110 days down, 255 to go.
Today I had the honor and opportunity to be invited as a judge at my annual ALMA MATER (California State University Northridge) TV production pilot final presentation. We watched 12 shorts in a space of about 2 hours. I have to say since graduating a number of years back, the production standards have really risen. They even now have access to a Red Camera provided by the school. In my day, we were lucky to have a HD Camera. So understandably I was a little jealous because I went through the same program which was part of my major but the outcome was no where near this quality. It's not that the stories and ideas were not solid, the tools we had access to execute them was I guess dated.

So movies is my theme for the day. I will be painting an old fashion film strip from a movie reel as a representation of my night at the movies courtesy of CSUN.

Here is a closer look.

109 days down, 256 to go.
Today I learned a very valuable lesson. My mother always said 'don't knock it until you try it' and that statement has never been truer. You see for some time now, I have had a very negative and somewhat derogatory view towards tofu. Always thinking it was a lifeless, tasteless paste that skinny Vegans eat as a means of depriving themselves of meat. I considered it a self imposed punishment for anyone to have a diet of tofu. But the funny or perhaps ignorant thing about it is that I had never tried tofu until today. You see my trainer has been trying to get me on tofu as a means of high protein to zero carb intake in my diet. But I always brushed him off as some sort of hippie and than real men don't eat tofu. But after today, I beg to differ. Real men do eat tofu. I should make a t-shirt that says 'Real Men Eat Tofu' because I have seen the light of Tofu Salvation. Today I decided to try some tofu under the urging of a family member and boy was my mind blown away. The ability of tofu to take on whatever flavor you desire, as if it were a blank canvas of food is simply mind blowing. Suffice it to say I am now a convert and tofu is gonna be a staple of my total diet hence forth. Still not gonna give up meat yet but baby steps are being made here.

So today I will paint the quintessential tofu cube that we tofu eaters instantly recognize. I will also be painting it within one of my strength triangle because this epiphany was mostly motivated by fitness and my quest to stay healthy.

Here is a closer look.

108 days down, 257 to go.
Today being Sunday was my scheduled day of relaxation because Sunday is the only day I usually have to just kick back and not focus on anything work related. I spent the day my loved ones just being loved. We went to the local park complete with the Yorkie in tow. I always love spending time on the green grass just taking it back to nature. It was time well spent as I basked in the fresh air and got my tan on. These times are the most valuable to me because that's when I get to be with my thoughts and re-charge my batteries for the week ahead. In this business, you run into trouble when you forget to take time out for yourself. And it happens more often than you can imagine because this business is so encompassing and 24/7 that you tend to forget the more important things in life like family and self.

So today, I will be painting some green grass to reflect my day on the grassy knoll. I will be placing it logically at the bottom of my painting as grass in the sky would not make much sense.

Here is a closer look.

107 days down, 258 to go.
Yesterday I added an interesting looking piano to my painting and as I stand back looking at it today, I see the faint outline of a line on the other side of my smiley face that feels like a continuation of the piano line. Now I bring this up simply because I spent all my day in pretty much one line after the other. First at the gas station, then at the grocery store, then at Costco and finally at Target. See today was my stock up day because I rarely have the time to go shopping. So I decided to do it all in one day. By my calculations, I probably spent well in excess of 2 hours waiting in lines today. At times it seems there is a line for everything in LA. And that brings me back to my line continuation from yesterday.

So for today's addition, I will outline the line continuation on the other side of my smiley face in black to represent all the lines I had to endure today.

Here is a closer look.

106 days down, 259 to go.
Just completed two pretty awesome songs and funny enough, they were both in the key of E Minor. I cant really say much about them only that they should be buzzing in your ears soon enough and I promise you wont be disappointed. Anyways in order to find the key of the instrumental that I wrote the songs to, I had to play the scale on my piano. Now I haven't played the piano in some time so as you can imagine, I was pretty rusty and so it took me quite sometime to figure out the key. So when it was all said and done, I felt I desperately needed to brush up on my piano skills. Thus I have decided to re-tutor myself piano. I have bought the necessary self tutoring books and am well on my way through the first few lessons...all in one day.

So for today's addition, I will be painting a piano onto my mosaic to represent my new quest for piano supremacy. Many great musicians are self thought and I shouldn't be different. Let's see how it goes and I will be filling you guys in on my progress from time to time.

Here's a closer look.

105 days down, 260 go.
Final day to get you taxes done and like I said yesterday, I'm like most Americans who procrastinate until the last minute and then flood the post office creating insanely long lines to mail out the filed taxes in time. I'm glad to say I've finally got it done. It sure was an ordeal as usual but is once a year so I can deal with it. Besides it a vital part of our democracy and it helps the government get things done on behalf of the public. And speaking of public benefits, have you filled out the census?

Anyways today's painting will be a continuation of yesterdays when I began to paint a calculator. Today I will add some color to it. I chose the color gray because my tax guy's calculator was one of those big gray ones that they all use. Also I'm in a gray mood because now I have to write a big check to Uncle Sam and I'm not too happy. But I understand that it is necessary for an effective society.

Here is a closer look.

104 days down, 261 go.
Like most people in the US, getting our taxes done has been on my mind pretty much all year. And like most Americans, I put it off until the last minute. But it has definitely been the corner of my mind. So as I join the mad dash to get er' done, I can't help but think life would be much easier and less stressful if I got on this earlier on in the year. I should have moved taxes from the corner of my mind to the front of my mind much sooner and thus wouldn't be dealing with the anxiety of having to locate all necessary documents for filing. Maybe my next year's resolution should be to do my taxes much earlier.

So for today's painting, I will be painting the one accessory that any self respecting tax person wouldn't be caught dead without' a calculator. I will just be making the outline because I don't have much time to spend on it on account of the fact that I need to finish my taxes. It will be at the left top corner of my painting to symbolize that it has been at the corner of my mind. So I 'm sure I will fill it in as this year rolls on and brings more earnings to to be taxed next year.

Here is a closer look.

103 days down, 262 go.
Nothing much to see here besides another fitness triangle for my workout today. I painted it in red because I cut myself on one of the fitness machines in the gym so it's the color of blood.

Here is a closer look.

102 days down, 263 go.
It is believed back in my homeland of Africa that when it rains and the sun is shining at the same time, there is a elephant somewhere giving birth. Now I have believed that all my life and maybe someone should really look into this and see if there is any validity to this assertion. Does anyone have similar beliefs in the mythical power of rain and sunshine at the same time? Well today was just that for the most part, it was clear as day with he sun glaring while the clouds poured down at the same time. I didn't know whether to take an umbrella or wear sunglasses.

So for today's addition, I will be adding another raindrop just like yesterdays which was a bit in my sun addition from day 3 because the sun did shine yesterday. But this time, it will be fully within the sun. As impossible as that is in theory (as sun surely evaporates water) that's what I experienced today and thus it will be reflected as such on my painting for today.

Here is a closer look.

101 days down, 264 go.
It's been a wile perhaps about a month but it finally rained in LA today and as a matter of fact it is still raining as I post. If you guys know anything about LA, rain is a rare commodity here. So whenever it pours like today, I make sure to add another teardrop from the heavens on my painting in the aptly titled 'Celestial Cluster'.

So today is no different, I will be adding another raindrop to my painting.

Here is a closer look.