt. Pleasant coming up this Sept. 20th. 

But finally after weeks and weeks of domestic bliss, I am getting back into the swing of production. No more am I doing minor things about once a week. I am kinda getting back into a groove. It feels nice. This week I dropped some flat colors on Starslam for the eventual Kickstarter. No timetable on that, but its coming. I gotta say, I re-looked over the pages and it really came together quite nicely. I'm very proud of the story! So I got about 70 pages to color there and then recolor the first 70 pages. Then letter the last 70 and its all done after formatting. So, its by no means done. But on its way.

I've also been able to do some sketch cards here and there. I showed some of my Return of the Jedi 30th Anniversary card set cards a while back but I didn't show off the prop close ups of the cut outs of Ewok fur and Jabba's Sail Barge pieces I got to draw on. Here ya go:

I finished one MARVEL CARD set last week. (sorry I cannot show pics of those yet) And this week, I got my next assignment...

Spoilers of things to come!!!

Anyway, I'm on another Star Wars set, then two more Marvel Sets after that. I signed all the contracts today in fact. We're rolling. So HOPEFULLY somewhere in there, I can keep up with my shit too. I'll likely do some days on cards, some on writing, some on coloring. The next three months I hope are filled with HEAVY PRODUCTION out of me. And we'll see what I emerge with come January. I've got no shows till next summer most likely, so the focus is all on getting my shit done and off my TO DO list... which is massive and intimidating. I also have minor plans for side projects/books to do in-between all of this. I like a lot of pots on my stove, folks. I think with as crazy as 2014 has been for me personally, you'll see an immediate explosion from me in 2015. Sexy time explosion. Lets hope I can emerge triumphant.

Lately, I have begun to feel like my old self again. Reconnecting. Making new plans. Taking care of shitty business. And while life keeps throwing more shit my way, more bills and surprise expenses...etc, I yell back loud at the universe to say I'm still standing here. Keep throwing it at me. Give me what you got!!! You can't take me down, fuckers!

Anyway, no timetable. No limitations. No grand promises. Lets just get to work.

Cheers, T

Lonely Week pt 1

Well the wife started training in Detroit for the new job, meaning she is gone there Mon-Friday. She's staying with her parents near there. They are very thrilled to have her. So much so, they installed cable in the second bedroom so she could watch TV! I guess after 15 years alone, they took some joy in having their daughter come back for a bit. Its only for 6 weeks, but I am glad they are spending time together. Meanwhile, I'm an hour and a half West, keeping the house together. I get Scott on the bus, play with James, do house errands and work and do Scotts homework with him when he returns. I get the kids to bed and then fight sleep to get work done.

Actually I am behind on a card set that is due on Monday. I should be working on it now but I am avoiding it by posting a blog. Aren't you lucky? :)

I watched Football on our bedroom TV (now in the living room... grrrrr...don't get me started) and watched some nice surprise upsets. Then the Lions played on Monday, kicking ass. They look really good and Stafford is looking quite mature and comfortable in his QB position. I hope it stays that way.

Today at the Iphone announcement, they dropped the major bomb, a surprise U2 album!

I've given it three listens and already reviewed it on the Morning Show Podcast if you care to know. Its a solid album and I like it better than the last one from 2009. Evidence leads me to believe there is more music to come, and this is part one of a two part album series from them. We'll see. Its just great to get a nice surprise of new music from my favorite bands this year. From U2 to the upcoming Pink Floyd. Its a bad year for me personally, but a GREAT year for my music!! 

Other things on my radar is the upcoming Amanda Fucking Palmer book, The Art of Asking.

I love her music and her blog/social media posts. And I was inspired by her continued success with crowd funding. All creative fields are sort of in flux with today's technology. And I know she's passionate about finding ways to LET PEOPLE fund her work. I look forward to reading this to maybe get some ideas myself. I sure could use them to find a larger reach. Once I get my personal ducks in a row, I need to start to tackle the mountain of delayed workload before me. And when I do, I need to find ways to ensure that I can get it out to people and make the most I can off of it. Because creation is not just my life blood, it is my job. And a Job has to bring something in to keep it afloat. I've done okay, but I know I can do better. The passion is there, but I need to refine the approach to business. I'll get on that soon. But first, more important things like Health, Finances and Family take first dibs.

And I gotta keep working on this shit because this week I accepted three more sketch card gigs. Big sets, BIG properties. Huge. Just when I thought I was out, they pulled me back in! Thats okay. It all goes to the big melting pot of experience, funds and (most importantly) fun!!

 Tomorrow is my son James T's 2nd bday. We plan to celebrate probably Saturday by taking the kids out to a bouncy playground called "Jumping Jacks." Should be neat. He's doing great. Lots of interactivity and talking. And Scott is reaching out with me and doing actual homework! He's improving too. Its great to see. I'm proud of both of them.

Anyway, I guess I'm burnin' daylight here. I gotta get these sketch cards done and out the door or else my editor will slice my balls off. Off to look up more Marvel reference I go!

Cheers, T