I was born with arthrogryposis, a birth defect that leaves me with little use of my arms and legs. Like any other child, I liked to color and draw - I just did it with my mouth. That got me a lot of attention, and the thing that kids love most is attention, so I drew all the time. If you do something long enough, over time, you start to get good at it.

That's how I started.

Make Art Do Crime details my life as a street artist, drawing with my mouth for crowds of tourists on the Las Vegas Strip. I don't charge a set price, and I don't even need a patron to want me to draw them to make my living. I just put out a tip jar and start drawing any random celebrity or popular character and people will watch and tip. If they ask me to draw them, I do, and I thank them for whatever they put in the jar. I get far more in crowd tips than I do from those I draw, so even if they don't tip very much, it all balances out in the end. I've learned to trust in the generosity of strangers.

Not everyone wants me out there, though, and over several years I was ticketed at least ten times by police, threatened with arrest dozens more, and had my table confiscated twice, all for "obstructing the sidewalk", even though what I do is protected by the first amendment, as is the use of a table in first amendment free expression. I had to sue in federal court to finally get them to leave me alone, and this book tells that story, and features new, original art of many celebrities that have been a staple of my work on the Strip.

You can even get the original art made for this book.

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