Category Archives: Freelance

Amazing Strangers, Art, Blog, Freelance, News, Portfolio, Union Square

I Have Returned

hot girl with leg tattoo
Sasha from Paterson NJ

Not sure if you noticed, but the site’s been down for a couple weeks. I was having it moved from an old server to a new one by my host so it’d run faster, and it took longer than expected. WAY longer! Nearly 3 weeks for it to be up and running properly again! It was terrible. It killed my online sales, traffic dwindled to nearly nothing, and you can’t imagine how frustrating it is getting emails saying “Do you still sell your magnets? You should start doing that again. They were cool!”

But now it’s back up. And it does seem to be loading faster. Do you agree?

Also,  guess what. I finally got a smart phone! No kidding. Up until last week I’ve had a flip phone. One that my friends and family all made fun of. And whenever someone came up to me at the park accusing me of making money off the homeless, I’d pull it out and say “Paid for by the exploitation of the homeless!”

Anyhow, if I expect to be making videos, taking pictures, drawing pictures and putting them on the web I had to get a new phone. Which also means I can finally get on Instagram! Go see for yourself.

Art

I’m not sure how many of you know this, but I like to consider myself an artist. I’m an artist for pleasure, and for hire. There’s been a few pieces I’ve completed recently that I’m quite proud of. One of which is a job I did for IFBB Pro Bodybuilder Tammy Jones.

drawing of muscular female bodybuilder
Portrait of female bodybuilder Tammy Jones IFBB Pro digitized in Adobe Illustrator for promotional use on her site.

A portrait for use of her up coming show. I can’t express loudly enough how these sorts of projects are my favorite kinds of projects.

Christopher Amotharis Bunny censored digitized in Adobe Illustrator
Christopher Amotharis Bunny censored digitized in Adobe Illustrator

Also, I recently drew a portrait of Christopher Amotharis. I’d seen this German death metal kid online posing in some of the most bold & alluring looks imaginable. It’s a beauty I don’t see celebrated enough in this world. So I feel it’s my job to do it. There’s also an uncensored version NSFW as well. You cannot view a fully accurate illustration of Christopher unless you’re willing to go uncensored. Sorry, but it’s true.

drawing of girl art
Portrait of Lola digitized in Adobe Ilustrator

And the same goes for the gorgeous Lola. A piece also to celebrate an under appreciated beauty. Lola with the Universe in her Eyes needs to be seen up close to be fully appreciated. Soon I hope to get enough of these printed and framed to have a show of my own of some sort, somewhere. That’s always been a rarely voiced dream of mine.

Union Square

I plan to have the new postcard out next month. And of course during this time of absence from the internet I’ve busied myself taking lots of photos and videos at the Square. I’ve been enjoying the process of creating this imagery more than ever before. I just love it, and I feel like I’m doing some of my best work lately. Now if only I could figure out how people get rich off it.


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Amazing Strangers, Anthropology, Art, Blog, Freelance, News, Products, Store

I am a Man with many Questions & Answers

I’m very happy to present No Your City’s final episode GET TO NO NORMAL BOB! I’m so pleased with how it came out. I’ve been wanting something exactly like this for a while, and I strongly suggest you go see the vast array of No Your City episodes on other characters you may know from Union Square, and others even I’ve never heard of before. I love Nick’s work, and I think you will too.

FAQ

As of late, it seems some of the two most frequently asked questions about me in the comments section under the videos are:
1. How do you make your money?
2. Why don’t you comment under your videos?

How do I make my money?
For quite a while now, going on 13 years I’ve made my money selling Jesus Dressup magnets, and freelance art & design for people online. The Jesus magnets sell in stores around the USA and even in several other countries. I try to come out with a new version annually so as to maintain interest and supply. Sales have been slightly down this year, but they’re still a dependable income for me.

