Creature Double Feature

Mechanical titans and an eastern black dragon this month.
Photoshop & Painter

A challenge in so many ways

This is by far the most difficult post I have ever written for a number of reasons. Todays post is of a piece I was working on for an artorder challenge in February. On February 24 I received news that my father had fallen at home and was in the ICU in my original home town of Schenectady NY.   When I arrived in NY the medical situation was unclear and we hoped he would regain consciousness and recover quickly. Unfortunately it soon became apparent that was not going to be the case.
 What does this have to do with an art challenge?  As I stated earlier I had been working on this piece but with the situation as it were I had very little time or energy left to get it submitted by March 3. There were many moments when I decided to give up on any idea of getting it submitted on time. During those most difficult days however there were also times when I needed to do something to keep my sanity and so I continued to work on it during the evenings. My mother and brother provided me with some helpful critiques.  I knew in my heart that it was not going to be the greatest thing I had ever done and the results likely would not win me any awards are garner many accolades but I also could hear my fathers voice encouraging me not to give up and to finish what I had started. Words of advice he had shared with me many times in the past. And so I did. I submitted the piece as required on March 3. On March 4 my father passed away peacefully surrounded by our family.
 Looking back now I realize that having this little comic book page to focus on at times was very valuable to me and despite its many shortcomings I know that I did the very best that I could under the circumstances. That's what my dad would have wanted me to do.
 I try to keep my blogging very light hearted and and hope this is not too heavy but it is now a very personal piece to me with more meaning than I ever could have anticipated. Thank you to TheArtOrder for the most significant art challenge I have ever faced. Sometimes a challenge is what we need to keep us going through a difficult period and this was certainly one of those times.