Small Steps in a Big World, acrylic and antique cookbooks on canvas, twelve 5″x5″ squares, 2007, from the collection of Peay Vineyards, Stuart Sheldon We so often mistake familiarity for happiness and routine for satisfaction. Twenty-five, chiseled and ready to party, I stood forearms perched on the railing of a ferry to the Greek isle of Paros. Dance music played and gusts of laughter from fellow travelers engulfed me. The world was mine … but for one thing … I Felt Utterly

Easy reading is damn hard writing. N. Hawthorn Stuart Sheldon, Follow It Home, acrylic and Chinese funeral paper on panel, 24″x24″, 2004 My dry heart drinks … A National Book Award winner and Oprah Book Club selectee recently thought enough of my debut manuscript,  A LONELY FOOL’S MASTERPIECE, to share it with her powerhouse editor. This generous best-seller acted wholly of her own volition. And her seal of approval ladled cold fresh spring water into me after five years toil