Paint Pallet

So I'm feeling bad because I can't post any of the images I'm working on right now because my clients feel wierd about letting the cat out of the bag before the projects are published - go figure right? So I was looking for something I could put up and then it occured to me - my pallet! This mound you see before you is constructed out of all of the acrylic paint I've used since 1990! It started out as my friend Carl Wayne's masonite oil pallet which he thought was too big so he cut his in half and tossed it (the piece you see) in the trash. Way back then it was just a flat piece of 1/4 inch board but when I pulled it out of the trash and started using it as my acrylic pallet it began to grow.


There was a time when I was going to discard it - it was growing out of control and I thought it would be easier to work on a new one. But then I looked at it again - all bumpy, lumpy, and full of character. There there lil fella don't you worry - daddy isn't going to abandon you like Carl did. (can you tell it's 2:00am?) So here he is - I figure he's probably middle aged like me - lots of miles but many more ahead. He's been to Maryland, California, technically Nevada and idaho, but mostly he's lived here in Utah. Like I said before of the thousands of paintings I've done he's got parts of all of them in him. Oh, and that arch you see was at the request of my children constantly nagging me to sculpt some form into him - that took about 9 months. I think I'll name him Benjamin since I never had any run-ins with anyone with that name.

Sketchy

Because of my involvement with the California Teachers Association and the school visits I've been doing lately my mind is often on reading and it's importance in the development of the lives of children. This was a little doodle I did while my wife was at the doctor's office.

Texas Library Association Conference

I just got back from Houston and had a great time at the TLA conference. I never got tierd of hearing those southern accents! They make you feel like you belong even if you don't say "yall".


Even though this is a state conference it feels like a national one because Texas is so huge - most publishers and vendors treat it like it's national.


This was the first time I met Helen the author of Armadilly Chili and our new book The Three Little Gators - what a nice woman! It was so much fun signing books with her! We sold out on the second day and had some really fun conversations over dinner.


But how well do you really know someone after a few dinners? - in order to get to really get to know someone I suggest getting into a car crash with them. :) One of Helen's friends took us to dinner at a publishers party and on the way back we got into a really fun wreck! Her poor friend was driving and wasn't used to downtown Houston - Helen was so nurturing and kind helping her friend stay calm and get through the hard time.


Luckily there were no injuries and we had to leave before the police could finish their reports because there was a guy shooting a shotgun just down the street and they told us to get in our cars and get out of there. Exciting!