I began the story of Dr. Cerulean three years ago shortly after my mother was diagnosed with Stage 4 colon cancer. It was first published as a blog, and I’d let my mom know every time I finished a new chapter. Of all the people in my life, I think it was my mother who I really wrote this book for - and to be certain there are countless inside jokes contained within its pages that were written specifically for my mother to laugh at. As I wrote, the characters were so vivid in my imagination that I couldn’t hardly continue telling the story without bringing them to life through illustrations, as well. As the story unfolded and evolved and changed, so did my interpretations of them all. My mother eventually came into the possession of some of those original pieces of art, though I don’t know what happened to them since. Mace died in 2018, and she never got to see the project complete. The story of her presence, both physically and ethereally, throughout the process of my bringing this story to life, has almost nothing to do with my decision to add the artwork to this website. It was just a story that I wanted to share, and I felt it would be apropos to share it here, since my parents nurtured my love for art since as far back as I can remember. - MJ