Well, you shouldn’t. You should go outside and plant a garden. You should start a band! You should go explore every part of the world you’ve ever wanted to see. You should learn Italian, French, or Tagalog. You should volunteer your time to an organization that works with disadvantaged youth. You should go teach an ESL class for immigrants at the local community college. You should spend your time tracking down abusive priests, like some sacred Avenger.
Those are the things you should do. And I encourage you to do them.
Feel free to subscribe to my newsletter because you want to. In addition to doing some of those things above.
How often will this shit hit my inbox?
Weekly.
Do you charge for the newsletter?
Nope. The newsletter is free. You can, however, gimme $2 a month to show your appreciation, and because you want to support independent writing. But everyone sees the same thing. I don’t have special hidden stuff for paid subscribers.
Who did that drawing in your newsletter header, and is it supposed to be you?
My friend, the wonderful Kate Bingaman-Burt. And yes.
The last slide from my new talk. It plays a role below.
Contribute to my eventual bail fund at $2 a pop.
This week’s question comes from me, actually:
How was your trip?
Last week I flew to Oslo to give a talk at Y-Oslo. It was my first talk in five years. It was my first ...
Hello. There is no question this week because I’ve been traveling. Just got back from Oslo last night. Got to give a new talk at Y-Oslo, which is a fun excellent conference. Oslo is also an amazing city, full of kind people. I recommend it.
Y-Oslo is also super quick about putting talks online, so I thought you might enjoy watching this.
I’m glad they picked a still that makes it look like I’m running the Stanford Prison Experiment for toddlers.
I’ll be back next week with questions. (Send me some.)
Soon I will start looking for a new painting studio.
Whistles aint cheap. Gimme $2.
This week’s question comes to us from Betsy Streeter:
How can you be of help to someone when they don’t want anyone to help them?
You can’t.
Unless they’re drowning, trapped under a buildin...
The back side of art.
Enjoying the newsletter? Gimme $2. Coffee aint cheap.
This week’s question comes to us from Victor Lombardi:
What are your opinions about how to make coffee?
First of all let’s all agree that this is going to be an incredibly contentious topic. Becaus...
This is the last painting I did at my old studio. I left it behind.
You can support my shenanigans for a mere $2/mo.
This week’s question comes to us from Milly Schmidt:
Some people have friends with very different politics and they keep them very separate to avoid conflic...
These little ghosts ended up being part of a much larger painting.
If you’re enjoying the newsletter gimme $2.
This week’s question comes to us anonymously:
How do you deal with your impending mortality?
I believe that the best way to die is to do it once, and right at the...
A bunch of wee random paintings I made in 2022 or so.
💰Join the $2 Lunch Club!💰
This week’s question comes to us from Charles Pearson:
Is it weird that video meeting tools offer appearance retouching effects? Are we that consumed with smoothing out wrinkles and moles?
No. ...
This is FIX YOUR HEARTS, a little painting I did earlier this year.
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This week’s question comes to us from Gurj Johal:
What would be a reader’s best reaction to reading one of your newsletters?
To re-examine s...
This is my art studio all packed up. It’s all in storage now. Still looking for a new place.
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This week’s question comes to us from Gina Trapani:
How do you think about your creative practice? What are the most important parts of it?
Folding soc...
Cleared out of my art studio last week.
Because last week’s newsletter was such a bummer, and because this was a short week, and because I have tickets to a Valkeries game tonight, let’s do a mailbag and just run through the silliest questions we’ve got. Cool? Cool. Ballhal...
Out of kindness: We’re talking about children’s deaths.
This is Uvalde, painted by me in 2022.
This week’s question comes to us from Chad Moore:
What do you know in your bones? No data to support you. What do you know deep down. In your bones.
I know deep down in my bones...
This is my art studio, currently in storage. This is temporary, but it’s got me in a mood.
💰 Join the $2 Lunch Club 💰
This week’s question comes to us from J Jones:
If you could carve a message in stone for future archaeologists to find, what would you say?
“We’re sorry.”
...
Close-up of a little Porky Pig painting from 2022.
Join the $2 Lunch Club!
This week’s question comes to us from Kevin Smith:
Dystopias are fun to read about but suck to live through. What do you think society looks like in 25–50 years? Is there hope?
Dystopias were fun t...
