Catching up

Hello Friends. Above is an old piece. I did this one in 07, but it is one of my oil paintings. It is the cover for a book called "Earth Warriors" written by Mr. Gary Babb himself. A few weeks ago I got a letter from a "Old Friend" that told me that I couldn't draw with a pencil or paint with brushes and a canvas where put down in front of me..... Hmmm, obviously he doesn't know me or anything about me, like for Instance, I TRAINED UNDER A MASTER FOR 3 YEARS.....and Daniel didn't train me how to become a Master with Digital art. That is something I decided I should learn so I could stay competitive in the market price wise and for speed as well. I am trained in the methods passed down from Master Howard Pyle. Damn, I hate stupid and prejudice people.

I've been working on making some changes that would free up some spare time for me to either get more art done or have time to do other things like post a blog more often. For one, I didn't leave Face book, my fan clubs are still there, but I left the socialising part of it behind. The truth is, it was taking about 3 hours a day for me to keep up with everything on there, and that is just way to much. Plus I had to deal with a lot of Idiots who want to mess with me because their just plain losers and they can't stand to see someone do well at what they can only dreaming about doing well. Isn't that right David, or are you Jack today?

Being a name in this business takes a hell of a lot of hard work and years. It also takes talent. Desire and Talent are two very different things. Just because you desire something, doesn't mean you have the talent or patience to get it. I know a lot of folks out there that truly have the talent, but they don't have the patience. And i know a lot of people out there that don't have either, so they revert to stealing peoples stories and putting their names on it, and try to get it publish. Or they pretend to be an Editor, and don't know nothing about the publishing world, but they would die just to see their name on a book. One such fool even stole my art to put with a story he stole from one of the most famous writers in the world.

I've said this many times before. If your dream is to be and artist, I would be happy to look at your work and tell you where you stand. I'll be straight with you and tell you the truth. It might not be the truth you want to hear, but it will be the truth. If I think you have talent, I will do my best to push you in the right direction. If your a writer, a lot of the pro writers will do the same as long as you treat them with the respect they deserve.

But by far, the best way is take your work to a convention and meet them face to face. Offer to buy them dinner or a drink and ask them to give you an honest critique. Most of the time they will, but a few here and there will try not to hurt your feelings, but that is not doing you any good. You have to develop a thick skin in this business and learn to take rejection and criticism. It is the only way you can learn and grow.

Well, enough of that. To be honest, I have been in a bit of a funk lately. I can't be a normal person anymore and talk to everyone. No, I have to screen people, and that takes a very long time before I know if there trouble or not. When someone outside of a known company wants to do business with me, I do all kinds of searches and checks on them to see if they have a good reputation or if they have complaints against them. The worse the economy gets the more people are getting ripped off.

Things in the business are getting frustrating, and they are reaching to every level of it. Even the very small press that can't afford to pay their talent are feeling the crunch because people can't afford any extras these days. Most family's are having trouble keeping food on the table anymore. Madison and I are doing pretty good, compared to most folks, but we've really had to tighten our belts as well. We're lucky that we have each other and the kids. I grow closer and closer to the kids with each passing week. We also have our gifts which get us through. At least I know I can sit down and paint everyday and Madison knows she can write. I worry about the folks that don't have that kind of thing to turn to. I wonder what they do to fill the gaps.

Well, as always, I enjoy talking with you and wish that I could be closer to you all, but unfortunately being successful means that you bring out the nut jobs, and all they want to do is put you down, or try to start something with you, and for what? To prove what huge idiots they truly are? The truth is, i don't even respond to them anymore, that just sets them off even more. But on the downside, when they threaten Madison's life because of me, I feel the need to be cautious. I have plenty of fans out there that are FBI and cops, can one of you write me and see what we can do about a couple of these nuts. I know the FBI will handle things like this when different states involved. Peace my friends.