Got a Little Sad Yesterday

Yeah i got sad yesterday. Honestly I think it was my moms fault. I told her I was going to go out to a art show and she asked, "are you going by yourself?"

I said, “Of course it seems that I go out by myself all the time."

So I left the house and went to the show. It was fun and well the art was mind blowing. It gave me some great ideas. I was very inspired by the time I left. Turns out the show featured a couple of people I new. Matt Hawkins from the old CCN days and Phil Shafer who I went to school with. I loved it.



After the show I left to scour the earth for food and though about going to apple bees with my last paycheck from my old job and as I was thinking about it I realized I was in another, go on a date with yourself modes. Last time I went to so Ponyo and i had dinner and a movie by myself and went to IHOP and the waiter there hit on me for like the entire time I was trying to eat. It was kind of annoying.

So, I started thinking about how I had been going out alone A LOT! I went to the art flea alone, I went to he First Friday alone, I go to comic book conventions alone, I went to the movies alone, I go to open mic night, I go out to eat alone, I draw alone in my room, I take pictures by myself, I mean GOSH, EVEN LOANERS HAVE FREINDS!! RIGHT!

I even try inviting people to come with me. in fact this past Open Mic Night a friend was supposed to go and she bailed on me. Then I called and asked my niece if she wanted to go with me next week and she said , "well I don't no probably not." of course then I said her roommate was going and she was like, "ok I will probably go." Which is a round the bout way of saying, no.


I feel like I honestly don't have friends, anymore. When I was in Jersey I was constantly surrounded by people and friends. Now I am alone all the time. Even when I was working at my old job the guys I worked with never spoke to me. They would go sit in another room and talk on the phone or sleep while they watched me do everything.

Sometimes I think it is me. Sometimes I feel like people only come around me when they want me to do something for them and then I don't here from them. Whether it is family of friends unless they benefit I feel like there is this attitude of Arie is got everything going for her she is doing great she doesn't need anything I need to worry about my problems right now kind of thing happening.

When I tried to go out with my sister and spend time with her all she did was complain she didn't have money and she needed to get back home because her daughter might need her for something. So I don't bother to ask her to go places anymore. When I was in Jersey I use to try and call her to talk to her and she would tell me she had to go she would call back and then never call back. My own sister never would call me back. This person, who I thought I was so close with. Then I wouldn't hear from her for months.

I think the only family member I spoke to regularly was my mom. I honestly felt like my friends were more family then I had ever had when I was there. Heck, trying to get my mother to go out with me anywhere is like pulling teeth. She’d rather stay at home and watch big brother on t.v.

So yesterday when I was driving down the street and wanted to get some food I realized, man I am about to got out to eat by myself, yet again. Man am I the lamest person in the world, or what. So a person would think well, you have a boyfriend why don't you go out with him. I can't even do that though because he is in another state. Sometimes I wonder what possesses me to stay in a long distance relationship. Yesterday I talked to him about this and all he could do was say, "Aww, I'm sorry Babe."

OK ENOUGH SELF PITY!

I am going to be out at the Art Flea today with a booth set up I hope you guys will be motivated to come out.

God Bless,
~Arie

Sign Ebay Auctions

I was broke down and was forced to put up some auctions. I need to bring in some money for the Baltimore comic con and it just isn't happening fast enough. They wanted to charge me like $1 just to list one Sketch card. I swear to god yesterday it was only $0.35 to list. There was nothing different about the auction accept I changed the art work. ...Sign. Anyway I only listed a few things cause the bill is getting high and there is no guarantee it will sell as it is. Please view the listings. I have some other cards available on my Art Fire Web Store. If you are worried about the price tage just note me and we can discuss it.

The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing

Been reading this book called "The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing” by Al Ries and Jack Trout. It is actually kind of interesting cause they talk about the best ways to get a product out and seen in the public and having people like it enough to want to buy it.

