<![CDATA[Doug’s Art Substack]]>

<![CDATA[Doug’s Art Substack]]>https://dougbaltzart.substack.comhttps://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!mMPy!,w_256,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6bc5ace1-0d33-4461-b98f-5dbbb15155e5_144x144.pngDoug’s Art Substackhttps://dougbaltzart.substack.comSubstackThu, 21 May 2026 11:37:52 GMT<![CDATA[22,701]]>https://dougbaltzart.substack.com/p/22701https://dougbaltzart.substack.com/p/22701Thu, 05 Feb 2026 18:40:31 GMTHere I am again. Done with my first month of paintings. I did 105 paintings plus 31 Zen drawings. I’m on pace to do more than I did last year. I’m not excited about my work, nor am I excited about doing them on most days. I haven’t missed a day, and on a lot of days I do three or four paintings. I still have no purpose for my life. I haven’t given up, but I have no idea which way to proceed. I did find the time to update my portfolio for the first month of 2026. I wish someone were here to do the mundane work for me. I suppose I’m doing well to have sat down to write this.

Here are some of the better pieces I’ve done so far:

It’s been pretty stress-free so far; I’ve painted anything I wanted to. No rules, just paint. Much less stress, but not a whole lot of quality coming out of the pipe.

I hope things start looking up soon, but it’s not my time frame, but the time frame of God. Thanks for stopping by. Tell all your friends.

AKO ANG HARI

DOUG

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]]><![CDATA[22,668]]>https://dougbaltzart.substack.com/p/22668https://dougbaltzart.substack.com/p/22668Thu, 01 Jan 2026 20:35:56 GMTSo, it’s New Year's Day, and here I am in my studio. I’ve caught up on all my portfolio stuff. I need to do a final count and see just how many pieces of art I did last year. I’ve done 365 Zen drawings, 365 Hand drawings/paintings, and 365 Head drawings/paintings. That’s 1,095 pieces of art right there. Plus all my big acrylics. Okay, hang on.

76 big (over 12” square) acrylic paintings. 1,171 pieces of art last year. I could have done many more had I been motivated. How many did I sell? Well, my records are mostly in my head, but it was less than 10. Less than one percent of what I created. It gets to me sometimes.

Anyway, let’s look at art.

Here’s the best of my latest hands:

A pretty strong finish, if I do say so myself. Let’s see some new heads.

A decent batch. There are a couple in there that I really like. Now I’ll show you the big acrylics that I finished the year with.

Cheyenne Vegas

Double Struggle

Fred X

Mind Witch

As I said, it’s the first day of the year, and I have no real idea what my daily challenge is going to be. I have less than ten hours to come up with something. Just what I need, more pressure. Anyway, I’ll persevere. I usually do.

AKO ANG HARI,

DOUG

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]]><![CDATA[22,648]]>https://dougbaltzart.substack.com/p/22648https://dougbaltzart.substack.com/p/22648Tue, 16 Dec 2025 00:00:07 GMTOkay, I’m back. I’m not sure what I have to tell you, but I am back. I’m still daily drawing. You already knew that though. I’m mulling ideas over in my head for my daily art project for next year. I’ve been thinking about just doing an hour every day, working on an animation project. I’ve also thought about staying with a Zen drawing but not doing anything else all January. Or, keep my same three picture a day, but add another picture to it. Perhaps an animal. I dunno. It’s all so overwhelming. I’m open to ideas, if anyone has two cents they’d like to throw in.

More artwork coming for you. I’m not sure it’s been up to my usual standard as of late, but I’m in the trenches every day.

Every day.

What can I say? I like the abstracts lately.

My heads have been a bit better. I have one big acrylic that I’m really proud of. It’s not really a new painting, although you all haven’t seen it. I don’t always post my art in the order I paint it. No idea why. Maybe you tell me?

This is Sid. I can always go back to The Pistols to get some great art.

I’m off to my next adventure. Thanks for stopping by. I’ll keep you posted.

AKO ANG HARI

DOUG

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]]><![CDATA[22,639]]>https://dougbaltzart.substack.com/p/22639https://dougbaltzart.substack.com/p/22639Wed, 03 Dec 2025 20:40:59 GMTSo, I’m still struggling with a purpose and a direction to head off in. I know everything comes in time, but I’m having other issues as well. My memory isn’t what it was six months ago, and my strength is 80% at best. And I know “Doug, you just had a heart attack.” I understand about recovery time. But understand this is all new to me. I feel like my art isn’t what it was six months ago. So, it’s either the heart attack, or the new cat that adopted me is a jinx. I fucking hate this. It’s fucking with my head. I have medication that’s supposed to aid in my physical recovery, now also for my mental recovery. I’m not feeling it. Literally.

I’m optimistic about the upcoming year and the movie/video project. Not really sure of any concrete details, but I’ve been in the middle of animating my graphic novel, Epitaph, for about five years now, and I haven’t done any real work on it since my last move. So three or so years. I’m hoping this is the catalyst that gets some of these video projects finished. I need to sit down and write a checklist. Maybe I’ll do that after I post this. I’m doing my best to keep you all posted. Anyway, here’s art:

A lot of what I did was abstract:

Of course, the heads:

And, no matter what, I can always count on John to connect me to my muse:

Hardly Rotten, I’d say.

So, there it is. Thanks for coming by.

