Announcement: I'M BACK!

Today is a great day. As you might recall a couple months back I announced a big "time out" from all activities with my stuff. I ceased all commission and freelance work and I took some time to sort out some issues (personal and professional) that needed to be addressed. I was in a bad place and it still isn't 100%. But after a few months of a break and realizing that I did still have the drive and passion to keep at this, I emerged from my issues and deep depression. I've also found myself 33 pounds lighter.... so far anyway. Still going on it! I've had my health scare and have had my stats checked. I went through some even scarier stuff healthwise with dizzyness issues and also some dire financial problems. Some of these things still need to be resolved fully, but they are on their way to being dealt with. So once the smoke cleared in my head, I emerged realizing I was back to my old self again. I spent a lot of time reconnecting with the hows and whys of what I do and where I want to go next. I've laid out personal plans and goals and I have started moving forward with them. Its been that way for a bit now and I am comfortable saying now that it is likely going to stay that way.

It is with all of this said, that I now annouce to you all that I am 100% back in action. I am now actively working daily on projects and I am now open to freelance work/commissions. For those wishing for info on commissions from me, check out my COMMISSIONS INFO HERE. I will also now be resuming regular plugs and activities on social media. I am also actively making plans for future releases and convention travels. Its all resuming and I'm going full speed ahead.

I am doing this now, fully understanding the notion that I am not 100% out of the woods. This will be an ongoing period of evolution and adjustment. But the important thing I learned in this period of self examination was that when the smoke cleared, I wanted to work again. Its what makes me happiest. Its what I am best at. I spent the last few months drilling down and getting into myself. The root of it all. And it broke me down. The universe has sent me a ton of shit so far this year to show me what I am made of. Stuff that specifically derails me and knows how to do it well. And at one point I yelled back (literally) saying "I'm still here! You can't stop me. You're going to have to kill me to stop me!" And folks, I emerged from the depression that day. The shit was thrown at me, I threw right back. Thats what I needed to do. I got hit, I took it all and I am still standing and still moving forward.

I got your emails, notes, messages and visits. I appreciate everyone and their support. The numbers are still there and they are going to increase very soon. Because not only right now do I announce a return to freelance work, but early November I am launching the Kickstarter for my STARSLAM online graphic novel! I'll give more details later when its appropriate but for now, realize that new things are coming very very soon. More than you know. But I don't want to just sit here talking about it, I want it to be ready to go when you hear about it.

So: Commissions are now open. A perfect holiday gift is the gift of art. I am on a bunch of sketch card sets. I am working on my comics and new prints/table ideas-design for 2015 to hit some more shows. I'm back baby. And its like I never left.

Much love, ADAM T.

Do it for YOU.

So yesterday, I saw the release of a movie trailer for Dumb and Dumber 2. I admit being a fan of the first flick. Of course, stacked up against some of my more favorite comedies of all time, it would take a back seat, but still it is in my top 20. I have affection for the movie and the experience I had watching it. Lately we've been getting a lot of old riders hopping back into their saddles for one last go around at it. People always seem to naysay it and then it comes and we enjoy it. Rocky Balboa (Rocky 6) was immensely enjoyable. As was Rambo 4. Sometimes we get an Indiana Jones 4, but I digress. Even though that movie is flawed, it still was nice to see Harrison back under the fedora again.

So I watch the trailer and it seems okay. I will likely see it and maybe enjoy myself for a bit. I checked in today and saw the loooooong line of people bashing the upcoming flick's existence and pouring buckets of searing hate on everyone involved with it, or who would potentially like it. This all comes from the internet.

My opinion: The world was better without the internet. For all the great things we can do now, it has brought an equal amount of bad. We are so angry and disconnected from each other that it scares me no end. Opinions stayed in your home and you didn't feel the hate of the world in your life everyday. Your problems and successes were your own and that was the end of it. It just seems that no one is stoked on anything anymore. Why does everyone NOT want you to enjoy the things you would enjoy? And why do people not want you do to what you want to do? Why is there so much hate? These are interesting questions to ponder. Did this come up recently because we're so disconnected and annonymous, or were we always like this?

