I started writing this journal early this morning and am now finishing it at 7:35 p.m. MDT. My mother is in the hospital again and she's taken a very serious turn for the worse. She has, in fact, been in the hospital several times since I last mentioned it in a journal, but it has become so commonplace that I hadn't expounded further

This time it's MUCH more serious and this morning, I received THE call that said I should hurry there. Well, my mother gave my entire family a BIG scare, and after consulting with her doctors, we've all had to face the fact that there is nothing further that can be done. She requested to make herself a DNR, and from now until it's all over she'll just be kept as comfortable as possible.

Consequently, I won't be around for some time and won't be commenting on all your work or your kind comments.

I still urge you to peruse the galleries of my friends here and (even better) to go through the list of all my friends to see their galleries. Each of you mean a lot to me and all of you for different reasons.

Until I can afford to spend more time with you, take care of yourselves and stop to appreciate those you love.

Michael


First, I would like to congratulate all the friends I have who recently graduated from high school.

and anyone else I may have missed (I'm sincerely sorry if I missed you and if you note me that you recently graduated, I'll be happy to add you).

I'd also like to congratulate those of you who will be moving on to college (some of those above have already been accepted).

I've just been notified by a LONGTIME friend of mine that she recently graduated from college! She's an EXCELLENT artist, a wonderful person and a beautiful lady. Her artwork is really imaginative and she was recently interviewed by an online art 'zine' that showcased her excellent work. Lea has been included in shows in prestigious galleries in L.A. and I hope to keep track of her art career forever. Please check out this great interview: [link] Drop by and give her a big hello!

You can find her work here:



The real reason for this journal is to promote a few friends of mine who could really use some exposure. I've seen many of these artists labor day in and out with hardly a comment on their work. Of course that doesn't pertain to them all, but their artwork needs to be seen by those of you who are my friends.

The first is my friend Minna Sundberg, a female artist from Finland who is unbelievably creative and talented and, believe it or not, was recently rejected as a art student at the school of her choice! Once you see her artwork, I'm sure you'll all agree that the standards for students in Finland must be unbelievably strict as she is clearly very talented and very creative. I can certainly understand a strict criteria in accepting art students to keep the high standards a school must maintain, but they are clearly not looking at her artwork! Please take a look at her work and offer her some kind words. She's facing the fact that she'll be looking for a ho-hum job to make ends meet. You can find her dA page here:



Next is my friend, Elijah who is, like me, an airbrush artist. His works are passionate and creative and I'm even willing to overlook the fact that he listens to Yanni (yeecchh) because his artwork is so good. Where this young gentleman REALLY shines is in the fiction work he's done! He's currently working on a trilogy that takes place in the fabled continent of Atlantis. For those of you who love to read fantasy works, check out these two links, you won't regret the time spent: [link] and [link]

You can also find his dA gallery here:




This gives another friend, Justino Alejandro Sadur-Torres a very hard act to follow, but one which I'm sure he'll be able to do well. He's currently working on a illustrated sequential story that is very comprehensive and which, to my amazement, he's doing in INK - the least forgiving of art media. You can find the various frames of his story in his gallery and I'm sure you'll appreciate his detailed works and his wonderful city-scapes.

You can find his dA page here:



Another dA friend is Eve - she's a part-time photographer, a part-time writer and a full time philosopher. I've enjoyed her friendship and her photography for quite some time on another dA account she has (which I won't divulge, but you can ask her yourself). She's a wonderful writer and a definite thinker which SHOULD be synonymous, but isn't always the case. If you love poetry, or writing/reading in general, please stop by her page and give her a hello.

You can find her here:



Last, and certainly NOT least is my friend, Gromyko. He's a young artist and a new father and I'm positive his work will absolutely amaze you! He's an accomplished surrealist and his work has a sort of woodcut look to it that is very appealing and (I'm sure) difficult to do. He is a devout surrealist and is either a member or a moderator of many notable surrealist clubs or websites. I'm positive you'll be left in awe of his fine talents!

You can find his dA page here:



In conclusions, I'd like again to urge ALL of my dA friends to visit these pages and leave a nice comment for the artists/writers there. They're ALL nice people and very receptive to questions or criticism regarding their particular art.


Just drop by to say hello - one can NEVER have too many friends.