AKO ANG HARI

DOUG

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]]><![CDATA[22,620]]>https://dougbaltzart.substack.com/p/22620https://dougbaltzart.substack.com/p/22620Sat, 15 Nov 2025 04:46:58 GMTI’m still here. I’m trying to catch up again. I downloaded art and updated my portfolio (9,451 pieces. I knew you’d wanna know.) Yesterday, I downloaded over 200 pieces to get caught up. It’s a wonder I don’t give up. Sometimes I imagine just making art, and someone takes it and returns later with money. So, that position is available if you’re interested.

I was offered a (non-paying) job making a movie for/with the local youth. I’ve been wanting to get into movie-making/animation, so here’s a chance to get in deep. Not sure how this will play out, but I’m proceeding with the assumption that this is the project I’ve been waiting for.

Anyway. I’m here. So is art. Here you go:

Okay, here’s some more:

My art has fallen off a bit since my heart attack, but I’m still proud of my work and the effort I’ve put in this year. I’ve fallen a few times, but I get back up. Every time.

Thanks for your support. Not everyone gets it.

AKO ANG HARI

DOUG

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]]><![CDATA[Yeah, It's Been Kinda Rough]]>https://dougbaltzart.substack.com/p/yeah-its-been-kinda-roughhttps://dougbaltzart.substack.com/p/yeah-its-been-kinda-roughTue, 26 Aug 2025 04:57:44 GMTIt’s been a month since I’ve been on here. I know that because I just caught up on a month’s worth of art posts. I had some issues with being overwhelmed. Then, Tuesday before last, I had a heart attack. I was out with my wife, driving to find a new Goodwill store that we hadn’t yet been to, when I started feeling nauseous. I had taken an edible, and we hadn’t yet had lunch, so I wasn’t concerned that I was getting sick. I have issues with motion sickness, and I have my whole life. Sometimes, too much edible gets me a little green in the gills. I just kept throwing up. We finally made it to the parking lot, but I couldn’t quit puking., It was awful. I thought if I could just lie down and take a nap, I would be okay. We got a room just down the road at a nice motel, and I lay down on the bed. I couldn’t get comfortable, and I had started sweating like I was a lawn sprinkler. My chest hurt, like I had sprained my esophagus. If that’s a thing. I’m no doctor.

So, I had my gall bladder out, so I know that when you go into an emergency room and say ‘chest pain’, they’re gonna take you right back. So I was prepared for that. I wasn’t prepared for the two EMTs who showed up to take me for a ride in their ambulance. I still had no idea that anything was off. I knew we were in a small town hospital, so a ride to a bigger hospital didn’t seem too far-fetched. I kept telling the medical people that I was a talker and a stress talker on top of it. They assured me it was no problem.

About ten minutes into the ride, the EMT looks at me and says, “I need to be serious for a minute.”

EMT: “What measures do you want taken?”

Me: “Uh, I guess no heroic measures” (I remember that from taking care of my mom)

EMT: “Do you want me to do chest compressions?”

Me: “Uh, sure.”

EMT: “How about artificial breathing?”

Me: *blank look*

EMT: “You know you’re having a heart attack, right?”

Me: “Wait.”

Me: “What?”

So, as I’m processing, we arrive at the hospital. As they wheel me in, I see three or four gurneys ahead of me. This is gonna be a minute.

Nope.

I zoom right by them. Right to the cath lab. I think. They scoot me on to a table, then one nurse cuts my shirt off. My good, homemade tie-dyed skull shirt. Then, as I’m processing that, three other medical techs grab my shorts and my underwear, and with a quick yank, I’m completely naked in front of a dozen people. I suppose I have no shame anymore.

In the meantime, I’ve had some anti-clotting medication and some IV morphine (I’ve had better) and before you know it, I’m in an operating room. Not knocked out, so I’m anxious to see the heart operation. Except, I couldn’t see the screen. So, all I see is the doctor poking at my right wrist.

About twenty minutes into it, I got so bored I fell asleep. I never sleep on my back if I can help it, but, there I was.

Oh, and right after they stripped me naked, one of the nurses said, “You know you’re having a massive heart attack, right?”

No, I don’t. No one is keeping me informed. Apparently, I missed the perfect time to grab my chest and say, “Elizabeth, honey, I’m coming up to join you.” When am I gonna get that chance again? Never? I’m pretty sure my wife would strangle me if I tried that one.

They send me to recovery after they close me up, and soon my wife appears. They don’t have any plates of food, but I’m fed a turkey sandwich that is perfect. However, the food slowly went downhill from there. My biggest issue was that there was no caffeine available on the heart floor. I understand that, but they didn’t seem to understand that my lack of caffeine headache was much worse than my heart attack. I felt like I had to fight every four hours to get a damned Tylenol. I was very cranky at the end.

Finally, not quite forty-eight hours after I first went into the ER, they let me leave. Wearing my shorts and a hospital gown. Because they cut up my good shirt. But I was headed home. Finally.

And, a week later, I ended up getting to go to the Goodwill store. And I bought a tuxedo and a nice brown suit. So, there’s a lesson in here. No real idea what it is.

Finally

Even through all this, I didn’t miss a day of painting. Didn’t get things posted because we didn’t have phone chargers in the hospital. But, here’s the good stuff:

It’s been so long. I thought I’d have more to show you. Maybe I’m just too particular.

I’m very happy with most of the heads this time around. I could have probably added three or four more, but I try to just show the cream.

I still have acrylic paintings to post, but I try to stretch them out in the summertime, so it seems more like I paint year-round instead of fighting the heat in the hell-hot time of the year.

