So What's Happening Pinacate and Her Stalwart Buddy Paisano?

Pinacate hard at work at a photo shoot in the studio.

I'm the worlds worst procrastinator and so haven't posted in over a year.  Sorry about that.  For those of you who have been wondering about the Paisano Y Pinacate Project, fear not, it's still in the works!  So what has happened behind the scenes?

1.  After about a year of working (and struggling) with the large figure of Paisano, I've decided to have a local metal worker make me a metal armature with ball and socket joints.  The idea is to have a large figure (he's over 3' tall) that I can move around for photography.  This change will make my life much easier in the studio. 

2. I've been struggling with the format for output of the stories.  Originally, I thought I would blog some basics, create more detailed works, publish (and sell) those elsewhere, and have a separate website.  The original goal (to which I am still dedicated) is to create stories about the geology, flora and fauna of the American southwest in an inexpensive and accessible format for all ages, but especially younger readers.  At this point, I have decided to keep up the blog, but set up a website with blog-esque elements (short story tidbits) and sell the stories via Kindle e-books.  This was a difficult decision because I want as many people as possible to see the stories, but not have to pay much.  With so many people having smartphones and other devices this is truly the easiest way to get the works out there.

3.  I have been researching topics to cover.  The first set of stories will be set in White Sands, an area recognizable to most people but not well understood.  The second will cover the Upper Gila Watershed, the last free-flowing river in NM.  The Gila is painfully under-appreciated, even by New Mexicans and I would like to increase awareness a bit.  Third topic - the San Augustine Plains, current home to the VLA, but a biologically important place as well.

4.  I have been experimenting with digital techniques to find something that looks right and brings the two large figures to life.  After logging way to many hours on Photoshop, I have settled on a type of digital collage containing watercolor paintings, photographs of specific textures and still photographs of the posed figures.  Each image requires many hours of work, not including formatting for text. Whew!

5.  The funny thing about all the wrestling with P and P is that Pinacate has emerged as the dominant character.  Originally, I thought that Paisano would be top dog (or bird, as the case may be), but the little beetle (about 1' long) is number one. This has changed how I write the stories.

So, work continues.  Stay tuned!

A Change of Plans!

Dear Readers,

Recently, Google decided to drop two of its services, Reader and iGoogle.  The reason boiled down to declining use (and the decision to focus on fewer, high-demand products).  I am one of those busy people who relied on Reader to sort my feeds and save hundreds of tagged posts.  The options do not work as well as Reader and much of my content will not migrate to another service.  I will no longer subscribe to many great blogs (sorry bloggers).  Google seems to not care about its devoted and passionate followers, of which I was one until a few days ago.  The company doesn't seem to realize the impact this move will have on bloggers everywhere.  Or maybe they do and just want to push everyone to use Google+ no matter what.  Not everyone wants to get their updates via Facebook or Google+.

I have three blogs (including this one) on Blogger, another Google product.  I have loved Blogger and I still think it is amazing that the designers were able to so easily and simply make web design available to everyone.  My concern is that, eventually, Google will yank Blogger as well.  There seems to be a pattern, provide a cool (and yes, free) service, get people hooked, then yank it or let it decline into crap.  As Google has become a larger company, I've watched their customer service decline.  I am concerned, not just as a web user, but as a creator of content.

I suspect that this pattern will only continue.  Up until now, I've been happy to allow Google to trawl through my content and do whatever they do with it in return for a fantastic free service.  Well, no longer.  I am going to begin the process of migrating all of my stuff over to my website. 

For those of you who know me, you know I hate change.  You know I don't work quickly.  You know my personal motto (do the minimum).  You can imagine... I...am...not...pleased.  This strategy will mean a lot more work for me (damn it), but I will have control over my work. 

The new work I had planned for this blog will have to wait.  So sorry.  Thanks for your interest.

So who is this black beetle?  Most people call her Pinacate.  She has a few other nicknames, but they aren't entirely positive, so we won't bring them up now. She's pretty well known in this desert (and even in some of those desolate, empty ones, too) because she spends a lot of time outside the burrow visiting with her neighbors. She gets along with just about everyone. She is in pretty good shape because she walks everywhere. She's not the most elegant of beetles, nor the most colorful, nor graceful, but she is very special nonetheless.

The Story begins...

Chapter 1

In which we meet the heroine of our story

magine yourself in the desert.  Not the desolate, empty type, but the other kind.  The kind that has secrets and surprises tucked under every rock and beyond each mountain.  Maybe some extra dust here and there to cover the secrets and surprises and make them harder to see.

The sun seems to shine a bit brighter in this desert.  You may have to squint a lot and shade your eyes.  It's harder to see things when you are squinting.  At night, when the moon and stars rise high over the mountains, their shadows seem extra dark and deep.  You can't even see most of the rocks... but you know they are there!  

Imagine you are in this desert, and it is a warm, pleasant afternoon.  The sun is shining extra bright.  Most everyone should be squinting.  You look around and see all the rocks and mountains.  You look closer and notice other things: twitchy grasses and grey-green bushes and tiny yellow flowers peeking out.  Now that you are paying attention (and not squinting) you see lizards glaring and scaly-grey on the rocks, birds flying towards the mountains, and in the dust (so much dust!) you see zillions of tiny footprints...

You follow a set of footprints.  It meanders here and there, then back, then forward, then, what's this?  Is something moving over there?  It looks like a beetle -a common, everyday, black beetle.  But remember, you are in the desert and there are surprises everywhere.  Even common black beetles have a few surprises...

Welcome

Hello!

This will be a new blog to try out ideas for my Pinacate y Paisano stories.  For those of you unfamiliar with the local NM terminology, that's Stink Bug and Roadrunner.  I'll be showing images, sharing drafts of short stories and other ideas for my two characters as they get ready to become famous in children's books.

Stay tuned and please be patient while I set up this blog.

In the meantime, head over to my website or to my other studio blog to see examples of my work.

Thanks for stopping by.