Water Babies

I had a great opportunity for a custom drawing this month. Heather's sister Hilary and her husband Jesse have a sweet little girl named Cori. Her first birthday was this week. Hilary and Jesse have been living in South Korea for 2 years, as Jesse was stationed there with the U.S. Army. They got a new assignment and are now living in Louisiana... and luckily, we got to see them as they passed through town.

Hilary contacted us about 2 weeks before they flew back to the States with an awesome idea for Cori's birthday present. She wanted an 11x14" drawing of the four cousins in the family: Lakin (9 years old), Addah (7½ years old), Cori (1 year old) and little Abby (3 months old), as mermaids in the deep blue sea. I loved it... and had a blast working on it!

I used the older girls' favorite colors: purple and blue for Lakin and pink and orange for Addah. For the little ones, I has noticed that Abby's hair and features really stood out in the pink coral romper she had on, and likewise, Cori was beautiful in her little green dress. I was really able to capture the four girls' personalities in this drawing and I am very happy with it. Hilary and Jesse were ecstatic and couldn't wait to frame the piece for Cori's new bedroom!

Sunday Sketches 9/19/10

Advancing Dragon

Lakin in Caricature

First Fairy, circa 1993

My Cherubs

Years ago, I let a wonderful woman slip through my fingers. I've known Heather since 1993, when we were in high school together. I took her to her senior prom... and then by happenstance, we drifted apart. In my absence, she married another and had two little girls. We had remained friends throughout, and when her marriage ended, we picked up where we had left off 9 years previously. I consider myself an incredibly lucky man to have this woman back in my arms, and even more so that I have her little girls in my life.

I never knew I wanted to be a father, until I became one. These two girls, Lakin and Addah, are funny, silly, and every other word that can be used to describe "whimsical". They are little fairies without the wings. They make me smile, they make me laugh, and every now and then they make me cry. Having never had children of my own, being their stepfather is one of the greatest honors I could ever have hoped for.

It's been a crazy two years. I've gone from lazy single bachelor, who spent my free time drinking and playing X-Box, to responsible father figure and would-be husband. Things aren't always easy. Both Heather and Lakin have been diagnosed with Bipolar I Disorder and Generalized Anxiety. I was diagnosed many years ago with Major Depression and Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD). A streak of  Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) runs through Addah as well. In short, it's a madhouse at times, but we have a lot of love and share a lot of hugs, and we've all learned a lot of patience.

Lakin recently tried out for chorus, something her mother and I never expected her to do. She has a beautiful voice but with her anxiety issues, I was surprised that she would be willing to get up in front of her class and audition. She came home today to tell us that she was chosen for 4th and 5th grade chorus, and was very excited, but not in the manic kind of way we have come to expect. It was refreshing and gives us hope, especially after a particularly trying summer. It's amazing to see flowers bloom like this.

These two girls are my cherubs, my sweethearts, and I wouldn't trade them for the world... I'm so fortunate to have them, as well as my darling Heather, in my life.