Art Hurts

As Tomie recovered from pneumonia this past winter, he worked hard to finish the artwork for the next autobiographical chapter book, FOR THE DURATION. The harder he worked on the small black-and-white line drawings, the more his writing and drawing hand (right hand) began to hurt.

After completing FOR THE DURATION, he began to work hard on the artwork for MY MOTHER IS SO SMART. His right hand remained in pain, and the pain began to affect his sleep.

After completing MY MOTHER IS SO SMART, he worked through the pain and created artwork for a print/poster that will be packaged with the 25th Anniversary edition of TOMIE DEPAOLA'S MOTHER GOOSE (publication in 2010).

Yesterday, he met with the hand surgeon who had performed carpal tunnel surgery on Tomie's right hand several years ago. There is swelling in the hand, and the doctor is prescribing alternative treatments (instead of surgery) for now.

Such are the joys of an artist, and someone who autographs a lot of books.