The freelance art comes in second place. I wish I had more jobs and could charge a higher price for the work I do, but it is something I’m good at. And I love to draw, and I’m lucky there are people out there willing to pay for my talent.

And that’s it. The videos do not make money. I have no advertising on them because I hate YouTube ads, and the amount it pays isn’t worth it. $1 for every 1,000 hits or something like that. Don’t quote me. I could be way off. That’s just what I’ve gathered.

I do not have a trust fund, and I am not rich. I have a roof over my head, and I’ve never had a problem putting food on my plate, which is a kind of “rich” to be sure. But I am quickly being priced out of the neighborhoods I move to way too often, and I constantly worry that I’ll be forced to move out of New York City for this very reason.

Why don’t I comment under the videos?
At the rare times when I do want to comment under the videos for some reason YouTube doesn’t let me. I’m not sure exactly why. They’ve made it more complicated than it used to be. I swear to God, when I do try to type in a comment and hit Post, it does nothing but erase the comment and nothing else. I’ve read up a little on it and it’s something to do with me not being a Google+ member or my Chrome settings even though I’m using Safari. Quite frankly, I’m happy it won’t let me post comments. I’ve found that other people are quick to answer for me sooner or later, and it also allows me to ignore the comments and just do what I like to do. Shoot and post videos instead.

Which is exactly what I’ve been doing lately! Lots of videos, and even more that I just need to find the time to edit. There’s been a whole lot of drama at the park, and the summer’s barely even kicked off!

And Finally, here’s a collection of the photos I’ve taken since last we met.

Amazing Strangers, Anthropology, Art, Blog, Freelance, Jesus Dressup, Magnets, Union Square

Calmly Begging for Rescue

Hire Me

Normal Bob sits above No Your City sticker
Normal Bob sits above No Your City Normal Bob place-holder

Yesterday I had an experience with a client that sent a chill down my spine. The client, who’s hired & paid me good money for an art  job told me, “I’ve got other jobs I’d love to have you working on, but you look so busy, I assume you don’t have the time for more stuff.”

In that brief instant, during a time when I’m scrambling around for money to pay bills, I imagined dozens of other potential clients saying to themselves, “Dammit! I’ve got jobs for this guy but he looks too busy to do them. I’ll go look for someone else I suppose.” Then flash forward 6 months to an image of me packing a U-Haul with what’s left of my possessions which have been put on the street by my landlord, on my way to a new life in Idaho to make some lame map of a park there that no one will ever care about.

Let me please be as clear as I know how to be. I need work. I have time for work. I LOVE to work! I also love to be all caught up on bills make-believing I can afford to still live in this city on a starving artist’s income. Please, for the love of God, if you’re out there needing art, or any other elements of my creativity, and you’re happy to pay, contact me! Prolong my stay in this expensive city! And thank you very much.

If you don’t have a job for me, but you’d still like to see me continue what I’m doing here, visit my store. That helps pay my bills as well.

I’m happy to say that after expressing these same thoughts to the aforementioned client he immediately sighed with relief and began a list of more jobs for me.

Jesus Dressup

This has been the toughest year for the magnets yet. The stores who’ve got them on their shelves have no problem selling them, but far too often I’ve been losing them because of customer complaints. It’s an ongoing problem I’ve always had to deal with (others frowning upon me profiting off the crucifixion), but I’m shocked at how many store managers as of late just don’t even want to chance it.

I’ve been dying to produce the new Batman Jesus Dressup I’ve got it designed and ready to go, but as I mentioned in the previous entry, I just can’t seem to accumulate the necessary funds to get that ball rolling. I’ve gotten a few stores recently who are very excited about Jesus Dressup in general, and it’s because of you people that I was able to find those stores and send them samples. So if there’s a store in your neighborhood you think might be interested in my magnets, please don’t hesitate to pass their name onto me. That simple act can make a world of difference.

