She Went Chasing the Sun and Found a Solar Powered Lamp Instead.

By J. W. Julian

I hope this missive reaches you in good stead. I apologize for not sending newsletters for the last few months. Productive computer time has been as elusive to me as Ebby was in Ebby the Magnificent. Other than an amazing trip to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in March, much of the past 4 months has been spent coordinating and developing my Light Up Nigeria project, which I introduced to you in my February newsletter. If you missed my last newsletter, I decided to use the money I make selling my books, art, and art greeting cards to purchase solar powered lamps for artists in Nigeria who lack access to basic electricity. In addition to ordering and coordinating the delivery of 75 solar powered lamps, we had a full and fabulous time in Croatia this spring with several new guests and one five-timer, including a sailing trip to several islands in the Dalmaltian Coast, hikes, fabulous food, gatherings with friends, and even some opportunities to paint. We are now back in our other home in the Pacific Northwestern part of the United States. We went from a European heatwave to perfectly cool PNW weather. Timing is everything!

Speaking of time, time is short, so I better get to it before another month goes by.

Spring in Croatia--"The Land of Stones."

Springtime in Croatia is one of my favorite times of the year. The trees and flowers start to bloom, turning every breath you take into a symphony of smells for the lungs. "Maximum Green", as we like to call it, is when the flora and fauna have reached their peak, and before the heat of the summer turns everything prematurely brown. We reached Maximum Green a few weeks after we arrived and it stayed with us until we left.

If you are not into the whole "green thing", Croatia has sunsets that will take your breath away. I also took a perfect picture of the full moon over our castle in Drivenik. If we had arrived at this spot a few minutes earlier or later, I would have missed the shot. Timing is everything! Like the color blue? Take a look at the waters of the Adriatic. Here are a few pictures of our spring. If you follow me on Facebook, I posted many more pictures there.

New paintings!!

In addition to taking 1000s of photographs this spring, I found time to finish four paintings. The first painting is of the ruins of an ancient Roman military fortress called the Badanj. It is part of a series of Croatian scenes from the area where we live that I hope to transform into an art exhibition. The second one was inspired by a giant anteater we saw at the zoo in Rio de Janeiro. They are magnificent creatures, and so unusual. I added a baby its back because that is where anteater babies live for the first year of their lives. If you look closely, you can also see an ant watching the scene in the foreground.

The third painting is of a moss-covered waterfall in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest in Washington State, which flows into Falls Creek. I love painting moss and flowing water. This had both. It was a really challenging painting, and I hope you like it. The last painting was based on a photo I took on our recent sailing trip to Hvar Island. I have never seen anything like the water here and I was obsessed with trying to recreate it. I gave a special nod to Ebby and the Land of Stones in naming the boat. Please contact me if you are interested in getting the originals, Giclee prints, art greeting cards, or T-shirts with any of these images. They are not yet on my website.

Light Up Nigeria.

Light Up Nigeria is a project I started in November of 2025 when I learned David Praise, the Nigerian artist who did a portrait of me, did not have electricity in his village. He relied on kerosene lamps, flashlights, or his phone light to work on my portrait at night. I soon learned most Nigerian artists do not have access to electricity or a consistent source of electricity to light up their studios after the sun goes down. Fifty percent (or more) of the Nigerian population as a whole does not have electricity. Can you imagine not having power to heat your shower, dry your hair, refrigerate your food, charge your phone, open your garage door, etc.? Then imagine you are an artist who does not have light to see what you are creating once the sun sets, especially if you have to work all day at another job. That was a situation of far too many of my fellow artists and I decided to do something about it.

Taking a page out of Ebby's story, I decided to go on an adventure, meet people from far away, reach out my hand in friendship, and see what I could do to make their lives better. I am now using 100% of the money I make selling my book, Ebby the Magnificent, my art (originals and Giclee prints), and art greeting cards to purchase solar powered lights for Nigerian artists, like the two artists pictured above. These lamps are not ordinary either. They are made out of 70% recycled electronic waste by Quadloop Technologies a Nigerian company, owned by a man I have come to consider my baby brother, Dozie Igweilo.

I have now purchased lamps and solar panels for seventy-five (75) incredible artists. Some are professional full-time artists who make their living selling art, a few are art professors, some are attending universities studying everything from medicine to architecture. One was just accepted to a fine arts masters program in Europe. Others are self-taught, like me. The one thing they all have in common is their love and passion to create art. You can see 55 of them in this short video.

You can read more about my Light Up Nigeria project on this new page on my website.

