Greetings everyone, I am a professional fine artist with 36 years of exhibition experience and 28 years of university and college level teaching experience. My name is Carlos Ramos. My life has been a nightmare! While conducting scholarly research and academic inquiry for both my MFA thesis and MFA Exhibition, I was reported to the authorities by a cleaning lady recently hired from a cleaning agency that I had been paying for regular cleaning for nine months. I am a law abiding man never having been in trouble. My time is spent with students, volunteering within my community and donating to several charities. I also served 9 post 9-11-2001 years in uniform as an Army Reserves Officer and among several other duties, I helped battle Southern California and San Diego wildfires and was mobilized to Operation Gulf States Relief (Katrina.) My proposed artwork imagery situates middle to high school aged students of our current 2016 era together with famous American and foreign historical figures early in our nations settlement, its founding and its development. Important to mention is my unique opportunity to illustrate book covers for a popular, award winning and beloved Los Angeles based female author who writes middle to high school age level books for girls. I submitted my work for her book and it was well received by Putnam Publishers: Putnams critique was that my work was "...charming but your girls look too adult." I accepted this criticism as indication that they would like that me to submit my art work again. My experience painting the mature human figure spans 44 years. But, I have not spent a single day studying younger subjects. In efforts to have my artwork considered further, I began to study kids that can be found on the internet from various countries and cultures and printed some out to help me draw and paint young persons with accuracy. My house keeper thought that the sketches and images of kids was kid pornography and I have been charged with possession of child pornography! This is completely wrong and my life has been turned upside down. My post graduate studies have ground to a halt and all my tuition money and then some, has gone towards my legal defense. Though I have already paid $30,000.00, I need to raise another $30,000.00 for further legal defense. It is difficult for me to raise this second tier of funds alone and I truly need your help to assist me. I believe that with my solid evidence that the charges will be dropped. This case was thrown out of court on August 26, 2015 but the District Attorney re-filed the case. Again, I have lived a stellar and fortunate life with not so much as a "fix-it" ticket much less pornography and a criminal record. This is the most important art project I have ever embarked upon and I will need the help of many people to assist in my defense of what are frightening, but very serious charges. If I and my witnesses can testify, I know that I will win the case. I will love to finish my artwork and receive the MFA. I sincerely thank you for reading this and for your help.
Carlos Ramos
