Last year, following the horrific tragedies of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, I painted this piece: [link] as a way of expressing sympathy and hope to the victims of the disaster. Now, there is an art book available with this piece and many, many others from so many talented illustrators! The book features over 200 illustrations and is gorgeously printed as a hardback book with thick, glossy, full color pages. Some people I watch on DA are featured in the book--there is so much talent it blows me away! I received my copy in the mail the other day and was blown away when I held this extraordinary book! This book is now available for purchasing. The proceeds go to Give2Asia.

The project is in French and I haven't been able yet to find a way to buy it on an English-oriented website. If you can find out a place to purchase the book through an English venue, please let me know. You can find the official website for the book and project here: [link] and you should all at least check it out, because there's a preview of the book itself and tons of images that are contained within! (Not all of the images on the website are in the book, however. But the images in the book are all extraordinary in their quality and execution!) If at all possible, I'd encourage everyone to at least check out the website. And if possible, heck--help some folks and buy a book!

For me, it's really cool to own this book and be a part of this big project for charity. I've never participated in something so neat with my art before, and it's a very humbling experience to not only be in a book with so many incredible artists, but also to have the opportunity to be a part of a big project, to help people in a tangible way with what little I have to offer. I'm so grateful to have something to contribute to the world, and to victims of tragedy, and I'm grateful that although my offering is small, it is acceptable for what it's worth. "Magnitude 9" will always be a treasure to me. I will always remember how important it is to do something good with my talents, small as they may be. And I will always remember that even if we don't have much, each of us has something to give, and that is what counts.