nothing but paint

as i write this, i am involved in a project that has me painting a 190 foot long wall with about 15 panels of my cartoons, for a community volunteer group, the Belleville Area Council for the Arts; each panel is 7'x12' in size and is fully colored to be bright and seen. even if i am not getting a dime for this work, about $7500.00 worth of time and art, i get to paint what i want and as fast as i want, as i have no helpers to slow me down.

no it was my understanding, Sumpter Township, whose fairgrounds i am painting on, has been wanting this done for years, but no one came forward with their time to do so. so, when Kay Atkins, the new president of the BACA, asked me and another artist to do the job, i had no issues and jumped to the task. i drew the thumb nail pictures and got my supplies and started ASAP...a week later, i am more than 3/4 done with the first wall (190ft) and getting ready to start the second (90ft wall). as an artist, the chance to do what you love to do, at this scale, is a godsend of sorts. since it is done in enamel paint on a public walls, it will be around for a while; poof!, instant advertising for them and me.

now of course, because i have been getting some media coverage, other local "artists" have been coming sniffing around, trying to get their face in the spot light as well. funny, all these years, the walls sat unpainted, now, because i am getting well recieved for my work, others want to come take a piece of that pie as well. i even had, one artist come up and ask me to hand him a brush and for me to draw out the area i need painted and he'd get to it. i politely told him no; i showed him the areas i was doing and will be doing and suggested he and others, to contact the council president and find out the other spaces there that could be done and go from there.

i have always said, you either lead, create or follow....no one will and shall follow on my coat tails and expect full credit on the process as well. if you are an artist or create ideas, make use of them your self and by all means, rise or fail on your own, not my accord.

as in politics, i see this in our own city council; those who chose to have their photo taken in every project, their name in the face of others and yet, never take the real lead; they rise or try to rise on the backs of others. i ask you, are these leaders?