homeless

Abandoned America

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A digital painting for our times. The subject can be anyone in modern America, a veteran, someone with PTSD like a victim of sexual assault, someone financially ruined by medical bills or loss of a job, or a victim of mental health issues or addiction. Homelessness is not discriminatory, it can affect anyone with red blood running through their veins. The sad part is that most people will help a dog or cat out in the cold before they help their fellow man, hence the title.

I had to render this three times. Winter is a challenging thing in digital art. My first render I noticed 1.5 hours after starting it, that I forgot the effect of breathing in winter. It was a challenge to create, I ended up using a cloud with a lot of tinkering. 1.5 hours after the second render, I realized by looking at the reflection in his eyes that there needed to be a figure there to add that Je ne sais quoi, so there is an entire part of the scene you don’t see just to get that reflection. Yes, it’s a bit OCD for something that will be seen by maybe 10 people, liked by 2 🙂

When it rains…

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A person in warm clothing sits on a sidewalk in an urban environment, appearing to rest against a building. The street scene is in black and white, with the background slightly blurred, capturing a sense of loneliness and urban life. When it rains, this solitude becomes even more poignant.

Today I managed to give away two survival backpacks to the homeless.

Yesterday, I couldn’t find anyone; so I left that pack at work. Today, I ran into Kizzie, who is wheel-chair bound and hangs out under the 3rd Street bridge by the SBA building. I gave her money for lunch in addition to the pack. Maybe she can hang out in a warm restaurant.

Less than two minutes later, I ran into Stan, who hangs out by the NASA building. He’s been down on his luck, so I went back to the office to get the other survival pack, and also gave him something for lunch. Stan said he’s getting ready to get his life in order, so I wish him the best.

For those who don’t know. I’m using proceeds from current and future art sales to put together backpacks of survival items, blankets, ponchos, toiletries and so forth. I call this project ‘Art for the Homeless’. 

Why am I saying anything about it? Not out of self-promotion, I assure you. The public tends to only pay attention to what is immediately in their attention sphere, which ends up being Kim Kardashian and other non-critical stories. Raising awareness of the homeless is a worthy cause – a cause you can help too.


The image is not mine. I found it on the web.

Art for the Homeless

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A surreal painting of a woman in the foreground with a road extending into the distance. Two smaller figures appear further down the road. The sky is filled with vibrant, swirling clouds in shades of purple, yellow, and red above a twilight horizon. Trees line the road in this Art for the Homeless piece.

I’ve been doing random acts of kindness for the homeless for a while now, 2-3 lunches instead of just mine, coffee for my man hanging in Starbucks to keep warm, a buck or two here and there… 

I’m going to say this up front, I’m not tooting my own horn. 

I firmly believe that in telling people you do these acts of kindness; it lessens the value of the act with any higher powers that may be out there. I’d rather keep it simple, but I have a project that is growing.  

You see, I’m putting together backpacks for the homeless in the Washington D.C. and Maryland area. 

 In each backpack is a warm blanket, a Mylar blanket for the cold nights, a magnesium Firestarter, two pairs of socks, a rain poncho, a copy of the ‘SAS Survival Guide’, basic toiletries, food & water, and a little extra for train fare (in case it gets too cold out – you can ride the Metro all day). If I find camping / survival deals on Amazon, I’ll include them in the bags.

Why do this?

I’m an artist at heart, and I want my work to mean something; not just end up (possibly) making someone millions in the future when I’m long departed. Selling art now to fund this program seems to be a very cool thing in my mind.  

Most homeless don’t want to be where they are. Some have problems with drugs, alcohol, or mental health issues. Others have been out on the fringe of society for so long that they don’t know or want to reintegrate with society. I give them the benefit of the doubt in every case.  

How you fit in?  

I’m going to sell each original work I do for $99 dollars plus shipping. If you purchase a work, I’ll give you the opportunity to add extra donations to the purchase via PayPal (how I can take credit cards and keep my inbox safe). All of this money will all go to making packs for the homeless. 

 So far each backpack is averaging around $50, even by trolling Amazon for the $10 backpacks and blankets. If the project grows too big, I’ll have to start a non-profit.

I’ll have the first four ready to go on Monday (most of the initial gear is en-route). My plan is to carry one to work or each time I go into the city. When I find a suitable candidate (I can tell between those truly in need and the ones that get in a Lexus at the end of the day), I’ll give them the pack.

Final note,

You don’t have to buy my art to do this, you can do it on your own too.