Hello.  Last night I made $10, whereas the previous Saturday, I made $190.  That is quite a remarkable difference.
     Making money as an artist is not consistent, at least not for me.

     Anyhow, here is a photo I just worked on in my 'Fresh Paint' program on my new uber computer, and on my new wacom drawing tablet...

I think it is pretty funny.

Anyway, 

you can buy this

off of

my pixels.com

website,

or,

I suppose you can steal the image right from here.

http://pixels.com/featured/toy-godzilla-shooting-fire-on-pegasus-face-david-lovins.html

Anyhow, to continue, I'm going to try the pixels sponsorship thing again.  I was having trouble putting it on one of my other blogs, and I don't know why, so I will try what works.

<a href="http://fineartamerica.com/art/photographs/toys/all" style="font: 10pt arial; text-decoration: underline;">toys photos</a>

I'll see if this works.  

Later, it will be another night at the bar.  Hopefully, I can sell some more art.

So far, the peoplenet is still the best way for me to sell art so far.

At the bar Last Night

     Let's see....I sold this painting for $60....

     I also sold this pig drawing.....for $11....

     So, I sold $71 for the night.  That ain't bad.  If I did that every night, I'd be rich.

     It is hard to get people to pay $5 for an original napkin art, though.  Most people would rather buy a beer.

     Anyhow, I've been having fun on pixels.com.  I've sold ten things so far, and I've made $28.  It's not bad for a start.  I've only been on the site for two months.  These things take time.

     To continue, pixels has this sponsorship program which I am starting to like.  All I have to do is sponsor them on my blog page, and then they sponsor me on a page on their site.  That sounds like a fair deal.

     <a href="http://fineartamerica.com/art/paintings/acrylic/all" style="font: 10pt arial; text-decoration: underline;">acrylic paintings</a>

     So, as I write this, I've posted their link.  When I am finished writing this blog entry, then I post the link to my blog in a box they provide called, 'Tell Us Where You Posted The Link'.
     When completed, I will have some of my art displayed on their 'acrylic paintings' page.
     Sounds good to me.

     Basically, as an artist, if no one sees your art, you don't exist.  So, every artist has to get their art out there before anyone can even decide on whether or not to buy it or not. 
     They can't buy what they can't see.

     Every artist has to make a choice....scrape by living in poverty while you work on your 'pure soul searching art', or make some extra money to help pay the bills.

     I don't know about you, but I've had enough of poverty.

     Of course, what will happen is people will call me a sell-out, but I don't care.  The people who say that don't have any money to spend anyhow.  Maybe they are just jealous.

     I work my butt off on my art, so I deserve everything I get is how I feel.

My $190 Saturday night

     This sold for $60 last night...

     It was a commissioned drawing.

     It was done in the bar.

     Anyway, I ended up selling $190 worth of art.

     Not too bad, eh?

     Plus, I got to have some nice drinks.

     I also sold a lot of napkins.

     One guy tipped me $80.  He really liked my art, and was very supportive.

     * * * * *

     On Sunday, I made $32.

     On Monday, I made $10.

     I am hoping Tuesday night will be good.

     I haven't sold anything in the bar for six days.  This is highly unusual for me.  Luckily, I have some money in the bank, but it is hard to survive when there is no money coming in.

     <a href="http://fineartamerica.com/art/photographs/female/all" style="font: 10pt arial; text-decoration: underline;">female photos</a>

     This is a link for pixels.com.  I am sponsoring their page 'female photos'.

     What happens is I post their link on one of my blogs, then I link back to them where I posted it.

     This allows me to have my art on their 'female photos' page.

     It took me a couple of weeks to figure out how to do this, and to why I would want to do this.

     It also takes some balls to shove your art in people's faces.  My art isn't up to snuff in some people's eyes, and it is hard to get critiqued or judged. 

     However, if I don't put my art out there, no one will know about me.

     It's a choice.  I can try and survive, or die anonymous in a ditch somewhere from homelessness and starvation.

     I would rather survive, and live as well as I can.

     My job is to be an artist, so if I don't do all I can to make that happen, then I am falling short of my goal.

