We'll Be Missing You

Last night we laughed and cried while listening to the wonderful Fresh Air broadcast 

in memory of Maurice Sendak. I can't believe I'm still shedding tears right now.

Goodbye Maurice, thank you for all the wild and wonderful things you gave us.

Thank you for your amazing creativity, honesty, intelligence and courage; 

thank you for turning the challenges and tragedies of life into art

that will continue to inspire, move and elevate us,

 thank you for your profound love of beauty and truth.

I wish I could tell you please don't go, 

and let you know we love you so!

Franco Matticchio

Dogs and their Women

Michael Sowa

I want to thank all of you who have commented, donated, written emails

or otherwise supported our family since the onset of Emma's illness. 

I am so grateful and happy to have such a wonderful group of readers!

The good news is for now Emma is doing very well, so much so that we tend

to forget the veterinarian's dire diagnosis. I really hope this will last,

but let's take it one day at a time. I will try to thank all of you individually, 

meanwhile this post about dogs and the women who love them is for you.

Itō Jakuchū

Louis Bonnet, 1775

Marion Peck

Lucian Freud, 1951

Camilla Engman

Marco Cazzato

Jack Potter, 1960s, thanks to leifpeng

Romaine Brooks, 1924

Ana Juan

Pierre Bonnard, 1922

Tadahiro Uesugi

 Lauren Nassef

Creative Collage Creatures

Among the talented artists I've had the pleasure to discover in recent months,

Andrea d'Aquino is one of my favorites. I really love the textures and organic feel

of her collage-illustrations, and her refined use of color, humor and whimsicality. 

D'Aquino is a new Yorker of Italian American descent who has been working 

for many years as a top level art director and more recently as an illustrator.

To learn more about her life, vision, work process and sources of inspiration 

I encourage you to read her interview on Pikaland, I found it very inspiring! 

A recent cover for Uppercase magazine 

Andrea's entry for the The New Yorker's Eustace Tilley contest was inspired

by d'Aquino's own pet schnauzer and the "off-leash hours” at Central Park.

 A very proud and noble dog indeed!

Sweet as a Lion

Boniface's Holiday is a prize-winning 1965 animation by the great Russian director Fyodor Khitruk. 

It's funny, very sweet, and it showcases a variety of wonderful and innovative graphic ideas.

If there are children around you show it to them, I think they will enjoy it!