2025 wasn’t a great year for many people. For us, I’d call it an “okay” year—and honestly, okay still carried plenty of warmth. When I look back, what stands out most are the wholesome, silly moments: hosting our first friends’ dinner, and Joy and Dyson splashing around in a tiny kiddie pool like it was the best day on earth.
As the years pass, remembering a specific point in time gets harder. That’s why I’ve learned to **keep a few key moments—little anchors—**that can bring you back instantly. Photos help. Objects help. And for me, art helps most.
A Visual Time Capsule: Our Growing A to Z Art Collection
I’m a visual person, so this growing collection of A to Z illustrations has become my way of holding onto the moments that matter. It’s also a gift I love giving Angel—something meaningful, personal, and tied to the life we’re building together.
This year’s piece symbolizes:
The hope I have for our growth in Montour Falls
The love of our puppy babies (Joy and Dyson)
Building our next chapter with the Goldenrod Inn
And yes—there’s an Easter egg in the illustration: can you spot the goldenrod in the artwork?
Why This Matters to Me
It’s easy to let time blur. But I don’t want these years to disappear into a vague “back then.” I want to remember the tiny, ridiculous details—the laughter, the chaos, the small wins, the ordinary days that turn out to be the important ones.
This artwork is one of the ways I’m choosing to remember.
What I’m Looking Forward To
Montour Falls continues to feel like possibility. The Goldenrod Inn feels like a dream that’s turning into something real—step by step. If 2025 was “okay,” my hope is that the next chapter is steadier, brighter, and built with intention.
If you’re building something too—whether it’s a home, a family, a business, or just a better year—I’m rooting for you. 👨🏻❤️👨🏽🏳️🌈🐶
We’ve been sitting on this longer than we meant to. Today, in the quiet just after lunch, we finally pressed publish. Our first illustrated family portrait.
It’s tender in a way photographs sometimes miss—lines that feel like a steady hand, colors that hold warmth without shouting. Two of us, close the way we are in real life, and a certain dog who insists on being part of every frame. There’s a playful wink tucked inside, a nod to the worlds we grew up loving, the kind that still make us light up.
Our favorite Pokémon of Glaceon, Snorlax, Mewtwo, Chandelure, Galarian Articuno and of course Bulbasaur. We always thought Dyson had the energy of a Bulbasaur so he looks right at home.
Finally posting our first illustrated family portrait: all the best Zach & Angel
Six years is a long walk that somehow still feels like the first turn out of the door. Thought we have moved as many years as we’ve been married, the one thing that hasn’t changed is waking up to my best friend every day. My adventures keep becoming more exciting, detailed and creative and sharing them with Angel and our fur-babies is a blast! Here’s to another adventure right around the corner!
From A to Z, it’s the whole alphabet of a life: arrivals, allergies, afternoons; zeal, zero days, and the zinnias planted this spring! A to Z illustrations
With years of experience working with illustrators at all levels, I wasn’t approaching this with uncertainty—I was curious. Could Fiverr provide a partner who’s not only affordable, but also a great match for my zamartz brand aesthetic and workflow? I decided to run a simple test: commission the same brief across four artists at different price points and see which one hit the mark.
Deliverables: One full-color illustration per artist, including sketches and feedback.
Formats Required: Procreate sketches, original Adobe Illustrator (.AI) files, and final .PNG images (1500w x 1000h pixels).
Delivery Method: Google Drive
Concept: Visual metaphor—multiple water slides converging into a single pool labeled “mSEO,” representing multi-channel SEO efforts.
Selecting the Artists:
I must have browsed over a hundred Fiverr profiles before narrowing it down to just four illustrators. My goal wasn’t just to find “good” artists—it was to discover ones whose portfolio styles could potentially align with the clean, modern, and strategic visual tone of my company.
To narrow it down, I looked for:
Previous illustration work that felt adaptable to branding, tech, or editorial themes
Average Rating and Number of Ratings, to ensure consistent delivery
Member Since date and Last Delivery, to gauge experience and recent activity
Average Response Time, which is crucial for collaboration
Fiverr also uses a seller level system, and some creators carry a Fiverr Pro badge—indicating they’ve been vetted by Fiverr’s internal team. While I didn’t exclusively choose Pro creators, I used these indicators to balance budget and reliability.
The final four represented a range of pricing tiers and artistic styles, from entry-level freelancers to established professionals. This allowed me to evaluate not just the final product—but the creative process, responsiveness, and brand alignment at each level.
