I would like to dedicate this entry to two muses that have helped me to create some very special drawings and paintings over my short career. One is the model Layla who died in an auto crash at the age of 92. She had been a model since she was a little girl and has been a muse to many an artist throughout her long career.
The other model is Clark, at 70, who without his generous input I would not have created, along with many other artists, the wonderful works I have exhibited and sell today.
Thank you both for being on time, the hours sitting without complaint, the dedication and effort you contributed to my work.

One recurring problem with all this talk about the Chinese clones copying American artists’ work centers primarily on money more than having your work copied.  I went to the site "Contemporary Chinese Art" that you list at the bottom of this site. Frankly, most of what I viewed was terrible. If people want to pay millions for this, I hope they are happy. Be that as it may.
Money is always an issue but money should never be the central issue. I've heard both sides of this argument and I'm sure there will be continued discussion about money ad infinitum. The underlying reason for artists to paint is produce art in a way that others will see the world differently. See something they overlook in their life. Or if you will produce something of beauty. If we are to be "more Chinese" for the sake of making millions on every sale, artists will sacrifice something we will never get back again. Yes, I appreciate sales and wish more of them, but I'm unwilling to paint solely for sales. This may mean I will live eternally in obscurity with a few patrons purchasing my work because they love it and not for investment alone. So be it.
"You must paint what you know" has been said to me many times. I find this to be true. Political art will with us for years to come. When all is said and done I sit and relax in my home looking at art that pleases and satisfies me. Interestingly, the Chinese artists that have immigrated to the USA paint a very different art. I think it's because their frame of reference has also changed. They now live in a society where they can truly express their inner feelings free from the turmoil of oppression and political dogma.

   I’ve sometimes been called arrogant, cocky among other things. I’ve thought long and hard and tried to look inward and see if others were right. The conclusion I’ve come to is “yes” sometimes others are right, but the arrogance others see in truth is “Unconscious Confidence.” This was developed in me mostly by my parents who, when I was very young, encouraged me to be independent and didn’t clip my wings when I tired to fly. I’ve made many mistakes in my youth, but have learned from my mistakes though sometime unwilling to do so. Bang your head on a brick wall long enough and you will eventually look for another way over that wall. Throughout my life this Unconscious Confidence has caused me no end of problems, until I gained real knowledge and ability. I still leave room to be wrong, but when I believe I’m right, based on my experience and knowledge, it comes off to some as arrogance, which I now understand and can deal with. All self-assured people can look arrogant to others because the self-assured are dogged and undeterred and speak with the knowledge they have gained to get the job done.

Many of us will never be put in a position of creating “monumental” artwork for gravesites. Some of us will be called upon to create work for those who survive. I had one opportunity when a cousin asked me to paint his late loved wife whom I'd never met. Reluctantly, I said yes. He supplied me with numerous photos. Some from their honeymoon, some from daily life. He also gave me items she loved and owned. He told me stories of them together. After thinking on all this, I came up with an idea on how to approach the work. It was filled with symbolism from all he told me. I also got hold of a dress she wore and had a model pose in it for me. I composed the painting half in light and half in shadow. She was in the shadow section while a window, in the light, showed a balcony scene in Italy from one of their trips. Around the room where the items he gave me that were dear to her and significant to him. In the end, he, along with her parents were moved to tears. It was a very satisfying project. It hangs still in her parents home today.

Most of us we are faced with much inner conflict in our work and in life that it would be best to put aside work that does not meet our (individual) standards. I have many failed attempts. Failure is not my criteria to destroy my paintings. This does not mean I don't try the same theme or subject again. I have painted over a failed attempt.  What  turned  out was a better rendition of what failed. My system,  If after repeated attempts fail, and I don't achieve what I want, I leave it alone. Something in me isn't connecting with the project. Or I have not thought out the concept fully.  So every subsequent attempt falls short. Whether you keep every work or not is a personal choice. I keep "old" less mature work to see how far I've come. I don't keep failed work because I know I can do better. There is a distinction between "failed" work and work that didn't hit the mark as well as I would have liked. I would never show these "failed" works in an exhibit. I believe you have to have some pride and take responsibility to show your best work, not work in progress or work that you know didn't work. What you show in your studio is your business. Displaying every work to the world is like using every color in every painting. “Discretion is the better part of valor here.” “Less is more”. Keep your “progress” to yourself. When you achieve what you want, keep that and throw out the rest. Concentrate on what is ahead more than what is behind.

      A funny thing about names. Let’s say you were born with the first name of “Genius” (parents can be cruel sometime) and you are an artist and for obvious reasons hate your name and your work never sells. Then you change your name to “Beauty”. There is no guarantee your work will improve and/or sell, though you may now have a higher sense of self-esteem with your new name. Shakespeare (now there’s a name for you) said, “ a rose by any other name would still smell as sweet”. 
I do think others make judgments based on a name. Whatever prejudices you have pertaining to a name will carry over to the person with that name. Only after getting to know the person will your ideas of that name most likely change. If your name were truly unpronounceable, it would cause others problems repeating it, but would not necessarily cause you to be unhappy or maladjusted. Today there is this tendency to spell ordinary names in unusual ways to have them stand out. I see it two ways. One, it can be a weight around your neck having to explain the spelling every time you tell someone your name, or it can be a benefit by causing you to seem unique.  Many more complex social issues other than an unlikable name determine self-esteem or happiness or sadness.