43. Julia

Half of what I say is meaningless.

Eight years ago my illustration business collapsed and I had to change careers.  That was bad.

My brother offered me a job at his law firm and I met Julia.  That was good.

She was my friend when I really needed a friend.  She saved my life.

This is the second portrait of Julie, the first one was terrible.  She asked (demanded) me to take it down and I did another.  It was one of three times when I skipped a day.  I don't remember the other two.

So - to be completely accurate, I did 101 portraits in 103 days.  But it doesn't have the same ring to it, you know?

42. John

My grandfather died the day before Lennon was shot.  I was a freshman in college and just turned 18.  Never lost someone that close before.  I was numb.  I was hundreds of miles away from home and family, and I was wrapped up in my insulated, selfish, teenage life and I didn’t know how to feel.  I wasn’t sad, I didn’t cry, it all seemed far away.

John was shot the next day.  Chris Lee and I were listening to the news on the radio in his room.  It was unbelievable.  It was too much.  I went to my room and sat on the bed in the dark and cried like a baby.  I couldn’t stop.  After about an hour I got a grip and found my friends and joined the general grieving.  I think a lot of us stopped being kids that day.

The next day I went home for Pop’s funeral.  When I saw my grandmother at the wake it didn’t seem so far away anymore.  And then I cried for Pop too.

Love is old, love is new

Love is all, love is you

41. Ringo

Don't pass me by, don't make me cry, don't make me blue,

'Cause you know darling I love only you. 

The Beatles had a huge impact on my life. Yours too I bet. It's nothing special. Their greatness is given and I have nothing new to add to that. But I love them and love is always very personal. They make me happy.

I can't imagine the world without them. 

40. George

We were talking

About the space between us all

And the people who hide themselves

Behind a wall of illusion

Never glimpse the truth

Then it's far too late

My sister-in-law Christine is a big George fan and the proud owner of this drawing.  Well, I don’t know how proud she is but it’s somewhere in her house.  I’m sure it’ll get framed….eventually.  When she gets around to it.  One of these days.  Maybe.

39. Paul

Your day breaks, your mind aches,

There will be times when all the things she said

Will fill your head.  You won't forget her.

For years I’ve been waiting for Lucie to catch the Beatles bug.  So far she’s been resistant.  Downright stubborn.  She prefers the covers from “Across the Universe”.  Kids.  smh.

I heard a new McCartney song the other day.  It sounds like he’s never heard a Beatles song before.  Or a Wings song.  Or any contemporary music written in the last 20 years. 

How the hell does that happen?

38. Carey

My beautiful niece.  A Jersey girl who lives in Kansas now.  Rock Chalk Jayhawk!!

I like this one.  It’s got a nice easy breezy feel to it.  Normally I hate drawing the great big smile but it’s appropriate here.  The secret to drawing teeth (and there’s a secret to drawing every part of the body) is that less is more.  Resist the urge to be explicit.

Good advice in general.

37. Edgar Degas

A notorious bachelor, Degas never married, never had children.  He said his life as an artist prevented him from having a personal life.  I bet the fact that he was an asshole didn’t help.  He alienated every friend he ever had.  Maybe that’s why he liked drawing dancers and naked women taking baths.

And yet – the world is a better place for it.  His drawings, paintings, etchings, pastels and sculpture are beyond belief.  Possibly the finest draftsman to ever live.

But nobody’s perfect.