Financial Milestone + My work/daily routine

I'll be honest, I don't quite know how to start this post. 

It's going to be a big one peeps, I hope you don't mind. <3

This is mainly a post to say thank you. Patreon is a difficult thing for me, because I feel very very strange expecting people to support me in this way. And it blows my mind that it is actually working.

Last month, May, my birthday month, I managed to earn enough to pay my rent, all my bills, and a tiny bit on top of that. How absolutely crazy is that?
It was a combination of Patreon, Youtube (my main two sources of income at the moment), normal shop orders and the sale, and selling a couple of original paintings (Thank you Arleesha and Kiefer!!!). 

Being able to cover my rent alone was a tremendous milestone.
It is by far my biggest expense every month, and it isn't even that expensive for London! In fact, it is quite cheap...for London...
I pay £564 ($753) in rent for a double room in a house I share with 5 other people, with no living room and a leaky roof, on the outskirts of the city. (I do hope to be able to move out of London one day not too far in the future, because I am so sick of my money disappearing into accommodation that is tiny at best and falling apart at worst.)

I then have a bunch of bills on top of that, with the biggest one being my car insurance at £100 ($135) a month. Because London. My Skillshare Ambassador income actually kind of covered that in May, which again, damn amazing.

So you see, Patreon is at the moment covering a little under half of my rent! That is insane! I can't even start to tell you how ridiculously grateful I am to all of you!

And by the way, this is in no way meant to guilt trip you into pledging further or more, I have savings to keep me out of trouble when I don't earn enough to cover everything, and if worse comes to worse, I can go back into makeup for a bit (I'd rather not because it takes up so much of my time that my art would be paused completely for a bit, but it is an option if I really need to!).
This is 200% a post to thank you for all the support you have given me up to now, and whether you decide to stay with me a little longer, or want to leave next month, I will always, always, be massively grateful for your appreciation. 

I really wanted to be transparent about where your money goes.
You are allowing me to stress less about my financial situation, which leads to me being able to create more and more art, and basically be an artist full-time. And we all know that any extra money I get is going immediately into art supplies, hahaha. I have you all to credit for being able to paint all day today, being able to work on that show, being able to film Youtube videos, being able to put tutorials together.....It's all thanks to you.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you....

I hope this post gave you a somewhat interesting insight into what Patreon does for me, and how much you guys all help me. And that is without talking about your kindness, and your comments, and your general loveliness, that keeps spurring me on to work harder and create more! My mental health is also benefiting tremendously for having you all around :). 

I like to think of myself as a fairly organised person...(We'll see if my boyfriend agrees once we move in together, haha.)
Or at least, I know I need to at least feel organised to keep my anxiety under control. Feeling like my brain is overrun by stuff to do, and like there is no order in there, will contribute like nothing else to making me stressed and overwhelmed.
You'd think that would mean I try to limit the number of things I am doing at any one time, or the number of projects I am involved in, at least for sanity's sake. But oooohhh boy do I suck at not having a million things planned and on the go! It's my strange personal contradiction...I love feeling very busy!

Therefore, I have a fairly well structured daily and weekly routine, that helps me keep track of what I have to do, and, while not soothing my anxiety completely, keeps it at bay. More or less.

My tasks are generally 70% admin and 30%...everything else...including art...
My admin consists of things I have to work on and update almost daily :

 ♦ Youtube : recording, editing footage, doing voiceovers, uploading, keeping up with comments, promoting each video....Add sponsorships on top of that whenever I get some, which are great but very labour-intensive.
♦  Instagram : which requires regular updates and posts in order to keep growing and keep my following interested and engaged, replying to comments, DMs, uploading stories daily if possible (especially if I'm not posting on my feed)...
♦  My shop and orders : I'm not overrun with orders yet, I only get about a couple every week, pretty consistently, but printing and packaging orders takes a while, plus I have to stay on top of stock, upload new work when I have some...I also have a Redbubble shop, that is going a bit derelict but to which I need to tend to more regularly.
I need to check on inventory for any supply I use regularly and order more when needed, or search for better options if necessary.
♦  Emails : Like any business, especially online ones, I get those every day, most of them junk, some of them not. I try to reply to every inquiry and questions from followers and subscribers, attend to any customer and client issues if any (rare, thankfully), reply to any company that gets in touch...etc...
♦  Other social media platforms : like Tumblr, Deviantart, Facebook and Artstation, on which I am not as active, but still maintain, as I want backups if Instagram goes awry, plus, it diversifies my audience. I regularly submit my work to Deviantart groups and Tumblr art blogs. I also regularly scour the internet for interesting competitions, magazines and galleries open to submissions...etc...
♦ Skillshare (soon) : I am hoping to start uploading courses to Skillshare, my Hands tutorial will be one of them, and perhaps a Gouache one, for now at least (those courses will be available on Patreon also). Putting courses together takes a long time and a lot of work, especially as I like being extremely thorough in my research, and as comprehensive as I can. 

