Well yesterday felt like a mile stone day. managed to make a real frame in my hands to hold and look at. Before that this was really just an idea. funny how faith can turn into something physical. Its a good size. I can see better what I must do to mount the painting on it. I am proud that I got the 'saw box' accurate. I do need to tweak the 'positioning box' to be stronger and not so tight. Its hard to pop out a new frame. Cost me two days of work, that I could have spent on free lancing. I lost a lot there. Wish I could work on the paintings more but I have to get back to the paying job.


A lot of the times I think I'm crazy for trying this. In the past I've made art that I thought was really going to sell. In the beginning I did think this was a good idea but I also thought that about the other projects. I was very optimistic with those. Now its a little reversed. I'm cautiously optimistic but if this doesn't work I'm going to consider it again a very big waste of time and money and this might really be the last time I do this.

Yet to be seen.

Its been a few weeks now of me focusing on the freelancing. Glad to get caught up but now I'm itching to get back to the painting. I'll write more here in a bit. Hope to get something I can sell soon.

I don't know why I feel a little down today. I think I wonder sometimes if I'm doing the right thing or not. I have to work hard with the freelancing and put this art on hold for a week or two. I have to make something soon to sell, because I can't spend more time like this unless there is a turn around.
We will see.

  Quick Blog. I'm feeling excited still. About the art. Incidentally, out in our garden we have a dirt patch that I've enclosed with a small fence and re-growing grass on that spot. I'm so inspired because the area now has tender blades and its working, its growing. Its funny because I can do all that I can, to make the conditions for it just right but then after that God has to do his part. I feel like that with this art.
  Yesterday was a great day. My sample program ended. It was great. As soon as I have the cash I'm buying it. I've prepared 31 paintings. I'm beating myself up a bit. I should have focused all on the Park. I understand why I jumped all over the city but I better launch with the Park.
Also, another exciting thing was figuring out the real-final size in my files. I had to mesh together 12 or so paintings to know for sure the exact size.
  I realized this when I learned my grid was not perfect. Its funny because I thought I was going to be fixed to what I had and I thought for a short time I made a huge mistake, but then I understood different, that I haven't even made one painting yet, I only have the prep work mostly done for 31 paintings (up to 180). I said to myself I only have to figure out the new positioning now and apply it to what I have ready.  I'm glad I figured this out before painting. It would have been a disaster if I didn't get the tolerance right and then try to fix it after art is sold.
  So my grid actually shifted but its more accurate to the 8 by 10 ratio size. Not by much, but now its very central. I was only off by a few millimeters. I also added a one pixel tolerance for the blade between each section. Now that I know my grid positioning I have to work downward to the lower city to figure out where the real grid it for lower part (seeing that I did so much prep work there).  I can't make any art till that's straightened out. It means I have to at least do upper and map out my way towards the lower.
  When I look back on this I think its going to be crazy that I attempted this and tried to make it accurate while being unfinished. Its crazy that I'll be selling them and sending them out and then have to make paintings afterwards still make sense. If I had to do it again I think I would have just did the Park and then the city after but I wanted to get to the business center.
  I also bought more supplies for the art. Wood and trims for the frames. It can't happen fast enough. The wife wonders how I'm spending my days. If she only knew.
  I'm excited about my future. I only have to sell 9 or 10 of these for me to know I'm onto something. Everything. mapping the whole city and preparing the under paintings. make a great weekly schedule for me to stick to to produce consistently. Then I'm really going to go to town on this.

The wife is wondering what I'm doing for work while she is at the new job. Somehow I dodged the answer. I have to look more busy for her. I just don't want to tell her I'm making paintings to sell on ebay. I've had other ideas in the past that didn't work out and she'll think this is the same as before. Which she could be right. I've been honest with myself, as much as I believe in these pieces, it could flat out bomb. Anyways. I also better stop some of this crazy under-painting stuff and just finish a few pieces to just start selling. Not the way I wanted to do things. But I suppose things come down to a dollar so if I want to do this it has to pay off early. I might have something in about 2 weeks. Today I also bought more wood and parts to make the under frames. Surprised that the guy cut the wood for me. Anyways. Back to looking busy.

So I should also add here. This began a few months ago, earlier this year. I always keep sketch books and I write a lot of my ideas for products or ways to make money. I finished another sketch book at the end of last year and I bought a new one to have a place to jot down ideas, but I wanted a few pages to record a summary of ideas from the previous sketch book.
I managed to do that but even before getting to the end I was getting a fresh perspective, sort of looking at it from a step back, and I was asking myself 'why haven't I've done these ideas yet?' Especially the one for the current painting collection I'm working one (which I won't divulge on yet).
I got really got a blaze of inspiration and really got to it. Still working on the prep work. Bugs me that its taking a while but I'm building the 'pea factory' for the first 'can of peas'. It needs to be done even though I could jump some things but I do want things done right. I think I have 12 under paintings ready and I know I have 180 paintings references ready for prep. It's an ambitious collection but it will make sense once the first few paintings are ready for selling. I'm writing this stuff so I can later go back and read it because I don't want to forget the origins of this. Later this will make sense.
One thing I can say is when I look at this model idea, and key components, the demand that I know is already there, the limited collection, the increase value of it, the competition to bid for it, I think this is going to really work. I've thought that before about many things so this could be another one of those but time will tell. I don't want to invent anything new artistically. I'm not trying to pioneer a new movement. I just want to be a hard working artist and paint. And call.

