Greetings...thanks for stopping by.

My cartoon map business has really taken off in the last few months. What a difference it has made since I found my cartoon map web site, Fun Maps USA, at the top of the Google page rankings. I can't think of anywhere else I'd rather be. Since I hit the top position, I've been busier than a guppy's midwife, with one map project after another, and no end in sight. Check out our brand new Perry, Kansas map, just posted tonight.

On the illustration side, I just got another book illustration assignment today. It's a book called Figures of Speech, by R.E. Myers. I've collaborated with Bob several times before on book projects. He's one of my favorite writers. I call his books my Bob Books.

Speaking of books, my brand new kids' book, Washington for Kids, has just been released, and it's selling briskly. I wanted to create a book that would teach Washington children about their state in a fun fashion, listing the topics in alphabetical encyclopedia order. It's illustrated with my zany cartoons instead of realistic textbook-style illustrations. If you would like an autographed copy, contact me.

Due to my climbing Google page ranking, and my new Washington for Kids book, I'm getting more calls from schools to make appearances. If you would like me to do an assembly and workshops at your school, check out my school visits page, and contact me if you have more questions.

I just launched a new web site a few days ago, called Painting in Paradise. The web site offers painting samples and information on a new watercolor workshop that I will be conducting next winter on an exotic South Sea island called Rarotonga, in the Cook Islands. There I will teach the technique of realistic watercolor painting. We'll be painting the beautiful tropical flamboyants and hibiscus flowers that grow in lavish abundance on the island. If you would like to be part of this art safari of a lifetime, contact me.

That's it for now. Check back soon for more fun stuff from the outer edge of my ever-expanding Cartooniverse.

Bron

I've been so busy at my other sites over the last year that my home base site has suffered from lack of attention. I hope to change that this year with more posts.

I just finished a new poster illustration for Compass School promoting their 2008 summer camping program. You'll find it in the "Portfolio " section.

I have lots of school appearances coming up in 2008. If you'd like to invite me to bring my How to Draw program to your school, click here for more information.

I'm on the home stretch with a 238-page book called The Unsinkable Sub. I"ll post samples from that book soon.

I plan to take an art group to the paradise island of Rarotonga in the South Pacific the beginning of next year to conduct a workshop on painting realistic florals. The tropical flowers on Rarotonga are absolutely gorgeous. We'll tour the beautiful botanical gardens on the island, and in the workshops I'll show you how I paint my realistic florals. Here's a preliminary sample. Right now I'm building a new web site called Painting in Paradise to promote the workshops that I'll be conducting on Rarotonga and other exotic locales. It will be up and running soon. I'll keep you posted. Please contact me if you'd like to be one of the first to sign up. I will cut off at 15 students so the class isn't too large.

That's it for now. Check back soon for more fun stuff from the outer edge of my ever-expanding Cartooniverse.

Just a note to let you know that this week I was invited to joint the Picture Bookies blog ring. I happily accepted and I'm now an official member of this elite group. Check it out at www.picture-bookies.com. If you check out the site you'll note that, at this writing, there are still a couple formalities to nail down...get a picture of myself to them, and complete an interview. I hope to get that nailed down ASAP.

Also, last week I was honored with a most coveted award...the Blue Mug. I never thought it would happen to me, but it did. I've read about people who've received the Blue Mug, but never thought I would actually own one. But I do now.

As some of you may know, I don't do a lot of work in my studio. I used to, but after many years I started thinking: "What's keeping me here in my studio? Nothing. I don't have a boss. That means I can go wherever I want to work. So I started going to parks, beaches, mall food courts, libraries, anywhere that struck my fancy. Now I've narrowed it down to a handful of local haunts. So all of my Health Capsules comic panel is written and drawn outside my office. Ditto for my blog, the Trowbridge Chronicles, except for the color part. I still color in Photoshop in my office. All of my cartoon maps are drawn outside the studio, and so on, and so on.

Back to the Blue Mug. So Last week I'm at one of my favorite afternoon haunts, a corner window seat at McDonald's, where a large part of my drawing and writing takes place. It has only cost me 75 cents to rent a seat for the whole afternoon (the cost of iced tea) at McDonald's. Cheap rent, so I go there a lot. But now I can go to McDonald's and stay there all afternoon RENT FREE! Yes, because of that blue mug they gave me, I can now go to McDonald's and drink all the tea I want (while I work) for FREE! And that's not for a month or a year...it's for LIFE!

They told me that I was one of only two regular customers that received a McDonald's mug. I was so appreciative of their generous gesture that I made a certificate for them, and I thought I would also give them a plug on my web site. This is the plug. Thank you, Terrill, Colleen, Jesse, and all of the other people who keep me in tea at McDonalds.