I used to want to get all the admin out of the way at the beginning of the week, and dedicate a day or two to it, in the hopes that I would have a clear head to make art for the remainder of the week.
I was so innocent back then, thinking that there was ever an end to admin...
I would get so stressed about doing all my tasks, but also about the fact that I wasn't getting any art done!

So now, my days are structured like this :

I usually get up around 8am (I wish I was one of those people that can get up really early...I tried....So much....I'm not......I can function fine if I have to, but I get increasingly more tired as the week goes by, and tired me is a very anxious and emotional me, which is not the greatest for efficient productivity. I used to have to get up crazy early when I did film work, so I got a good insight in how lack of sleep is just not for me. So now, I sleep.)
I have breakfast while I start work, usually replying to emails and Patreon comments and messages. I use my morning, from 8am to 1pm to do any admin I can fit in.
I have lunch from 1pm to 2pm.
I love cooking and I love good food, so it's usually the one thing I splurge on when I shop. I almost never go out, buy clothes or beauty products, go to the cinema...etc...I have almost no subscriptions to anything, although I recently subscribed to Audible, because I love listening to a good book while I paint. Basically, I rarely spend money on anything not necessary, because I just can't afford it yet, especially in London. So food is how I treat myself.
The afternoons are for art.
I usually try to fit in some warm-up work, like life-drawing sessions with Croquis Cafe, and a portrait painting, but lately, I have had so little time to paint, that practice has gone a little out of the window, and I am trying to focus on getting some paintings and original concepts done.
Part of the reason for that is that I need to build up a good portfolio of work to start submitting it to galleries, publishers, collectives...etc...I need more work on my website, and greater consistency in my style.
And, every piece I produce is also a new Youtube video, and new prints in the shop. It sounds depressingly capitalistic, but it's the dark side of having your own business I suppose. I try to be as efficient as possible.
But mainly...practice is great and I miss it, but come on.....Nothing is more fun than doing your own work :). I am slowly feeling more and more like I'm finding my voice, and it is the best and most exciting feeling, and all I want to do really is explore that, and create piece after piece after piece!

I usually paint/draw until 4 or 5pm, at which point I try to do some sort of exercise for 20 mins to half an hour. I either run for a bit (I have a treadmill), or do some HIIT workout (with apps on my phone), or do a yoga session ( I LOVE Yoga with Adrienne on Youtube). I don't take the time to do this as often as I should, but I am getting better at fitting it in, so I'd say that happens around 3 times a week.

Then back to work, and then I eat around 7 or 8pm. Usually something light, in front of a Youtube video or TV-Show (I've been watching the last season of the Handmaid's Tale, and it is breaking me apart!).
If I have any energy left, I sketch or I work on some more admin. Apart from how much time it takes away from making art, I don't actually mind admin. I like the feeling of being able to cross something off of my to-do list, it makes me feel productive and a bit more relaxed. And apart from doing my taxes or ordering stock, I actually enjoy most of the admin I have to do, I like putting together Patreon posts and Youtube videos, and replying to my followers, and packaging orders. It's just a pity it all takes up so much of my drawing time, that is the downside. But at least I don't find it unpleasant to do!
I usually go to bed around 10pm (ideally), and then read or, recently, do some Sudoku, until about 1130-12pm. I'm not good at getting up early, and I'm no good at going to bed early either apparently...

I usually try to get my Youtube video of the week edited early in the week, and the voiceover done not too last minute, so that I can at least cross that off my list, as it is a big task every week.
Saturdays are for packaging orders, and I send them either that day or on the Monday after.
I then usually head over to my boyfriend's on the other side of London on the Saturday evening, and stay at his until the Monday morning.