My wife has gone to help with the grandkids. I figured I’d be okay. I lasted almost twenty-four hours before I was convincing myself that I was having another heart attack. I have marked a few things off my to-do list. So, there’s that.

I’m gonna go paint now. Maybe do something on a shirt.

AKO ANG HARI

DOUG

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]]><![CDATA[Rock You Like A Hurricane]]>https://dougbaltzart.substack.com/p/rock-you-like-a-hurricanehttps://dougbaltzart.substack.com/p/rock-you-like-a-hurricaneThu, 17 Jul 2025 05:45:28 GMTStill here. Still making progress. Did a custom-drawn shirt that I wore to church. To much adoration. It did look pretty cool, almost really cool. It’s a tough scale. Anyhow, looking to do some custom art on clothes. Not really sure where it’s gonna lead right now, but I’m plunging ahead anyway. Also bought a really cool suit jacket. I’m still a little too big for the pants (Mom always warned me about getting too big for my britches), but the jacket is cool, and I hope to make it really cool. It’s probably the closest I’ll ever get to a Nudie suit. However, I’ll never give up hope on that one.

Managed to get the whole lawn mowed this time.

Look at me being all C Level adult.

Hoping to get my wife’s truck fixed soon. I can see an end in sight for a lot of our issues. So, you know, that’s it. So, here’s the art:

The best of this week. Three seems to be the average number of paintings that I’m happy with. That hand on the left, the red one, is probably my favorite out of these.

These were all pretty good. I really wouldn’t change anything on these. So, there’s that. These two were also worth taking a look at:

I’m really happy with all of these. But, there’s another one that I think may be the best thing I have done in a really long time:

The watercolor, the paper, and the alcohol marker combine to make it look kinda like granite. Did I plan that? No, sure didn’t. Sometimes everything lines up. The background, the subject, the execution. I absolutely wouldn’t change anything about this. I may not be able to sell it, cause I freaking love it so much. You should know by now how rare that is for me.

Off to create, then draw with my wife. Life’s pretty good, and it’s getting much better. So you know-

AKO ANG HARI

DOUG

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]]><![CDATA[In Our Last Episode]]>https://dougbaltzart.substack.com/p/in-our-last-episodehttps://dougbaltzart.substack.com/p/in-our-last-episodeThu, 10 Jul 2025 04:37:33 GMTIt has been a good week. I’ve got a lot accomplished. I would have done more, i.e., lawn mowing, had the weather been better. I suppose I’ll carry on somehow. We’re trying to raise the cash to pay for my wife’s truck. Somehow, the part we need, for her 2016 vehicle, is no longer made, and you can’t just ‘get it’ anywhere. I’m not sure how much of this I believe, but the bottom line is we need more cash. When I have an issue, I like to ‘put it out there’ and let things go from there. I think that being specific about your needs improves the results.

My wife is out of town for two days, so, two days of trying to get caught up. Like, cleaning and sorting caught up. I’ve done some art as well. Like this brand new one:

“Pay No Attention And Total Retention”

I started this one yesterday. As soon as I started, I realized it was done. That happens to me a lot. Kinda cool, but also frustrating. I’m not sure if that’s even a problem I want to address. Don’t mess with the process.

Here’s more of the new dailies:

Not a whole lotta greatness, but I only waited a week. So, seven to choose from. Three outta seven is pretty good. For an artist.

Three hands as well. Look at how things even out right there. I guess that tells us something. Just not what my next adventure is. So, I’m off to get prepared. Thanks for your attention.

AKO ANG HARI

DOUG

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]]><![CDATA[Oh, You Know How It Goes]]>https://dougbaltzart.substack.com/p/oh-you-know-how-it-goeshttps://dougbaltzart.substack.com/p/oh-you-know-how-it-goesFri, 04 Jul 2025 04:38:05 GMTI’m here. Again. Still moving forward. Toward what ever fate awaits me. Made a few dollars in art sales. Of course, I painted every day. Yesterday was the halfway point for my yearly project. I’ve done some really cool stuff this year. And a few that I normally wouldn’t have posted. You know how I love my fans though.

I really wish I had more to tell you. I mowed the lawn, took some totes to the basement. Everything looks better and all, I just wish I were off on some creativity-fueled path of gloriousness. Instead, I’m writing this thinly veiled visual art promo before I go back to work tomorrow. Blah, blah, blah, here’s some art. It’s gonna get better though. I can feel great days coming. And I’m gonna be ready.

I liked these quite a bit. The two on the end are Vonnegut. No idea about the guy in the middle. Also, not sure what brings all that Vonnegut on, but he does have an interesting face.

I like these a little better. They’re all good, or I wouldn’t be showing them to you. I like having the lines going through everything. I’m not sure how the rest of the world feels about this style. I freaking love it though. I don’t know of anyone else doing stuff like this. I’d be interested to see anything similar.

My latest. If I had only spread a little watercolor over this. It could have been perfect.

I did some pretty cool hands. Most of them were, well, I guess “experimental” is a good word. I will tell you this. This is the best one I’ve done in the past ten days:

Hands used to annoy the hell out of me. Now, they bow before me. Metaphorically. All it takes is years of daily practice. If it were easy, everyone would do it. And I wouldn’t be nearly as special. I don’t think that’s a world any of us would want to live in.

