At Least I'm Painting......Right?

There were times when, happy as I was for them, I would really tire of reading on art forums about how this or that artist was booked months in advance. Alright...OK....maybe not so happy for them, downright jealous is probably more accurate. I don't think I was ever booked out more than a couple of weeks at a time and that wasn't often. Regardless, I managed to find work that filled in the slow times. One of my all time favorites.....

...being asked to turn these support poles into totem poles. I'm pretty sure I stared at Wayne for a few minutes in disbelief before I regained my composure and became excited about the challenge.....there were a few of them :-)

If you ever get to Lantana, Fl check out the Old Key Lime House restaurant, a very fun place to have a great dinner on the water, hang at the bar, hear live music. I love the pirate hanging from the rafters. And bikes are welcome :-) Painted that too.

And gentlemen?.......when you go into one of the restrooms there, one of those Bin Laden portraits in the urinal I was asked to do. Try to meet Wayne (the owner), he's a really interesting fun guy.....tell him Karen says hello.

Then there's always ebay as an option to pull in some extra cash.
I had started designing some small floor mats and posted them on ebay.



None of those sold at the time, but I did get commissioned to do a custom floorcloth from someone who saw them. Her request?...
could she have her five cats painted on the rug......sure, why not.


Then sometimes I think some people have more money than they know what to do with. I was asked to paint a temporary wall that surrounded a small construction site. They were building a restroom next to a play area. Yes it was a really nice planned community, complete with shops, department stores, etc. but really.....if the wall stood for six weeks I'd be surprised. Its just my personal opinion, although grateful for the income, the money could have been better spent.



Still....... I waaaaaaassssss painting :-)

More recently I was asked by someone who gives environmental
presentations to youngsters to paint an eagle. No problem :-)
Then I learn its going to be presented as a puzzle that gets put together upside down while a story unfolds about the state of NJ. He developed the idea after seeing a video of the artist who paints on a spinning canvas..... you can't figure out what he's painting until its just about complete and the canvas is stopped in its upright position. I'm not sure he totally understood the concept :-)

But.....still I waaaaassss painting :-)
Point? You probably will have some down time between mural jobs, so use that creativity and explore some new, perhaps unconventional ways to add to your income.......have fun! You need to keep that paint brush moving to keep your skills up. Practice makes perfect :-)