Cover for The Week magazine.

I like watching sports highlights. Not constantly, but in a noisy bar those are the things that make sense when the televisions' sound isn't on. Gut catches a ball, guy hits a ball... it's not difficult to see what happened. By the 3rd or 4th time looking up and seeing the same guy catching a ball in the outfield in a full out dive from several angles as he slid on his stomach for what looked like 50 feet, I had to draw this.

As I drew, I imagined all the things he would have slid over if he was making that play in the little league field I played on. Earth worms, crickets, frogs, bugs, rabbits, someone's paper McDonald's bag of their garbage... Maybe bones? moles? ACTUAL GRASS!!?? I thought it might make for a good sports illustration when I get around to experimenting again. This done in a bar with no pressure of a deadline is a beginning.

I rented t a nice car to go for a ride and see a friend last Monday. That friend being Mark Texeira, or "TEX" as he signs his comic book work. We hung out in the little town in Connecticut that he moved to last year. He showed me his studio which he is still setting up. Good to see all the new work he's doing for various Kickstarter books. Everything is being painted and has a light watercolor touch.

We came back to my place to continue talking about art etc. He was going to stay the night and we were going to paint and talk shop. Well, Tex doesn't come to NYC very often so we had visitors. Our mutual friends, Travis Louie, and Ray Lago came to hang out. Ray and Travis had never really hung out so it was a good time and very inspirational. Molly was in the studio putting the finishing touches on her memoir, "Drawing Blood" that is scheduled to come out in the fall. She took a break to hang out and BS with us. I think she actually had Ray as a teacher when she was attending FIT.  I'm very fortunate to live where I do so it's relatively easy for folks to visit.

Out of nowhere, Tex pulls out a small sketch pad that he had passed around to various artists he has met at conventions. He hangs out with some great people! I was actually in this one. I had completely forgot about the pad let alone what I had made in it! It was 3 pages and is completely goofy. I'm sure some scotch had influenced it in some way as well. To be read in a rough and tumble old western cowboy drawl.