     Not everything I do is good, but most people can find something they like within my portfolio of images.

     Anyway, here is a photo of my latest digital art vintage photo that is rated G, viewable by anyone...

     The web is still a little uptight about nudity, so this is what I can post here and be safe.

     The original photo has these four ladies naked as jaybirds, and the day they were born.

     Anyway, I love to make art every day, that is what I do.

More about pixels.com

     Hello.

     I have sold a total of five ( 5 ) greeting cards off of pixels.com.

     So far, so good.

     The amount of money I generated is about $30.

     I get paid $2.00 for each greeting card I sell.

     That ain't too bad.

     They take care of all of the shipping and handling.

     I don't have to worry about a thing, once I post my pictures up.

     I can make money while I sleep.

     Pixels.com seems to be the #1 art website on Google.

     I don't know why I waited so long to get onto the site.

     I guess I didn't feel it before.

     Once I heard the commercial for pixels.com on 'The Howard Stern Show' a couple of times, I knew it was my destiny to get onto the site, just because of the traffic.

     I had my brother investigate the site before I would even look at it.  I was feeling some trepidation.

     Anyway, he said the site was good, so I had a look.

     Then, I signed up.

     I was a non-member for about a week, but then I discovered you can only post twenty-five pictures.

     I coughed up $30, and became a member, and now I can post an unlimited amount of images.

     So, I've made about thirty cents a day over the course of a month.  That is not very good, but I am just getting started.

     At first, I had trouble getting hits, and then I linked my pixels account to my Twitter account, and the hits started coming in.

     Then my brother and I discovered that most of these hits were server and bot hits around the globe.

     However, some hits are human-generated.

     It is nice when an actual human being looks at my art.

     It is hard to get people to look at art.  Something has to grab them visually.

     Anyhow, I am trying out this sponsorship program that pixels has.

     I'm supposed to post their code somewhere on the web, and then tell them where I posted it, so I'm going to give this a try.

     Here is the link:  <a href="http://pixels.com/art/all/woman/canvas+prints" style="font: 10pt arial; text-decoration: underline;">woman canvas prints</a>

     Okay, that step is done.

     Now, I am going to publish this page, and then link this page in their information box...

     Wish me luck.

Pixels.com

     I'm on Pixels.com now.
     As of this post, I have 328 photos up on the site, with 3634 hits.

     Here is the link to my page.....http://pixels.com/profiles/david-lovins.html

     If it doesn't work for some reason, just go to Pixels.com, and type in 'David Lovins' into their search bar.

     The hits started to come in once I linked pixels.com to Twitter.  I'm sorry to say that most of the hits are server and bot hits.  Actual real people are starting to give me a hit here and there now, though, which is good.

     The more hits I can get, the more the chance is that I will get some sales.

     Anyway, it does look like people sell on pixels.com.  A lot of product is being sold, and I'm trying to get in on that action.

     Of course, this really requires some great art that grabs people's attention, and that is not always easy.

    

     September 2014 will be remembered as one of my slowest art sales months ever since I've been selling art in the bar.
     Things have picked up in October.  I sold $50 worth on Friday, $30 on Saturday, $0 on Sunday, and $15 on Monday.  Not bad in my book.
     Of course, $100 is what I go for every night.  If I did that, I'd be a wealthy man, by my standards.

     So, these four napkin arts sold for $20.

     This 'Born Again Drunk' napkin sold, along with this half-sheet of a woman.

     This chronology of my life sold for $30.

     Here is the backside of my joke chronology.

     I've come to realize that art sales depend on there being lots of toys on the table, to make everything fun.

     Luckily, I have heavy-duty innertubes on my bike, so I can carry more stuff up to the bar.

     Sales have been real slow.  There is nothing I can do about it, except to keep working.
     People either have money to buy art, or they don't.

     I've been trying to be nice to people recently.  I actually get more sales when I'm more of a dick, though.  When I'm too nice, they look at my art, tell me their therapy problems, and leave.  I'm not a charity.

     Also, some people don't deserve to own my art.

     In addition, some people want a guided tour of my art, and for me to hold their hand through it all.  But if they don't tell me that's what they want, and they don't ask any questions, how am I supposed to know?  I'm not a mind-reader.

