I just noticed that the book I illustrated,'No Easy Way' is up on Amazon and available everywhere next month. The title is apt as it was no easy way all the way through what  with all the research, the drawing painting, and unexpected life issues.I now have more baseball gear from the 1940s in my propfile and have listened to more vintage baseball broadcasts  than anyone save the archivists in Cooperstown! 

The Junior Library Guild of Ohio (I got an award, complete with a pin) and the Beverly Hills librarian in charge of children's books really liked it, and I am awaiting some response from Red Sox town.

Lucia Monfried was a terrific art director through all this , as was Irene Vandervoort, the designer. I hope the author Fred Bowen, and Ted Williams' ghost, are happy, too.

New poster for Kim Nalley's  play, 'Ella", about the early years of Ella Fitzgerald's career. Dancers, a band (think ChickWebb), and a tight cast.The premier is at Cinnabar in Petaluma and the previews have been stellar. Kinda weird seeing this ten feet tall in downtown Petaluma. Now it is on to the second play poster!

New work for 'Creepy', the perfect ANTI-Holiday imagery, a WW II tale having to do with a certain Little Corporal having a little sex change to avoid fate, and thus, live on....

Bernie Fuchs has passed away after a struggle with cancer. As an illustrator who grew up with Fuchs work all round me in its many permutations, I feel the loss of his artistic voice. He was a giant of his generation who was also a gentleman of modest presence. He was an artist who drove himself to excel and to invent and reinvent his style, point of view, and sustain an extraordinary level of taste and quality in every illustration and painting that he produced. We are lucky that, through Leif Peng's blog, we can see the highlights of this gentleman genius' career. I encourage you to visit www.todaysinspiration.blogspot.com as a tribute and a source of inspiration. He will be much missed and well remembered for what he contributed to our world.

Ancient olive trees. The fun part was trying to capture the shimmer and texture of the leaf canopy of this ancient tree near the monastery in Corciano.

A quick painting of the 'Eta Beta' in Corciano, just around the corner from the piazza. Newspapers, cards, sporting news, etc. Got a great pop up card here. The cat showed as I was wrapping it up and graciously modeled just long enough.

Close up of the amazing grain rolls, about 5 feet in diameter that were in every field. Some were wrapped in plastic, others bound in wire or string. Textures were fun to get.

A very quick sketch at the gate of Montepulciano, even painted in some townies. Traffic all round and two solicitors hitting up everyone for donation and signatures to "fight the drugs". Oh sure.....

Oh, this was a beastly hot morning near Corciano. The building is an abandoned fattoria, which was just in front of a pig farming operation. The hot wind was blowing the right way, most of the time. Drenched in sweat by the time it was necessary to quit.

if one was ok, two was certainly better, painted while braced on a steep hillside of olive tree orchards. a little later in the day, early afternoon.

quick sketch done 'al aperto' just outside Cortona

here is a painting form the ramparts of Corciano, in Umbria. A hot morning

Italy! Just stepped OFF the plane and will post a few images shortly. 4 weeks in Umbria teaching for the University, and an extra week in Rome. Stay tuned. Now I know that I SHOULD Facebook this, but hey, I am a little old school....