Ok, really quick, i've had some crap happen lately that kept me away from the drawing table, but that is wrapped up and dealt with... i'll return to drawing soon, my apologies to all who made requests or have pending commisions! I'll be back on the clock so to speak this week.
For any who just want to know when their drawings will be finished, stay tuned for the next journal.
For any one interested in knowing what happened, read on:

So a few weeks ago, one of my uncles goes to the hospital. According to the doctors, he had a stroke, and was immediately medicated (probably more than need be, but im not the doctor am I...). After a week his condition was stable, and after 2 weeks, it was dire. Things looked REALLY bad, and we doubted he'd live through the night. He then started reacting the voice of his son. This gave my family a huge boost in morale, but unfortunately he passed away on Thursday, February 21st.

The funeral was this passed Friday, and it was a very difficult ordeal. Not only was fairly young (49 years old), he was also one of the healthiest members of our family, and the least stressed out of the family, so this caught us VERY off guard. Plus, my grandparents are still alive, so they were probably the heaviest hit by the situation, I'll never forget the sound of my grandmother crying out for her son...

We released 5 doves at his funeral. The first was dedicated from my Grandfather, the second from my grandmother. The third from his brothers and sisters, and the fourth from his wife and sons. The last one was dedicated from all of there in attendance. That dove flew back, and rested on one of the floral wreaths that were placed near the grave. It stayed there the entire duration of the service, which brought an extra tear to our eyes in amazement, and wonder.

This particular uncle was very dear to me for. Not only was he one of the inspirations i had growing up for wanting to be a musician, but he was directly responsible for me taking up drawing.

When i was about 3 or 4 years old, my dad used to take me along with him to the construcion sites where he worked, due to lack of babysitters, family members in the states and the fact that children were prohibitted at my mothers workplace. My father and my uncle worked together in construction. Before getting to work, my uncle would always doodle something on one of the pieces of drywall they would be using, usually a woody woodpecker drawing. I remember watching him and thinking how cool that was. I asked him to teach me how he did that, and he showed me how to draw a Woody Woodpecker... and i took that lesson and ran with it.

This journal is lovingly dedicated to the memory of Victor Manuel Verdugo. We'll Miss You.

March 3rd, 1958-February 21st, 2008