Artist, Poet, Iraq Veteran

07 Jun 2020

I've finally finished that old Moleskine Sketchbook that I've had since I was still in the Army, and now the entire thing is online for your viewing pleasure! It's a first-hand glimpse into how my work has changed & progressed over the years, for better or worse (and, for the sake of being honest, some of it is downright terrible!) Some of it also features what some might consider disturbing content, but not without reason and explanation. I believe in the power of shock value, but that shock value only has value if it has a message to drive home.

I've posted it to my official Facebook Page, so click on the button below to go straight to it!

~EGODRAM~

28 May 2020

I don’t want more “stuff” for my birthday (in 2 days,) I want my best friend HOME where he belongs. In the summer of 2018, a mentally incompetent Salt Lake City Veteran named JARED WITT was coerced into pleading guilty to charges that were so obviously false that they actually defied the known laws of physics. But hey, why should the State of Utah give a shit about actual “justice” if their beloved private prison industry gets some more meat to chew on? This is the same State that charged a suburban housewife with a sex offence because someone accidentally walked in on her getting dressed!


Like I said, I don’t want more “stuff,” if anything I probably have TOO MUCH “stuff” & I’d do well to get rid of it. So if you’re thinking of doing something special for my birthday, here’s what I’d like: For starters, consider donating or volunteering for The Innocence Project and help more falsely accused/incarcerated Americans come home. Exonerating people is very VERY time consuming & difficult, but they’ve been helping people like my friend for over 25 years!


Next, write your elected officials & encourage them to sign off on legislation that will ensure the rights of every accused to due process. No judge in this country should have the sole authority to decide what is or is not “justice” without hearing absolutely EVERYTHING!


Third, I’m not particularly a fan of the death penalty, either, so consider asking them to abolish it in your State (if applicable.) There is no Undo Button on death, NONE.


Lastly, and especially relevant NOW, hold crooked/racist cops & prosecutors to account! If they can’t or won’t do their jobs correctly, then they shouldn’t have that job AT ALL!


So that’s my 39th birthday wish-list, I hope that Jared can be exonerated in time for the big-four-O (I have to keep trying!)


-EGODRAM-

19 Nov 2019

Before I continue, I'd like to take a moment to thank all of you who voted for my nomination for the 2019 Black Apple Awards. Your support really does mean a lot to me; and I don't just mean buying stuff on occasion, every "like" and "reblog" adds up and broadens my audience.

That having been said, despite being a popular nominee, I did not win the Black Apple Award. To be honest, though, a part of me wasn't expecting to. I'm actually not upset at all, there are hundreds of talented people in my State who are just as deserving as me. I'm also what a lot of people in the industry would call an "outsider artist," meaning that I have no formal training (which I actually DO, but I never finished.) I've long been under the impression, and my experience would confirm, that "outsider artists" tend not to be taken as seriously. I'm a nobody, some crazy hermit Iraq Veteran living in the hills with little outside contact (and terrible internet connection.) Of course they don't know me, but now they do.

Even getting nominated really was a big deal for me because even though I didn't win, I'd like to think I've now made an impression within my community. Showing up to the awards ceremony wearing my M40 Promask may have helped with that, and I was just chuffed when a handful of people approached me, "Hey, you're that gasmask girl on Instagram!"

It's okay, I'm glad for the opportunity and had a great time at the party.

There's always Black Apple 2020!

~E~

18 Oct 2019

Hello everyone.

I know, I know, it's been about a year since I've updated this thing. I could give you a thousand reasons as to why I've neglected this site for so long, at least half of which stem from the ill fate that befell my loved one in Salt Lake City last year, but A LOT MORE has happened that I wish I could elaborate on because some of it was actually pretty extraordinary.

