And here is my less colourful work-in-progress

Currently on the easel, and a reminder that I am working against a month-end deadline and have a commission on the floor.

While I am saddened by the state of illustration in North America, the move of many of these folk into fine art is hardly a step in the direction of security. The fine art of painting has been my living (in part or full) for nearly five decades and I can tell yo it is no fuscha garden!

The field is now terribly crowded with a few excellent craftsmen and a multitude of severely untalented wanabees. Why anyone would wanabee in this business of putting images on people's walls beats me! My excuse is that I am too old to make a career change. Remember, the housing market is almost defunct in the United States and real estate is not moving except in Canada's cities, so there are not as many fresh walls as was once the case. Here in Lunenburg every home has a massive collection of paintings by friends, relatives and even a few competent painters and we can no longer depend on tourists to carry away our surplus production. The effect! Painters are shrinking their paintings and prices but this is playing to the market. Personally, I am headed in the opposite direction. Painting against the tide may not be commercially astute but at least it is fun, and I am at an age where that matters!

I think the rising field for image-making is web search. Check out neverblueads.com. I'll write more about this later.