The illustration above is one that I did for a calendar a while back. Recently, an art director pointed to the watercolor on the dog's back and said, "You know what?... this is... act-tualllly... a raaaaather... sophisticated... little... illustration?"
The surprised tone of her voice inferred that I had mistakenly made something good. And, that nothing else she had seen of my work had been blessed by the same naive error.
And now, even though time has passed, each time I paint the spot on the dog's back in the book that I'm currently illustrating I hear that voice. "You know what???...."
Here's a big hug to all of us who hear voices in our heads. I hope that we all continue working happily until the good words are shouting waaaayyy louder than the whispers of snarky critics and reviewers!