But FOR NOW, there's an exciting opportunity here that I've only recently been made aware of... and I need your help in order to make something awesome happen: I need YOU, dear readers, to nominate ME (Egodram) for an award. What award? The Best 2D Artist for the 2019 Black-apple Awards, put out by Idle Class Magazine. They are a regionally exclusive art & culture publication, I've had the privilege of meeting some of their staff in the past, and nominations are free to the public. Just click the button below, write me into the 2D Artist category, and fill in the other categories with your favorite people & places throughout Northwest Arkansas.

If I get nominated, thank you kindly in advance.

If I get nominated AND I WIN, I will make a charitable donation to The Innocence Project.

It's good to be back!

~EGODRAM~

12 Oct 2018

It's been a weird past few weeks: Good news, I've since landed quite a few private commissions from the owner of a local business (thank you for that!) Bad news, I still haven't quite figured out how to put what few poetry pieces that I have up onto this site. I'll keep trying, though.
 
In the meantime, I have a Facebook page you can check out at your leisure.

26 Jul 2018

I've returned from Salt Lake City and now I'm ready to return to business as usual, for whatever that could be. His family has asked that I do not discuss the details, but one of my most beloved friends is in a very bad place right now and I've done all that I could to help him but to no avail. The situation is over, there was nothing I could do, I will always love him, but there's a chance that we may never see each-other again and it kills me inside. I have no choice but to try to move on with my life.

I'm updating the site today because aside from scoring yet another commission by a local business, I also happened to be scrolling through my Instagram and discovered a forgotten gem: It's called "Command Voice" and I painted it earlier this year. It's something of a diversion from my usual ACU paintings, perhaps the very one that put me on the current path that I'm on.

Also, I attended an Open Mic event just last night and the two poems that I read seemed to be something of a hit. The audience was much smaller than I had anticipated, but very warm and responsive. This is something I could totally see myself doing again in the future! I really need to find a way to post my poetry here, though.

~ EGODRAM

23 Jun 2018

While this Summer has been profitable for me as an artist, it's been quite painful for me personally. I'm not at liberty to discuss the details, but I will be temporarily suspending work on all projects because I will be traveling to Salt Lake City sometime within the next few days. I will gladly re-open commissions and resume working once I've returned from Utah in mid-July, but right now I have to be by a friend's side; a friend who was there for me when literally no one else was, a friend who deserved a Hell of a lot better than what had befallen him, a friend to whom I owe my very life.

By the way, I've deleted the old Facebook page and replaced it with a better one.

Be good to each-other, dammit.
 
-EGODRAM-

04 Jun 2018

Sadly, some plans that I had made for myself and for my household did not pan out this year and I have to come up with a new plan: My professional goals have been put on hold, a friend of mine is in a "difficult" situation, and for the time being I am powerless to help him and it's driving me utterly insane. Basically, I've been painting almost nonstop for the last few weeks because it's the only thing stopping me from doing anything impulsive or incredibly dumb.
 

By the way, I've also taken to livestreaming some of my painting sessions on Twitch. I thought that maybe opening up my creative process to the public might be a good way to invite new patrons into what I essentially consider my business. I've included a link to the Twitch channel at the bottom of this post, I hope you'll watch the posted videos and maybe join me for a live event.

This is the only life you will ever have, don't take anything (or anyone) for granted.

16 May 2018

The new Facebook page is gaining a fair bit of attention these days, mostly because I finally fell for the "$30 Credit" thing (if you've ever run your own Facebook page for a business, you may know what I'm talking about.) Basically, Facebook will practically give you $30 worth of advertising for a limited amount of time. Yep, I did that, I "sold out," even though I haven't sold... well... anything (yet.) But hey, if you'd like to swing on by and leave me a review I'd appreciate it!

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Also, I have a Patreon now. Why would I do that? Because I'm considering doing some streaming events in the future (either through Facebook or Twitch, I haven't decided yet.) Also, I'm broke as fuck, so can I please have some money?

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So, in the mean-time, I have three new paintings for you and they're at the top of the ARTWORK page. I'll iron the rest out later, please enjoy what I have here.

