None of this was easy, but it sure's been fun
Here, we started from the bottom after falling off the top. I fell off the top of a 5 story building in Gainesville, Florida. I had an emergency craniotomy, where they removed part of my skull. I woke up from my coma and thought, "Ow! This hurts. I need to paint."
When I was in the coma, my friends made the first ever prints of my art to raise money for my recovery. When I moved to Asheville 2 years post-fall, I sat with those downtown to see if anyone wanted them. When I found out that people did indeed wnat them, I got bored selling a piece from 4 years prior, but I didn't have a body of work yet. I solved this problem by offering "dollar-a-minute doodles," where I'd draw live for folks. I figured that, no matter what, I'd be best at drawing in the present.
I began doing this on the sidewalk in the center of town, and I was picked up by the Booth Fairy, who had a pop-up shop down the road. She offered space to vend in the shop, so I followed that excitement and began selling somewhat professionally.
fast forward 4 short years, and I have bolstered my outdoor vending setup to reflect the legitimacy I've found. My studio is now located at RAD Rendezvous in the River Arts District, but I still vend at the same park I did when I'd sit on my skateboard and sell doodles to passersby.