Struggling a bit...

Hi everyone, 

I wanted to write a little post to apologise, as I don't think I will be able to paint this month's piece and create the Process PDF in time. 

I am really struggling quite a bit more than I had anticipated, between packing all my stuff on my own, and working at the same time. The chaotic state of my living space has really impacted my ability to focus and concentrate, and tasks I usually love doing, like painting and sketching, have proven trickier to perform in this context. Therefore, I have been focusing on sorting my space out first, packing as much as I can, and trying to organise the chaos as well as I could, in the hopes that I will have a few days before I move where I don't have to worry about that anymore, and can focus on doing some more productive work.
Add to that that I am still not as recovered from being ill as I had hoped, resulting in me having to take breaks every 15 mins to breathe and rest, having to nap every so often lest I get extremely tired and light headed, and coughing my lungs out at regular intervals. Fun times. 

On the plus side, after 5 days of intensive packing, I am nearly done with it, so my room, while eerily empty of its normal homely features but filled with Tetris-like towers of boxes, feels a little less overwhelming to work in.

I have started working on the painting, as some of you may have seen in my Lenses, but put that on hold for a couple of days while I sorted my space out. I will have a WIP update for you next week with where I am with the piece. 

I am also working on a few posts that I will schedule to upload while I'm moving, as I am loathe to leave you without any content for 2 weeks. 

If you want to know a quick breakdown of my timeline :
I am moving in 4 days, will have a couple of days to unpack, and deal with a bunch of furniture deliveries and installation of utilities, then I have a wedding on the week end of the 4th (my third one this year), and then am helping my boyfriend move in the next week. 

The consequences of all this will mainly be that I won't have the piece and process PDF for July in...July, but in August instead. So you should get two paintings and two pdfs in August. And like last month, anyone who was pledging at the tiers with those rewards ($5+) and had to lower their pledge or leave us altogether and didn't get their July reward, will get an email with the PDF.

$20+ Peeps!
This also means that your physical prints will be sent a bit later this month, once I have finished the painting, if that's ok?
If you'd rather have your piece earlier,  do get in touch, and I would be happy to send you a print of a piece of your choice instead, as an apology for the delay this month. 

PS : $20 peeps don't forget to vote for your postcard design for this month (here), and all patrons, don't forget that you can still vote for our next sticker design (here)!

I know that most of you are really very lovely and understanding, and don't mind the delays at all, and I thank you so much for that, as well as all your encouraging words on my latest posts and words of wisdom telling me to take breaks and not be too hard on myself, and I know you might not think this post and apology necessary, as you have said in the past.
However, I do prefer being transparent with all of you, and I want to be as professional and respectful of your time and money as I possibly can, and that involves letting you know exactly what is going on, and making sure I uphold my end of the deal, and if not, that you always know why, and offering you whatever I can to compensate in the meantime. 

As always, thank you for sticking with me.
I am looking forward to being settled in my new place and finally going back to a more normal and reasonable schedule!

Have a wonderful week-end, 

Myriam