The Quiet Face of Cancer

I did a drawing of my husband recently, which is not really unusual. I've been drawing pictures of him for the last 20 years we've been married. He is one of those rare people that, seriously, never changes. Until this time.

It was only going to be a little sketch, drawn on the inside of a discarded library book. A face I had seen for so long. Something, somehow, had changed this time. It was almost imperceptible. His lips were not as full. His look was a little harder. Very quiet differences.

I would probably never have noticed the changes had I not studied his face so many times before. I remarked to him, almost quizzically, that he had suddenly become old. Now, I am thinking it wasn't the old that I was seeing. Now I think it was the cancer.

I think it would be interesting to have a morning selfie every day for 10, 20, even 50 years, to see the differences. Would you pick up on the changes? Would it be possible to see cancer coming, like an early warning system?

I dunno.

Illustration Friday: Ahead

I've done these Library People drawings for years, and I've always sold them on eBay, but I've decided not to auction them anymore. Since everyone is suffering through the Great Recession, I think it is unlikely I'll get decent bids, so I am going to move ahead and just sell them on my website. Sure, my website gets a hit once in awhile at best, but I remain hopeful that things will pick up. This is Library People 126, and she is for sale at the aforementioned website, ottoblotto.com.

I also sell my work now in my Zazzle store, Incomplete Thoughts. Yes, it's reproductions. I have to make a living somehow.

And 100

Yes, it's Library People #100. It's a milestone for me, and somehow an accomplishment at a time in my life where every day is somehow the same, even though it isn't.

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My husband is home for the weekend, and he brought a terrible cold with him. I feel like the whole house is a biohazard. I am spending the weekend sleeping on the couch and otherwise avoiding being in the same airspace with him. I so hope I and the kids don't catch it.

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I just got a shipment o discarded library books, thanks to the fabulous efforts of my friend Zack. [Thanks Zack] I plan to get on to more Library People this week, assuming I don't catch this crud.

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I think I'll go have some orange juice.

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PS - you can purchase him on eBay right now. Follow the eBay link, and feel free to bid early and often.