08 Jan 2018

I've never really invested much in the idea of "New Year's Resolutions," I've always felt that they only set people up for failure (and that maybe they exist because gyms want to rake in as much cash as possible.)

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As of January first, I am no longer gifting artwork to people; even those close to me. I just can't afford it anymore, I'm very sorry. I will, however, make a serious effort to keep my prices reasonable. And on that note, I still have several 5x7 "Thoughts" available for sale at $20 each: I've sold a few during the Holiday season, but I have others; I've uploaded images of 3 of them, I'm particularly proud of the M40-Pro Mask.

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Enjoy :-)

27 Nov 2017

If all goes according to plan, I'll be graduating from the University of Arkansas in a few weeks: I'm not going to bullshit you, I've been under a tremendous amount of stress all semester and I haven't had much time or energy to make new artwork.

But worry not: Since I'm graduating in December, that means that I can now open up commissions in January!

In the meantime, I have some items from a little side-project that I work on in my free time. They are a small collection of 5 by 7 inch mini-paintings, I call them "Thoughts," and I am selling them at $20 each (plus S&H.)

Also, I've decided to sell of some of the "Demons" series individually: I had intended to make a large enough collection of them to cover an entire wall, like a combination mural and puzzle. Unfortunately, I ran out of time and materials with which to complete the project in late 2016. They are 8 by 10 inch paintings done on different kinds of Army uniforms, and I am selling those at $100 each (plus S&H.)

If you'd like to see my "Thoughts" collection, I post them somewhat frequently on my Instagram, so take a look.
 
Think about it: Artwork makes a unique and interesting holiday gift!

05 Sep 2017

My summer was not as productive as I had initially hoped; I've had a myriad of family and friend issues this year, including one death as well as a deeply personal matter (someone close to me) that I am not at liberty to publicly discuss. BUT... I wanted to do something to keep drawing attention to myself and to my work, so I created a public Facebook page for you to enjoy.

Please share with fellow Veterans and art-loving friends :-)

EDIT: Also, I'm uploading a recently completed drawing. I call it "Broken."

22 Jun 2017

Well, at least the Resistance got off to a shining & fiery start! I was sad to have to miss out on several marches and demonstrations (this past semester has been particularly hellish, for professional as well as personal reasons), but that doesn't mean that I haven't been busy: Aside from creating new artwork, I've spent what little down-time I have volunteering with Planned Parenthood and Northwest Arkansas PRIDE.

And on the subject of sticking it to the regime (heheheh), I give you my latest drawing: "Проблемы с папой" which, roughly translated via Google, means "Daddy Issues"

30 Jan 2017

Since the very day Trump was sworn into office, he's managed to piss off the entire world and sink his own ratings to historic lows. Many Americans, myself included, are pissed off and frustrated by his willful ignorance and utter incompetence: The dude is a spoiled child trying to build a Lego wall, and his alt-right neo-nazi butt-puppet Bannon isn't much better (In fact, he's worse!)

But I'm not ready to give up on the Republic I once swore to defend: So to contribute my shar to the Resistance effort, I hereby give any and every (non-violent) member of the Resistance permission to use, copy, co-opt, re-imagine, re-create, reproduce, stencil, print, tattoo, and/or picket with THIS IMAGE...

A shout-out would be nice, but in this instance it's more about the message than the attention.

Keep it up!

01 Jan 2017

Wow, what a dumpster-fire this past year has been: Dead celebrities, terrorist attacks, and "rigged" elections. In a short while, it will all be a memory and 2017 will take over (along with whatever the new administration has in store)

But not to worry, I finished one final drawing earlier this afternoon just in time to piss on the ashes of 2016: I call it "The Dictator"

Stay safe, stay sane, be good to each other!

18 Sep 2016

This may look like just another edgy art website, but I prefer to think of it like an overwhelming need to be seen, heard, and understood. Welcome.

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“The wound is the place where the Light enters you.”
― Rumi