Its no wonder that the future generations are starting to struggle with basic human skills, cyber bullying and they feel quite disconnected. Also I see a genuine lack of drive to be a good worker at a place of employment, and no drive to pursue a whimsy and a dream. Perhaps because the world and its hate has beaten them down so much that they are scared to be all they can be, like whatever they like and do what they want to do. You ever get the question of whats your "Guilty Pleasure?" Like your tastes should be hidden and you should feel guilty for liking it?

I say fuck that. Do what you like. Enjoy what you like. Pursue your dreams and do it for you.

This week I did an experiment. I just laid back a bit. I hit FB a little bit, but not as much as usual. I watched some Tom Baker Doctor Who episodes I kept putting off watching. I had never seen them before but never had time to do so. Well I made the time and I enjoyed them. You know what else? I read a book. I read "The Ocean at the End of the Lane" by Neil Gaiman, my favorite author. I bought the book last year and it sat here doing nothing. I spent $25 on it and it just sat on a shelf, unread. But I picked it up and read it and loved every page of it. It felt good to dive into something new and at the same time, old. That old feeling where the wicked world was decades away and its just you and your mind. I loved that feeling. I want more. I am going to read other books I have sitting here.

I drank some booze with the wife last night. We talked deep about some things and we watched some music DVDs I have. They have sat in my closet collecting dust. I brushed them off and put them in the player and shared with her a bit of my world. It was delightful. She didn't judge me. She was stoked on the experience.

I chased a few whimsies this week. I applied for a job I never thought I had a chance to get and I got an email from them with an offer for an interview. It has me very excited. I saw a publisher is doing a collection of comics from a well known pop culture property that I happen to like and I tossed them a message offering a pinup. They liked the suggestion and said I should send them something. Both of these things might not happen. I might not get the job, I might not get in the book. But I bothered to ask. Sometimes you gotta just ask the universe for something and you might be surprised what you get back. It NEVER hurts to ask.

The great AMANDA FUCKING PALMER is coming out with a book in November about these things. And she printed out a manifesto statement about the book. I think it is fitting here:

"Asking is, at its core, a collaboration. Those who can ask without shame are viewing themselves in collaboration with - rather than in competition with - the world."

People who make art (in whatever form) mostly aren't asking to compete. They are asking to be a part of the big picture. They want to give back. And NO ONE should ever tell them no. Or make the snarky remarks. Just let the art come and if you like it, great. If its not for you, thats fine too. But let it come. Because the folks who made it made it for them. Sometimes there's a monetary goal, sure. Ya gotta eat and have a roof (or 10). But someone in the mix always is in there chasing the whimsy. Someone in there just wanted to make art. For them. And fuck the world if they try to stop them.

So I say folks: Find your dream and pursue it. Don't give a fuck about what they say. they. Who are they? Fuck em. Do your shit. Do it because you want to. Do it cause you can. Cause life is short. Live YOUR life. Find YOUR happiness. And ignore the world. Forget the hate. Play in your mind. Enjoy that book or that DVD or that record. Cause its for you. No one else.

Do it all for you. And get offline every now and then. Its good for you.
(but please... come back here once in a while!) ;)

T

Trying to find a new Routine...

The days drift on, I do what I can with what I got. Living check to check, freelance gig to freelance gig... hoping the pay comes in, and it doesn't. Hoping I can push this and that bill off for another week. Tis the world of the freelance artist.

But all is not lost! I am in the process of still looking for employment help. I scored a DREAM interview at a DREAM job this week. As I applied, I didn't think I had a snowballs chance. Its too perfect. Too good to be true. I don't deserve it. But sure enough, I got an offer for an interview. Sure its just an interview, but after months of "NOs" and let downs every day about no money rolling in, the potential of a dream come true opportunity is quite refreshing. So I will go to the interview hoping for the best. I shall present my best. Maybe I'll score the gig, maybe I won't. Come what may, and I shall adjust, like always. But I am excited for the potential future.

I am always adjusting in life. But lately, there's been some things come along that I just cannot quite work around. My duties as a dad are #1 in my life. But in doing so, the idea of having a consistant creative schedule is increasingly difficult. To set aside time to draw or dream up a page of words is fewer and fewer. Right now, I have a stove full of projects cooking and no time to get to any of them. I do little commissions here and there and they are fine. But no forward progress is made at all to help clear the stove and serve the meal. I had a nice run early this year by publishing four books and that felt damn good. But I haven't been able to hit the road much to promote them. And now I am back in the studio wanting to get the next stuff done and I cannot.

