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Friday, November 13, 2015

Homeless Man Panhandles for Money, Buys Art Supplies, Begins Selling Paintings

Jon Masters is homeless. But that may end very soon.
In September, he begged for money by a road in Pensacola, Florida. He collected $40. With that, he purchased art supplies. He began painting landscapes, then selling them by the side of the road. Each one goes for about $25-40. You can find an online gallery of his work here.
Masters and his dog, Sheba, still live outdoors for now. But as Masters's fame and income rise, he's embracing new opportunities. USA Today (warning: auto-start video) reports:
On Tuesday, Daniel Dugan, organizer of the weekly Gulf Breeze Farmers Market, picked Masters up and drove him out to Gulf Breeze Community Center, where a covered booth awaited the artist. But first, with a little extra money in his pocket from a few sales, he went and purchased a new shirt and jeans. He has been wearing his previous outfit, splattered with paint, since his release.
"Don't I look fancy?" he asked with a smile, sitting under the covered booth tent at the market. "I'm hoity-toity now."
Dugan, who operates three farmers markets in Northwest Florida, said he hopes more homeless people follow Masters' lead.
"I saw the PNJ article and I was impressed and inspired and had the ability to offer him some space," he said. "That's what we want to do. If one person can inspire our homeless population, that is what we need. He's doing it right. He knocked on the door and it got opened." 
You can watch him at work in this video. He talks a lot like Bob Ross, saying things such as "There's no mistakes in art. All it is is just telling you that you'll have to do something a little different."

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