Hola

Oh man, it has been so long since I sat down and actually posted anything here. I have just been so busy. I always get a lot of commission requests during the holidays, and usually it is for smaller stuff that doesn't take very long. This year it has been massive stuff and I've had to stop taking the small stuff. I can't wait for my break at the end of the month, since I still have some projects to finish from before Wolfie was born. I know, what?!? In some cases I have clients who have gone MIA on me and in others they just said, hey, it's cool, take all the time you need. I love it when people are so accommodating, but it also makes it too easy to be a slacker about it. I definitely don't feel that I have been slacking this year though. I still managed to complete around 40 new paintings, tackle a new medium, change a number of business things, release some new products, sign a number of new licensing deals, oh, and I had a baby. I also started at least 150 paintings, which I still have all the sketches for. Some of them will eventually see the light of day, others I'll deem aren't as deserving and will either get re-worked or tossed.

In addition to commissions and a crazier than usual Christmas rush, I've painted a number of new seasonal paintings this year and though I am still working on some, they won't be released until next year. There isn't enough time now for me to get them done and released and for people to order them, so I will hang onto them for next year. I am debating shutting down the Christmas and Halloween-themed sections of the site until appropriate dates next year. The pieces are all in other sections of the site as well, so I just might.

I'm also excited for the break so I can clean the studio and get inventory figured out. I know, how crazy. But it's a mess right now and I'm hoping to get a better system in place.

I'll also be working on some cool new projects for next year. Among them will probably be a new portfolio book, 2013 calendars (yeah, already), and possibly a coloring book. I was hoping to release a portfolio book this year, but I just didn't have time to put something so big together.

In other news, my son is 9 months old now. I don't know how it can be that we are only 3 months away from his first birthday. That seems like crazy-talk, but there it is. He is starting to get really interesting now and we are having a lot of fun playing with him. He talks a little bit and is starting to walk. He can stand up almost reliably on his own, crawls when he absolutely has to, and has almost figured out how to climb out of his play pen despite its 3' walls. God help us.