This is No Gods No Masters, 2024, painted by me, in wax. 65x78”
Join the $2 Lunch Club!
This week’s question comes to us from Will Hopkins:
When your job and healthcare depends on building the Torment Nexus, but you actually learned the lesson from the popular book Don't ...
This is Empty Nest from 2022, I think.
First off, I want to thank everyone who’s joined the $2 Lunch Club. I love you all very much, and I have a lot more love to give, so… join the $2 Lunch Club and get loved!
This week’s question comes to us from Ann O’Nymous:
My parent...
I lost my art studio, which is a story I may or may not tell at some point. But I’m looking for a new one.
💰Gimme $2 for ice cream.💰
This week’s question comes to us from Rod Begbie:
I love being right. Probably more than being popular. How do you keep your desire to say ...
This is how I store excess wax in my studio.
💰 Gimme $2 so I can try something in Todd’s zine 💰
This week we’re ganging up two questions because, well, you’ll see.
Our first question comes to us from Marcel Pauluk:
What’s all the fuss about zines? Aren’t they relics from t...
Waymo on fire, 2025
💰 Gimme $2 for a new art studio deposit.
Because of some personal BuLLsHiT this week I didn’t have time to write a new newsletter. Also, it’s summer. So here’s an old one from last October that might be new to a lot of people, and useful to even more. T...
Still in progress, but making progress.
Giving me $2 counts as a compliment.
This week’s question comes to us from Tante:
How do you take a compliment? I mean really take it, accept it, even if you don't feel like you deserve it? How do you let that kind of energy in?
By b...
A very stupid painting I’m in the middle of.
Gimme $2 so I can buy a donut.
This week’s question comes to us from Natallia Shauchenka:
The internet and the world feels huge and hyper-connected, but hella lonely. How do you actually meet people, find cool stuff and turn str...
Little painting I did a couple of weeks ago. There’s a stick so it looks like a protest sign, but I cropped it out.
Enjoying the newsletter? Gimme $2 for sea-monkeys.
This week’s question comes to us from Dana Chisnell:
How do I get through a day without hearing or seeing...
Overturned cop car, 2023(?)
Enjoying the newsletter? Gimme $2 for bail.
This week’s question comes from me, actually:
How do we protect and serve our community?
Last Monday, I joined somewhere between five and ten thousand people (depending on who you believe, I am not goo...
Sometimes you end up where you started. And that is beautiful.
Enjoying the newsletter? Gimme $2, you freak.
This week’s question comes to us from Tyler Linton:
Has your career played out the way you thought it would?
Absolutely. Just like I drew it up at age 20.
Obviously...
Look at all this evidence of humanity!
Gimme $2 and become a premium subscriber.
This week’s question comes to us from DB:
How do I make art without feeling stupid and/or inadequate?
Why would you want to?
Not why would you want to make art. Everybody makes art. Or at l...
Little prototype painting I’m working on.
Become a premium subsciber! $2/cheap.
This week’s question comes to us from Michael Calore:
What's the best way to wash the dishes?
TL;DR: If they’re dirty, wash them.
Let’s start by asking ourselves a simple question: Would you ra...
Fun fact: You can give me money now. More detail at the bottom.
Detail of a large painting I’m hoping to have finished by next week.
This week’s question comes to us from Goran Butorac:
What are your thoughts on monogamy/nuclear family vs polyamory/relationship anarchy?
TL...
Detail from a bigger painting. 2024
This week’s question comes to us from Megan Butler:
What is the most dangerous inconsequential stupid opinion?
MSG is bad for you.
I grew up in Philadelphia during the 1970s, which was a great time and place for stupid opinions. We moved ...
This is what one of my stupid paintings looks like in progress.It’s a very dumb way to paint.
This week’s question comes to us from Christine Newton:
Any words of advice on trying to find a job right now?
It’s hard.
I know that isn’t advice, but before we got to any advice—...
Overturned cop car. 2023(?)
This week’s question comes to us anonymously:
How can we stay positive about the future these days?
I cannot get excited about the future. It’s too vague a term, and filled with too much uncertainty. There be dragons. But I can tell you a story.
...
Detail from a painting I finished a few week’s ago.
This week’s question comes to us from Jonathan Stephens:
You recently wrote, “...since my brain and your brain work differently, I’m going to tell you how I do it, and you can take what works for you." How does how your br...
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