The EPIC Series: "A Beautiful Day" & Happy Mother's Day

Before we get into the Artwork, I would like to wish everyone out there a very Happy Mother's Day; especially to all of the New Mommy's out there, such as my friend Amanda who just had a beautiful baby boy just a couple of days ago; to all of my family, my Aunts and Cousins who were great friends to me and that have helped raise me these many years; to my friends, whom allow a crazy guy like me be a part of your children's lives; to all of my 'other' Mom's who continually fear for my safety and wish a better life for me whenever they get the chance; to all of the Mom's out there I have lost over the years- Flo, Rosemary, Mrs Grundler, Sue- just in the past few months;  to both of my Grandmothers, who are no longer with me today but are certainly smiling down upon me; and to my Mother, I know sometimes I am a complete pain in the ass but I know I am the luckiest boy to have a Mom as good as you-and I wouldn't trade you for the world.  I also want to wish a Happy Mother's Day to everyone out there who has wiped a dirty butt and made chicken soup and made the medicine taste better and given up their free time and money to make sure that their children had the best life they could possibly give.  I could never fathom all of the sacrifices you make on a daily basis to provide the best for the ones you love but I do know what they mean; take it from me, I remember each and every time anyone of my Mom's out there did without so I didn't have to and so will your children.  I know it doesn't seem like much when you are doing it but it counts; it counts every time and it counts big.  It counts in ways that you might not realize for a dozen years or more but it counts.

See, right from the beginning, my Grandmother took 10 minutes out of her life one day when I was 4yrs old to show me how drawing one circle was the key to drawing anything I ever wanted to draw...and now, well-I got really good drawing circles.  My Mother always encouraged me in whatever I wanted to do-even though sometimes she pushed me to do more than I wanted because she saw my potential-and now, I am a pain in the ass who doesn't know when to give up.  My Aunt Karin inspired me from the beginning with her approach to food-she just didn't cook or bake, she made it seem more like she was creating artwork of her own and I was always excited to see what she would make next.  My friends Mary, Jodie, Jinx, Shari, Corrynn, Andrea, Nikki, Cyndi, Mayfair, Jenny, Jenny, Nicole, Terra, Aereana, Alicia, Jill, Angie, Susy, Brenda, Lori, Heather, Jackie, Katie, Maria, Michelle and Ronda-you have let me meet your children and take a peek into their lives long enough for me to fall in love with them and I thank you.  To my friend Trish who will celebrate her first Mother's day next year.  To My two wonderful sister-in-laws-Kelly and Grace, I am a lucky brother and uncle to be able to watch your children grow up AND at the same time have the patience to put up with me.  And the Mom's along the way that I never asked for but got anyway-Ms Iaccino, Judy, Mrs Hauger, Mrs. Corwynn, Patsy Miller, Mrs Bronson, Bonnie Kendall, Joanne Meier, Mrs Christie, Mrs Willimann, Sherril, Amy as well as all of the amazing Mom's that are no longer with us- thank the lord someone was paying attention because I am sure a few of those times I might have killed myself doing something stupid if you hadn't smacked me on the back of my head.  Lastly, I would just like to thank you for reading this and for taking the time to read a bunch of names that you probably can only wonder about the kind of impact they must have had for me to turn out as great as I have-Happy Mother's Day to you.

This Mother's Day, I would love to be able to give you all a kiss but since I can't...I suppose a tiny piece of artwork will have to be good enough - even though I know that in a perfect world, it would only just begin to tell you how much you mean to me and just how much I love you all.

AND NOW...here's a new piece of artwork for all of you...

When originally I came up with the 'EPIC Series', I had original sketches dating back to 1997 that I always wanted to incorporate into the series because I had always thought the ideas had merit.  One of those sketches became "Sweet Dreams" (one of the first released originally in 2007) BUT...I always meant for there to be a 'pair' in the series; I had a moon and I needed a sun.  I never came up with a good concept for that second piece before I decided to abandon the series until that fateful day when I was 'URGED' or inspired to dig it back out.  I pulled out my original designs and quickly cobbled together what I thought would be a great design after a certain phone conversation I had.  BUT then, I decided to alter the design quite extensively after I found out my friend was going to have a baby and when I completely decided on what to do (at the time I had about 8 weeks to finish it) everything seemed to go according to schedule UNTIL...Last week, I decided to take a small break from doing the artwork to finish a short story I had written, "Olive Park" and it was a welcome distraction and then, wouldn't you know it-someone has to go destroy my deadline by going into labor all early...geeze...Thanx Amanda!  So I had to take a break from finishing "Olive Park" which I was doing while I was taking a break from finishing the 'EPIC Series' so I could do the next unscheduled piece in the 'EPIC Series' because I don't really make deadlines to actually use them...WOW.  So anyway, Here it is, just in time for a new Baby and Just perfect for Mother's Day and for Mom's everywhere- "A Beautiful Day".

Thank you all, I love you very much.