WIP,Underpainting and Friends.

Hello my friends. Thank you for stopping by and seeing what is going on. Above is the under painting for the painting I am doing called "Skinwalkers" It is for the Darc Karnivale Book. Tomorrow night I will be close to finishing it, and if it is at a good spot, I will show it to you again then. If not, when it is finished which will be Wednesday night. I am going to show you some of the work from "Mental Scars" but I really need to talk to Richard and Mischa first to make sure I don't post anything that would go against my contract with Viper Productions. I am really pleased with how the splash page came out though. It's Very dark, and it will be shocking to a lot of viewers.

Tomorrow I am also going to do something I have been putting off forever, which is put up some original oil paintings for sale on the Wicked Kitty Website. So, if your a collector, this will be your chance. I will also be offering prints as well of newer works and some older.

There's something I want to talk about, and it is friendship. I have tons of friends on facebook and all over the world. I consider these to be people that like what I do, and I interact with them as much as time permits. One of the great things about doing a convention is meeting face to face with people you have worked with or people that you have met on a place such as facebook. But that is not what I am talking about. I am talking about the very few people you let into your personal life, that you talk to on the phone, you go to visit, hang out with, go places together and you stick together, right or wrong.

I guess the way I think is ancient. Being in the army taught me some things and most of things I still hold dear today. For one is the friends you make. A friend always watches your back, never double deals on you. (Like being friends with your mortal enemy as well, because they are trying to be politically correct.) A friend is someone you can always count on and you know they would never double deal you. In this business I have made "Friends" with people a lot of times because I was trying to help them, only to be stabbed in the back in the end, one way or another. Chances are it involved not being one of the things I mentioned above. George is the only artist that I have helped and befriended that never did that to me. We've had our differences, but we always got through them. I know If I asked something of George, with no question, he would do all he could to help me.

The problem is there have been others that I went out of my to help and be kind to. I called them friend, let them into my life, and took them into my heart, only to be "dissed" in the end. One of them I even set up with Master Horne, to get them the training they needed to be an successful artist. I put my word on the line to Daniel about this person, and said they would make him proud, only to have this person totally "diss" Daniel and the chance he was given. Needless to say, I will never ask Daniel to do that again, because to be honest, how can he trust my judgement now. I gave my word. To a poor southern boy, there has been many times in my life that the only thing I had was my word, and that got me through because people knew they could trust that about me.

This same person also likes to play both sides of the coin. He friended the one person in the world that I truly despise and resent, and he knew this. I had to listen to phone calls telling me what a wonderful person that my enemy truly was. Although I had spent several years with the creep. I traveled the country with this person. I gave them there first start in publishing when I was an art director. I talked everyday on the phone to that person for 3 years. Yes, I knew them very well and was floored when they stabbed me in the back. It took me months to get past it, and this new friend that I had done nothing but help, is telling me that he is friends with the creep, and that I was wrong about them.

Today, I sent this person a letter and told them never to contact me again. I let this build up for almost a year before I just couldn't put it behind me any more. I don't know if I did the right thing or the wrong thing, but it is how I feel. Cheryl wrote some blogs recently about people in my life that have used me. There have been many of them. I guess that's the price you pay for being a nice guy. You become a target for all the bottom feeders out there that will do anything to better themselves, and I am not just talking about the art world either. Sometimes I feel like the only way to protect myself is by becoming a Hermit. But that is hard to do when the world seems to be noticing me now.

Thank you for listening. Sometimes you just need to get some things off your chest, and writing about it has always made me feel better about things. I hope to see you soon. Peace and Blessings all. (Part of me doesn't want to publish this blog, but I feel I really need to. Please forgive me for being negative in this one.)