Be Careful

   They say you should be careful what you ask for. (no, I don't know who 'they' are). I believe that's correct. I've been an artist for most of my life. I've been putting serious effort into it since 1999. I got to thinking about that. What makes an artist great? I'll tell you. Suffering. Pain. The same things that make a great comedian, in my humble opinion. I sometimes think that the reason I've suffered so much is because I've been asking to be a great artist. Or, does all this suffering make me want to be a great artist? Probably not, but who knows. Now, don't get me wrong. I've had a pretty great life. I have a wonderful wife and a great family. I have awesome friends. I feel like I'm possibly the coolest person I know. But, I have suffered. Some of it was due to being young and stupid (redundant?). Some of it was poor choices. Some was my devil-may-care attitude. Some of it, though, was the universe throwing things at me just to see how much I could take. Well, I've survived , I've reached my goal of being a fantastic artist. I've since set my goals higher, constantly pushing myself. i wouldn't change anything I've been through, because it's made me who I am. But, damn, if you had asked me at the time, there were some things I would have changed. Anyway, I entered some paintings  in a contest to be posted on billboards in Los Angeles. I entered three of them. I like my chances:

AKO ANG HARI
     DOUG