Well, my friend Nina Seven gave me that Kreativ Blogger award that’s been floating around. Nina does adorable illustrations so check out her blog.

The thing about this award seems to be that I must list 7 things I love and then pass on this award to some other folk. Okie-dokie. 7 things I love:

1. My family. Nothing is more important or brings me greater joy than my wife, Kelly, and my daughter, Jasmine.

2. Art. Pretty much all art. I have a particular affection for pop surrealism or lowbrow art, and illustration, particularly children’s illustration.

3. Sandwiches. Nothing beats a good sandwich for the perfect food.

4. Movies. I’m not an aficionado of celluloid, a guru of film, a gourmand of cinema, but I do love a good movie.

6. Cooking. I cook every day and love what I cook. I love to eat and I cook what I love to eat. I haunt farmer’s markets and specialty shops. I read cookbooks and watch cooking shows. My cooking is celebrated among all who have been blessed with tasting it. Really. It’s true. It’s that good.

7. You. Oh, please, can I be serious? You??? Am I some sort of weirdo? A freak? A crack-pot? Yes, I am. And I really do love you.

Giving this award (wheather they like it or not) to:
David Sones (Pickledog)
Jannie Ho (Chickengirl)
Andi Butler (Mrs. B)
Flora Chang (happydoodleland)
Zari

Yes, they probably have one already. But this one is from me! :)

My name is mike r. baker and I’m an illustrator. What’s the big deal? Well, I haven’t said that before. I’ve always been saying “I want to be a” when speaking of illustrator or artist. I know I have the talent. I’m still learning technique. I’ve done a few local things professionally but nothing I can hold up and say “see what I did” yet. But I feel like I’m on the cusp of being what I want to be – better, I’ve crossed to that side. I’ve still a long way to go. But I just wanted to take this moment to say it. My name is mike r. baker and I’m an illustrator.

Oh, what a relief it is! I’m healthy, eating, and my energy is returning! Yes, I’ve been gone a long, long time. The short story is I have cancer of the duodenum (the bit between the stomach and intestine). The surgeon removed some of the cancerous growth but could not safely remove it all. My guts got rearranged and now I can eat! I’m going through a mild chemotherapy and I expect a complete recovery. I was sick for a year before I found a doctor that could help me and now I feel better than I have all of 2008. I was in the hospital on November 7th, 2008, and only now am I well and energetic enough to make my big come-back. Stay tuned, kids! I’m back!

Been gone for quite a while, haven’t I? There are several reasons but the biggest is I’ve been rather ill. I have ulcerative colitis (I was first diagnosed with Crohn’s disease but indicators show that may not be so – which is good). I had cancer and had my colon removed 4 years ago. My life and health have been in constant flux since then. For the last few months I’ve had serious digestive problems – let’s just say it’s been very moist. I’ve lost 50 pounds. But I am still working and taking care of my family and I still find enough health to do fun stuff like hiking and kayaking now and then.

Another reason is work. I’ve been swamped at work and have new demands put on me. I really want to make it as an illustrator so I may have to do something about this job and commit to my dreams. I just need to convince myself I’m good enough to make it.

There are a dozen other reasons but that’s the big part of it. I’m sorry I’ve been so neglectful of my online friends and my art. It hurts me more than I care to admit.

I’m starting to feel better and my work is calming down so I will be dedicating myself to this blog, to Illustration Friday, and to all of you, my friends, again very soon.

Love you all.

EDIT November 7: I’m going into the hospital for surgery. I don’t know how long it will take. I expect to be back in a week or 2. Love you!

My dear friend and muse, Andi Butler (AKA: Mrs. B), awarded me an award! It is of her own design and comes straight from her heart, which makes it the most special award ever! Andi is one of my favorite creative people and if she’s not yours too, then you just haven’t visited her blog. Thank you, Mrs. B! You are a wealth of inspiration and a wonderful friend.

