This year will be my first year where I don't have a regular or semi-regular job to "tide me over 'til my art pays off."  I've substitute taught, worked as an Army Reserve hospital cook, did some other stuff non-cartoon-related, managed to pay bills and buy art supplies.  The trouble was that all that paid work took away from practicing my real work of cartooning, so I did it less, except for small jobs in weekly newspapers and occasional caricature jobs--not enough to be considered a career.

All right, now I have all this time to devote to cartooning, animating and caricaturing the way I want to do!  And the ideas are flowing like water--okay, like water through a drain that gets stopped up now and then, but flowing!  And the work I've done in the last few years has gotten me local recognition (see my post about being interviewed by the local PBS station about Edward Zellem's and my "Afghanistoons).  And working at Paul Henry Gallery's Acoustic Jams and showing my work on Film Annex has put me in touch with other creatives of all kinds--I'm not just watching them on TV to be inspired!

Ah, but then there's the money thing.  I'm in debt, there are outstanding bills to be paid, and it would be a lot easier if I continued substitute teaching.  No, it won't--I'd be making more money but that would go to hospital stays and medications for stress-related ailments.  And don't I have enough bills?

So the only solution is to keep doing what I love to do--cartooning, animating, caricaturing--and getting better at it each time I do it.  And look around the Internet for more and smaller cartoon markets to develop a following similar to what I have at Film Annex.  

I want to find my people--the people who will enjoy the cartoons I do and come back for more.  And there will be more, because I'll keep working on them.  Hey, I've got all the time in the world!

In the meantime, enjoy my latest Afghansitoon, based on a Pashto proverb.