January is nearly over with already! I am not keeping up with my goals. I contacted three newspapers and none responded. That is all I have accomplished this month. I am too busy prepping for my appearances. I am seriously rethinking my game plan. I believe my time is better served creating. These shows are becoming an obstacle. It would be different if the shows were profitable. I am hearing from artists everywhere that the industry has tanked. Artists are not making money at comic cons anymore…. sadly.

I believe the digital era has killed artist’s alley. No one understands real art… or what it takes to actually draw something. I am asked all the time whether or not my art is real. People are surprised to learn they are pen and ink drawings. They are surprised because they do not understand how drawings are done without a computer.

So very sad.

I explain my process to people at the shows. I explain how I can get so much more emotion with a pen in my hand than I can on a computer where my line weight is determined by the computer rather than my fingertips. They look at me like I am stupid.

“But isn’t it easier to do it on the computer?” they ask. “But you’re killing trees!” they exclaim. “No one does it like that anymore because it is cooler to do it digitally” they explain.

Blah blah blah….

I will never change no matter what. The easy road is not always the best way to get to your destination. The longer journey tells more stories and leaves a more lasting impression.

Old school rocks!!!