Today is my birthday

I am 41 years old. I had wanted very badly to be at the halfway point (page 276) by today. It seemed somehow appropriate. However to do so would have meant really rushing the art and while I want to discover new ways of working more quickly, I don't ever want to do that at the expense of the art. So in the end, I worked at what seemed like the right pace and was happy with all of the art I made this week.

I will almost certainly be taking today off, mostly to spend with my wife and some friends and to celebrate a bit. I have a lot of thoughts I'd like to share, but I think I will save those until I do reach the halfway point on this project some time next week.

It's weird, but because of the timing of when I started this project, this will (with any luck!) be the only birthday I experience while working on the Moby-Dick illustrations. So it's kind of special that way.

Alright, off to have some fun. But first, thanks to each and every one of you who visits this blog, emails, comments, and in general encourages and supports the work. It really means a lot, every single day, and it has become a big part of what keeps driving me onward.

(STILL don't look my age! Ha!)