     All I know is that if somebody wants to buy something, and is serious, I can tell within two minutes.  No mussing or fussing about.  They pick something and buy it.

     

    

      These two napkin arts sold.

      This napkin art sold, too.

      This woman was part of the scenery.

     A new recent product are the 'half-sheets'.  My brother and I call them 'halflings'.  Anyway, these three sold for $10 each.  That's $30, enough for six beers in a bar.

     I did have one of these old, nosy, North Beach women types ask me if I was doing well with my art.  People like that never buy anything, they just ask annoying questions, and I don't feel obliged to answer them.

     When it all boils down, all these hippie-types are all about the money, too, because they want to spend it on pot, and to pay people so they can sleep on their friend's couch.

     Well, I sold two napkin arts for ten dollars last night.
     I was under the impression that this young lady was going to buy four of them for $20, but it was not to be.
     Meanwhile, I had to suffer with this young lady and her friend perusing my napkin art stacks for about an hour, just to make their choices.
     I am glad I entertained them, but I wish I had been better compensated.
     English was not their first tongue, so I guess my writing was somewhat amusing to them, not being used to seeing actual writing in so-called 'American English'.  Everyone is used to text on portable devices now.

     Then there was this guy I had to deal with later.  The bartender had told a customer that I was from Salt Lake City which is not exactly true, but anyway, there I was with this guy who had spent some time in Provo, which is about three doors away from Hell.  Anyway, the conversation didn't go exactly well, as the gentleman to me seemed to have quite the cocaine history, and his words were on automatic pilot, which was disdainfully unpleasant for me.

     Following, today I was late to the cafe. Several people glanced at my artwork, but only in passing.
     One girl actually stopped to look, and I addressed her with, "Do you have any questions?"
     "No, I'm just admiring," she stated sheepishly, though it was more like a mouse.
     That translates to me as, "No, I don't have any money at all, sir, and if I did, I wouldn't spend it on art, and certainly not yours."

     In addition, I get people asking me for discounts on art that is already discounted.  I feel more embarrassed for them than I do for me.  $5 is not a lot to ask for an original piece of art, especially for work that has taken hours to create. 

     There isn't much point in writing right now.  I didn't sell anything last night, nor did I sell anything in the cafe today.
     I never sell in the cafe, but I continue to go there anyway, and do my work.  They make good coffee there.
     Most of the people either completely ignore what I am doing, or walk by really fast while looking at my art.  It seems beneath them to stop and look.
     Some annoying woman thought I was homeless today.  When asked what I was doing, I said that the napkin arts sold for $5 a piece, and that I use the money to buy alcohol.  I told her I was completely serious, so she asked me, "Don't you want to use the money to get a home?"
     "I have a home.  I need a beer."
     Talk about judging a book by its' cover.
     She didn't buy anything anyhow, so she was completely useless, just like many others in the cafe, from my perspective.

     Here is my last sale from Tuesday night.  I scored $10 for it...

     'The Wheel of Misfortune' seems to be a running theme in my life.

     Anyway, I will go out to the bar again tonight, and try to sell.  It is not an easy job.  It is hard enough to make the stuff, but to sell it also is a challenge.

     Well, some girl offered me $40 for this painting.  She was young and had big boobs.  I rejected her offer, which I considered kind of insulting.  She didn't know any better.

     Then I sold this to a lady friend for $160 last night.

     So, if I had sold this to this first girl, I would have been out of $120.

     I've been trying to sell this painting for six months, and I finally got a good offer on it. 

     There were some interested people on this particular painting, but the first person to come up with a decent money offer gets to buy it.  That's how it works.

     It isn't worth it for me to undersell myself, not with the hours I put into my work, not to mention the overhead.

     Selling art in a bar requires that I buy a lot of beers.  I don't mind because I like to get drunk.

     * * * * *

     This napkin art also sold, for $5.

     This Star Wars painting of evil characters and a napkin art sold for $70 last night.

     It was the best offer I had on it, so I took it.  The buyer really likes Star Wars, so it went to the right person, which makes me happy.