Its mainly because I only have a 3 hour window during the day to get things done. It can be frustrating but it is necessary. I suppose I sometimes miss the days where I could take a nap then hit the cafe and light pencil 5 pages and write in my sketchbook, do a poem or two. But I cannot anymore. So I am struggling to find a routine. I have to, because the kids crave routine. I guess I do too. I just feel odd not being as productive as I used to be. I feel weird not putting the finishing touches on a thing, wheras the 20 pages I have ahead of me feels like a mountain in my way. I'm trying to push myself through the slush and get things rolling. I think my mind would be clearer if bills were not a factor. We were fine before James' surprise surgery sort of derailed us badly.

Thats why I am hoping big for this job to connect. I need this. I need to get out and talk to other people. I need it so bad. I need to be on my feet and kicking butt again. I need to do things to improve people's day and feel like I did a good job. I didn't realize how much I missed that, and I need that in my life.

Come what may, I shall adjust. I shall find a new routine and I will stand next to the mountain, chop it down with the edge of my hand. Cause I'm a Voodoo Child!

Get it?

Anyway, things in general are well. Don't worry about me. I'm just checking in and letting you all know I am alive and well. I'm doing great and I got hope riding in my saddle with me. Lets do this thing and kick some arse!

T

COMMISSION CHANGES and other stuff

Hey all! Some quick thoughts and announcements. Very soon I shall be changing my commission rates. I will keep them what they are currently at on my Online Store ($30-80 depending on size) for a little bit, maybe another week or so, but then they will be going up. So if you want to take advantage of the cheaper price and need something done, best to jump on it now.

Also, from this point forward, I WILL NOT be doing commissions at conventions. I will do sketches in personal sketchbooks for fees, but as far as ordering a 8x11 or 11x17 piece at the shows, I will not be doing that from now on. Why? I decided that its not fair to do art at conventions. My attention is not 100% focused on your piece and therefore am not giving you my best work. If you approach me at a show and ask for a commission, I will take your info and give you mine. We can contact after the show and work it all out at that point. But to hand me cash and expect me to do a good piece within a day for you, I feel for me, is unfair. Also at the shows, I am there to sell my wares (prints, books, etc). Its all business. The artist hat is best left at home where I can focus and concentrate on giving you the best. So in reality, its better for you!

Exceptions: When I announce a PRE-ORDER before a show. You contact me and I do the piece at my office before the show and you pick it up at the show. or if you are at the show and have a sketchbook that you want a drawing in. Then I shall do something in it, priced according to its needs and content.

SO: If you want to take advantage of the current and lower rates, you can buy via my online store right HERE - Rates will go up within a week or two. I will be retooling my online store when its done.

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STARSLAM updates will be sporatic for the next couple months. At the end of this current chapter, I am leaving the strips up for a bit and then taking them down permanantly. Why? Because I will be recoloring the strips, fixing minor mistakes and launching a major kickstarter to fund a fully digital version of the book in completion. The entire story (all 130 pages or so) will be available on this Kickstarter. I also will have incentives like original art, a big bonus erotica sketchbook, erotica stories, unpublished erotica short stories and other things. All that has to be ironed out in the weeks to come, but for now we're busy fixing it all up and getting it ready. Bare with me. But please enjoy the strips while they are up.

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CONVENTIONS/APPEARANCES: The only thing on my radar currently is the upcoming DETROIT FANFARE, which I understand shall be making an announcement as far as a date soon. If that doesn't work, I might consider another show. But I am not super concerned about it at this point.
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ANNA POCALYPSE SEQUEL: After STARSLAM is done and launched I am going full speed ahead on Anna 2. I still have a lot of art done for the book, but its just a matter of picking it back up and continuing on. I plan on having it ready for con season next year. I know people have been asking for it. Its coming!

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SKETCH CARDS: I do have APs available for the following sets:
--Pinups and Pitbulls
--Contemporary Pinups (puzzle cards)
--Bianca Thompson's Dead Divas
All are available and most of them are blank and can be commissioned. Simply EMAIL ME HERE to inquire about them.

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Thanks for reading everyone!
T