I am tempted to take on a difficult project. Every so often I have a brainstorm for something that could get a bit of interest, a smattering of publicity perhaps for our little business — and it never works out.

One was this: I would work out a deal with some large venue that is open around the clock and start drawing people. We would raise money for research into my wife’s illness, MS (multiple sclerosis) and I would continue for twenty four hours. I called it “24 HOURS OF DRAWME.”

Dumb idea. I could not do that on my best day and I will be 61 in a couple of weeks. Yow! Forget that noise.

Another was a nationwide trip, stopping every 100 or so miles to draw at prearranged festivities and again raise money for MS research. Daunting logistics, planning all that. But it was coming along until my wife realized it would be far too tiring for her. Okay. Cancel that.

There were others. One was THE GENIUS FILES in this space, using a duotone blue and black only look, creating drawings of brilliant, gifted people. Nah. I did a couple and lost interest.

So… what now?

Now I wonder about knocking out a drawing every day. Especially the celebrity products. You may have seen my Mel Gibson piece in this space last month. Fun. I am attaching an older one here of a political figure.

You see the concept, of course.  Always a PRODUCT, usually with ad copy around it.

Hey, in writing this I realized I never posted the second item for old Mel last month, so here that one is also:

Fun projects. Anyhow, I would like to get myself in gear and produce several of these a week. The hard part is the TIME, of course. The ideas are easy, the drawing is fun, but man when can I actually do these things?? Okay, I am working on it.

Stay tuned…

My wife and I had a super day yesterday, attended a delightful lunch at Carrabass (?) — you know, the Italian place — in Mason, just north of the city. Heard a talk regarding MS there, from a super doctor with a great personality. Then barrelled on southward into Cincinnati, visited with Dr. Brenda Murray at her Sharonville Evendale Optometrist shop. Then over to draw a couple of hours at the Sharonville Convention Center with  two other artists, Shelley and John. They are both excellent and a pleasure to work with. Diane clicked in behind the steering wheel in her wheelchair and roared (literally) over to shop at TriCounty Mall. Came back to pick me up and the van sounded like a B-52; losing its muffler. Have to take care of that soon! Then we switched drivers again and had a super snack at Rafferty’s at the Union Center Boulevard exit. Super food and excellent prices! Whodathunkit?? Watched the sun go down, had a few laughs, enjoyed the ending of a really neat day.

I hope your Wednesday was as cool as ours!

Hey gang, thank you all so much for reading. I love to write, but this blogging business is different from anything else I have ever done. In my private writing, banging away on my old Hermes portable typewriter (remember typewriters??), I knew pretty much that no one else would ever have an interest; I was writing for me. In newspaper reporting and features and my columns I knew a LOT of people would be reading, which was nice.

Here, it’s just you and me. And lots of times just me.

Ah well.

Still the writing is satisfying, like nothing else I have tried. There is a level of self-expression in putting words on paper — or on screen — that is like no other. You just start, and soon it takes you to some kind of feeling, some kind of truth that was unexpected and real and needed to be said. No effort is wasted, I believe, no good feeling or honest intent is lost.

Meantime, our August newsletter is finally done:

http://us1.campaign-archive.com/?u=274a0aa07560dc9dd0554c849&id=df987fd162&e=b8ce2c04c0

Please take a look when you have time. There is a drawing of Ellen Degeneres (did I spell that wrong??) and a link to our latest video, by ace video dude Paul Anthem.

My best to you all. Let’s meet here again soon!

Man, the time just slips away, do it not?

I have always thought that time speeds up when you are happy. If that’s true then maybe I have nothing to complain about — because baby, this year is just ZIPPING by!

My theory is that if you wish time to slow down, spend a night lost in the woods. Or anywhere else, I suppose. That will be a looooooooooonnnnnnnnggggg time. Sure. You knew that, of course. What most of us do not know, however, is that we can actually slow down our perception of time passing and make our days and years far more rich and satisfying. It’s no joke, this works. But you will not do this. Really, you will not. It’s free and even easy to do.

Okay, here is what you must do: concentrate.

That’s it.

Just focus on what you are doing. Let other thoughts slip away and put your energies into what you are up to as you do it. Make it your world. From reading a book to writing an email to driving your car. Be there. No daydreaming. Focus.

This is nothing new. We have been told this simple truth over and over. We don’t do it.

When I can get my lazy behind in gear and zero in on my current task, it is amazing. I FEEL the moment in all its glory. Whatever my task, it will almost always be well done when I wrap up. And will be there later, strong and in vivid detail in my memory.

That is likely one reason I love the parties so much. I am totally in the moment, connected to that face, this pen, the paper… Zowie! And yet, I do not have to work at that. It is automatic, so I can hold a conversation in the meantime. The times when I actually do concentrate on the drawing are probably when I do my best drawing, though. Maybe.

So why won’t you do this? The same reason I do not: it seems easier to just let it slide. Coast. Relax. Like most things in life, we get out as much as we put in, from sheer effort on the physical side to emotional investment in our personal connections to simple focus in our projects. It does work. But it is a discipline.

I hope you are having a terrific day. Thank you for reading!

I noted in this space some time back that we were shooting a video at Gallery on The Greene. While it is still a work in progress, here is a link to the first video from that fun afternoon. Each of the people drawn took about two minutes. Including the dog people, I think.

Our thanks to Paul Anthem, our video guy, for his creative and high-tech expertise, and also to the good people at Gallery on The Greene for such a beautiful venue.

We will post the video to our own channel when the finished products are available. This is just a little rough but still fun. Please take a look.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3UDmb9gsms

Here’s a drawing of Paul, in his alternate life: