Modest Proposal Comix Artblitz Fundraiser

Brandon Huigens is one of my favorite artists (and my very favorite person). After spending a week in the hospital for kidney problems, he lost his new job and is facing a very large hospital bill and numerous upcoming doctor's appointments. He makes wonderful comics and is an incredibly talented writer, and we're trying to get by while trying to manage this whole health ordeal. If you want to see Brandon's original comics, you can go to .

If you want to help Brandon during this difficult time (OR you hate helping and you just like his art), please consider purchasing his work.

-We're currently taking pre-orders for one-of-a-kind Fruits the Cat t-shirts (which come standard in brown or cream, but if you have a color preference we'll try our best to accommodate), which are $12 for a comic of your choice or $10 for Fruits' pick (he'll make sure to pick a good one).

-You can purchase a copy of Brandon's new mini-comic, "All Yellow Dinner", for $2 (including shipping and handling, if you're not in Phoenix)

-You can purchase some of Brandon's original art pictured below.

For questions, to participate or donate, e-mail livingmorganisms@yahoo.com or brandon.huigens@gmail.com.

***We'll have all of the above on fifth street tonight (May 6, 2011) at First Friday in Downtown Phoenix! If you're on Twitter, send a tweet to @saynomorgan and tell us where to find you, send us an e-mail (thanks, smartphone notifications!) and we'll find you, or keep a look out for the loud redhead with the trike (that's me!)***

a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
g.
h.
i.
j.
k.
l.

How I Learned How to Survive

The days are going quicker. Deadlines are nearing, tensions rising. I made a couple goals for myself before I run away:

1. 40 paintings in June. The month is almost over, and I'm only 1/4 of the way there. Fortunately, I work very quickly and should near my goal, if not surpass it. I started doing Artblitzes (anarchic event of artistic proliferation) about two years ago, because to me, they're the creative equivalent of a marathon. It's painful and challenging, but SO incredibly rewarding. A wonderful test of strength and will. I've never, however, put such a disproportionate challenge on my own shoulders, never exceeding 20 paintings in a month. This should be interesting.

2. 12 shows before departure. I've been fortunate enough to participate in three dozen or so shows over the past three years, but that's never really been due to my willingness to market and promote my work, and more due to the fact that friends and friends of friends were interested in showing my work and/or filling their galleries. The notion of self-marketing has always felt very self-congratulatory, so I've always avoided it, though I am fully aware that that is the responsibility of an artist or any creative person who wants to do what they love for a living.

Thus far, I've secured and confirmed five shows (waiting to hear on a sixth), four of which are galleries/venues I've never shown at before. I'm excited to step out of my comfort zone and finally start to market my work, instead of just waiting for things to come to me.

My very dear friend Nina gifted me some of her fancy design skills and a smidge of her hosting space to put up a professional site, which will be up in the next month or two, I finally broke down and agreed to make a facebook fan page, despite feeling very silly about writing my own bio and singing my own praises.