Just had to talk about it where applicable; myspace, msg boards, moi-je art-spots etc (by talk I mean shameless self-promotion) then sit back and wait. Waiting for sales is one thing, I won't lie, it's flattering but it's awaiting criticism that had me all nervous. For starters, I wrote to my "mentor" [check out her blog here: Guylaine Couture, it was actually her blog that prompted me to start my own, though mine has no specific subject matter obviously], in a juvenille sense I needed her approval though she could've easily brushed them off, that would've been very appreciated too; meaning that I would've seriously taken it under consideration, but the fact is that she has a genuine love for art and creativity and a true eye for the craft and the process, one that I've rarely seen in any art-related individual, though you might be a so-called "designer", you might not be in love with it as much as she is. I was her student in a few classes back in 2000, her reputation was a scary one, one that faded quiclky when her classes began and she painfully succeeded in giving my brain a major overhaul, but I've given myself goals way back when I was under her schooling that I haven't been able to set in motion since. See she had to erase years and years of my self-established tastes and methods, not an easy task and it took me a while before I realized it too. How comfortable one can be in one's nest -- there exists another palette outside. There was one specific occasion that I remember all too well where she pointed out to every other student in the class, laughing no less, that I was working on a supposedly colorful project on a black and white canvas. I've come to realize that I had to embrace the project's colorful aspects despite my love for a black and white ergonomy, but in the back of my head there is still "logic" in the attempt I had tried though it had to be justified. I saw her shed subtle tears as she was teaching us about a famous designer she cared for that had passed away, she kept me at a sketch table for three non-stop hours dismissing my drafts knowing that I could do better, my brain nearly had a seizure, but that is what she had to do in order for me to change. And this "logic" is what I refer to as safe art, you KNOW i could go all "bad ass" photoshop and add-in multiple layers of this and that, all of my own though, nothing automated from the program itself, but here are six really simple ink/sketch illustrations on one very immoral theme. There's no paint... no design... it's just raw. An art director friend of mine from Arizona jokingly refers to it as "neo-secure" though he says the drawings themselves are dangerous, and not safe at all. So my interpretation of safe is that these are finished projects that really aren't finished at all, it's imposing what I like, I prefer seeing an artist's sketchbook rather than his fully rendered pieces, it's much more lively (but that's just me), I prefer the neutrality of quiet black and white photographies (but that's just me) so why not impose my own? Yes it's easy, that's not the point, and to question the later would be a mistake. That's me on those pieces. And I am feared more than I am loved. So there you go. The reaction was immediate, it's a shame that I can't track where the sales are coming from, but apprently I've touched a few nerves. The subject matter outshined the art itself (thus far) and that is my sole reward. I guess you can see that I've been avoiding any further elaboration on my personal interpretation of the actual subject matter of the interfere with lovers collection, but I will do so next time...