AKO ANG HARI

DOUG

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]]><![CDATA[It Is the Heat]]>https://dougbaltzart.substack.com/p/it-is-the-heathttps://dougbaltzart.substack.com/p/it-is-the-heatFri, 27 Jun 2025 04:58:33 GMTOkay, I’m struggling to get things accomplished lately. The heat in my studio isn’t helping things. In fact, my whole house could stand to be cooler. I know what needs to be done. I’m having issues getting it done. I need more funds. I even tried to get another full-time job.

It’ll get better. I know that. I’m just tired of struggling so much. I know, the bigger the struggle, the bigger the payoff. I know all this. I believe all this. I’m just trying to get this newsletter out so I can say I at least did something with my art career this week.

Anyway, here’s some art. I’m gonna go try to paint.

Sometimes I do random, crazy art. I don’t post them very often, so, there ya go.

I always keep in mind the words of Larry Latham, aka Big Brother. He was the parking attendant where I worked in Dallas. He always used to tell me, “It’s gonna be better days”.

Better days indeed.

Thanks for coming by. I’ll be back, with an adjusted attitude and a bunch of art.

AKO ANG HARI

DOUG

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]]><![CDATA[So, Uh]]>https://dougbaltzart.substack.com/p/so-uhhttps://dougbaltzart.substack.com/p/so-uhWed, 18 Jun 2025 05:40:10 GMTI’m here. I’m trying. If I’m being honest, a lot of people find me rather trying. I fight almost every day to make things better, but sometimes I don’t feel as though I make enough progress to suit me. Things are good, life is getting better. We just need a few things taken care of. A lump sum of cash would be perfect. Then I could just flow and create. I have a job opportunity that I am interested in. It’s gonna take a chunk of my time. Forty hours every week. Plus my restaurant job. It could be a marvelous thing for me, but I’m having my doubts. I’m gonna make a push selling artwork to see if I can’t fend off the wolves and the full-time jobs. I really thought I’d be artistically self-sufficient by now. And, I have put in the time and the effort. I’m not sure what happened. I’m still at it though. It’s the Punch Drunk Fighter Marketing Style. My day is gonna come. I still believe it. It’s just a bit longer walk than I planned on.

Here’s some of the new stuff. I put off downloading and portfolioing (yeah, I’m gonna make it a word) far too long, so it took longer than it should have. But it’s done. I thought these were pretty good.

But these. These are outstanding, if I do say so myself.

I think all three of those hands in the top row, or the first three, or however it plays out on your screen, are some of the best art I’ve done. Some of my art is from inspiration, some from trying out an idea, some from looking for something that’s easy (because I’m tired from working typically). Sometimes I try to recreate lightning in a bottle. That seldom ends less than horribly, and it strains my artistic talents to make anything worth showing out of it. And it stresses me out sometimes. Get a lot of creative breakthroughs that way, though, so, you know, my pain is your gain. I’m gonna tell you what though, that hand with the red background (it all its 6”x4” glory) is worth every bit of fifty bucks.

Anyway, TLDR I need to sell some art so I’ve got more time to create.

Thanks for coming by, I truly appreciate all of you.

AKO ANG HARI

DOUG

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]]><![CDATA[Up The Hill ]]>https://dougbaltzart.substack.com/p/up-the-hillhttps://dougbaltzart.substack.com/p/up-the-hillThu, 29 May 2025 04:46:02 GMTI’ve been doing all I can to prepare for what the future holds, and to catch up on all the things and chores that I’ve let slide over the past few months. This week, the focus has been on the dining room and the front yard. We recently bought an electric mower. We had been paying handsomely for someone to mow our yard. I was never happy with the quality of the job, but whatever. We (my wife and I) decided to do things differently this year. We’ve let the backyard grow wild, and I couldn’t love it more. We’re in the middle of making the front yard look good, and it couldn’t look much worse. I put some of those landscaping tarps down, mostly to keep the grass from looking horrible. Not my best work, but it is getting better. We tried to mow today, and I gotta say that electric mower is way better than I thought it would be. However, the grass on the front slope in our yard is like some sort of jungle simulation. We ran the mower batteries down twice trying to make the front of our yard look good. Still not there yet.

The dining room, on the other hand, is looking much better. We’ve had several health-related issues since we’ve moved to Tennessee. Most of the indoor things I’ve been doing should have been taken care of a year or more ago. However, they’re getting taken care of now, so it’s all gonna be alright. I like decluttering because it releases a lot of energy into the air, and I need all the extra energy I can get right now. I still have tomorrow before I have to go back to work, but I’m happy with this week’s progress. At least on the home front.

As for the art front, I expected better from myself. I haven’t posted art for sale in a long time, and that should really be a higher focus for me right now. I did catch up my portfolio, after letting that slide for over a week. Also, a bit of acrylic painting, which was a lot of much-needed fun. I tried to organize my shirts, in hopes of doing some more art on them, but there was a screw missing form the clothes rack I recently bought. I have a replacement screw and a wing nut for it. I just have no idea where. Maybe I put them somewhere stupid, or maybe they disappeared into the ozone (in which case, they'll reappear, hopefully soon). It just adds to my frustration. I have all the parts and pieces of everything I’ll need to get my art career up and flying again. I just need to locate more of them.

I’m happy with the art I’m creating. The production end of my art career hasn’t been an issue in many years. I’m arguably the most prolific artist alive.