Had the idea today of adding a QR code on the back side of the painting. Just learning about them. Also the hologram security strip to be embedded in the crafted paper. I wonder if I'm making it too hard on me to build in the Security features. Maybe I'll thank myself later. also finished the under painting for the ninth piece. I asked myself yesterday what would be better? to ignore all the prep work and just start painting to sell something without being ready, or accepting its going to take a while and I need to do what needs to be done right. Not over working but the minimal and done right.
I suppose if I did that I could maybe have something really to show in 7 days. If I do things the right way it will maybe be 3 to 4 weeks. In theory I only need to sell a few of them to know I'm onto something but my break even point (for me) would be 9 paintings sold at minimum price. Selling 18 at base price would be a big profit. I'd quit my day job after 10 pieces. Its funny but my wife asked me yesterday what business we could start if we wanted to. I didn't want to tell her still that I'm doing this. I told her selling Sausage Dogs on the street but she didn't like that idea. She just wants to be at home doing something that makes money, but I don't think she really wants to work. Hope its art instead.

Yesterday (on the 12th) I created my official logo). Made it literally in 10 minutes. Also, I discover there is a place down the street that does 3D printing. So I want to create in Corel CAD an emblem to emboss my certification of Authentication. I've been slowly getting that done to but the design of it is coming slow to me. I also had an idea to make a white watermark embedded within the paper as it is crafted to make it even more encrypted. I still have to figure out alot more of the security features on it. For now these days I've still been trying to get my reference material completed and prepare the under base of the paintings. I have about 180 of the paintings references ready. I thought I was going to do all 700 paintings at one time but I had to move on because I need to start selling something soon, As for the under base of each painting I have 8 done. I seem to get about one a day done (about an hour for each) on top of my busy graphics are work.  Sometimes I really question if I really think this is going to work or if I'm wasting my time again like the 30 to 40 of ideas I've had in my life time that went no where.

Okay,
I got to go in a new direction. I'm doing to much in a short time and I'm not going to make it. I glad I can see I need to be flexible. The purpose too, is for this to be profitable and quick. I'm going to focus on paintings in Central Park. Yesterday I download Painter on a 30 day trail. I love this program. Got immediate great results. It was a quick learning curve. It feels uncomfortable with a bunch of unknown factors. I do deal with feelings like, am I making a big mistake again? Because I want to generate income. I don't even have time to write blogs. yesterday I lost 100 dollars worth of work by this learning curve. My wife will be so upset if she finds out I'm on another mystery project. I hope it sells and pays off. She just got a job and so she is gone for 8 hours a day. I can secretly painting quickly a few pieces without her knowing it. but really I need to hammer out 9 paintings fast and sell them to make this worth while. I also still want to do all of this right. I hope I can figure this out quick.

This past week I wonder if I made a mistake or bit off more than I could chew. I wanted to finish my reference material but I had a subconscious feeling I should just get started with the prep work for the art. Little upset with myself. Couldn't shake the feeling. I want to be doing this if its making income and if its not early on I want to focus on a different art avenue that will allow me to keep going.
Time will time but it can't be too long of a time. I guess you have to build a factory if you want to sell a can of peas.

Wow! My wife got a great job and she starts next week. I was wondering how I was going to make these paintings without her seeing it. She doesn't want me to paint anything unless its commissioned. now I will be able to sneak in the ask little by little. Its an exciting development.

I had an amazing idea with the videos too. in another post

I'm still super excited about the prospects of my painting ideas. You have t keep in mind I can't quit my day job as a freelance graphic artist. So I'm managing to squeak out about 2 hours a day. My subject matter is of Manhattan Island. Yesterday I finished a big part of my reference material on the other side of the Hudson and decided to try the other big section on the opposite side of the river. Didn't finished but I will likely have that done tomorrow.
I still want to document later how I arrive to this place but for now I'll just write this much. I find through the days i have so much hope about the future and the possibilities. I'm just constantly thinking about my idea and how I think it just has all the right elements to make it work. I think if it does work I could look back and see why as it has some really key characteristics that make sit valuable and work. I will one day try to write it down here. Anyways, back to the graphic art work.

Exciting things are happening (finally). I just feel the need to write these things down somewhere.

If you have come here at random you don't have to follow along. In fact I'd rather stay anonymous and just write out my feelings. I'm an artist and I'm living here in Europe. I am working on a painting series that I see huge potential. The purpose of this blog is to journal my daily activities and new revelations I have along the way. I don't expect anyone to follow my unfolding experience but I'll keep short posts and really I don't want to sound poetic. I will later give a back drop to the events of leading me to here but I will say this much I've learned, there really isn't anything I have that God didn't already give me, why I had to learn that the hard way, I really don't know, but that's one of the exams in the school of Hard Knoxs.