     I liked his choice of napkin art, too, so the deal was agreeable to me.

     I think I sold one or two other napkins, too, but I can't exactly remember, due to the alcoholic blur that was incurred.

     Then I got into some argument with some annoying woman, and that was unfortunate, but I really hate her for always falling asleep in the bar, and for being a peasant.

* * * * *

     Ah, here are the other two napkin arts that I sold...

     Some girl bought this one for her friend's birthday.  It was an unusual choice, but she said her friend would 'get it'.  Some inside joke that I'm not privy to.

     This is a a metaphysical napkin art in subject.  A nude woman is depicted viewing a painting of a nude, with a window to the right, with a bird flying, and a wine glass on the windowsill. 
     I'm proud of this one, and I'm glad my friend bought it, as opposed to some stranger.

    

     I found some guy's motorcycle glove.  Then it took two hours to find the guy.  He gave me $20.

     A group of people asked me to make a drawing of a mermaid.  I told them I would do it for $10.  They were so happy with the results after I was done, that they gave me $30.  It was for their friend's birthday.

     Then I made another birthday card in Mad magazine fold-out style.  I did this in exchange for a beer.  It was a fun project.

     Then I sold a big page of my typing to a friend for $20.

     My other friend paid $3 for a napkin art that he forgot to take with him.

     Otherwise, a couple on a date played with my toys.  They bought a napkin art, so it was okay.  They had fun.  They put the animals around a watering hole, in this case, a shot glass.




  

     After two days of nothing, apart from selling a solitary napkin art for $5, I sold a painting for $100, and two napkin arts for $10.

     This 'Alien Boy' painting took over six months to sell.

    

     This is one of the napkin arts that sold.

     I made $0 last night, but I sure did spend all of my extra money on beer and food, haha.

     I worked the cafe again today, as I do every day.  People just sit there and stare at me, as I work.
     They pretend like they don't see my art, but they look, because I see them looking. 
     Sometimes I stand outside and watch them as they walk by my table.  They look.
     They don't want to talk to me.  Dealing with the artist is too much work for most people.  Plus, I know they don't have any money in this particular cafe.  They are poor.

     On rare occasions, I have been asked in the cafe how much my napkin art is. 
     "Five bucks for each one," I say.
     They have a look of shock and horror on their face, not being able to comprehend that a small piece of original art could be worth five measly dollars.

     This is not true at the bar.  A lot of people have no problem buying four of my napkin arts at a time for twenty bucks.

    

     I missed writing on this blog yesterday, because I was busy with EverQuest.

     Anyway, on Saturday night, I sold three napkin arts for $15.  I would post a picture of what I sold, but the subject matter is too borderline for the conservative tastes of Blogger.

     Tonight, on Sunday, I sold nothing.  No one even looked at my art, except for a crazy guy who looks but never buys because he thinks the world revolves around him. 
     He doesn't think he is crazy at all.  He thinks he is quite normal.   That is why I think he is one of the really crazy ones.

     I know I am crazy and mad.  I am an artist, so I feel I have a healthy outlet.

     So, let's see...on Wednesday, I sold $270 worth of art.  On Thursday, it was $5.  Then last night on Friday, I sold $26....and a guy tried to steal my alien painting on canvas.

     He was drunk, left a twenty on my table, and I was outside smoking, and I said, "Hey, what are you doing with my painting?"
     Then he said, "I left a twenty on the table."
     Then I said, "You go back there, get your twenty, and then give me back my painting."
     Then he said, "No one will buy this crappy painting!"
     Then I said, "You were planning to, and if you don't give me back my painting, I'm going to kick your ass."
     It all mostly ended well, except the guy was a pain, and he tried to buy a drink from the bartender when the boy was closed, and everyone was walking out.
     This man probably thought of himself as really entitled, and probably works a job that he is miserable at.   

     I hit the mother lode last night, selling $270 worth of art in one night.

    

     $125 for each canvas.

     Then I made two drawings of people for free...

      The girl was so happy with it, that she tipped me $20 even though she didn't have to.

     Sometimes it isn't about money, it's about making people happy.

     I didn't sell anything last night.  Bummer.  I could have used the dough.