I had a great haul at the thrift store yesterday. I can never find any nice shoes there, and I can’t afford to buy nice new shoes, so what are ya gonna do? I now wear a size 13, so it’s rather hard to find shoes that fit. I did find three pairs of Converse All-Stars (the best shoes ever made) a couple of weeks ago, but I needed dress shoes, as I’m trying to dress better for church. My wife needed drawing reference pictures printed out, so we were off to the big city. While there, she took me to my thrift stores, even though wasn’t really planning any thrifting trips this week. While at the first one, I found five, yes, five, pairs of dress shoes. I’m pretty excited. I’m not selling art like I need to, or working to become an artist in residence, but now I look much better while I’m not doing it. I’m counting that as a win.

I’m getting my mind right. Also getting my head on straight, AND my booty body ready for the plush funk.

Onward and upward.

AKO ANG HARI

DOUG

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]]><![CDATA[Once More And Again]]>https://dougbaltzart.substack.com/p/once-more-and-againhttps://dougbaltzart.substack.com/p/once-more-and-againFri, 23 May 2025 05:01:56 GMTSo, here it is Thursday again. I didn’t get much done this week. My wife had a conference in Lexington, KY, and she invited me to go along with her. I planned on catching up on some art business and perhaps painting a dozen paintings or so. You probably already know it didn’t work out like that, or I wouldn’t be telling you about it. My wife couldn’t get close enough to her conference to park and walk, so I gladly dropped her off. Then, I got lost on the way home because my car was leading me to the wrong location. I straightened that out and made it back to the motel in time to catch a nap. I woke up before my wife was ready, so I thought I’d take in the town. I found a decent Goodwill store and picked up a nice dress shirt. My wife called and said she was ready, so I set out to get her. I put in the directions just like she gave them to me and set out to rescue my wife. I pulled up where my car said she was, but she wasn’t there. I called my wife, and she put in directions from her position to where I was, so I could backtrack and get there. Yeah, no, that didn’t work. I kept being told to look for cross streets that just weren’t there. I started getting frustrated, because we were gonna go out and see what we could see. I kept trying directions from my car ( I probably forgot to tell you, I couldn’t do directions on my phone, because my phone was under the impression I was in Nashville), but I couldn’t get near to where my wife was patiently waiting. I drove and drove, and I don’t think I was on the same road twice. My wife was watching my progress on her phone ( she has some app that tracks the family in case of emergency, like your husband getting lost), and she would occasionally tell me I was within a mile of her. That only made me more frustrated.

(This is a good example of what I strive to capture, a blend of abstraction, realism, and geometry. An odd blend to be sure, but that’s where my destiny lies)

As I’m driving and talking to my wife, hands-free, and she’s telling me I need to hurry because her cell phone is about to die. All of a sudden, the music starts again as the call had dropped. I figure that her cell phone finally died. Then, I realize that my phone had died. Complete zero battery. Well, hell. What am I gonna do now? I tried to finish the directions she had me on, but I lost out after a couple of turns. I stopped and asked a quickie mart guy for directions. I searched and searched for the third street he told me about. I'm starting to freak now, because my wife has no idea what happened to me. I’m driving through downtown neighborhoods when I see a small church with cars in front. They’ll help me. I park and go inside. There’s an elderly lady plinking on the piano. Not a trace of kindness on her stern face. A lady was standing in the pulpit, trying to start a hymn that I wasn’t familiar with (in all fairness, I’m still not familiar with it). The congregation consisted of a dozen kids who looked like they had just come from a workhouse-orphanage, and an elderly man and woman who didn’t look day under ninety-five. The pulpit lady kept smiling at me and saying something. I can’t honestly say it wasn’t a demonic spell. I had to make a decision.

(These are pretty close to what I see in my mind, but I have moved much farther along now)

So, I decided to follow my gut. I turned and walked out. I may have potentially saved my own life. But, back to my wife. I got in my car and lo and behold, there was another, bigger, less children-of-the-corn looking church. I went to the door, but it was locked. I started walking around to the back when a guy in a pickup drove by. I flagged him down and told him my plight.

“I’m trying to get to my wife, but my phone has died. I need to call her and let her know I’m okay.”

“Well, I can’t give you a ride.”

Who asked you for a ride, you uptight bitch?

“I don’t need a ride. I’m just trying to find Cooper Street.”

“Cooper Street? Yeah, uh..” And with that, he rolled up his window and drove off. So, I’m not a fan of the Lexington churches. Too much UK nonsense in the area, no doubt. I’m trying to think what I can do now. Then, I see a cop car drive by. I wave my arms at the officer, much like I would do if I were flagging down an aircraft. He looked over at me and slowed down. Good, I thought to myself, this will get me fixed up. If you’re ever in trouble, the police are your friends.

So I was told.

I waited for him to circle back, but it never happened. Then, as I was getting back in my car, I saw another officer. I honked my horn, much like you would if you were celebrating a Cleveland Super Bowl win. I watched him slow down, then drive on. So, I’m panicking now. I need to let my wife know I’m okay, and, you know, pick her up like I was supposed to do two hours ago. Then, I see a Goodwill thrift store. I pulled into the parking lot and told the workers (who were outside smoking) what was going on. One very nice guy let me use his phone to call wifey. I tell her what’s going on, where I’m at, and suggest a cab ride to where I am. I know some of you more public transportation-savvy readers are wondering why I suggest a cab. Well, it’s because that’s how we used to do things. Anyway, about twenty minutes later, my wife shows up in a Lyft, driven by her new best friend. We decided to abandon any plans for going out and head back to the hotel room. Turns out that my wife called the emergency line to see if I had been in a wreck.

