In high school a friend of mine that loved the outdoors taught me how to start a camp fire. Since then I've probably made 100 camp fires over my life time so far. Its really easy when you think about building it up from dry grass/paper, to small kindle sticks, to branch sticks, to big logs.

I've made camp fires with just a magnify glass with the heat of the sun to start the fire. That works but its slow. Normally I use artificial starters like matches or a lighter, or even gasoline to get a big start. Even with the quick blaze of a gasoline, you still need the proper set up of small to larger pieces of wood.

A business can be just like that. You do need the proper basic set up, and you can build it up slowing with a natural fire from the sun. Or you could also help give the business a boost with an artificial start. (I'm not talking about getting a loan)

I'm going to start a real fire and in the fastest way I know how to give it some early wins.

Check out my website...  www.knoxlar.com and subscribe if you like the art you see.

Well a lot of things fell into place this last short week. I once heard of a story about a man who build a canning factory to can peas. It took so much hard effort to buy the land, to secure the money, to construct the building, to hiring the people, to finding the distributors, to stocking the materials, to making the machinery, to producing the product and then trucking the cans of peas.

It might of seem like a lot of work and incredible odds to finally see that first can of peas come off of that assembly line, but it's not about that one can of peas, its about the many cans that will follow. It's about getting systems in place.

I think I'm open for business now.

Working on the website. It's not going to have any official launch because its been a work in progress. Probably always will be. www.knoxlar.com

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.