Our Annual Christmas Letter: O

Posted on December 9, 2025 by portfoliolongo.com

This year’s annual retreat was held at Burr Oak Lodge & Conference Center in Glouster, OH. Over the course of three extremely productive days, thanks to the consulting team from McKinsey & Company, the Board of Trustees, senior management, and the entire staff at portfoliolongo.com revisited our organizational values and refreshed our vision and mission statements using 356 yards of butcher-block paper, 17 dozen scented markers, and 1,257 colored stickies. All together, the 36 participants invested a combined total of 6,854 lbs. of competence!
In addition to our Annual Report, a copy of which is being mailed to you, we hereby issue our Annual Christmas Letter for 2025 in keeping with our 15-year tradition. In accordance with our commitments to parsimony and stewardship, it’s O. You’re welcome to visit our North American headquarters over the holidays in Canaan Township, Athens County, where you will see our letter posted. (Click here to view previous annual Christmas letters.)

(click on image to enlarge)

Evening Beer

Posted on September 30, 2025 by portfoliolongo.com

O’Hooley’s Dry Irish Stout at Jackie O’s, Athens, OH.

Was that too dark? Try these:

Sketch Club app on an iPad Pro w/ Apple Pencil and iColorama app.

Thursday Night Celtic Old Time Jam

Posted on September 11, 2025 by portfoliolongo.com

Annyth and I called the audible at around 3:30 pm today, Thursday, September 11, 2025. Go to the West End Ciderhouse for a Guinness and some live Celtic music here in Athens, Ohio. Yes, we were up to our ears in 911 sorrow, not to mention the more contemporary, constant, and ubiquitous GOP-related horseshit not worthy of elaboration; but, the thought of draft beer and Celtic music helped us come to our senses.

the scene at the West End Ciderhouse

I had my iPad for some live digital painting in the Sketch Club app and was able to focus on one of the local Athens musicians, guitar and fiddle player, Rusty Smith. I finished him before I finished my first Guinness.

Rusty Smith

Lagniappe Time: Part 3

Posted on June 3, 2025 by portfoliolongo.com

For this post I got to spend some lagniappe time with Albert Rouzie, another local guitarist-performer also on stage the night of 5/22/2025 at the Bob Dylan tribute show at Casa Nueva in Athens, Ohio. He performed:
Senor (Tales Of Yankee Power)
Man In The Long Black Coat
Highway 61 Revisited (Mason-harp)
Blind Willie McTell (Todd-harp)

The program, organized by Steve Zarate, went kinda like this:

Mason Alexander Ault

Mason Alexander Ault – See Lagniappe Time: Part 2
It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry
To Ramona
It’s Alright Ma (I’m Only Bleeding)
Just Like A Woman

Bob Stewart
I Pity The Poor Immigrant
Girl From The North Country
Mr. Tambourine Man
When I Paint My Masterpiece

Caitlin Kraus – See Lagniappe Time: Part 1
It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue (Albert-guitar)
Masters Of War
Queen Jane Approximately
Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright

Steve Zarate
Subterranean Homesick Blues (Todd-harp)
Love Minus Zero/No Limit
I Want You
Mama You Been On My Mind
If Not For You

Todd Burge
Jokerman
You’re A Big Girl Now
Gotta Serve Somebody (Steve/Caitlin/Mason/Albert-b/g vox)
All I Really Want To Do

Bruce Dalzell
When The Ship Comes In
Tomorrow Is A Long Time
Dark Eyes
You’re Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go

(Closing songs)
You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere
The Times They Are A Changin’
My Back Pages

“Lagniappe” is a concept and a term I became familiar with while living in New Orleans. In Cajun culture, “lagniappe” (pronounced “lan-yap”) means a little something extra” or a bonus. It’s often a small gift or extra item given by a merchant to a customer, usually as a thank you or to show appreciation. it’s kinda’ like the notion of a “baker’s dozen.” Lagniappe time, then, is being able to spend a little extra time with live performers sketching freehand on my iPad Pro mainly in the Sketch Club app. I’ve illustrobloged elsewhere about lagniappe.