“I had the police out looking for you.”

she told me. I’m not so much surprised to hear that sentence, I just always figured it would be for something a little more . . . felonious. So, while I’m waving my arms like a maniac, the boys in blue I’m trying to flag down are on the lookout for me. I’m not sure how I feel about that. I just hope that if I’m ever kidnapped, it’s not in the middle of UK Town.

On the plus side, I accidentally went to a cool little artistic endeavor. Selling a few used art supplies, a few new art supplies, watercolor paper sold by the inch, and a tattoo parlor. I talked to a very nice young lady who sold me two tubes of white gouache. The same kind of paint I couldn’t find anywhere a couple of months ago. Also went to a Half-Price Bookstore and got a few more cool art books. We also had some good news on the family front, so today was a very good day. For a day that I spent riding in a car for about eight hours. All in all, it was another adventure with my wife. We made it through, and I now have another story to tell. Just what I needed. Another talent I can’t make money off of.

I didn’t get to catch up on my portfolio. The longer I wait, the bigger pain in the ass it’s gonna be. I’m not gonna do it tonight. I work the next two days, the I have church on Sunday. Monday for sure. Monday is gonna make everything all better. I can tell.

AKO ANG HARI

DOUG

I feel like there’s information that I left out, but I’m too drained to think what it might be. As we used to say, back in the day, “Ask me, I’ll tell ya”

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]]><![CDATA[Well, At Least I'm Here]]>https://dougbaltzart.substack.com/p/well-at-least-im-herehttps://dougbaltzart.substack.com/p/well-at-least-im-hereFri, 16 May 2025 04:51:53 GMTKind of a rough week. Didn’t get much accomplished. Planted some rose bushes and laid some landscaping tarp. A bit of reorganization in my library. Not quite enough. Never quite enough. I suppose this week is just another stone in my passway.

I really like these two.

I suppose that I need to get serious about selling my art. I don’t know what else to do. Working on another portfolio video. My editing program has changed since I used it last. I don’t think it was for the better.

I don’t do many landscapes. I like this one quite a bit.

This one too.

I just wish I had a clear vision and a strong motivational streak.

This one is pretty cool too. A whole lotta green. Way out of my comfort zone with this one.

I still think about doing a ‘whole lotta paintings’ thing. I’m not sure where, why, or what. How many is a bunch, and why would people care?

I still think if I had a place to show my art to the public, I could sell quite a bit more than I do now. But, where? How?

All I can do is paint. And wait tables. I suppose it could be worse.

AKO ANG HARI

DOUG

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]]><![CDATA[Give Them What They Want]]>https://dougbaltzart.substack.com/p/give-them-what-they-wanthttps://dougbaltzart.substack.com/p/give-them-what-they-wantThu, 08 May 2025 04:28:45 GMTSo, I understand that a lot of people out there would like to know what goes on here at Darkwater Studios. The Center of the Arts. Well, I’ll tell you about a little drama that just occurred now.

Somewhere in Western Tennessee, we close in on a man standing at his easel. Music plays as he sings along. A painting in front of him slowly becomes a masterpiece. What is the next step?

Doug: Ha. I know just what you need

He laughs as he reaches for a can of black spray paint. Just what he needs, along with that crazy top-secret stencil he has been using as of late. He sprays, and a gasp is heard from the spray can

Doug: No no no no no. Not now. Come on!

He furiously shakes the can, knowing just a bit more is all he needs. But is there a bit more left in the can?

Doug: Come on! Don’t you die on me! Don’t you die on me! We’re so close!

The can shakes furiously, paint comes in increasingly more sickly sounding spurts. Then, nothing. Doug’s shoulders slump visibly. He looks at the canvas. Then the can. For a brief instant, a sad look crosses over his face. Then, just as quickly, it’s gone.

There’s a lot of joy here. There’s also a lot of respect for all of the black pigment I’ve used over the years. I try to make every mark count.

I sit in front of my computer, documenting Darkwater ( hmmm, Documentary title?) I look at the new chandelier I just installed. And the bookshelf I built to hold books. So many books. That reminds me. The Lowe’s Story.

So, I’ve been sorting and sifting. Fixing and refixing. As I’ve found real estate in the computer room (maybe it’s the library now, not sure), I’ve tried to make the most of it, storage-wise. So, I trimmed the bookshelves by the window, in hopes of getting a big enough AC to keep the heat at bay this summer. I have a whole six-foot plank. I just need three concrete blocks. They’re not fancy, but they hold weight better than anything else I can think of. I have a lot of book weight.

So, we are in Jackson, Tennessee. It really could have been anywhere. The same scenario plays out. I go to the masonry section. They have concrete blocks. The full 8”x8”x16” ($2.31) and the half 8”x4”x16” ($2.37). I know what you’re thinking. You think I got the prices backwards. No. I didn’t. Even though the ones I wanted are smaller, they still cost six cents more. But, you know, nothing but the best here at Darkwater. I grab three bricks and head to the front, knowing I’ll need help since there’s no barcode. I get to the front. Ask for help, and this amazing young lady came to help me. And then it hit me. Deja Vu all over again. The lady can’t find what I have in the cart. No 4” blocks. Just 8”. The lady has that look. The look I’ve seen literally every time I buy these blocks. I said, “ Usually they just charge me for those 8” ones. If it’s okay with you, I’m cool with it.” She smiled, charged me for three blocks. I rounded up for the Young Handymen or whatever it was. This is the fourth different Lowe’s that I’ve had this happen in. As far as I can tell, the 4” blocks aren’t in any of the Lowe’s databases. How do they sell them if they aren’t in the system? How can they inventory something that they don’t list for sale? Perhaps I’ve unwittingly stumbled onto a money laundering scam. Four stores over three different states. I guess that makes this federal. You know I hate working with the feds. And I’m so close to retiring.

