%#@*&!

DET 87 - BOS 85. 
- should have worn that 33 jersey instead. 
- shouldn't have left in the 3rd quarter to pick up pizza
- shouldn't have stood up in the last 1 minute. The team was looking good while i was on my back.

next time, i should know better.

rashweed!

big game alert

my boys in green (20-2) will be battling THE east finals contender today, the detroit pistons (17-7). a certified litmus test for the celtics in this young season. so you can be rest assured that for 3 hours this afternoon, i will be glued to the tv and blowing off any responsibilites or duties i should be doing. 

and if you're wondering, that is an nba fantasy league trophy (a what?!) beside my bird bobblehead. -- awkward silence -- maybe i shouldn't have shared that. i know, it's sad and i need help.... but not until the end of the season! 

bring on the bad boys. now, do i wear the #33 or the #34 jersey for good luck? i feel that these are important questions.

a swamp thing

so much for that one post a week idea. 

since I'm pretty busy with work right now, I've decided to post some artwork for a book that will be released in summer 2008. it's called "bedtime at the swamp" (harpercollins; written by kristyn crow). my art rep has already posted an image from the book, so i'm assuming it is ok to post two here. note: no text placements yet.

i've noticed that it normally takes a year (or in this case 18 months) after painting is done when the books get published. after working on a book for 6 months, you can forgive me if i can be a little antsy waiting that long to finally see my work in print.

this book i'm especially proud of. so far, i've heard nothing but good things about it from the publishers, clients and the writer. it's actually opened new opportunities too. it's a fun story (it involves swamps, monsters & mud). the cover looks really, really good (too bad i can't show it).

i'm currently working on a hidden picture book with a christmas theme and it's currently kicking my pwet. if you ever see me do another hidden picture book, you have my permission to shoot me.

oh yeah, that's my dog, winter, in the painting (still a puppy). my bro, chris, is on the left looking up and that's the back of my head in the foreground (in a red cape, of course). a larry bird jersey, a celtic bobblehead and a superman figurine shows up too -- hey, i get bored working on the same thing for 6 months.

ant meets bug

i've totally forgotten about this and only remembered when i was googling my name last night (i know, i know. hey its fun).

my book "I Saw An Ant On The Railroad Track" is a 2007 ladybug picture book nominee. an award given out by the new hampshire state library (go celtics! sorry, couldn't resist). i have no clue if this is a big thing. but i know one thing, i can actually say these words "i am just happy to be nominated". haha.

i dont expect to win by the way. i'm like a giddy laurence fishburne in 1993, nominated for "whats love got to do with it", fully expecting tom hanks to bag the oscar for "philadelphia".

ooh, i just remembered this one while writing this -- man, my memory's bad. another book of mine, Take Me Out to The Ballgame" was also nominated for another award. the 2007 ben franklin nominee for the children's book and audio book category (independent book publishers association). quick search aaand...ok, i lost that one last may. damn you "A Frog Thing"!

being nominated for anything is nice and unexpected but i really just want to draw and be paid for it. avoiding the 9-5er anyway i can.

still, coming from a career C student who's won three awards his whole life:
cleanest tent - boy scouts in grade 6 (the makeshift garden was awesome)
postermaking award -- grade 1 ("mery christmas" -- still cant spell to this day)
NY society of illustrators student award -- now, this was cool.

just being recognized by the publishers is good enough for me.

***oh wait, four awards. judge's choice for a postermaking thing i did in high school. it was crap, but i did win 500 pesos for it. sweet.

banksy

if i could do this art and make bank, it'd be perfect for me. smart, challenging, opinionated and unpretentious.

he's been on the news recently because someone finally caught a picture of him. that part sounds too gimmicky for me. but his work is solid. link

my vote

'm a sucker for world events and the news. That's pretty obvious to people who know me well. So, on cue, I have kept up with the current US presidential race within the democratic and Republican parties. Only recently have I realized that this time this race may matter more to me because I may be casting a vote come election time.

So here is my current evaluation of the field:

MY CURRENT PICKS:
1. Barack Obama D- My choice from the start. I seem to agree with everything he says. Sweet jumpshot.
2. John Edwards D - Has recently jumped up my list. Has made excellent points. If only the country would pay more attention to him.
3. Joe Biden D - Extremely qualified. Says the right things and is not boring (important nowadays).
4. Hillary Clinton D- Not a favorite but always looks solid. sometimes looks too much of a pol, but cannot deny her skills. Big plus: brings Bill back.

KEEPING MY EYE ON:
1. Bill Richardson D - Strong UN record. Effective Governor. Horatio Sanz would be perfect to play him on SNL.
2. John McCain R - I don't agree with some things he's said but I like him. Authentic, Talks frankly, non-partisan and a reformer (Immigration, Campaign reform). I'd trust him as a leader.
3. Chris Dodd D - Another Dem who keeps saying the right things.

NO! NO! NO! NO!:
1. Mitt Romney R - Shallow minds think he being a Mormon is a problem. It shouldn't be. The problem is that he's a devout Moron. Has said he would double Guantanamo Bay Prison. Switched on numerous issues to suit his political ambitions.
2. Rudy Guliani R- Joe Biden said it best: "Rudy Giuliani, probably the most underqualified man since George Bush to seek the presidency....I mean, think about it! Rudy Giuliani. There's only three things he mentions in a sentence -- a noun, a verb, and 9/11. There's nothing else!"
3. Fred Thompson R - Still believes Iraq had WMDs. Should stay with fictional law & order.
4. Mike Hukabee R - A creationist as president? Hell no.