My weeks are always ram packed, and I do a to-do list at the beginning of each, that I cross off with a big black marker to make myself feel productive, haha. 

That's it for my days! As my career progresses, I am getting into a bit more of a rhythm, and am adapting and moulding my routine to my needs and way of working. I'm getting to know myself better, and am learning to manage my time and task efficiently and productively. It's an interesting process. I have been freelance for most of my adult life, so I'm thankful for that previous experience, which is allowing me to adapt better to this new career choice.
I hope this was somewhat insightful!

As I mentioned in my latest Update post, my summer is looking to be incredibly busy this year!

Here's a little run down of what will be happening, if you are interested!

♦ Sponsored Videos : Skillshare got in touch and asked if they could run another series of sponsored videos on my channel, so I will be putting up a video a month sponsored by Skillshare, one in June, July and August. Sponsored video require somewhat more work than regular videos, especially as I need to have them done a bit earlier than the release date, for review by the sponsor. I have to come up with concepts that seem to fit the company or service, and will hopefully be successful enough that the sponsor will want to support me again in the future. I have chosen to do my videos about online art resources (for which I will also be doing a Patreon master-post for you all), my sketching routine, and exercises to practice anatomy. These concepts all require more than just a timelapse (which are already time-consuming in themselves), and a bunch of research, as, as always, I like to be thorough and release good quality content.

♦ Gallery Show : If the gallery show in October goes ahead, I will also have that to work on. It will require me to paint between 5 and 10 10x14 pieces, for a mid-September deadline, that will then need to be sent to Florida, for a month-long October show. I need to come up with over 5 concepts, and then do sketches, colour-comps, paint them...etc.....
A piece generally takes me around 3 to 4 days to finalise, so let's say I manage a painting a week (optimistic, given how much stuff I have to do next to that), I'd manage maybe 8 paintings by September. I won't be able to do a painting a week, so 5 is my goal for the moment, if I start now. If I manage to make more, then good, if not, I won't beat myself up about it.

 ♦ Wedding :  My cousin is getting married in Tuscany, Italy, mid-July, so i will be away for about 5 days for that. I'm excited about going to Italy and seeing her get married, but I'll be honest, it is damn expensive, and worrying me a bit. I am flying back a day later than the dates of the wedding though, because the difference in flight prices was....unbelievable, from one day to the other, so I will have an extra night in Pisa on my own, which I am really looking forward to! It'll be like a teeny break, and I suspect Pisa in July is gorgeous...I hope I'll have time to sneak some painting in. ;)

 ♦ Moving :  This summer is also quite a big milestone in my personal life, as I will be moving in with my boyfriend of 2 years at the end of July. That means that we are actively looking for a flat at the moment, and since his lease in his current flat ends at the beginning of August, that will also be the time we will be moving into our new place.
I'll be honest, I am not looking forward to packing! I have a LOT of stuff! (90% work things!).
This is quite a terrifying prospect for me, as I have been on my own for over 8 years now, and although I have lived in shared houses all this time, one does get used to a certain type of independence. This will be a big change!
I will also be leaving a room/studio that I LOVE, because of its big size, and massive windows all round that give onto a beautiful garden full of flowers and wildlife, which does make me somewhat sad. However, I am also leaving a house in which I live with 5 other people, which, no matter how nice they are, is just...too much. Especially after 8 years of housesharing (not with the same people). The house is also seriously falling apart, and our estate agent is...shady at best. So that's a good thing. Plus, ya know, living with the person I love. Pretty big Plus.
And we are looking for a two bedroom flat, which should be lovely, if we manage to find a place that has decent sized bedrooms, as one of them will be my studio. The flat will mean my rent will go up considerably, which is terrifying, considering I barely earn enough to pay it where I currently am (I rely on my savings to fill in the gaps), but I'm working hard at making that change for the better, and you guys are such a massive part of that. 

And then on top of that, well, I have all the other things I usually have to do too...

My boyfriend and I are hoping to make a quick escape to the sea for a couple of days before all the moving craziness, which I would love, and would help me prepare for the onslaught of busy. There is something about being able to swim in the sea...

And on this note, I think this is all for me for now!

I hope this post was interesting to all of you, as always, I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!

Love you all, 

Take good care of yourselves,

Myriam