Another week. Another seven days of ‘this is not what I thought being an adult was all about’. The Lord watches over fools and drunks. At least my liver is in pretty good shape. Big things on the horizon. Just no idea what. I gotta keep my eye on the sparrow.

AKO ANG HARI

DOUG

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]]><![CDATA[New Or Improved]]>https://dougbaltzart.substack.com/p/new-or-improvedhttps://dougbaltzart.substack.com/p/new-or-improvedThu, 01 May 2025 02:40:37 GMTI dunno. I’m still here. Still in a bit of physical pain. Still finishing my wife’s office before heading onto dining room repairs. Still two paintings and a drawing every day. Keeping up with my portfolio and my newsletter. If it’s even still a newsletter. I sense something big just over the horizon. No clue what it might be, so I’m just trying to get caught up on things so I’m ready when it happens. Or as ready as I can be.

I’m in the midst of (not quite to the middle of) cropping and posting all my artwork. I’ve still got close to two thousand to get to. (Maybe more, I just remembered a bunch I haven’t posted) I understand not posting the daily drawings, but I have no idea why I didn’t post the daily paintings. Past Doug is always doing stuff like that to me. Jackass.

I’m open to any ideas at this point. I’m almost ready to slip back into the paint-in-my-studio-and-ignore-the-real-world frame of mind. I don’t even know if that’s what I want.

Thanks for the support. I truly appreciate every one of you.

AKO ANG HARI

DOUG

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]]><![CDATA[Ride The Wave]]>https://dougbaltzart.substack.com/p/ride-the-wavehttps://dougbaltzart.substack.com/p/ride-the-waveWed, 23 Apr 2025 03:23:41 GMTStill a lot going on. I finished the flooring in my wife’s office. I’m trying to hang the door for it, but it doesn’t fit in any direction. I’ve spent hours trying to trim it down to fit. I finally got it in and realized it caught on the floor when it was opened. I fixed that, but not as neatly as I would have liked. I’m gonna shelve all that until Friday. At the earliest. I’m gonna go get the shit beat out of me by my grandkids this week. It’s a good thing they love me.

I’ve been tired and sore all week, and working as a waiter sure didn’t help things. I’m recovering well enough, but I could use a full day in bed. On top of that, I was hit hard on Monday when I found out that my friend Beth had died. I have known her since high school. We actually went on a date one time. Two of our friends were dating, and we went along on a double date. I can’t remember why, but it was fun. I never heard from her for years afterward, but then again, why would I? As social media took off, we became friends again. She loved my artwork and always made it a point to let people know. She bought art from me. She commissioned paintings from me. She never failed to make me smile. She’s the kind of art fan that every artist loves to have. And now she’s gone. To a better place, I suppose. I always wanted to ask her if she remembered our date. But I never did. Now I never will. She’ll never message me all excited about a piece of art that I thought could have been much better. Never buy another box of rocks that I painted, because she wanted to have her grandson put them in her garden. It hits me hard when a friend dies. It hits me hard when someone younger than me dies. This is hitting me really hard right now.

Still no idea what I need to be doing right now. I have reinstalled a distro on my main computer, and it is working like a champ again. Using a new web browser. Getting everything in order. But no idea what I’m working towards. People try to help, but it’s hard to explain what I need. I’ve got all kinds of art ideas, I just need life ideas. Coffee shop idea? Art magazine idea? Artist in residence? I’m lost right now. But I’m doing some really cool art. Over three hundred pieces so far this year. By the way, you haven’t heard the last of that.

I feel as though 90+ % of all viewers have no idea what is behind all the marks on this one. No one ever asks, though. Very few people ever see these. Even though I post three plus times a day. All a part of my Sisyphus Marketing Plan. Besides, what else am I gonna do? Paint more?

So, that’s where I’m at. Right between the A and the T. Thank God for my wife.

AKO ANG HARI

DOUG

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]]><![CDATA[I've Got Something To Say]]>https://dougbaltzart.substack.com/p/ive-got-something-to-sayhttps://dougbaltzart.substack.com/p/ive-got-something-to-sayFri, 18 Apr 2025 01:12:26 GMTNothing in particular, I suppose. I need a header for these things, and sometimes I have nothing. I’ve been busy, but still have a list of things I’m behind on. I did put a new subfloor in my wife’s home office. New tile as well. If you’re gonna do all that, you might as well paint the walls too. I still need to trim the door and hang it. That’s probably a next week thing, although we’re gonna go stay with the grandkids, so more likely a week after next thing. I stay behind on things, although I am getting much better. I thought I could knock out her office in a couple of days, but supply runs took a lot of time. I’m not saying I live in the middle of nowhere, but these days, a trip to Lowe’s and back takes three to four hours.

I’ve also had some issues with my main computer not having the strength to do much of anything. So, I installed a new, lighter Linux distro. I didn’t intend for it to come to that, but I couldn’t get it to do much of anything for me. Now, I can edit video again. I’ve also discovered a browser that I’m taking for a drive, in hopes that it may be my new favorite piece of software. Vivaldi browser, in case you’re wondering or you wanna talk about it. It has an email client attached to it, so I don’t have Thunderbird installed on my computer for the first time in over a decade. I installed a minimal distro, so there’s not a lot of anything. No extra bloat. It didn’t even have a web browser when I booted it up. That’s a little more minimal than I had anticipated, but it took only a few minutes to fix. It was certainly a quicker install than the previous one, so I’ve got that going for me. This seems like something that I’ll tweak to death if I don’t watch out. I’ve got paintings to post, I don’t have time for that.