I am finding many of the things they mention to be very true in all honestly. Good example is the law of Leadership, or basically being first in your field. They say the people that came first are always the most recognized no mater how bad they might be at what they do. I think good examples of this are companies like Disney. They were one of the first to make animated feature films so now when people think of animated movies first they think of Disney.

Anyway it is a cool little book to look into. Here is a list of the rest of the laws.

1. The Law of Leadership
2. The Law of the Category
3. The Law of the Mind
4. The Law of Perception
5. The Law of Focus
6. The Law of Exclusivity
7. The Law of the Ladder
8. The Law of Duality
9. The Law of the Opposite
10. The Law of Division
11. The Law of Perspective
12. The Law of Line Extension
13. The Law of Sacrifice
14. The Law of Attributes
15. The Law of Candor
16. The Law of Singularity
17. The Law of Unpredictability
18. The Law of Success
19. The Law of Failure
20. The Law of Hype
21. The Law of Acceleration
22. The Law of Resources

The interesting thing about this book is most of what they talk about you can see in everyday marketing and advertising.

If fact the law of Resources is interesting because they talk about how it important to get started with are so important. I trying to fund my art career and my freelance career is sometimes hard. I have to have supplies, as well as be able to supply the people that buy my work with a certain amount of inventory so they can purchase art from me at a reasonable price. A person might not want to spend $40 on a sketch card but they can get a copy of the original and cherish it just as much as they would have loved the original.

But, I have to put out money to provide those things and if I don't have resources to do it quickly gets frustrating. Anyway the book isn't that thick. It is a quick read and very interesting.

God Bless,
Arie

The Quest to Cure Shyness!

I went out again tonight and I sung for the second time. I totally choked again. I was so freaking nervous. I slaughtered the song I sang and just had them cut it off cause it sucked so bad.

Still though they asked me to sing for this concert in the park thing. I think I will do it for fun. I just got so freaking nervous I have to fight it!!

I keep hoping that if I can do this and be comfortable maybe I can feel mor comfortable talking to people. I just find I get behind my drawing board by myself and when I have to come out it is a shock to the system to suddenly have to deal with people.

Anyway. I have one more sketch card to do and I will be completely caught up on sketch card commissions and them I have to start the larger pin ups. it is only 4 of them I wish I could do them all in one day the way my friend sherry tells me I should but I really just can't seen to rush this whole process. I want it to look good, ya know.


I was funny. the other day I finished a sketch card in less than an hour and I freaked out cause I thought maybe I forgot something. lol. After that I nitpicked it to death and hated looking at it cause I felt like I could see all the flaws. I feel this way when I approach all art. like when I got up and sang the first time I could think of all the things I wish I had done better.

Ms. E the women that runs the open mic nights said she want to work with me on it, but it will all be a matter of if I have time to do all that. we will see.

Anyway, back to the drawing board.

God Bless,
Arie

Back to the drawing board

I have to draw more. Just finished this PSC today. Been up very late the last few days trying to work on stuff and finding myself pulled away from the drawing desk. I need to put a cap on that so I can stay productive.


Anyway, I am planning another sketch card print of this card. I think it would be fun to offer a batman set of some of my cards for people but we will see. I know you can get into trouble when printing things with licensed characters on it even if it is your art. I was thinking of offering a new card every month or something. we will see. I am also thinking of doing a Mainasha Sketch card set of my character. I think that would be fun.

Meetings Meetings Meetings

You might want to cover the kids eyes on this one,
of course I would hope kids don't visit my site, to often. lol

It is crazy; when you go freelance you become your work marketer, the shipping department, the artist the secretary the guy that hands business meetings. But I wouldn't change it for the world. Aside from trying to make time to be at the drawing table this last 5 days I have been out doing meeting with people and stuff.