     Everything is getting more expensive, while my napkin arts remain at the same basic price....$5.  I don't think people will pay more.
     They sometimes tip me extra, though, and that is nice.

     My prices for my paintings are going up, though.  I try to charge $10 an hour on my paintings.  So if a painting takes ten hours, well, that's a hundred bucks.
     Art making and painting is technically 'skilled labor', and I should charge $20 per hour, but people won't pay that.

     I always get a general feeling that my customer just ripped me off whenever they buy something.

     Some people think I am ripping them off.  These people should go to an art gallery, and see how much things really cost.

     These days, a gallery artist can expect that the gallery will take 50%, the agent will take 30%, and the artist gets 20%.
     A person pointed out to me that this was a 'broken system'.
     I could not agree more.

     I don't even need a gallery anymore to get my art out there.  I can do it all myself.

     All a gallery is good for is maybe getting higher prices on your work, and creating a situation where a higher income bracket of people will show up.

     People mostly go to art openings for the free wine, and that's about all.

     A group of people notorious in San Francisco for getting free wine at art galleries are 'The North Beach Poets'.  I know from experience that they don't have any money.

     So, I will go into the bar tonight, and try again.  It could be my lucky night, I never know. 
     Sales can come at any time I am there.

     Meanwhile, it is almost guaranteed that I won't get a sale at the coffee shop during the day.  Those people have no money, nor do they have the inclination to buy art, and that is half of it.

     I sold five napkin arts tonight, so that was an easy $25 coming in.
     I bought two beers at $5 each.

     I was hoping to sell more, but I was lucky to get what I did on a Sunday night.

     I've sold $150 worth on a Sunday before, though.

     There is no limit to what I can sell.  It just depends on whether or not people are in the mood to buy.

     The hard part is being nice to people at all times, especially when they ask stupid questions or say stupid things.  I also don't like 'pulling teeth' when engaging them in conversation.  I'm not that desperate to sell to people that I don't want to own my art.

     They either like the art or not.  They will either pay my price or not.  That's about it.  I don't know why I have to be Mr. Charming on top of that.  It's not my job as an artist.  It might be as a salesman, though.  It is not as easy as it might seem to switch from artist mode to salesman mode, though.  I am getting better at it.  Most professional artists have an agent for a reason.

     To get better prices for my art will take some doing.

    

     I think I sold seven napkin arts last night.  At $5 a piece, that is $35.  Then I bought some beers.  Well, actually, I was buying beers throughout the night, at $5 a can.
     It cuts into my profits, but I support the bar.  They let me do my thing there, so I am more than happy to buy.
     Other artists go in there, and they don't buy anything.  I think that sucks of them.

     My revenge on those artists will be to make superior art, which shouldn't be too hard.

     I am finding that this is becoming one of my favorite blogs to write on.  I am enjoying keeping track of my sales.  I've never really done that before on a daily basis.
     Also, I made a napkin last night where I kept track of sales as I went.  That was fun, too. 
     My goal was to sell twenty napkins for an easy $100, but I only sold seven.

     I will try again tonight to sell twenty.

     I think I sold three napkin arts last night for $15, and received a $20 donation from a friend, so about $35 for the evening.
     I am not sure about the sale, because I was drunk, and buying beer.

     I did eat well.  I had fried chicken, mashed potatoes, pizza with spinach and feta cheese, and a pork burrito.  That was more than $10 of food, easy.  Mmmmm, it was really good, and I'm still thinking about it.

     Being an artist has its' perks from time to time.

     Meanwhile, at the cafe, people pretended I didn't exist as usual, as I was in full production of my art.  They don't care there.
     They don't have any money to buy art anyhow.

     I went in early last night, to try and cash in, but it didn't work.  All that happened is I ended up getting a little too drunk by the end of the night.

     The early evening crowd rarely buys from me.  They have other things on their mind besides my art.

     Some people turn me into an entertainment monkey, where they just sit and watch me paint.  Sometimes people take pictures.

     I made $5 last night from selling a napkin with my writing on it.  Sometimes people like those more than my art.

     Tonight, I'm going in early.  Wish me luck.  I want to try and break my record of $330 in one night.

