I began my career creating art for an animated feature film, and it has been a life-long dream to tell some of the story of my own life — the story behind my art — through the medium of motion pictures.

The dream is coming true; we’re starting work on “The Christmas Cottage,” which I hope will be the first in a number of inspirational movies to tell the story of my growing up. The outlines of my boyhood story may be known to you. My parents parted ways early, and my proud mother — who never accepted public aid — struggled mightily to keep her three children fed and housed and inspired by the wonder of life, despite almost daily challenges.

But as I re-live what were, despite the hardships, golden years, I realize that God must have had a hand in some of our miraculous escapes. Somehow my mother bought our tidy little home with no money down. The payments we scraped together, the injuries we barely avoided, the holidays we somehow managed to celebrate — these are my small dramas.

In the film, I’m featured at work, painting a study of The Christmas Cottage, — the radiantly lit, loving home that sheltered and supported the development of my character. We are releasing the official The Christmas Cottage print now, as a way of providing a “sneak preview” of the film especially for my many loyal collectors.