Dreams become Reality

      My mother, Louise Elizabeth Ross, was an extremely talented individual ... there was literally nothing she could see that she couldn’t make or make better than what she’d seen! Her talents all began with the ability to draw, and draw very well. Early on she’d dreamed of becoming an artist, but opportunities for women didn’t exist as readily in those days ... the chance to attend art school or even to secure a job in your chosen vocation. It was a different time entirely. Mom’s talents eventually became focused into all of the things that make your childhood fun and memorable ... homemade presents at Christmas with special decorations, little drawings secretly put into your school lunchbag that would put the biggest smile on your face, even when your day wasn’t perfect, fun stuff like that! And that was Mom! Totally loving and totally creative.

      I’ve been blessed with a small portion of her talent which can be found in my heart and in my pencils ... when I began showing interest in drawing at an early age, my parents did everything possible to encourage my talent and would listen patiently for hours on end while I rambled on and on about the latest sketch or drawing I’d made of Captain Dynamo (or whatever dumb names I’d invented at the time!) doing this or that, and wasn’t this cool how he jumped off the building, etcetera ... man, were they ever patient! As a teenager, when my passion for drawing hadn’t diminished but had only grown stronger, Mom told me she had always hoped that I would oneday become the artist she’d always dreamed of becoming but never had the chance ... I didn’t realize how much she still loved drawing!   

       I told her I’d do everything in my power to fulfill my dream and hers ... and  over the years it’s always meant that much to me, from the time I’d attended college in New Jersey to the present day ... not a day goes by, not one assignment or commission crosses over my drawing board, that I don’t think of my mother and smile a little smile just for her!
     
        I’ve tried to help her dream live on, and now I’ve fulfilled one of my own dreams as well ... I’ve always wanted to illustrate a children’s book and be in control of all aspects of its production, from story concept through finished illustrations. I’ve now fulfilled that dream, in spades! At last, I’ve received the first proof on my book, There’s A Crazy Dog Under The Palace! (and in the Italian version, Sotto un Palazzo, C’e` un Cane Pazzo!), and it’s quite exhilarating I must admit, but I’m not going to rest on my laurels! No sir or ma’am! There’s much more I want to create, to illustrate, to dream about ... after all, it’s the dreams that fuel our reality.

         If we’re lucky!

davide!