06/03/2026
I was eliminated in round 3 of Johnny Depp's The People's Artist contest. I had to finish in 10th place or better to move to round 4 and I finished in 11th... With a 112-vote gap between myself and 10th place. It's always a bummer to lose, but I won't say I failed. I trusted my gut, followed it when others had doubts
, I redoubled my resolve and saw it all the way through to "my stop" on this crazy train ride! I'm proud of what I accomplished. I'm absolutely thrilled with some of the new, and even better reinforced, relationships I walk away with. My head is held high, because even if they use their seemingly-devious TOS to misuse the artwork that I submitted, none of it was my best work- Not. Even. Close.
I'm still moving. I'm still growing. Still ducking and weaving at times. But two things I'll never do? Put the pen down permanently or learn when to shut up. To all who participated, my hat's off to you. To those who couldn't be moved to participate because of their morals, boundaries or other qualms with any or all involved parties, I'm proud of you for sticking to your guns and following your heart. Mostly, I'm thrilled that you're all still here, you still show up for me as a community and you let me share my esoteric visions with you. Hell, sometimes I even make some money at it!!!
So, with the bittersweet acknowledgement that I was a non-winner in a contest I so deeply, and mistakenly, believed was much more about skill than network size, I have an awesome announcement to share as well: Vinyl stickers, varying in size from a few 3x3", a few 5x5" and a couple of truly original 5x7" designs will be available for $9, $14 and $19, respectively, plus shipping. For a long time, I've had folks ask me to offer something other than coasters or light switch covers as my entry point, so I'm adding vinyl stickers as well! You can get 3 of the largest for about the same price as one of my limited-edition 8.5x11" framed prints!!!
DM Me or WA Business message me if you're interested (before seeing any proofs or whatever, I guess! :-P ) but I'm planning to post proofs within the next couple of days!!!
Friends, family, chosen loved ones and other sentient followers I may have missed, thank you again for your patronage, support and general kind heartedness.
Namaste.
