A Note about Commissions

Hey all,

I've been asked several times over the last few months about commissions, specifically if I'd be opening them up anytime soon.

I had originally planned on taking on commission work last fall, as I'm largely the most productive over that season heading into winter.  I've had a bunch of different things come up that put a pause on that which I won't really get into.

Recently I've been dealing with 'the day job' more and more, and its actually started taking a toll on my mental health that I didn't even know existed before, which is why I kept dropping into a 'funk' seemingly every other day.

My work is as a caregiver for an elderly person, who's health has been degrading slowly, as it always does, but also because of a major event that changed their (and my) life in the not so distant past.  Its not a job that I'm ever on vacation from.  I literally cannot be.  I'm on call 24/7 and I'd like to note here that no, it is not a burden at all.

However with some recent events, including two very dear friends of the family passing away, and a third who is showing clear signs of either Alzheimer's or Dementia I started having some health problems that came surging up.  This meant my work started to suffer, as well as my ability to sit and focus on unwinding while doing art.  It meant time became less of an open thing.

After talking with a couple professionals, describing what was going on with me, they both did the 'Ah, You might be going through 'Compassion Syndrome' which I admit didn't even realize was a diagnose-able state.  And as far as things stand now, it seems it is a factor.

So what does all of this rambling mean?  Well, I'm lucky in one aspect, it hasn't really affected my ability to do art.  In fact the art has been a saving grace, giving me a head-space to untangle all sorts of thoughts and stress.  Hence the uptick here in sketches over the last couple of months.  And as far as I can tell it's not hampering my ability beyond just being too tired to be creative some days.

However it sadly means I can't take on extra work right now, at least until I get this whole thing sorted, get some help, and get my feet under me.  I can't promise any kind of deadline on being able to do commissions in the very near future.  I've actually had to turn down a fun sounding project about a month ago because the thought of taking it on nearly put me in an anxiety attack (Something I haven't suffered from in quite some time!).  

Its a bit of an annoying state to be in, because more than ever I feel a bit more confident in what I draw and think I could definitely take on some work, but the other end of the spectrum is that I don't want to be one of those artists who takes on work, and then makes a client wait for _years_ for a commission.  (That honestly drives me crazy when I see other's noting that.  I think people are really too kind when they wait that long on a single picture.)

As it stands, I can't take any commission work on for now.  I regret it.  I'm even sorry for delaying everything for so long.  You all have a lot of fun characters and ideas I wouldn't mind trying to draw out and paint.  I will be able to 'someday' but as I'm at the beginning of understanding this whole new 'brain thing' I can't even predict a rough timeline of when I'll be able to do outside work again.

I'll keep drawing though.  And I'm happy to share all the art I do with you all, and I'm happy to keep doing monthly sketches for the list as well!  The sketches are a good middle-ground, allowing me enough freedom not to have to spend a month on one image, but keeping me sharp enough to draw other people's ideas and characters.  I'm so grateful for that I can't even put it into words.

Apologies for the long-winded post about this, but as the people on Patreon are the ones who tend to get first crack at commission slots when they open, I wanted to fill you all in on what was going on, and why it was taking so long for me to get into gear.  When I get back into my stride and can promise a good turn-around for work, I'll certainly post to the list of interested folks for sure.

-T.J.