Whose Fault is That?

The illustration above is from a birthday card I made my son in 2009 when he turned seven. I liked the concept so much at the time, I decided to begin writing and illustrating a book with the same title.

I drew a few preliminary sketches before getting sidetracked on a different project (a common problem with me) and ended up filing it away with the intention of revisiting it in the future.

Flash forward to a few evenings ago. My son and I were watching TV when we saw an ad for a new movie called Monster Trucks.

"Hey! That was my idea!" I yelled. "Someone beat me to it!"

My son just shook his head and sighed. "And whose fault is that, Dad? Get your stuff out there!"

I'm discouraged, but also impressed with my son's no nonsense reading of the situation. He's absolutely right, of course. I have only myself to blame. Perhaps I'll learn my lesson this time.

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"We must all suffer one of two things: The pain of discipline or the pain of regret and disappointment."
—Jim Rohn

1. Winston Churchill was a surprisingly good painter and, by some accounts, used his art to battle depression.

2. Did you survive Blue Monday this year? Some folks call the third Monday in January 'Blue Monday', and suggest it's the most depressing day of the year. Others, however, feel “the ‘science’ behind it has been effectively debunked." (I used to think it was true, but I'm not azure as I once was. ;-)

3. Before the development of Pinyin, the official romanization system for Standard Chinese, 85% of Chinese people could not read. Now almost all can, thanks to Zhou Youguang, the 'father of Pinyin,' who died last Saturday at the age of 111.

4. "What we've shown is a correlation between caffeine consumption and longevity." Stanford Medicine News Center: Caffeine may counter age-related inflammation.

5. A newly translated sequel to the Alexandre Dumas classic, "The Three Musketeers," entitled "The Red Sphinx," has just been released to rave reviews. But be forewarned: At 832 pages, it's a hefty tome. See a sample at Google Books, and/or buy it now at Amazon or Barnes & Noble.

“Anger is stupid, and stupidity will kill you more surely than your opponent's blade.”
― Patricia Briggs

“When you encounter difficulties, you need to be optimistic. Pessimists tend to die.”
–Zhou Youguang

Each month I give away one hand-signed, limited edition Giclée fine art print (matted, but unframed) to a lucky newsletter subscriber. Winners—who are notified via email at the beginning of each month—may select one of the prints shown below.

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"You could have a million ideas, but they're all worthless if you don't get them done."
―Lauren Amarante

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About Me

Hi. I’m D.E.Uhlig. I’m an artist, author, husband and father.

For as long as I can remember, I have loved to draw. Years ago I gave my wife a hand-drawn card for our anniversary, and she loved it so much she made me promise to ALWAYS hand-draw her cards. Then our three kids made me promise to do the same with their birthday cards. And when I posted some of my drawings online, people began asking how they could purchase my work—so I created this newsletter. I believe in something I like to call “The Happiness of Art” and I hope it makes you smile.

Official Bio

D.E.Uhlig is an award-winning illustrator whose work has appeared in numerous publications including the Kansas City Star, Christian Science Monitor, University Daily Kansan, Editorial Humor Magazine, and World Policy Journal. Commercial illustration and design clients over the years have included Samsung, Sprint, and the Los Angeles Times Syndicate, among others—and his Starbucks RedCup illustrations have been featured on the company's Pinterest and Facebook pages. In 1989, Mr. Uhlig co-founded Uhlig LLC, a leading provider of cross-media publishing and communication services in industries ranging from residential housing to book publishing to cancer care. Mr. Uhlig is married with three children and resides in Kansas City. He is currently working on children’s books, ebooks and apps.

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