Postal strike, goodbye Etsy, hello Ko-fi
There has been so many surprises over the last year, I’m weary of them now. Another surprise is just how much Etsy makes off each sale.
Before the move, I was selling things so rapidly it wasn't easy to keep track of the hidden fees. I’d had my shop for years. I ignored the fees, figured they balanced out in the end. I was selling and paying bills after all, and that was the goal.
I moved locations, eventually reopened my Etsy shop, and had my first sale. One sale meant it was very easy to see how much Etsy took in fees. Every deduction from Etsy was just on that one solitary sale.
Drawing at the new place/image heavy**
I hummed and hawwed for days over what to start drawing. The stacks of boxes and work to be done made it hard to focus to do anything else.
This was going to be Optimus playing piano, with some care bears doing a carebear stare to cheer me up. When in doubt for what to draw during art block, comfort characters always help.
Art school memories & a pleasant surprise.
In a boomer voice “when I was your age I had to take two city busses to get from one side of Oakville to the other side to get to Sheridan. I would be carrying a backpack full of paint on my shoulders, this giant heavy portfolio in one hand, AND a toolbox in my other hand. My toolbox kept all my artist tools in it, rulers, markers, paintbrushes. This is what traditional artists had to do. And living in Canada meant I was dragging the portfolio through blizzards, sometimes the rain and snow we experienced during our commuting fucked our art up. I’d have to walk a mile in the sleet snow to the school doorsteps.-”
So it’s goodbye old friend. You bring me more “ehhhhhh” memories than good memories
There are no mistakes, just happy accidents.
Sometimes I have a vision in my head that I haven’t actually practised much on paper. I'm nostalgic for the 1970’s psychedelic album art/landscape art. The whimsy of the stars and the way the lines flow, intrigues me. As I was bringing it to life here in a Cosmos x Soundwave illustration, I found it needed more forethought than I was used to giving my art.
A visual timeline: how I explored color from 2017-2019.
For the new people around here that don't know of my early tumblr days and how much my art has visually changed since 2017. You can actually see the points in time when I started having fun with art and color again.
Executive dysfunction & trolling under the bridge.
Feeling under the weather, making videos and loving graffiti.
Nearing the end of an era.
All up in my face, that's where Ronon likes to be the most.
Talking about pending pup death.
Revisiting old ideas & more of the art I don't share on social media.
An endless discussion of the pros and cons of sharing art on social media.
And what I benefit from, by not sharing some art.
Artists without networks and the barriers we face.
It was the strawberry full moon magic that made me type out way too much here. Talking about disabled artists without networking, and some examples of how networking continues my art journey.
NESS-HULK GONNA SMASH the class barriers.
Getting Renovicted.
Being forced to move so the landlord can sell this place while the market is hot. It’s “just” one of their four extra income houses. Can I afford to buy this place? Not at the current market which is thousands over its actual worth.
Gotta move, Times are tough as shit.
Let your soul sing loud & proud
I really don't get excited like that to illustrate anything these days honestly. And it caught me off guard, this burning need to draw these plants and furniture. My soul was singing real loud, everything inside of me vibed with this kind of art in a way that I'm mindful of. I think I'll draw some more rooms with plants again, see how my soul.reacts that time. And to take note if things start gaining traction, if anything shows a green light to pursue that path of illustrating rooms with plants in them.
Sometimes it's just a one time drawing need, never to be revisited again. But like I said, my desire to finish this over everything else, even sleeping (which I love to do) made me realise maybe this piece means more than the others do. Something is different here.
What do you draw for your daily practise? Q & A.
Having survived the incredibly humbling experience that it was to start making art again in my 30s. Especially after quitting art for so long…it makes me want to share my story. I hope it helps other former artists, make their way back to creating art again.
I go on artist message boards across the internet and when I feel compelled to, I will share some of my experiences. Sometimes people relate, and they ask me for more details. I had some great feedback on my latest response, so I felt it's good to share here too.