I went out today with a friend of mine. We are looking into putting together a studio and stuff with about 10 other artists if possible. The space would also have a store space up from so people could come in and purchase items. This I am hope works out well cause if there is anything I want more it is a personal studio space and a place where I can showcase and sell my work to the public. As a result I will be doing more personal work with my own characters on top of commissions and stuff so my plate, though there is no money coming in, is pretty full.

I am praying this all works out. It will probably be a good six months before things are cemented and we know this thing wills definitely happen. Kansas City really caters to its local artists and will provide them with funding for studio space and start up costs so I have a lot to learn about all that is going to go down and how to make it all work out.

It is a beautiful building too! We will just have to see what happens though.

God Bless,
Arie

You Get What You Give

My finished Boba Fett

I sometimes think that people forget how the things they do and say directly affect others. Either that or they get where they just don't care or they are bitter.

I stopped by my friend Darryl's house to day and spent some time with him and his wife. Both of them just welcomed me into there home and man talk about an impressive portfolio. I person could swim through the volumes and volumes of art work that Darryl creates. I felt like man I don't draw enough at all. It was so inspiring.

He told me Arie, on my Birthday I don't like to get gifts I like to give gifts, because I have been so blessed in my life that I don't want people to do for me I want to do for them. So on his birthday he said he had food brought in for all his co workers and fed them cause he wanted to celebrate the blessings they allowed him to have.

He told me Arie if you need anything; draw me something and I will take care of you. So I have me this huge stack of water color paper. Like really good water color paper, better than some of the stuff you get at art stores and now I will not need to buy anything for a very long time. I will use it for painting and sketch cards!

Art as Currency!

Anyway he and his wife are very loving and giving people. They show a great example of how when you give of yourself you get back ten fold. He works a full time job and he still gets to draw 8 hrs a day cause people want to give support to him being able to share what he loves with others.

God keeps showing me the wonders of his love. I have been trying to get Mandy reference for sketch cards for the longest and he handed me 2 Mandy books. I find the stronger my relationship becomes with God the more he does for me. I wanted a place where I could go to sell my artwork in the public and the Art Flea Market appeared.

God provides when you ask and when you give back to him he gives to you.

I will always try to do good for others no matter how much bad they do to me.

God Bless,
Arie

Arts, Flea Among Other Things

Yesterday While I was at Art Flea I started this Card.

I am exhausted yet again. The art flea went ok, it was a holiday weekend and there are all these festivals going on so I didn't sell much but people that did make it out showed a great amount is interest and curiosity about what I had to offer.

Special thanks to Darryl Woods, Becca, Lawless Times Comics, Randy and Sholan for coming down to show some love and keep my company.

I also met a few other wonderful people there as well. You will be surprised just how much women love comic’s anime and manga. I don't just mean teenagers. There honestly were a lot of women that stopped over and asked questions. One young woman and her daughter just really touched me. Her little girl really enjoyed my comic stories with Mainasha as a chibi and her mom enjoyed the stuff I had of her as an adult. The cool thing about the mom, I shish I could remember her name. Is she was also a writer, a jewelry maker, a comic artist and a seamstress. She was selling her had made clothing and jewelry while drawing at her little booth.

there were 2 other young ladies that did performance art and they put on a short play. That was really great! One of the young ladies did jewelry and fashion and her partner at the table did jewelry and hand made sculpture. All and all it was really a great group of people that were there trying to turn there craft into a way to support themselves and there family.

I was told Christmas season is really big so I plan to make and sell Christmas cards. I think this will be fun.


The cool thing about this whole experience is I got to really get out into the community and see what is really going on in the arts in KC. Even found a local Art auction where they accept artwork to be auctioned off.

If seems though I a one of very few Illustrator/comic artists that try to be involved in these things and people were so excited about seeing me there, too! I asked one friend to come out to First Friday and when he realized he would have to out in public he shied away from the idea. I guess we are a really shy bunch. But I don't want to be shy anymore. I miss out on Gods blessings when I am like that.

God Bless,
Arie