The Illustrative Journey:
Each artist provided uniquely styled illustrations that showcased varying degrees of interpretation, execution, and brand alignment:
Level 1 delivered a clear and simple illustration suitable for a basic visual.
Level 2 provided more thoughtful detail and visual engagement.
Level 3 offered an artistically creative interpretation that captured more nuance and imagination.
Level 4, Agus Barriola, produced a highly detailed and professional illustration perfectly aligned with my creative vision and brand aesthetic, clearly surpassing expectations.
Agus Barriola’s work not only captured my vision but elevated it, confirming that the right artistic partnership can significantly enhance brand communication and visual storytelling.
LEVEL 1LEEVEL 2LEVEL 4
Insights and Takeaways:
Testing multiple illustrators was invaluable in clearly identifying who best matched my brand’s visual language.
Higher-priced artists offered superior communication, deeper understanding of brand nuances, and elevated creative results.
Investing in a premium artist like Agus Barriola ultimately proved worthwhile, providing visuals that truly resonated with my creative and brand vision.
This experiment reinforced the importance of exploring artistic options, clarifying brand aesthetics, and recognizing that great illustration is about more than just visuals—it’s about finding an artist who truly speaks your brand’s language.
Featured Illustrator:
Check out Agus Barriola’s Fiverr Profile—an exceptional talent delivering an Illustration that matched existing design direction and added their own creative flare.
Want to test Fiverr or Higher an Illustrator
Whether you’re building a brand, publishing content, or just need standout visuals, finding the right illustrator can make all the difference. I tested multiple artists on Fiverr at different price points—and learned a lot along the way. If you’re considering doing the same, here are a few quick answers to help you get started.
Q: What’s the best way to test illustrators from Fiverr?
A: Provide a clear brief and commission the same project across several artists at different price points. Compare based on alignment with your brand, communication, and creativity.
Q: Does price on Fiverr correlate to quality?
n my experiment, higher-priced artists tended to deliver more refined, brand-aligned results—but testing proved essential to finding the right fit.
Q: Who was the best illustrator in this test?
A: Agus Barriola stood out at the $150 price point, delivering a polished, highly brand-consistent final product.
A robe left on a hotel bed always feels like an invitation and a warning at the same time.
The room is quiet in that careful way conference hotels are quiet: carpet swallowing footsteps, air conditioning breathing in measured sighs, the hallway’s life kept at a distance. Inside, it’s just the bed—white sheets pulled tight—and the simple weight of fabric waiting where a person should be.
Travel does that. It compresses you. Days become lanyards and schedules, small talk and bad coffee, a loop of elevators and meeting rooms. Then you come back to the room and everything you carried in your head finally sets down. The robe is there like a placeholder for rest, a soft uniform for the hour when you’re no longer presenting anything.
I think that’s what I notice most in places like this: how the ordinary becomes briefly strange. A bed that isn’t yours. A mirror that doesn’t know you. A silence that feels rented.
And still, there’s comfort. The room doesn’t ask for your history. It doesn’t creak with the ghosts of old years or hold the familiar scuffs of a life lived. It just offers clean edges, a lamp glow, and the chance to be anonymous for a night.
Somewhere outside the window, the city keeps going. In here, the robe waits. So do I.
Should have one or two of each of these tools in your toolbox!
With over 300 meticulously illustrated tools this chart celebrates the tinkerers and the doers: those who build, repair, and create. Breaking down all manner of hand tools by their basic function, this sprawling print covers the most basic, such as the humble yet mighty hammer, to the most highly specialized, such as the 24 types of files depicted here. A hand-crafted compendium of ingenious and essential devices, this chart is a complete cut-list of the tools that empower makers and artisans.
And the chart is printed with brass and aluminum metallic inks to give it a shop-ready sheen.
24″ x 36″
Each print is signed and numbered by the artists, and comes packaged in a Pop Chart Lab Test Tube. See below for finishing options, and note that framed prints require an additional 3 business days of processing time.
Using 100 lb archival recycled stock certified by The Forest Stewardship Council, this poster is pressed on an offset lithographic press in Flatlands, Brooklyn.
So far i’ve keep with my plan of a sketch and photo each weekend! I had to sit inside the mini mall today because seating was filled out front of Verb but on the plus side I got to dodge the humidity and watch foreigners try and figure out the photo boot! HAHA – Overall I had some good random thoughts. This beats free-writing in my eyes.
Rihards aka apofiss does amazing arts of cats and classic vidya gaem characters, but his depictions of Pikachu are especially electrifying. Get it… because Pikachu is, ah forget it. I think he hold the distinguished title of being the only artist on earth to draw Pikachu all drunky.
