Before Covid

I'm really bad at updating both my blog and my website. I apologize to anyone whose been waiting. I'm also a artist and not the greatest writer in the world...so...again...forgive me my failings.

I moved this last year.

   I began moving both my store and my apartment in Feb 2019, but do to Murphy's law wasn't able to successfully move until April 1st... but before i can regale you my move you'll need some background information.

A comedy of Trials:....

Long story short...kind of. 

I'm one of the first 49 Artist of Magic the Gathering CCG ( and many others), from 1997-1999 I was employed by WOTC ( Wizards of the Coast) as the Art Director for the Doomtown Card Game. In 1999 i was part of the great WOTC layoff, which destroyed my old life and forced me to create a new one. 

After being a Art Director for WOTC I was too qualified for almost every job I applied for after the layoff. Broke, Homeless (Living in my studio) and desperate I begged a spot in a store called 'Got Game? ' on South Street in Philadelphia to airbrush from ( I use to own a airbrush shop pre-WOTC), aaaaaannnnnddd... I found that I was very,very good at airbrushing, more so than before I started Illustrating ( Another story for another time). Over a 10 year period I built the business up from a small space in the corner of the shop to half the store until i outgrew the space. 

In 2008 I opened my first store on 4th street just off of famous South Street. I had " The Store" on south street ( search on YouTube for "mutt airbrush") Along with 2 TOXIC Business Partners, I became free of them in 2011 which is the same year I became homeless again...yep.

Luckily, through a close friend I was able to borrow enough money to keep my doors open and  happened to be able to live in the basement of the same shop for about a year and a half  ( With no shower/tub or kitchen), which was like living in a bad "work release" program...Thus My Insanity Began....   

In 2013 another location became available across the street from my store, a small 15' x 15' 3 story building with a apartment on the 3rd floor. The apartment sold me so i left my original solo store for the new location which was much smaller but had convenience....a apartment with a shower and kitchen!...something the basement of my store didn't have. Now, I'm leaving out a whole plethora of misadventures which happened before, during and after.... another tale, another time.

Fast forward to early last year. A friend of mine of many years bought the property my old store was in. He fixed it up and offered the store part to me for the same rent my 3 store "studio" place currently was for..now my old store was roughly 5 times bigger than where i was so i jumped on it even though i would be losing the apartment on the 3rd floor. Thanks to my good friend and agent Mark Aronowitz ( who has my eternal gratitude) I was able to borrow enough to grab the space.

The adventure isn't over:

Well, i moved the shop April first thinking.."AH! ill be able to find a new place to live quickly"...without realizing that the gentrification in Philadelphia made it so buying was cheaper than renting ( that's another story in my morality lesson of a life) ...so i found myself homeless. Yep, It happen ed ...AGAIN ...but i wasn't out in the street, i ended up renting a room ( for $700 a month) from a "friend"....

  Around early May a few things happened, my old dear friend and fellow artist James Dupree who is one of the most brilliant artist I have the privilege to know and call friend owned a city block warehouse, literally, It runs from street to street...well, he took pity upon me and offered me a apartment in his museum/gallery in West Philly, but...it wouldn't be ready until July 1st. Around this same time something happened and my oldest son had to move out of his home and needed a place to live while going to college...so... I gave him the room i was renting from my friend... That's what dads are supposed to do...and ended up homeless...again, ( however I now know i can comfortably sleep on the floor of my business).

July 1st came, I signed the lease with James (who gave me a incredible deal), and I now have a very interesting and unusual living arrangement. I now rent a apartment "compound" with my own gated private courtyard in the back of the very famous Artist and friend of mine James Dupree in the back of Dupree Museum/Gallery. Though i signed the lease for July 1st i still hadn't been able to fully move in due to other circumstances....

The circumstances....

My mom who is 75 and in very ill health moved to Philly ( with a weeks notice ...the week before the 4th of July) which left me running around to find her a place to live ( which we were able to find in a very nice building), move her in and get her situated etc. Now on top of all of this my oldest son was accepted into the bridge program for physics in Texas, so hell be moving next month. I hadn't seen my mom in 23 years so I was both incredibly excited and relieved she was moving "home" so i could keep a eye on her and also incredibly stressed as i still had a business to run in the city during the 4th of July. The same for my son who Graduated with a degree in Physics who is now moving on to get his Doctorate ( I have no idea how he got so very smart).

All in all last year and this year i couldn't have done the convention circuit even had i wanted to. I literally just got time to paint because of Covid Quarantine, though I did get a chance to do Dice City Games event. The good news is that i finally have the apartment set up with my studio and everything ( including a bed) in it, I had the shop finally somewhat stable from the move in April, the monsoons and the " God I Want To Die" heatwave weather and my mom/son situated...Had..that was 2019

2020 come along with the worst Jan. and Feb. since 2008 and now Covid shut down..lets see how this comedy is going to play out.

The adventure continues:

So...2018 i did about 1 convention/event a month. I really enjoyed doing them but they really put a strain on my ability to produce and create. I decided that i really needed to produce/create, for many reasons...for one i would like to submit new works to WOTC and possibly try to get new work after a 25 year hiatus. In order to accomplish this I needed to do very few conventions ( which ended up being a very wise decision)....so far all i have attended were three in 2019 and 1 in 2020. I was in Empoli Italy at a event  held by the most gracious and incredible Nebraska Wars guys and I was invited to Dice City Games to make a in store appearance in Silver Springs, MD and Lobster Con in Boston. This year I did Dice City Games Winter Ball 2020 with the great Ken Meyer Jr.

Saying all of this.....
I had a amazing time at Dice City and did very well . The host Jimmy Cooney was amazing and very accommodating as usual. I got a chance to hang out with some incredible fans of the game along with Jimmy after the event...we talked games, politics and life. I really had a blast and had a chance to eat some of the best Ethiopian food I've ever had and got my faith in "Irish America" restored...long story.

I will be attended only a few very small events after this such as a day appearance and NJ gamer con in Cherry Hill and a one day event a community college.

SO....

I had hoped to do alot more this year including Channel Fireball Tourneys and Star City Games Opens however this coronavirus had all canceled, so I'm not sure which ones I will be attending after...if any now. I really wanted to be  doing far more conventions and MTG GP's....oh, well, at least I'm not homeless. Lets hope i will be able to produce as i had hoped. 

Until next time...