birthday, BIG CHANGES, and the TOP TEN of 2025

I’ve got a bunch of new art that’s just about ready to be shared but, in the meantime, I was doing inventory stuff and thought it’d be fun to share my best-selling prints of 2025 (so far) and talk a little bit about (SOME OF) them and what they mean to me now.

After the list, I get into my PLANS FOR THE FUTURE (and realize that it’s the day before my birthday). [I wrote this yesterday, so now it IS MY BIRTHDAY. I celebrated this morning by waking up at 6am to do a TUESDAY MORNING market. And now I’m sitting on my bus REVISING THIS BLOG ENTRY. Exciting shit, right? And I didn’t even mention the appointment at the optometrist!]

#10: This is All a Misunderstanding | 2012

This was one of my very first drawings, just a couple months after I’d started making art, as part of my treatment, while living in an inpatient facility. It was never super popular back in ROUND ONE (before the relapse), so it’s been kinda curious how well it does lately.

Read the story behind the drawing | Buy the print

#9: What Makes Life Feel Worth Living | 2024

This was only my second painting after getting clean last year. I decided to limit the number of prints to 50 instead of my usual 100 because I didn’t think it would sell well. That probably has more to do with how FRAGILE I was at the time than anything else.

Read the story behind the painting | Buy the print

#8: I’m a Fucking Artist, Guys | 2012

Aside from the significance I discuss in its written statement, I’d say that this piece continues to be meaningful to me insofar as it represents one of the most important aspects of my art: my willingness in spite of my limitations. That very much comes from punk rock. “No talent – so what?” Great art has nothing to do with technical ability and everything to do with feeling.

Which isn’t to say that I don’t think I’m talented. I’m proud of the way I use color, my composition, and the things I write on and into each painting (or drawing). ‘Cause [let’s be honest] my shit looks cool but it’s the words that really give it meaning and account for its popularity. Which is totally fine by me. All I wanted as a kid was to sing in a punk band. That didn’t really pan out for me long term but these paintings and drawings are just the songs to which I write my lyrics. AND IN THIS MEDIUM I DON’T HAVE TO RHYME. Or collaborate with anyone else. It’s a much better fit.

Read the story behind the drawing | Buy the print

#7: Christian Love (The Grace of a Mountain Goat) | 2024

When I made this last year, I was a little scared to even put it online. I was thoroughly amused by what I’d made but I wondered if it was gonna be TOO MUCH for the rest of the world. “Are people just going to think I’m a weird, off-putting creep if I share this?” I wondered.

APPARENTLY NOT. I’ve had days where I sell these things back-to-back. Someone buys one and then the very next person to walk up buys another. That might not sound all that crazy but considering I’ve got something like 200 prints to choose from, it sorta is.

Read the story behind the drawing | Buy the print

#6: Stay Punk | 2025

This painting was based on an older drawing of mine that never got its due. It’s not exactly my usual expressive art but (despite being, arguably, more of a joke/one-liner than anything else) it is still meaningful to me. Punk rock is kinda the most important thing in the world and that’s NOT A JOKE. Aside from my paintings and the first decade or so of Simpsons episodes, it’s pretty much the only valid art form. (Okay – that part’s sort of a joke).

Read the story behind the painting | Buy the print

Shoot me a message if you’re interested in buying the original 24×24″ painting. It’s the first one on this list that’s not already sold.

#5: Yo – I Painted a Fuckin’ Unicorn | 2014

Before the (EIGHT AND A HALF YEAR) relapse, this was maybe my very bestselling print. Which (honestly) always made me a little sad. I’m grateful that anyone likes anything I’ve created but – y’know – it’s not exactly my MOST MEANINGFUL piece. But it makes people smile, it makes them laugh, that was the point, and that’s a pretty wonderful thing.

Read the story behind the painting | Buy the print

This painting sold years ago but has since come back into my possession. Hit me up if you’d like to buy the original [now in a BEAUTIFUL FLOATING FRAME].

#4: The World Can be Cold and Mean but I’m Gonna Try to Do My Best Anyway | 2014

One of the purely earnest pieces I’ve made. And probably the closest thing to a thesis for all of my work. ‘Cause this is what it all ultimately comes down to. Doesn’t matter what you’re up against. You still gotta fight.

There’s a painting that I made during one of the brief respites in my relapse that I just finally wrote the statement for last week. I haven’t put it online yet (and may not ever (which would be a first)) because it gets deep in the guts of the most traumatic thing I ever experienced. It’s deeply reflective in a way that’s extreme even for me, and I’m afraid of how some people might wanna take parts out of context and use it against me. But (all that aside) its message seems relevant here: There are some things you can’t come back from, but you won’t know until you die after a lifetime of trying. THIS IS ME TRYING.

Read the story behind the painting | Buy the print

#3: Fucking Miracles | 2012

The very first thing I made that wasn’t an assignment in my inpatient art therapy group. Also, one of the only things I’ve made that “stole” the text from elsewhere. This was before I even thought of myself as any kind of an artist and was a birthday gift for a girl I was (or had been?) dating; all of the words are just cribbed from songs that we listened to together. Once finished, I mailed it from my facility in Florida to her facility in Minnesota.

Read the story behind the piece | Buy the print

#2: Everything Works Out Exactly as It Should (is Something I’ve Been Trying to Get Myself to Believe Again) | 2025

The sequel to something I drew back when I had a brighter outlook. I knew it’d sell well because people love that title. And – yes, I did very intentionally make the parenthetical much smaller. I figured, this way, someone can enjoy it for its optimism or look closer and appreciate its honesty.