     But first, I have to make $10 or $20, and we'll see how it goes.

     Just for fun, here is a dinosaur on a cow...

     People like seeing the toys on the table.  Plus, it helps to change the scale of things on the table.  It helps people to adjust their eyes to my napkin art.

     It was a crazy night last night, and I didn't sell anything.

     There were two drunk women talking loud last night.  Usually there is only one.

     I arrived late, at around 11 p.m. knowing that the early evening crowd wasn't going to buy anything anyhow.

     It is essential that I am there between 1 a.m. and 2 a.m., because I often get sales in this drunken hour.

     One time I made $200 between 1:50 a.m. and closing.  That was a good night.

     I never know when a sale will occur.  All I can do is be there.  Ready.

     * * * * *

     "Are those coasters?"  I get asked this question at least once a week about my napkin art.

     They could be turned into coasters of they were laminated.  I have done it before with clear packaging tape.
     But I tell people I intend them as art.
     Then I have had a couple of people, usually from The MidWest ask me, "Well, what do you do with it?"
     "Well, it is art, and you hang it on the wall, and you look at it, and maybe contemplate your life or something."

     Last night, I didn't sell anything.  I worked hard, though.
     Again, I had to deal with four people talking loud next to my table for a couple of hours.  It is hard to deal with when I just want to paint, and listen to the music.

     I didn't sell anything in the cafe today, either.

     I am still enjoying writing about my successes and failures as a 'salesman artist'.  It is fun.

     So, whether I do good or bad, I can still write about it.

     I sold nothing yesterday, despite pulling two shifts, one at the cafe, and one at the bar.
     It happens at least once a week.

     Every night, there is usually a different saying on the outdoor chalkboard.  I don't take a picture of every one, but I liked this...."Wondering about the fate of the world".
     It's exactly what I'm doing, as I ponder my own fate, especially on a night when I don't sell.

     Not making money in San Francisco is a bad thing.  It can lead to homelessness pretty damn quick.  Most people in the city don't have a nest egg they can rely on in times of trouble.  They live paycheck to paycheck.

    
     Here is a recent table display...

     Sometimes people buy, sometimes not.  There is no reason why, one way or another.  People do what they want, whether I'm a good salesman or not.

    

     The napkin arts are still a strong seller at $5 a piece.  I tried to discontinue them, but they proved to be my 'bread and butter'.

    

     This Batman napkin art keeps selling.  I think I've sold three of this design so far.  Just so you know, this one is not finished yet.

    

     These two figurative paintings rest in my studio.  They are too big to carry on my bike, unless I put them in a dufflebag.

     

      I started the 'David, age 6' blog yesterday, an exploitation of my youth for business purposes.

      Meanwhile, the creation of new napkin arts continues.  There is no way of telling what people will like, so the idea is to just give them plenty of content to choose from.

     People love stupid crap, and they will pay for it.

     "Plorcck!"

     Last night, I sold two napkin arts, and received $10.  A girl bought them, with her boyfriend.  One was typewritten which had the same date as her birthday.  The other had a saying that said, "No bike helmet, no condom."  The second one is harder to explain, but it is a phrase my friend came up with.  He was basically saying that if you are a guy who rides a motorcycle without a helmet, you probably don't carry a condom on you.  haha.

     Anyway, I'm not getting rich going to the coffee shop every day.  Hardly anyone notices that I am making art, and if they do see it from the corner of their eye, they put me on their mental ignore list.
     Those people don't have much spending money anyhow.
     Yet, the coffee shop gives me time and space to prepare for each night.  I do touch-ups on my art, and work on ideas.

     I am finding that I enjoy writing on this blog, because it is all about money, and that is all people really care about.
     I've been playing with the idea that Money is The True American God.  That is why we have 'In God We Trust' on our money.
     It really means, "In Money We Trust". 
     You can argue with me on this point, but you won't get me to change my mind.

     All I sold last night was a 'Hello Kitty' napkin art for $5 to a friend, who planned to give it to her friend.

     It was a slow night last night.

     The North Beach Fair occurred during the day, so there weren't as many people out at night.

