Build the Bridge First



One Plank at a Time

I bought canvas board to finally start
my first painting for my next endangered species book, "Through Desert Eyes." I have been looking for a nudge, a push, a kick in the butt, to get started and now that I am, I'm so excited! I'm still trying to decide which one I should do first. There are 16 to work on and they are all visually exciting (reading that last statement back sounds so pornographic.)

As I sit here staring at the screen, wondering what else to write, Greg Mortonson's journey to build schools in Pakistan popped into my head. Greg promised to build a school in the Pakistan village that helped him survive only to find that he must first build a bridge. I wonder if this is how it might happen for me and my journey to make a living doing what I love. Perhaps, to become a successful writer/illustrator I must figure out how to build the bridge first. The number one key to this process is not trying to rush it.

So, I am walking dogs, doing graphic design for a vacuum company, teaching kids art, and selling as many of my books as possible, to lay the planks of my bridge. I can see the other side, but I have a lot of planks to put down to actually get there. Once I get there-- man what a story that will be!