“Life’s Too Short”

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In 2008, because Ken was being treated at The Jules Stein Eye Institute at UCLA, I found myself obsessed with drawing EYES — and using different words like SEEING, LOOKING, SHIFTING, ENVISIONING, LENS, PERSPECTIVE and INSIGHT to illuminate and bring clarity as to why this challenge was in our lives — and help uncover how we were feeling — while trying to find something positive (and funny) we could hold on to.

The Cover Art of this Book is a caricature I made of my husband Ken and our parrot, Hightop. The “Life’s Too Short to Spend with Assholes” quote is courtesy of my late husband, Ken!  DISCLAIMER: I don’t want you for a single minute to think this book is downer!  Au contraire!  You will find much of it pretty hilarious and definitely uplifting!

The (2) books together include over 100 whimsical, happy illustrations, “Laugh Out Loud’ Wisdom — peppered with transformational tales of learning to take the high road, using creativity to manage grief, looking for clues from the Universe to help navigate through tough decisions, being able to shift and pivot out of procrastination, worry and stress over situations that, ultimately, are out of our control — and being able to breathe easier through the practice of Iyengar Yoga — which straightened out my nerves and changed my life.

A comedic, odd-storied Stew and Potpourri of the blind leading the blind, “Seinfeld-esque” moments, “Chicken Soup meets Oprah’s Super Soul,” while doing my best to channel the “skewed” snarky wit of one of the funniest people I never got to meet — the late, great Carrie Fisher — whose wonderful life ended way too soon.

TIME has become a game-changer and being consciously aware that TIME should be spent on things that FILL you up, make you HAPPY, bring JOY keeps you INSPIRED and instill within you a sense of wonder and purpose.

Fast Forward (9) years and 200 illustrations later, I have been sharing my story and subsequent “life” wisdom with those who find me at Art Shows and Farmer’s Market’s around the country. Some of the characters are based on real people and some are just plucked right out of my imagination – “Downloads from the Divine” as I like to refer to them.

People who happen upon my work are initially drawn to this book title which makes them laugh out loud! Upon taking a closer look, they find the messages resonate for them at just the right time. My work has continued to deepen with juicy detail and customers often comment on my strong, consistent, memorable & whimsical style. The book format allows you to flip it open so on any given day so you can choose an empowering story to shape your day.

Many of the Designs are available as greeting cards, magnets, calendars and posters through my website. I am envisioning creating and writing an animated TV show with my characters (ala “The Family Guy”) because they are packed with personality and I love doing crazy voices!

Thank you for taking the time to be OPEN to receive a COLORFUL NEW way of THINKING! Please connect with me via Elisa@CurmudgeonCards.com and let me know what you think!

In Gratitude,

Elisa R. Goodman