     I didn't fare any better at the cafe today.  It is an even tougher crowd there.  People don't have any money, or interest in art.

     Just like in Star Wars, where there are 'force senstitives', I look for people sensitive to art, who also happen to have cash.

     Let's see...last night I made $40.

     The first $20 was made because a bachelor party of about eight or ten guys came in.  They wanted me to draw the bachelor, and I told them I don't like to draw guys.  Then I said, "How about I draw him with a naked woman on each side?  They liked that idea.
     Then I put in an additional two topless chicks.

     The second $20 was made because a 'first date couple' saw the drawing I had made, and came into the bar to talk to me.  At first they wanted a portrait, and then the woman wanted to paint.
     So I let both of them paint.
     I received a shot of Fireball cinnamon flavored whiskey as a bonus....$7 per shot.

     I like the paintings the couple created.

     The bartender gave me a Hellboy comic book, which was appropriate with the whiskey.

     This brings up another point.  When you sell, have fun.  Otherwise, it all becomes about money.

     Actually, it would be more fun for me if I made more money.  I'm working on it.

     This life where I am in a constant state of poverty is becoming 'no fun'.

    

     This painting is up for sale...

     'Evil Empire Characters:  Darth, Stormie, Emperor, and Red Royal Guard'.

     Here is the back...

     Sometimes it is hard to price paintings.  I'm just hoping to find a good buyer for this one.

     I'm hoping to get $100 for this painting, but to be honest, I'll probably be lucky to get $50 or $60 for it. 
     $40 just seems too low on this one, for the work I put into it.

     By the way, I've done some touch-ups on the painting since these pictures were taken, and put screw-eyes in the back for hanging.

     I don't always have time to take pictures of things I sell.

     Anyway, a woman bought a napkin art for her niece, and she gave me an extra five bucks, so I received $10 for that one.
     What the cute niece bought surprised me.  She bought one I thought would never sell.  It was entitled 'Cunt Encounters of The Third Kind', showing a road going into a mountain. 
     I hope she read the text.

     Then another nice girl came by, sat down at my table, and bought five napkin arts for $25.

     From experience most people seem to care about how much I sell things for then what the art is.  So, on one level, it doesn't matter if I post pictures of the art or not.

     I sold three napkins last night for $15 and a beer.  Here they are...

     Gnomes have been a recent popular theme, so I am making more, but I will have the gnomes doing different things than just standing there, haha.
     Here is a close-up of the 'double gnomes'...

     Here is a close-up of the 'Lucky Die' that I was hoping to sell for $11, but sold to a friend instead at normal price....

     I like this one.  I'll have to make another.

* * * * *

  Meanwhile, here is some comic book stuff.  Another friend wants to make a book of it, but I don't know.  I feel that if I am going to do it, I should just do it in blog form, and be done with it...

     I don't know if it is possible to make a profit selling my comic book work.  I've done a lot of self-publishing in the past, and it's been a break-even business at best.
     Also, I really don't feel like writing for kids or teen-agers.
     I just want to write for adults.
     They need comics, too, just so you know.

     So, we'll see what happens.

     Being an artist, I always have to find ways to get some perks, or some extra cash.
     Anyway, here is some sign work I did for a cafe...

     Then I did a napkin art painting for them...

     A couple of other napkins ended up on their cash register...
    

    
     People seem to like them, because they are based off of real events that happened in the cafe.

     Anyhow, this cafe has a very nice space for exhibiting art.  I'll never show there.  I was lined up to have two shows, and then they forgot about me, and they other people putting up art when I thought it was going to be my turn.

     Even if I sell one napkin art during a month, I usually outsell any artist on the wall, so f*** it.

     If I had high sales for my art after showing every day for five years on my table, I would be inclined to put my art up on the wall.
     I don't think anybody would buy more if it was up on the wall. 
     People at this cafe have no money, or the inclination to buy art.

     The management doesn't pay me well, unfortunately.  I feel bad for them.

     I do art for the cafe, because I like the joint.

     One time I made a sign for their holiday hours, and they gave me a dollar off on my coffee.  That is pathetic.  The sign took an hour to do.

     Sad, huh?