Guy is creating Art
I love to create but sometimes need motivation. Knowing there are people who love my work and support it helps immensely.
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$23
Milestone Goals
If you pledge $1 per month, you'll have my undying gratitude and the knowledge that you've helped another human being.
As a Patron, you'll get exclusive content that only Patrons see: sketches, in progress pics, larger file sizes, etc..
You'll get a nice sized digital image file of an artwork.
If you pledge $3 per artwork created, I'll send you a large format digital file of one piece of your choice per month for as long as you continue to be my patron. I scan every image I create, but the images I use to promote myself are rather small, made for the internet. I'll send you a file that's over 2000 pixels wide, often as large as 4000 pixels or more, depending on the size of the original. You can use it to make your own poster or even print on a postcard or something (as long as you promise not to mass-produce and sell them!). If you've been online long enough, you know that web images are usually too small to use for print. With the larger image you'll receive, you can take it to a print service like the ones a Staples and create a print suitable for framing.
I'll send you a physical printed copy of one artwork of your choice per month.
If you pledge $5 per artwork created, instead of sending a digital file, I'll have an image of your choice printed and shipped to you, suitable for framing. I'm limiting this to paper. Giclees, or canvas prints may be offered later. This print will be at least 8" x 10", provided the original is large enough for that, but no larger than 16" x 20". Limit one print per month.
You'll get a monthly package of artwork delivered to your door.
If you pledge $10 per artwork, YOU'RE AWESOME! As a way of saying thank you, I'll send you a loot box of printed artwork once a month. These could be postage stamps with my art on them, printed postcards or greeting cards, stickers, or maybe a poster or two.
Location
Melbourne, FL, USA
Top PatronsSee all 3
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I am an artist.
I create art. Lots of different kinds of art. The hard part about creating art is getting it seen. While I love creating it for its own sake, it means so much more if I know I touch others with it. What good is making beautiful things if no one sees it, or if you can never tell whether or not people enjoy seeing it as much as I enjoy making it. It's like making music. It's so much more fulfilling playing for others than just playing for yourself.
That's where the problem of motivation enters the picture. Knowing there are people supporting me, waiting for more stuff from me motivates me to create more. Like most artists, aside from making money doing what we love, we also want to show the world what we create and hopefully attain some sort of fame for it. This is also part of the deal with Patreon. To boost the signal and get my stuff to new eyes.
I'm still getting the hang of this Patreon thing.
One of my long-term goals is to be able to live off of my art. To pay my bills and have food and a roof (or at least KEEP my roof).
Short-term goals are fairly numerous. Primarily I'd like to be able to afford the paint I use to create. A single, small tube of Cadmium Red or Yellow goes for about $14 if you buy the cheaper varieties. A good brush will set you back about the same. I've gotten to the point where I can paint an entire piece with just three colors and white, just like they taught us in that first art class. The Primaries: Red, Blue and Yellow, though often for the sake of skin tones, I substitute a bright orange for yellow.
The goal is not to limit my palette for financial reasons. To not limit the size of the canvas I paint on because I can't afford that much paint or too large a canvas. I would LOVE to paint epic sized works, but the initial costs of doing so, with no guarantee of return is not possible right now. That's where you guys come in. That's what a Patron is.
How did Michelangelo eat?
For the most part, artists from the age of the Renaissance up until the Industrial Revolution didn't get paid per piece, they made a living through the patronage of a wealthy donor. Artists would often take commissions or teach students to supplement their income, but the day-to-day expenses of just living were covered by the generosity of their patrons.
Now the Emotional Bribery!
Not really.
I am a cancer survivor (so far). In 2011 I was diagnosed with Head and Neck Cancer. That's the official type of cancer I had. Technically, I had Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the right tonsil. The resulting surgery and treatment. Radical Neck Dissection with Pec Flap Procedure. Do not Google unless you have a strong stomach. I also had 35 sessions of radiation and 3 sessions of chemo. The resulting side effects of all three are significant but manageable. Unfortunately, cancer also gave me an autoimmune disease: Dermatomyositis. There are treatments available (pricey meds) but there is no cure (yet!). Essentially, my immune system sees my own muscle tissue as "alien" or foreign and does it's best to destroy it. Muscle tissue is attacked, destroyed and replaced by calcium deposits and connective tissue. It was about 3 months before I finally got a diagnosis and in that time I went from feeling perfectly fine, to not being able to lift my arms or get out of bed easily. If I fell, my legs weren't strong enough to get up again and my arms weren't strong enough to pull me up.
Once diagnosed and on the right meds those issues went away, but the damage was already done and my muscle mass is significantly less in my shoulders, arms, legs and especially my neck, which was already having issues from the cancer surgery. I can't lift my head off of my pillow without using my own arm to pull my head up. Frustrating is too mild a word for how this makes you feel day in and day out.
The problem is that once the muscle is destroyed and replaced, it doesn't come back. It's been replaced. I can exercise the muscle that's still there, but what's gone is gone. The end result of not getting treatment or even a lifetime of flare-ups is that eventually I could end up wheelchair-bound or worse.
All these words are not to make you feel sorry for me, but to help you understand my predicament. I lost my job when I was diagnosed in 2013 and I haven't been able to get back to work since. Barring some sort of miracle where hiring me doesn't seem like a gamble to an employer, I'm forced to rely on my own resourcefulness. This is why Patreon is a blessing for me, and my Patrons, saints. It isn't going to earn me enough to live on, (it could, but that's a long-term goal) but it does supplement my freelance and commission work. Prescriptions aren't cheap, even with insurance (which also isn't cheap!)
SO
I know. Everyone has a story. Mine is not nearly as rough as many, but now you know it and maybe my griping helps you understand why I'm here, more than just the wish to get paid to make pretty pictures. "Help me, Obiwans, you my only hope!"
Nah, but you'd definitely kick ass if you drop a pledge on me.