The Year of the Tent #7

 Michael Stipe/REM, 18" X 24," Sharpies on paper, sold.  My sister had me do this one for my brother-in-law Nathan.  He response, mostly because I'm a (until recently) homeless loser, was, "eh."  If you're an REM fan and want to tell Nathan you actually like this drawing, send him a POLITE email or message to his business, here.

 My take on the badass Bruce Lee poster that made me a fan of his in about 1971 when I was 5-years-old.  18" X 24", Sharpies on paper, sold, living in SoCal.

 Michael Jackson tribute, 18" X 24," Sharpies on paper.  This drawing went on tour at Delurk Gallery here in Winston-Salem as a part of their recent "Creatures of Fortune" show.  It's now back in the front window of Designs, Vines, and Wines/Studios at 625 on Trade Street.

I did this drawing of poet Mary Oliver, and her really cool poem "Wild Geese" about three weeks ago.  I'd never heard of her, and was glad to find out about her, since she grew up a few miles from where my late Grandma Kate grew up in Ohio.  It took 4 or 5 days to draw, like all my large drawings do.  This drawing ended up sparking a firestorm.  I didn't get paid right away, which turned out to be because of a lost piece of paper, and a big miscommunication.  Several of us have been getting a lot of pressure from the forces at be in the world, and the miscommunication looked like a intentional act from my point of view.  I made a business decision that threatened one of the best relationships I've developed I've made here in the Winston-Salem Art scene.  I'm sorry about all the pain that caused.  I'm also sorry that so many lame people will go out of their way to keep creative people from making a living, because of some 80-year-old stereotype of artists not being responsible people or able to run a business.  Communication people.  It's important.   

For anyone bothering to read this, let me tell you how I operate:

If you ask me to do a drawing, and I know you at all, I usually give you the benefit of the doubt and draw it without a deposit.  When I 'm done with the drawing, I ask one of two things from you.  1) You pay me  immediately, take your drawing, and we're both happy.  2) Tell me you don't like the drawing.  In that case, you keep your money and I keep the drawing.  We're both slightly less than happy, but still civil.  But if you don't pay me promptly, or you EVER fuck me over.  That's it, game over, FOREVER.  Period.  I will be asking for 50% deposits on commissioned drawings from now on, unless we already have a good working relationship.

The Year of the Tent #6

 Miranda Lambert and Carrie Underwood, 18" X 24," Sharpies on paper.  Gift for my friend Ben who's been storing my stuff for a year now.  I'm gonna drop it off some day Ben, really.

 Jerry Garcia #1, 18" X 24," Sharpies on paper.  Might be sold.  Might be on display on Trade Street not sure.

 Jerry Garcia/The Grateful Dead #2, 18" X 24," Sharpies on paper.  And I've never even done acid.  My brain is this weird normally.  This one is sold and living in Southern California.

James Brown/It's a Man's World (at least it was before the the #metoo movement), 18" X 24," Sharpies on paper.  Sold.

The Year of the Tent #5

 My first solo art show ever.  Earshot Music, November 2017. 

 Kurt Cobain drawing, also used as the flyer for the Earshot Music show.  18"x 24", Sharpies on paper, sold.

The Blues Brothers, 18" X 24," Sharpies on paper, sold.

The Year of the Tent #4

 Tupac Shakur, 18" X 24", Sharpies on paper, sold,

 I bought this backpack for $4 at a swap meet in Costa Mesa, California, in 2007.  I'm still carrying it.  It's been with me so long, I call it R2D2.  I'm going to retire it soon.  The best $4 I ever spent.

 Above: "Tainted Love- Harley Quinn/Joker" drawing.  18" X 24", Sharpies on paper.  This one is mine.  Below:  Me in front of Earshot music.

The Year of the Tent #3

 Prince Tribute #2, 18" X 24", Sharpies on paper, sold.

 Johnny Cash, 18" X 24", Sharpies on paper, sold.  This was one of the first drawings of mine up on the wall at Earshot Music last fall.  Sold.

 Bob Marley/One Love drawing.  18" X 24".  Sharpies on paper.  Sold.

"Gwen and Now," Gwen Stefani from 1994 and 2017.  18" X 24".  I think this drawing is still floating around somewhere.  I'm just not sure where. 

The Year of the Tent #2

 In early May 2017, I weighed about 369 pounds.  I was so pathetic, only my four-legged niece Willow would hang out with me.  I'm now right around 300-305 pounds.  I lost that 65-70 pounds by walking a lot, drinking more water, and not having hardly any money to eat all last summer.  100 pounds or so to go...

 Joey Ramone.  I have it somewhere.  18" X 24", Sharpies on paper. 

 The Ramones.  This is on the wall for sale at Earshot Music, 3254 Silas Creek Parkway.  That's across from Hanes Mall, next to Marshall's.  18" X 24", Sharpies on paper. 

Legendary pro surfer Kelly Slater.  18" X 24", Sharpies on paper.  This drawing is for sale at Designs, Vines and Wines at 625 Trade Street in downtown Winston-Salem.  I will not be getting any money form the sale of this piece, I'm no longer dealing with that business.

The Year of the Tent Art #1

These are some of the drawings I was doing in early 2017 while living with my mom in Kernersville.  We didn't get along.  We never have.  I couldn't find a "real job."  I started focusing on my art in late 2015 as my best shot of actually making a living again.  But the household I was living in was continually in financial crisis.  Every time I sold a drawing for $50, most of that money was needed for the crisis du jour.  For a year and a half, I was never able to re-invest the tiny bit of money I was making.  So one year ago today, after a really heated argument with my mom, I came to Winston-Salem to strike out on my own with the goal of turning my artwork into a living.  I came here with about $15 in my pocket, a box of Sharpie markers, a big tablet of sketch paper, and my niece's old Dell laptop.  In the next several posts, I'll show you what I've done in this past year.