It’s the only thing I’ve painted since getting clean again that directly addresses my (aforementioned) trauma. I’m always a little scared when someone buys one of these before reading everything I wrote into it. Through my art and writing, I think I present a fully transparent portrait of who I am as a person but you never know when some new piece of information might cause someone to call that into question.

Read the story behind the painting | Buy the print

#1: Mental Heath Services Available to Strippers, Junkies, Cutters, and Other SICK GIRLS | 2017

Maybe it’s because I’ve chosen it to be the piece I feature most prominently anytime I set-up anywhere or maybe it’s just that it’s THAT GOOD, but this painting (created during the first brief pause in my relapse) has overtaken all others and become my very bestseller.

I’m more than okay with that. While the title is absolutely a joke of sorts, it’s a joke that gets at some of the more profound insight I’ve expressed through my art. Sometimes people say things when buying it that make me wonder if they even get the joke or the actual message but – hey – art is subjective. People can like something for whatever they see in it and it can mean to them whatever they want it to.

I’ve never been super happy with the statement I wrote up for it (as it was written two years after-the-fact, during the other/second brief pause in my extended relapse). I might re-write it one day but, in any case, I’m very proud of the painting itself and all of the text that actually appears on the canvas.

I knew I loved this piece as soon as I made it but didn’t know if it’d resonate with anyone else. I’ve been very happy to discover that it does. I haven’t even sold the original [hit me up if you’d like to change that] and yet it’s still made me more money than nearly anything else I’ve created. (If that sounds crass, I only mention it because it’s a testament to how successfully the piece has connected with people).

Read the story behind the painting | Buy the print

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NEWS

If you’re not already following me on TikTok, Instagram, or Facebook – GET ON THAT. I post updates (and previews of my new work) way more often than I do here.

In any case, “You’ll Miss Me When I’m Gone,” “POOR FOREVER,” and “All of This is Just to Get Girls to Like Me” will all be up on the website soon and I couldn’t be more excited to share them with you.

Following the death of my grandpa (and the subsequent relocation of my grandma to New York), I no longer feel an obligation to stick close to Sarasota. I’d always said the moment they left Florida, so would I. While I’ve already started to take my show on the road in Georgia and the Carolinas, what I’m really interested in is merging what I’ve done this last year with how I used to do things (before the relapse). How that used to work was:

• I’d travel to a new city to find a gallery that wanted to book me for a future exhibition or otherwise feature my work
• I’d return to that city once the exhibition was actually running, spending my time promoting and selling prints with guerilla sidewalk set-ups
• And in-between, I’d hit new cities to find new galleries and just repeat that cycle

That’s basically how I wanna do it now too, except I’d also like to book art fairs/festivals and other markets [in whichever city I’m in] to sell at those as well. Basically, in Round One, I thought galleries were the end all be all. Or (more critically) I felt that any avenue for selling art that required me to pay them was illegitimate. And while I’ve still got a healthy suspicion of any pay-to-play operations, I now realize that art fairs and markets are a totally valid means of making a living as an artist. Do I still wanna be up in galleries? 100%. But I’ve done some pretty great events in this last year and am more than happy to do lots more. If anyone’s got any tips for galleries, events, or anything else, you’re definitely invited to drop me a line.

All that said and my eagerness-to-leave aside, I’ve gradually accepted that Florida is the place to be in early December and – with all the connections I’ve developed in the last year – probably through the end of March. So while I’ve got three weeks booked in South Carolina this month and will likely book at least a little more out-of-state in the winter and spring, I’ll probably continue to use Sarasota as a base for the next few months (before I finally go out on the road full-time – one city to the next, without returning to any kind of a “home” in-between). Having done so much here in the last year, I’ve built a pretty solid foundation. My ambition is still much bigger than this area but I think it’d be foolish to not take advantage of the work I’ve already done and to venture into the unknown before it makes sense.

It’d also be easy to fall into that (trap) forever though, so I’m currently thinking I’ll really strike out in April. Where that will be, I don’t really know. It’d be incredible if I stumbled into some gallery opportunities before then and can set my destination in advance, but I imagine I’ll have to create those opportunities for myself, in-person, by actually traveling to new cities. Of course if anyone has any connections or recommendations, I’m all for it. I’M NOT ABOVE SHORTCUTS.

In closing, I’ll just say that (without SPOILING too much of what’s gonna be my next painting), it occurred to me recently that I’m pretty happy. I don’t think I’ve ever gone so long without falling (even if only brieflly) into deep despair, depression, or anxiety. It’d be easy to say that’s because we’re now on a RECORD-SHATTERING STREAK for time without a needle in my arm, but I think it’s a lot bigger than that.

(The old record, by the way, was 17 months and we’re coming up on 19 at the moment. That’s the longest I’ve had since I first started shooting up as a child (/teenager). And [oh. shit. I just checked the date and] my 40th birthday is TOMORROW [it’s today; i should’ve posted this when I wrote it YESTERDAY]. So… y’know – we’re talking a span of more than 20 years).

If you’ve read this far, you’ve given me enough of your time already, so I’ll save my musing on why I feel so different for that next painting.

Thanks for reading. It really does mean a lot.

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If you’d like to buy any of those prints featured (or any others), use the promo code I-READ-THE-WHOLE-BLOG-ENTRY for 25% off your webstore order.

If you’d like to buy one of my originals, send a message.

To catch me in-person, check out my events calendar. (Off the top of my head, I’ve got stuff coming up in Florida (Sarasota, Tampa, Punta Gorda, Sanford, Bradenton, and Miami) and South Carolina (Spartanburg, Charleston, and Greenville).

UNTIL NEXT TIME…