Love You Like

I wrote a poem for The Huz.

Happy Valentine's Day.

xojc

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"Ball" work-in-progress.

Been busy with all the things of life, but still plugging away on my graphic novel for a few hours every day. The frames are more detailed than I usually do, so it's taking more time.

Here's a few work-in-progress images.

Apparently, water represents the subconscious...

Facing the Black & White Thinking Shark.

When the story sucks you in, you just have to let it happen. In a way, it's like the story is already there, waiting to be uncovered. I'm super-enjoying this.

More sneak peeks here.

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Working on a graphic novel: "Ball".

A while ago I was moved to start an illustrated series call Ball. I posted eight chapters (starting HERE) and then stopped, intending to complete the series as a book.

Life happened, my family needed me, I quit drinking and got a dog. There have been some money worries too, so I focused on producing clip art and videos for teachers. Now it's time to draw for myself again. I don't have as many free stretches as I once did, but I do have enough to focus on one of my many projects for a few hours each day. After internalizing Ball for so long, it deserves to be let out.

Here's a sneak peek:

Work-in-progress.

 Ball is the story of someone who loses a precious thing, and has to somehow find their way out of darkness. It's... an adventure.

I'll try to post updates as I go, and hope you'll follow along.

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Love is love.

I know there is so much more work to be done, but I do feel a lot more hopeful right now. 

Even though I'm Canadian, the SCOTUS decision to legalize same sex marriage in all fifty states has buoyed my spirits. Because people are people everywhere. And it's all love, when you open your heart.

Comments are here.

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Turning invisible.

When there's a death, there follows an immediate cluster of support and love.

This cluster begins to fall away a few weeks after the death; people are busy, they have their own lives, money worries and health issues to think about. The epicenter of grief puts on a brave face, a mask for the most part.

Months pass and life goes on.

Except for the crumbling inside. The missing. The opening your Skype and seeing their familiar face in your contacts, as if you might be able to reach them wherever they are in the beyond.

It's not the easy choice to remain close to the epicenter. We must allow our lives to fall away - work, play, Internet - so that we may hover nearby, and silently bolster. And that's why you haven't seen much of me lately. I'm turning invisible.

But I'll be back.


Comments are here.

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Heart to heart.

They say that Love is blind.

Because the heart does not see what colour skin you have.

It knows nothing of your religion.

The heart cares naught for your political sway, or what language you speak.

It is unfettered by gender.

It is undeterred by age.

The heart is unhindered by riches or hardship...

And it is unburdened by the webs and ladders of society.

Love always finds its way in the dark...

...when the heart seeks the beat of another heart.

They say that Love is blind.

But I say Love has perfect sight.

A version of this story originally appeared on Toy With Me.

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Just married...22 years ago.

We became engaged after one month of dating; we just knew. 

It's our 22nd wedding anniversary today and I'm feeling nostalgic. I went through the wooden box of treasures from our wedding back in 1992 and found a couple of cute things to share with you.

Ois and I did have some "official" fancy wedding invitations that my parents insisted on. But we wanted to do our own version too, so I drew this.

He doesn't look so enthusiastic about being glomped in this drawing; but I sure do!

Look, I did all the lettering by hand...

And these were our thank-you cards for the guests.

It's pretty cool to be able to spend the rest of my life together with this person. I'm pretty happy I found him - I mean, what if our paths had never crossed?

The HUZ figures we'll have 25 more years together; he reckons he'll be the first to pop his clogs. I don't know, but I can't bear to think about life without him.




That's Oisín in the video. He's pretty special. When you know, you just know, you know? 
Someday I'll draw the story of how we met in London.

Happy Anniversary, husband of my days, father of my children!

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Prove your love - Valentines Day CARDS.

I figured I'd be nice and make the mug designs into Valentines Day cards for you guys.

Just to be on the safe side, I'd recommend giving this card WITH some chocolate.

The tiny fist gets bigger if you haven't had your coffee yet.

If someone gives you this mug, you prolly shouldn't trust them. Unless they're vegan.

Don't tell the Darjeeling.

This one's a best seller.

Love triangle! This was obviously a threesome at some point.

This is true love.

And look, here's a new one.

Tell someone that you will never, EVER, get board of them.

Please show your love and share this shizzle.

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HOT LIST of Valentines Day GIFTS - It's time to prove your love.

Here's some groovy and totally original Valentines Day gifts that I made for you. Order them NOW and impress everyone by having your shit together before February 14th.

Prove your love; don't just say "I love you...."

Say, I love you more than chocolate, coffee, bacon...

Just to be on the safe side, I'd recommend giving this gift WITH some chocolate.

The tiny fist gets bigger if you haven't had your coffee.

If someone gives you this mug, you prolly shouldn't trust them.

...I love you more than tea, Twitter, wine (red or white...yeah even Chardonnay).

Don't tell the darjeeling.

This one's a best seller. 

Love triangle! This was obviously a threesome at some point.

It's almost unthinkable, but it's possible to love someone even more than BEER.

This is true love.

Just shoot me an email and lemeeno if you prefer a t-shirt.

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Love VS Crohn's.

I met Lauri, a poetess, and her husband Mark, on the Innerwebs four years ago. Those two are crazy about each other. Always holding hands, always kissing, always smiling and laughing. They're freaking adorable with the love!

You'd never know it by looking at photos, but Mark has Crohn's disease. Every day is a battle for him right now. Lauri loves him so much, and money is tight, so I'm drawing this as a gift for her to give to him this Christmas. She also wants it to be a way to reach others who are living with Crohn's, to empower them and to raise awareness.

Mark has had Crohn's about 10 years. He underwent surgery to have part of his intestines removed about 5 years ago. He's currently on cimzia immune suppression treatment and chemo methotrexate treatment. That's the long story.

And here's the short story:

"We want people to know what it's like," says Lauri. "He is in some level of pain 24-7. But things like working in cars and playing with grandkids give him great joy. And we are huge in believing in God to help us get through. It's one of those invisible illnesses ya know."

Did you know that over half a million people suffer with this in North America? Chances are you know someone with it.

Mark and Lauri are fighting Crohn's with all the love they have for each other. Their smiles, hugs and kisses make everything a little more bearable. It's a positive message.

Ladybugs know all about hugs in a teacup.

Love VS Crohn's? Love wins.

Merry Christmas to you!

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Ball...(part 8).

...continued from here.

This is the story of my ball. (It's a series. If you're new you can start at the start.)

They said they could help me and I wanted to trust them. So I told them that I'd lost my ball.

Do you want to find out what happens next? To be continued... in a book.

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