Lagniappe Time: Part 1

Posted on May 26, 2025 by portfoliolongo.com

Generally, we’re encouraged to “let go.” It’s hard to do; and, it’s particularly hard to let go of my experience of the 5/22/2025 Bob Dylan tribute show at Casa Nueva, Athens, Ohio, organized by Steve Zarate. So I plan to spend a little, what I’m now calling “lagniappe time” with each of the performers – like I did here with Caitlin Kraus.

That evening Caitlin Kraus performed the following Dylan songs:
It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue (Albert-guitar)
Masters Of War
Queen Jane Approximately
Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright

Mason Alexander Ault
It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry
To Ramona
It’s Alright Ma (I’m Only Bleeding)
Just Like A Woman

Bob Stewart
I Pity The Poor Immigrant
Girl From The North Country
Mr. Tambourine Man
When I Paint My Masterpiece

Albert Rouzie
Senor (Tales Of Yankee Power)
Man In The Long Black Coat
Highway 61 Revisited (Mason-harp)
Blind Willie McTell (Todd-harp)

Steve Zarate
Subterranean Homesick Blues (Todd-harp)
Love Minus Zero/No Limit
I Want You
Mama You Been On My Mind
If Not For You

Todd Burge
Jokerman
You’re A Big Girl Now
Gotta Serve Somebody (Steve/Caitlin/Mason/Albert-b/g vox)
All I Really Want To Do

Bruce Dalzell
When The Ship Comes In
Tomorrow Is A Long Time
Dark Eyes
You’re Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go

(Closing songs)
You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere
The Times They Are A Changin’
My Back Pages

Take 2

Posted on April 8, 2025 by portfoliolongo.com

On Sunday, March 23, 2025 at Eclipse Company Store in The Plains, Ohio I finally got to see Take 2 . . . over a delicious Peanut Butter Porter from the Saugatuck Brewing Co.. Band members include: Jeff Carr, guitar and vocals, Scott Schell, harmonica and vocals, Ken Dean, percussion and vocals, and Mike Sisson, bass and no vocals. A wonderful night of blues, contemporary folk, Americana . . . and craft beer.
I snapped a reference photo on my iPhone because I knew I’d want to do some digital painting on my iPad. I’ve never gotten so carried away on an iPad painting. Take a look at the stats from the Sketch Club app that I used.

See tag #Athens Ohio Musician.

Click on image to enlarge

Reference Photo:

Reference photo – portfoliolongo

Sketch Club App Stats:

O’Betty’s in Athens, OH

Posted on January 6, 2025 by portfoliolongo.com

According to O’Betty’s website, the eatery is located in the Cameron building, the smallest building in Uptown Athens. Originally built as a barber shop, the venue has been the home of other restaurants, such as Seven Sauces, The Strawberry Patch, The Korean Restaurant, DV8, The Redbud Cafe, and finally and lastly, O’Betty’s. I fondly remember Redbud Cafe; but, whenever I bite into one of O’Betty’s delicious hot dogs, I’m overcome with amnesia, euphoria, and dejavú.

O’Betty’s in Uptown Athens, OH

Technical: I used my own reference photo to make this quirky iPad painting in Sketch Club with an Apple Pencil. The composition took me about 3 hours over the span of several days and consists of 6,486 brush strokes on 3 layers. I then tweaked the image in iColorama.

Our Annual Christmas Letter: A

Posted on December 13, 2024 by portfoliolongo.com

As you well know, we here at portfoliolongo.com have a holiday tradition that goes back all the way to 2013, yes, our Annual Christmas Letter! (Please continue reading below.)

At our annual retreat in early December the Board of Directors and Senior Management – both of us – meet and, after a self-facilitated process that incorporated large sheets of adhesive, butcher-block paper and color-coded stickies, decided ultimately that the 2024 letter would be A, mainly because of our new facility in Canaan Township, Athens County, Ohio. Please click here to view posts previous years’ letters.

Steve Zarate, lyricist, vocalist, and instrumentalist (Athens, OH)

Posted on November 21, 2024 by portfoliolongo.com

Back on September 7, 2024 I took a photo of Steve Zarate performing live at the Athens Farmers Market. Over the last few days I’ve been rendering a freehand, digital image of that reference photo on my iPad Pro using an Apple Pencil and the Sketch Club app with a tweak or two in iColorama. Steve’s music complements the fresh and funky feel of the Market.