QuadLoop Technologies, Dozie Igweilo, and Art.

One of our visitors this spring in Croatia was Dozie Igweilo (pictured above), the Nigerian owner of QuadLoop, the manufacturer of the solar lamp. Dozie had been invited to Germany to speak at an international Circular Economy conference, and since he was so close, I invited him to visit us. It was his first visit to Croatia and we had so much fun showing him around our stomping grounds. He saw Fluffle Valley where Ebby was born. He visited my studio and saw many of the original paintings from the book. We went to Rovinj where he met Zoto, the artist who I based my character Soto on, and so many other places. He also delivered original art I purchased from two artists in Nigeria, as well as two of his lamps and solar panels. He showed us how he makes these lamps and just how effective they are. We also produced this short (and I think, adorable) video together. Click here to watch it.

Meeting Dozie in person gave me an entirely different perspective on my Light Up Nigeria project and strengthened my conviction even more. Not only are his lights making life-changing differences in the artists' lives, he is helping keep electronic waste out of our landfills. Further, purchasing the lamps from his small family-owned company is supporting him, his family, and his employees. Each lamp costs USD$50 and the average cost of transportation is $12. My initial target was to buy and ship around 30-40 of them. I surpassed that goal some months back. Now I hope to buy 150-200 of them, but this is dependent on my sales.

In addition to buying lamps for individual artists, I have also donated lamps to various art organizations as prizes for competitions, art grants, and similar art-related organizations and events. In the process, I am building up a network of artists, educators, art curators, and others involved in the Nigerian art scene.

We now have a core group of 35 artists who I am working with closely to develop their artistic and marketing skills, including providing training in several areas. These artists, many who live in different parts of Nigeria, are forming friendships and a network to support and encourage each other. My next goal is to coordinate one or more exhibitions in Lagos and attend them in person. Another goal is to make Ebby the Magnificent available on the African continent. Keep your eyes out for more news!

I am fully aware that many people are suspicious of anything associated with Nigeria due to online scams involving "Nigerian princes", etc. I want to assure you that these are genuine artists making real human-made art. They do not deserve to be lumped in with a few bad actors anymore than we deserve to be lumped in with the numerous scams that originate where we are from. To ensure that each lamp reaches its intended recipient, I order and pay for each lamp directly from Dozie, who then personally oversees the shipment to the artist. The artist then sends me a picture of them holding their lamp. I have compiled this short video with about 55 of the artists with their lamps.

These artists are not asking for charity. All they seek is an opportunity to create and sell their art. To assist them in this endeavor, I intend to add an additional section to my website merchandise page this month where you will be able to buy Gallery-quality Giclee prints of their art through me, and I will send 100% of the net sale proceeds to the artist directly.

Many of them make pencil, ballpoint pen, or graphite/charcoal drawings that are so realistic they are often confused for photographs or are wrongly assumed to be created by AI. I have carefully vetted each one and I will stand by them and help you coordinate a purchase of their art or if you would like to commission them to do a portrait (including pet portraits) or other painting for you. I have already sold a few prints to very happy customers in the U.S. and Croatia (see pictures below).

If you want to make a real difference in someone's life with no effort, and get a gorgeous book or piece of art in return, please consider purchasing my books, art, or merchandise from my website and I will do all the heavy lifting. And if Light Up Nigeria does not appeal to you, do something else kind. I promise it will make you feel good. We may not be able to change the entire world, but we can change a little bit of it for the better if we want.

Art Greeting Cards for Every Taste

Shown here are two of the 80 art greeting cards I have available, including one from the John J. Collection. I make each card personally with high quality photographs of my original art on sturdy creme-colored card stock. Each card is signed, with coordinating rhinestones individually selected and applied (not on the John J. Collection) and come in a plastic sleeve, perfect for gifting. All cards are only $5.00 each. I will tie them up with a pretty ribbon if you want to give them as a gift. They are blank inside and perfect for every occasion! Click here if you want to go to the merchandise page of my website.

We LOVE our readers and LOVE getting reviews!!

Reviews are a great way for you to tell other people about the book and are extremely important for independent self-published authors. If you enjoyed Ebby, please consider sharing your thoughts with your friends, your book club, your colleagues, on Amazon, Goodreads, with me, or wherever you write reviews. As an independent, self-published author, word of mouth is my BEST advertisement. Don't want to bother with writing something online? Just shoot me a text or email and let me know what you thought about my book. It is the best possible feeling! This is the 43rd review I received on my Amazon page, where I sell electronic versions of Ebby.

Happy reading and hoppy adventures!

J. W. Julian