Reality Sandwich with Pickle

     The rent is due.  It sucks, but that is the reality of life.  This is most unfortunate.  Do you know how much art I have to sell to pay rent all the time?  A lot, and it isn't always easy to make art, much less sell it.  Making and selling are two different crafts.
     I didn't know what I was getting into when I decided to be an artist.  I thought I was just going to make a bunch of pretty pictures, and sell them, and be happy.
     The world happened, however.  Things I didn't know existed at the time I started to be an artist didn't get my attention until years later.
     I was incredibly naive, and I didn't know how to speak, and I am still not sure I can.  I slosh my way through The English language as best as I can, and I am not even sure I do a good job of it.
     To be an artist in today's world, you gotta be a good talker, a great thinker, a smooth writer, a superb business, and you gotta make some decent art on top of that.  It is a lot to ask.  Then, you have to find a way to stand out from the crowd.  Then to sell art, everything has to be pristine, and polished, or else people won't even bother to look at it.
     I've got to do something to make it all happen for me, and I've got to do it now.
     I have had fun blogging, but I can't expect anything to come from adsense for quite some time.  There is no way that I will be paid fairly for all of the words I write, unless my work becomes popular.  To do that, I have to reach out and connect with people.  That is no small task.  My job is to keep going, no matter what, and perhaps over time, I will find an audience.  There are a lot of people in this world who might like the views and opinions of a struggling artist, so I will work until something happens, or at least have a good time doing it.
     Yup, I have to pay rent.  It is a chore for me.
     In case you haven't noticed, the pay for struggling artists isn't all that great.  I can't really ask people for money, either.  I would be ashamed of doing that, yet I have to live.  I would like to sell a crapload of art, that would be fun.  Maybe I will do that.  It is raining today, so scratch the idea of taking paintings outside to sell.  Rain water and acrylic paint don't mix too well.

     The prospect of finding a regular job is starting to bother me.  I am going to have to do something about that.  My freelance art thing isn't exactly paying the bills.  It is good, honest work when I get it, but it is rare, and that is unfortunate.

     I still haven't even made my debut.

     I am starting to figure out that it isn't going to do me much good that even if I was making awesome paintings that wound up in a museum someday, well, I won't be around to see that, so what is the point?  I have to come up with a way that is better which works for me. 
     I need to cater my life to itself.
     At this point, I don't even know what it is I am talking about, so maybe it is time for me to run an errand, and to take care of business.

     I have a lot to chew on today.  It is called a 'Reality Sandwich with pickle'.

Down and Out in San Francisco

     Being down and out is a fine tradition.  The blues is based on it.  Also, George Orwell wrote 'Down and Out in Paris' and there are some real stories of poverty in that book.  I wouldn't describe it as the most fun book I've ever read.
     The big old Russian fat guy is a chess player and doesn't have much money.  The protagonist of the story is pretty broke, too.
     I could look up all the info instead of working from memory for this, but I don't care right now.  I am too lazy.
     Anyway, all I want is coffee right now.
     I have 60 cents on me.  That isn't very good.  I need more.
    
     Christmas is a non-event for me.  These days, I prefer to call it Life Day, and go along with the Star Wars version of the holiday.  It is more pagan and to my tastes that way.

     I do have coffee at home, so not all is lost.  I just like to have my coffee here at the cafe.  It helps my writing.

     My sister is doing her own thing, so she won't be coming to the rescue today.  Too bad.  She could have made my day.

     Marco is here hanging out.  It is fun to go out and talk to him.

     I drew a picture of the lesbians sitting there, and I gave it to them.  They didn't offer any money for the drawing.  Too bad, they could have made my day.  All I need is $2 for a cup of coffee.

     Not a lot of people have money in The Mission.  It hasn't been easy to get art sales here.  I do better in North Beach.

     It was a fun night last night.  I ate like a king.

     The reason why I don't have any money today is because I spent all of my money on beer last night without realizing it.  Ooops.  It was a good time, though.  I was with friends and people I knew.

     The bank mailed my check, and then it was returned.  Mailman mix-up, or confusion about my address.  So, on Tuesday they will attempt a direct deposit.  That will suit me much better anyway.  I don't like big checks being mailed.
     I knew something was wrong when I waited day after day for that check, and it didn't show up. 
     I took care of the transaction on December 5th, so I could have a nice Christmas.
     It didn't turn out that way.
     So, instead of having a real nice time today, I will just have to stick it out for a day or two, and see what happens.

     There is no real reason to be here at the cafe.  Without coffee, it is just no fun.
     In a bar, people are drunk, and I can sell drawings to them.  People aren't really into it here.

Hello, and Welcome to 'Meat and Potatoes', my newest blog

     It took me a while to come up with this one, and what I wanted to do on it.  I will talk about meat and potatoes from time to time, but my main reason for doing this blog is to provide real sustenance.  I want to give the good stuff.
     I want to write about things that matter to me.  I want to do in-depth things.  I want to write about art and art history.  I want to talk about people that really matter to me, and have had an influence on my life.
     I will have a good time here, as I do with all my blogs, but for this one, I really want to go for it.  The articles here will be things I will work on for a long time.
     I want to give people something solid to chew on.