1,464 brush strokes in Sketch Club on my iPad and roughly 29 minutes, I looked up, and suddenly they were gone. I’m at One Line Coffee in the Franklinton neighborhood of Columbus, Ohio. Annyth’s getting her hair cut next door.
…looked up, and we’re gone pecans…
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.)
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The hydraulic fracturing market, not just in the Appalachian Basin, but globally is projected to continue growing, with market analysis expecting it to nearly double between now and 2034. It’s argued that, to meet the energy demands needed to power AI data centers, more fracking is justified.
I asked AI if fracking is considered clean, and here’s AI’s response:
“No, fracking is not considered clean because of its environmental impacts, which include water contamination, air pollution from methane, and the creation of large volumes of toxic wastewater. While the burning of natural gas produces fewer emissions than coal or oil, the fracking process itself has significant negative consequences for air and water quality, as well as public health.”
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Technical: Sketch Club app on an iPad Pro with an Apple Pencil, some additional work in Procreate and iColorama. Here’s some Sketch Club stats, click on arrow to see a tiny progress video.
Here how I pictured Van Morrison as he was:
Traveling down an open road with youMaking plans for all we hope to doSo much to say to you, so I’ll drive slowWe can drive to France, or down to Monte Carlo
Once in a Lifetime Feelings – Click here for the soundtrack on YouTube.
Van Morrison
So much to say to you…
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.
“I have never in my life seen a talent like this.” Quincy Jones
Sketch Club Stats
What a pleasure to see Sir Van again, this time in Belfast! And what a performance!
Oh, and dinner included a little birthday cake to celebrate his 80th!
This freehand digital painting was done on an iPad Pro with an Apple Pencil using the Sketch Club app, with a final sharpening tweak in iColorama. I started it yesterday on the train from Belfast back to Dublin and finished it off in our room last night at a residence hall on the campus of Trinity College. The whole image took me a little under two hours. Obviously, I’m rounding things up to the nearest 1,000 for the fun of it. One of these days I can come back to this image and finish her off, but for now I’m still enjoying the tunes in my head. Hey, I painted Van on my iPad back in 2014, click here for that.
Here’s a look at the whole team, virtuosos everyone of them!
Van with the whole band
Play list: June 24, 2025.
After Gloria, and once Van had left the stage, the band played on for another 15 minutes improvising their asses off. We all stood in amazement.
Click here to learn more about the Hotel Europa
Hotel Europa, Belfast, Northern Ireland
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.
“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 on the subject of lagniappe.
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
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.
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Reference Photo:
Reference photo – portfoliolongo
Sketch Club App Stats:
The Ponce Inlet Lighthouse, aka Ponce de Leon Inlet Lighthouse is located a short distance from Lighthouse Ice Cream.
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Technical: I made this freehand iPad painting using a photo that Annyth took as a reference using the Sketch Club app for drawing and painting and iColorama for final tweaking.
portfoliolongo 