While I have bemoaned my lack of progress in certain areas, I realize I’ve gotten a lot done. I’m still painting and drawing every day. I’m kinda stressed about that while we’re at the grandkids. Anyway, here are the small paintings I’ve done since January 1. This doesn’t include the big acrylics I’ve done, nor the daily drawing that I do. This is just the 6” x 4” paintings for this year:

Seems like a lot when you see them all together. It’s easy to see how paintings get backed up at my place. I’d hate to guess how many of these are here. There’s a good chance that I have over a thousand. Another reason I’d like to have a storefront. People could watch me paint and then buy some artwork for the road. I may still revisit my artist-in-residence idea. I really don’t know. I’m having trouble getting a plan together.

All I can do is to keep going forward. All things will be revealed. Eventually, I’ll figure things out. In the meantime, I’m still waiting tables. In a chain restaurant that hasn’t had a liquor license since last November. I have a good life, but it’s sure taken a trip through the land of the bizarre. It does make me laugh though.

To all you

Who

Appreciate what I do

Thank you.

AKO ANG HARI

DOUG

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]]><![CDATA[Idle Hands And Such]]>https://dougbaltzart.substack.com/p/idle-hands-and-suchhttps://dougbaltzart.substack.com/p/idle-hands-and-suchThu, 10 Apr 2025 05:15:40 GMTSo, busy week. Still much to do. I have a friend who wants to buy three watercolor paintings from me. Three. A nice little payday. Only hitch? I have no idea where they are. I have so many paintings and drawings in so many totes. I did a quick count in my computer portfolio. 7,943. And that doesn’t count the 20-25 acrylics that I’m currently working on. And I did three pieces of art last night, and I’m fixing to do the same tonight. I should hit 8,000 pieces in about two weeks. I got serious about art in 1999, so it’s been twenty-five years. That comes down to about 318 pieces per year. A little online research tells me that Picasso created 51,347 pieces of art. He was 91 when he died. That comes out to 564.25 pieces a year. From the day he was born. I’m skeptical, to say the least, but whatever. Rembrandt: 783 paintings. That’s respectable for the 1600s. I’ve got nothing but love for him. Picasso too, for that matter. I just think the reputation far exceeds the facts. Van Gogh: 2,100 artworks. He has always been a big influence on me. All three of these guys have, but Van Gogh was always The Man as far as I was concerned. Check out his stuff and tell me he’s not one of the greatest artists ever. Unlike the other guys, Van Gogh wasn’t trying to be famous. He was creating the art that was in him. He lived a mighty sparse life in pursuit of that. Anyway, if I do four paintings a day for thirty years, I can pass Picasso. Five a day, and I’ll be there in 23.49 years. If I thought anyone gave a shit I could probably do it. I could probably do it a whole lot quicker if all I did was paint. Just saying. Anyway, here's some art for you:

I really like this one. I’m normally hyper critical of my work, but I’m loving a lot of the things I’ve been doing. I’m either getting better, or more conceited. Could be a bit of both, too, I suppose.

I’ve done some hand paintings too. I used to hate to do hands, but now? Not a problem.

You know? It wouldn’t take a whole lot of money for me to just concentrate on making art and, time permitting, taking a run at Picasso. Okay, I’ve got an idea. I’m gonna run it past my wife and see what happens. She’s the voice of reason. I hate to think where I’d be without her. As always:

AKO ANG HARI

DOUG

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]]><![CDATA[The Goldilocks Zone]]>https://dougbaltzart.substack.com/p/the-goldilocks-zonehttps://dougbaltzart.substack.com/p/the-goldilocks-zoneTue, 01 Apr 2025 01:23:52 GMTI’ve tried to spend as much time as possible in my studio this week. The temperature outside has made the studio temperature perfect. I’ve got a lot of de-cluttering done. I’ve got a lot of painting done. And, I’m staying caught up with my social media posts. I’m doing so much art that I have to update my posts and my portfolio every three days or so. For the whole rest of the year. My stupid prolific ass.

I really like this one.

I have to go to court this week for that ticket I got for flashing my lights at a trooper. No registration or insurance either, but I took care of those. Now I gotta dress up and drive thirty miles each way to court. No idea what that’s gonna cost us. More than it should have, if I had stayed on top of things. Or, even within sight of the top.

I’ve got so much artwork. I create it way faster than I could ever sell it. Sometimes, I look at one of them for too long and decide to paint over it. I don’t know. I’ve got some ideas and general plans floating around in my head. I need to solidify things and get a plan together.

Maybe I can get some more stories together for next time. If you’re following along at home, I’m still unable to sell alcohol at my job. Haven’t been able to since last November. That’s cost me a couple hundred dollars. I haven’t had to deal with any drunks though, so I call it a wash. At this point, we might as well just tear out the bar and go full-on non-alcoholic. Or whatever. I don’t care. I’ll make my money either way.

I truly have no idea if I have posted any of these here before. They’re really good though, so this saves you from having to go through my archives. Anyway, that’s where I’m at right now. Have a good week. I’ll be back.

AKO ANG HARI

DOUG

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