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leopard spots - original art by andy mcnally

The Illustration Friday challenges are fun creative exercises. This week’s theme was a little tougher than most.  The theme is “proverb.”  I thought of several old sayings, but could not come up with any solid ideas.  I visited a site, The Phrase Finder, that has a list of phrases and started looking through them, until something, but more particularly and image jumped out.  I choose the proverb, “a leopard cannot change its spots.”  Upon seeing the  phrase, I immediately saw a leopard dressed up with a nice tie.  I’m sure most of you are not surprised.  It occurred to me that maybe a leopard cannot change their spots, but they can dress a little nicer.

So the question is can a leopard change it’s spots?  Sadly, I don’t know any leopards, and it could be a good thing because I cannot outrun one.  I digress.  I wanted to talk about my progress as a full-time artist and some things I’ve learned.  First, I simply love to draw and illustrate, so I’m doing what I love.  Second, a huge decision was to work from home, so that I could spend more time with my youngest daughter, and wished I had thought of this for my oldest daughter.  The time with them is worth more than any reward.  Of course bills still have to be paid, and food needs to be bought for both of us.  My artwork is selling, and each week sees more visits to my sites, and more purchases, but it is not quite there yet.  I’ve taken a few contract teaching jobs here and there to supplement, but I don’t want to rely on them.  I’m also trying out some new venues for my artwork like Society6 for selling prints.  I’m also learning to live with less.  I’m not a complete minimalist, but there is something beautiful about being more selective about what I decide to buy and why it is really needed.  I’m also selling off things in the house that I don’t want or need.  If you want more information about a minimalist approach check out Everett Bogue’s blog, or his eBook.  It is all coming together, perhaps not as fast as I would like, but at the end of the day I’m creating art and spending time with my daughter, and that is something that no job can ever top.  It may be unconventional, but what fun would it be to be conventional.  Thank you all for your love and support.

4 Replies to “leopard spots”

  1. Hey Mr. Griffith, thank you so much for the kind words and encouragement. I don’t have any answers, but if I find any along the way, I will certainly share them with everyone.

  2. Andy,
    Love the post. I agree that a leopard cannot change spots, but think you have truly embraced the “dress a little nicer” concpet with your life and work. Think about how the inability of the Leopard to change will never allow for him to have the exposure he needs or deserves.

    Thanks for the tuthful account from your life of how to do what’s really important in life. More people should take that approach and live with less regret.

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