Union Square

Amazing Strangers Wendell icon

Things are just getting underway at the Square, and I’ve got the camera rolling. Everyone’s been asking about that hat thief kid, whether or not he’s behaving himself since then, if he’s crazy or on drugs, and anything else I might know about him. All I can say is he’s been at the park several times since and has been pretty subdued. No other excitement from him yet, and from the looks of it he appears to have learned his lesson.

I’ve avoided tracking him down and grilling him for answers simply because if he wants his space I’m happy to give it to him. Also, I always have the lingering fear in the back of my head that when we finally do talk he’s going to ask for the video to be taken down. Yes, that’s what I have to deal with regularly in this unconventional hobby.

And then today, Apr 21, 2015 he approached me having just seen the video for the first time, twenty days later. His reasons and explanations may not be what you expect.

I got word that Chewy (Tarzan) got caught trying to sell dope to an undercover, and because he’s got priors he’s been put away for more than a few years. Matty Ice has been MIA since the last video. And there’s no sign yet of Lotion Man either.

I could go down the list of everybody who’s made an appearance thus far, but it’s easier just to show off the photos I’ve been taking.


Art, Blog, Freelance, Inna, Jesus Dressup, Portfolio

Artbucks Coffee

Inna art
Portrait of Inna digitized in Adobe Illustrator

My ex messaged me last month saying, “I keep waiting for your annual ‘winter sucks and I’m lonely in this cruel city’ message, but none has come. Are you happier this year? I hope so.“
Well, I’m now officially in winter’s pattern. Wake up – Coffee – Starbucks – More coffee – Art – Go home – Finish art project – Sleep.

That’s it kids. That’s my life come winter. I mean, I know that’s not 100% the case, but Jesus Christ, it’s a difficult pattern for me to shake. Good news is though, I’ve been producing what I consider to be some of my best pieces. I’m proud of these portraits that’ve been coming out of me. Yesterday I finished this Inna Portrait (above), and I swear I went to sleep gazing at it (A selfishness I’ve allowed myself since I was a teen), and imagining myself waking up to 10,000+ Likes, an Inbox filled with emails congratulating on what a spectacular job I’ve done, and knocking on my door demanding sex. None of that happened of course, but it doesn’t slow down the desperate need I’ve got to draw. So instead I just send those emails to myself, and pound on my own door. There it is, as the ex requested.

Shaggy looked at me sketching Inna last week and said “What’s your obsession with Inna? How many times have you drawn her?” And I realize that posting this one the day before Valentine’s Day may seem like love, but it’s not. I mean, I do love Inna like a friend, but I am not harboring a deep seeded crush on the girl. I do think she’s an ideal subject. Her style is something that deserves to be drawn again and again. So Shaggy, including the little cartoons of her I’ve put on the Matchgame Postcard, the answer to that question is now officially 5.

Soo Catwoman art
Soo Catwoman digitized in Adobe Illustrator

I know I keep repeating myself with subjects. Inna for instance. Yolandi, of course. Also, Soo Catwoman. But for whatever reason I just have to draw these people again and again. Their aesthetics just please me so. And if Im sitting and drawing, I’m doing something good. In fact, I’m at my best. And that’s reason enough.

All of this too I hope will encourage inquiries about hiring my artistic talents. Yes, I am available for work. Now more than ever. After the holidays things slow down, and they usually don’t pick up again until Spring. So if you know of any jobs that pay for this level of drawing & Adobe Illustrator skills, please contact me. I’m really good! And worth every penny.

anglerfish art
Anglerfish digitized in Adobe Illustrator

Presently though I’m working through the disappointment looming on the horizon of not being able to afford printing Batman Jesus Dressup magnets. I thought I’d have enough after the holidays, but the holidays are over, and I’m coming up short. I’m hoping these next couple months I can get the necessary work and sales to solve it, but at the moment they must be put on hold. Do stories like this encourage sales & paying gigs to appear in my mailbox? I suppose this is exactly how I’ll find that out.

Latest art & photos with videos attached –