Thanks to the encouragement, advice, and inspiration I have received from all of you, I think I’ve finally convinced myself that I am talented enough to pull off calling myself an artist and illustrator and I think I can actually do some real children’s illustration. I still have a ton to learn and I don’t actually feel ready, but I won’t be idle. I plan on taking some classes this fall and I’ll be attending the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators summer conference in L.A. I’ll be there August 1st, 2nd, and 3rd (I have to work on the 4th). I’ll be posting here anything I learn so check back. Do any of you have any advice for me on what I should be doing there? And if any of you are going to be there, I’d love to meet you!

My little business cards (often called “moo cards”) are printed by moo.

My friend, Froggie (she of the immense talent and humor), has awarded me an award. It’s a Brillante Weblog Premio Award!!! I can’t say what that means but it sure is swell. I also got this award from my friend Kstyles and my friend Eugenia Gina was going to give me one but I think she changed her mind when she saw I already have one. She loves me but doesn’t want me to get spoiled. :)
The rules of accepting are:

1) Put the logo on your blog.
2) Add a link to the person who awarded you.
3) Nominate at least 7 other blogs.
4) Add links to those blogs on yours.
5) Leave a message for your nominees on their blogs.

Ah… so it’s a pyramid scheme! Yes! Soon I will be rich! I must choose my seven wisely…
So here they are:

1) Zari
2) Chicken Girl
3) Flora Chang
4) Holli Conger
5) Andi Butler
6) Gina Perry
7) Valerie Walsh

If you already have one of these then get rid of it because mine is better. And, um, if you want to give me another one… well… it’s okay. I just wanna be luved. [big puppy-dog eyes]

Oh, I am so behind in my illustrations… I’ve been so sick for over a month! But I’m feeling good now so it’s back to work! First off – 5 things.

My friend Zari has tagged me for the “5 things” about myself. Okay, I’m happy to oblige.

1. Possibly the oddest job I’ve had was as a shopping mall Santa. I worked at a high-class mall in Newport Beach, in warm California weather, with 3 pillows for a belly for an entire month. I posed for pictures with women on my lap, dogs on my lap, huge special-ed kids on my lap (who were all very polite and afraid they might crush me), and hundreds of kids with dozens of questions. It was awesome.

2. I have been to the Tian Tan Buddha.

3. On a road trip, I visited Bryce Canyon, Zion, and the Grand Canyon. All 3 were breath-takingly beautiful but my favorite was Zion for its amazing variety. I hope everyone gets to see these wondrous places in their lifetime.

4. I was at the 1983 Us Festival for “New Wave Day“.

5. I was a Renaissance Faire geek for 15 years. I worked at the Renaissance Pleasure Faire in Glen Helen (the same place that hosted the Us Festival) as a hawker, a vendor, and finally as a tapster at a bar. Full costume (including, yes, a cod piece). I met my wife there.

I’m tagging crystal driedger, livia coloji, jannie ho, and… well, I’m supposed to tag 5 but everyone’s been tagged already. Any volunteers?

The rules: 1. Link to your tagger and post these rules on your blog. 2. Share 5 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird. 3. Tag 5 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as wellas links to their blogs. 4. Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

My wonderful friend Zari has tagged me with the “My Favourite 25 Movies” meme. Ack! I have to pick 25? That’s hard since I have so many favorites and they keep changing. But I’ll give it a shot…

Whew! I know as soon as I post this list I’ll want to change it. Sunset Blvd. and North by Northwest are always my favorites but everything else moves around on the list. I like all of Quentin Tarantino’s movies, Akira Kurasawa, Hayao Miyazaki, Alfred Hitchcock, David Lynch, John Ford, Billy Wilder… man, I could go on and on. I love musicals, action movies, kung fu movies, sci-fi, westerns, anime, etc. The Searchers, Forbidden Planet, King Kong, Wings of Desire, Akira, Ratatouille, LOTR, the Bourne movies… Too many!

So now I need to pass this on… My good buddy and one of my favorite illustrators, David Sones, is my first choice. Because he’s a good target for this meme, Josh Pincus is next. And lastly I’ll get Chickengirl, Jannie Ho, because she’s AWESOME! Woo-hoo! …All right, Mr. DeMille, I’m ready for my close-up.

