the starving artist quandry

just secured my tent for this weekend's unplaza art fair and again realized how hard it is to self-promote yourself as an artist .. sure, once the stuff is hung and everyone begins looking over the pieces, that exhaustion fades away, but there are many moments that i wonder what exactly am i doing .. sure, overall this is a long process when you are involved in any branch of the arts, but when it really eats away at your family time and personal time, it starts to knaw some .. i now know why many people have hung it up over the years .. creating artwork of any kind takes persistence and and stanuch belief in what you do .. if that can be maintained, the artwork and sales can prosper over time .. sure, i started out this jaunt in painting/photography without any money in mind - and still do - but there becomes a point that the melding of financial and personal motivations cross at the proverbial railroad track for a well rounded feeling of satisfaction .. this train is firing away forward towards that mark .. look forward to seeing you at the fair this weekend on the grounds the all souls/unitarian church & 4501 Walnut in KCMO from 10-6 on Saturday and 12-5 on Sunday .. cheers, joe d.

1st Fair and Raining Thursday

while out putting some of the finishing touches on my first booth at an art fair, i couldn't shake the all day desire to be at home with my wife and kids .. it's a classic raining london day here in kc and the soft ooze of air around here would serve much better in home quarters .. enjoy the water out there .. and if you have to - drive fast and talk back to the cops .. cheers, joe d.

slow, fair and auction imagery

things have slowed down some here towards the latter part of the year, but continue to trickle some as we approach the UnPlaza Art Fair this weekend .. i have agreed to donate for the 2nd year in a row to Accessible Arts in Kansas City, KS .. all proceeds go to art supplies for children with disabilities .. gonna drop my piece off to the appropriate drop points some time soon .. i have attached an image of the painting - cheers, joe d.

i'm the new don

afternoon .. got a nice email about my work today, but was piggy backing off me giving them business .. but, they address me by the wrong name - so, does he want my business? did he even see my stuff? you can call me don if you'd like .. enjoy this one below, joe d.

Don, Hi, I wanted to let you know I really like your art. I'm an artist as well but most of what I do is commerical art. I produce art giclees for folks like you and wanted to offer my services. You may already have someone you're using for this and if so I understand. I've got more information on my website at: www.wilsonartprints.com. I also produce canvas art bags, printing the canvas, matching it with an appropriate inner cloth liner and sewing them all in house. Information on the art bags may be found at: www.canvasartbags.com Again, great work. Keep it up! -- Paul

ray j. and bathroom art

was listening to the newest chuck pahlinuik book 'haunted' and heard an excerpt about how bathroom art in art galleries is a big thing .. or has been in the past .. it's interesting, and hell, you really wanna get into a gallery it could be the best way to do it .. but, the story reminded me of the pop artist ray johnson .. my wife and i saw a documentary on him some months back and it was burned into my brain .. probably one of the best documentaries on a person that i have ever seen .. roy was a completely insane man that mailed sketches and artwork to people all over the globe .. he's called 'the father of mail art' .. his was work was intricate, prolific and completely memorable .. the movie was called 'how to draw a bunny' .. click here for more details - click here for a site on him .. enjoy, joe d.

someone got the 'jesus'

after the cool site of the day traffic from the 15th on the www.jesuseverywhere.com, i got quite a few responses from people .. there were a handful that just thought it was awful, blasphemous and they couldn't wait till i met my creator .. other just dug the whole meaning behind the fact that it's comforting to think that jesus is everywhere, at all times .. the best response and the meaning behind my site was captured by the following individual:

' you can't find the grace of god if you take everything in life too seriously' - michael s.

thanks, michael, i couldn't have put it down better .. joe d.