W.

Baby V.

Gelato Guy

Printing images for the Greece show at Binders in Buckhead. Here's a family photo from our trip to Nafplion. We named this thing Gelato Guy, and had gelato for breakfast, lunch and dinner everyday.

Sharks, with laser beams...

Walker bought himself the new LEGO Agents Speed Boat Rescue Mission, which features sharks with laser beams attached to their heads.

Reminds me of a Dr. Evil riff. Teeheehee...

Lucy and Us

Kristin and I watched "Marley and Me" last night, (Kristin cried the whole time) and spent a lot of time reminiscing about our loco black lab, Lucy Luna, who passed away this past September.

When our flight from Greece touched down two hours late in New York, we had twenty minutes to get through customs and catch our home connection. An angel named Felicity helped us corral the boys, Tillman in full meltdown, and after making an incredible run through JFK, we made the plane with minutes to spare.

I called Kristin's mom Jacque. She said "I have some bad news," and I knew that Lucy was gone.

Our neighbor Jessica was dog-sitting for us, and said that Lucy had laid down and refused to come back in the house. At 100 pounds, Lucy was a bit of an ox; when she didn't want to move, she became Johnny Mercer's "old, immovable object." Jessica found her the next morning. I tried to reassure her that Lucy was old and we knew she was near the end of her life, but I think circumstance left her feeling responsible, although there's no way she could have been. Lucy had hardened up in her last few years. She walked stiff, groaned all the time and frequently dropped gas bombs that if inhaled could cause nerve damage.

Being a former cat person, Lucy was my first dog. She taught me to love her, and to love dogs. (After Mr. Henry died, we no longer own cats.) She was my first canine subject and surely created my passion for dog portraits.

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Lucy was at least as crazy as Marley, and perhaps more. We have a million stories about our twelve years with Lucy, most of them involving eating the inedible and then passing it in either a solid or liquid form. We have titled these as "The Tissue Box Incident;" "The Fruitcake Incident;" "The Soup Bone Incident; "The Soy Crayon Incident," etc. We'll try to pass along some of these tales for your enjoyment in the coming weeks.

For now, here is one of my earliest portraits of Lucy Luna, in the summer of 1997, when we had just purchased our falling down disgrace of a first home in Avondale Estates. Lucy was there from the start, before Kristin and I were married, before we bought our first home, before the children, before we grew up.

Baby N.

The sleep study

The story of Tillman's sleep study

Kids say the darndest things.

Tilllman:

"My brain smells like strawberry bubblegum."

Grasshopper

Billboard

You might see this billboard around Atlanta featuring my portrait of The Bert Show crew. Or - alternatively - you might NOT see it, and I cannot be held responsible for either circumstance.

Nest

Something beautiful for Spring :-)

Baby Bits

An Easter Joke

Two chocolate Easter bunnies were sitting on a fence. The first chocolate bunny had his tail bitten off, and the second chocolate bunny was missing his ears.

The first bunny said "my butt hurts."

The other bunny said "WHAT?!"

Greek Artist Workshop

Just got word that our paintings and photos from our Greek Art and Photography Workshop will be on display at Binders in Buckhead during the month of May.

I will probably have at least seven new photographs there. Jim Sutherland is working on several new pieces, as well. Should be a great exhibit. Details to come.

More conversations with a nine-year old

"Whew. Walker, your feet stink."

"Thank You. I'll accept that as a compliment."

Today's Most Cutest Baby

The Incredible Italian Jumping Bean

Our Italian Greyhound Gracie doing what Gracie does: she jumps 77 times in this 100 second clip! You think we can keep this dog off the counter? :-)

Look for the big portrait of Puccini in the background.

Word is, there may be a ring in Gracie's future. Stay tuned...

Hoopla!

Our friends Sabrina and Linda over at Hoopla! hosted us this afternoon for some Spring portraits in their brand new, in-store party area. Be sure to keep them in mind for your next event.

The bunbun is named Thumper, a.k.a. Son of Monster Bunny. Here's a few favorites.