Thinking Blogger Award and another 7 things – First off, I need to say that one of my favorite artists and friends from Illustration Friday and Monday Artday, Emila Yusof, has awarded me with a Thinking Blogger Award (click for details). Emila is incredibly talented so be sure to check out her blog! Also, look for her post on this. She chose 4 other people besides me that you should visit and she said some really nice things about me. All true, of course. Heh-heh…

Now that I have the award, I need to choose “5 blogs that make [me] think” and pass the award on. I don’t like chain-type things but this one is a good idea as it gives me a chance to showcase blogs I like. So, here it goes…

Josh Hoye! All around good guy, intensely talented illustrator, and surfer. You gotta check this guy out. His art doesn’t push boundries, it completely ignores them. He’s also been featured on DRAWN!

David Sones! His artwork is so awesome it hurts. Yeah, right here… I should have a doctor check it out. David’s lil’ muse buddy is Pickledog which is also the name of his blog. Not only will his illustrations knock your socks off, his writing is flat-out hysterical!

Paula Becker! Cartoonist and blogger extraordinaire! Paula’s art is genuinely, unpretentiously, funny! And she’s an awesome person too!

Eugenia Gina! Super sweet drawings and photographs! She loves her children like crazy and shares all the amazingly creative things they do together. Gina is a wonderful person.

Alina Chau! If you ever visit, oh, just about any illustration blog, and still haven’t heard of Alina Chau, then your head is buried in the sand! She’s everywhere! And yet, no one can get enough of her. Her art is so sensitive, free, beautiful and funny! She’s a star among Illustration Friday illustrators and rightly so. Gosh, she probably already has a dozen of these awards.

All these guys may have already gotten this award but they’re my picks and I’m sticking with that. Did I leave anyone out? Yes, about 50 other talented friends. You know who you are!

[Edit, 5/09: I felt compelled to redisign the award.]

Another seven things: Next – I got tagged… AGAIN! [check out the last tag here]

This time I got tagged by the lovely and talented illustrator, Deb Johnson! My first thought was “I already did it” but I figured this is a nice way to say more about myself so here’s another 7 things:

1) I never use the word “hate”. If I do, I’ll correct myself. There’s something redeeming about near everything and I want to reserve that word for when I really need it (hopefully never).

2) My biggest peeve is the lack of common courtesy in the world today. This “talk-to-the-hand” rudeness is so selfish and has gone too far. Please, thank you, excuse me… what’s so hard about that? When I come to an intersection I have to look for pedestrians crossing against the light now. And they look at me like I’m the enemy! How did this happen?

3) My favorite colors are orange and green and I often wear them.

4) I like chocolate everything, sweet or savory. Chocolate avacado shakes? Oh, yeah…

5) I’m Batman. (I’m not, but I like to say it… actually, I’m Night Crawler.)

6) I love love. Love makes me cry. Sniff… Don’t look at me!

7) Briefs.

Okay, the deal is someone in the Illustration Friday gang decided it would be a good idea to play tag. I’m not sure if the rules changed as the “tag” was passed around but the rules I got are I need to post 7 things (presumably about me) and then tag 7 other people. The great Alina Chau tagged me so I guess I have to do it. But this is the only time, you hear?

1) I am a gourmet cook and a gourmand eater. I love good food and have it every day! Eating is too wonderful to waste it on bad food. I am the cook in our house, breakfast, lunch and dinner.

2) I have one trashy-food weakness. I love chilled vienna weenies smothered in tabasco.

3) I love cute. Whether it’s the spooky cute of Margaret Keane and Mark Ryden or the sweetly cute of Mary Blair or Hello Kitty. It’s a sickness but I don’t want a cure.

4) I want a home in Bali.

5) I am not a professional illustrator. Yet.

6) I stood at a urinal next to Ray Bradbury once.

7) The first book I ever read was Moby Dick.

Okay. That’s it.