There's a performance myth: the master arrives fully formed, never hesitates, never wastes paint. Reality is messier. Streaming and posting compress that reality into something people can watch — which means they also watch you learn. I signed work as EPII and Gene in 1991; I'm still learning in public in 2026 on live and this site.

Mistakes become episodes, not verdicts

When a color mix dies on camera, it's tempting to apologize like I've committed a crime. I'm practicing treating errors as data: what didn't work, what I'll try next. The audience that stays usually roots for the retry. Building Mushy-Lisa on stream would have been unbearable if every papier-mâché layer had to look heroic. Some days the stem looked like a craft-store explosion. That's the real episode.

Comments are optional curriculum

Some viewers know more than I do about a tool or pigment. Some confuse confidence with correctness. I take what's useful, ignore what's cruel, and remember I'm not obligated to debate my existence while mixing medium. The Misfit Collective helps — members who show up regularly tend to know the tone of the room. Free membership, screen name on the viewer list when you're watching — it makes chat feel like people, not drive-by noise.

Expertise is a moving horizon

I'd rather model curiosity than fake completion. The site, the stream, the shop, the Troy gallery opening August 14 — they're all drafts in different fonts. Articles like this one are drafts too. I expanded them with more specific stories because a portfolio shouldn't only be thumbnails.

Why bother being visible

Learning in public is vulnerable; it's also how I keep from fossilizing. If you're in the Capital Region and you make things, you don't need a perfect brand — you need a room. Join a live session sometime. Ask a question. Tell me I'm wrong if I am — we'll laugh and adjust.

Documentation as generosity

Every photo in the gallery albums is a form of teaching — not a lecture, a receipt. This is what it looked like when the cap didn't fit yet; this is resin under the canopy; this is the rifle before paint. If you're younger than me and trying to figure out how to build a life around making things, I want you to have more than a highlight reel. That's why the articles got longer too. Specific beats impressive.