FUN FACTOR:
1. Dennis Kucinich D - Authentic and opinionated. Hot wife. Claims to have seen a UFO.
2. Ron Paul R - Never thought I'd listen to a Republican congressman from Texas. Solid anti Iraq war, severely criticizes Bush and is not beholden to his party. A Republican? Texas? Extra points for having the best name.

IF ONLY THEY'D RUN:
1. Al Gore D- My ultimate pick. But he's too busy saving the rest of the world (and collecting Grammys, Oscars and the Nobel Peace Prize). No tony or Source award yet. slacker.
2. Bill Clinton D- Because he's Bill.
3. Abe Lincoln R- Hey it's my blog. Who else can bring the left and right together but the one who handled the North v. South war? A real Republican.
4. Stewart/Colbert - much better than the current duo. and funnier. Carrell for Secretary of State.
5. Lex Luthor/Darth Vader- We already have evil villains in the White House, why not one that is actually smart and with real battlefield experience? ... with a light sabre. cool.

DISCLAIMER:
I've also rooted for the following:
- Al Gore in 2000 (won. then lost)
- John Kerry in 2004 (lost badly)
- George H.W. Bush in 1992 (surprise)
- Roco in 2004 (lost badly...then died)
- Boston Celtics the last 2 decades (i'm mentally scarred by them)
- my teenage self against my younger, shorter, rounder bro during one-on-one basketball (lost)
- The Philippine Olympic Team (never won gold. ever.)
- Optimus Prime in the animated movie (he dies. i weep)
- Springfield over Springsteen (hey, I was a kid)
- Cindy Lauper over Madonna (cindy looked cooler)
- every team against Jordan's Bulls (i still hate mj)

**See a pattern here? Obama's in trouble.

banner 17

basketball season. finally.
the celtics are finally on the map! kg and ray allen in celtic green. i don't expect a ring (yet), but now we have a chance. the suns are in disarray, dallas will still choke and its a toss up in the east. the spurs are still the favorite, but they only win in odd-numbered years (1999, 2003, 2005, 2007).

* about the pic.. yeah, i know. i was surprised that paul didn't wear a suit too. i've also been hearing talk about this being the next big 3. i think it's unfair to leave ray allen out.

sneak peek

my quest to do artwork for the older market (i'd say adult market but that would be wrong) is once again on hold. seems like my clients' target readers keep getting younger & younger. i'm also doing an ABC book and a christmas hidden picture book. my guess is that my most loyal readers .... um, can't read yet.

*i normally don't post artwork that have not been published yet (contracts, rights, blah), but this one is a test image so what the heck. i'll hold off on what it's about but if i do go ahead on this book, it would be on a topic that is new & strange territory for me.

walk on

i've been wanting to do an op-ed illustration about burma, but time's not on my side. 

right now, there is a brutal crackdown on the peacful protests led by buddhist monks, the spiritual and moral backbone of the country. an undisclosed number have been killed, detained or disappeared. 

this is not like the philippines were a there is a sympathetic military faction to support a peaceful civilian protest like in EDSA I and II. it truly is guns v. prayer beads.

currently, things look bleak in burma, but i can only hope that someday, human rights and democracy return to the country.

for more info: http://www.burmacampaign.org.uk./

jailhouse 'rap

this crook got caught.

while the rest of them remain free.
i won't name names but here's one hint:
rhymes with shmelda barcos.

day off

for the first time in months, i got to enjoy a work free weekend. consecutive days without thinking of deadlines! i thought it would be the perfect time to sketch for fun again. i haven't done that in years.

so what did i want to draw? for my first stress-free drawing in a long time, there sure was a lot of pressure. i had a small window of time.

i really expected myself to come up with some editorial illustration. that's always been fun -- thinking, making a point and drawing. it's so easy to point my loaded pencil at karl rove, raul gonzalez and their ilk.

and then i had a "caddyshack/hotfuzz" moment. why not just put no reason to it. just draw. it's something that will never be on my portfolio ... and i sure hope i can make some more.

announcement: no brain cells were hurt in the making of this sketch.

updated site

it took a while but i finally updated my www.mackyart.com website. work, travelling, procrastination and the nba playoffs conspired to delay this. maybe it was a good thing the warriors didn't get past the jazz.

I built the site in 2003, during my senior year in art school. i'm not that tech-savvy so i had to build one that i could easily handle and update. i also didn't have a career then and needed a site to introduce myself to the art world > also known as "anyone-willing-to-pay-me-for-my-art" world.

a few books, a real live art career and two cities later ...okay, 1.5 cities later, the site needed to be updated to fit the times. 

unfortunately, most of my newer illustrations won't be added until they get published (it's a contract thing). so a lot of the illustrations shown on the site have been on the net for some time now. but i'm looking forward to late next year, when a lot of my favorite new illustrations will be published.

the site is no way near done but it now looks clean and less busy. one link is still down and i plan to add more illustrations and icons. for now, it's a step above the previous design. i'll probably be done with the whole thing when the celtics make the playoffs (hah). i'm glad it's only a secondary portfolio site -- most of my clients go directly to my agent's website.