I thought I'd share some things regarding my art.

I've been working on a couple of different projects, one of which is a Role Playing Game called "Wayfarers" by "Ye Olde Gaming Companye" You can check it out here: [link] They have a few art samples up, including one of my pieces. Looking at the samples it seems I'm in good company. Many talented artists are working on this project and it is scheduled to come out sometime this summer. I've had a lot of fun Illustrating for it and would love to take on projects like this more often.
Aside from this I am starting on a short Children's books about a girl and her dog. The author wants to self-publish, but she will be promoting it beginning this Fall. You should start seeing new pieces from this particular project in the next couple of weeks. I'm also doing a tiny project Illustrating a poem for a writer, and may be doing more than one Illustration if he is satisfied with the first one. I'm always bidding on something new so there may be more in the works in the near future. I've been taking it easy due to the home-life situation, looking for distractions, otherwise I'd probably find more to work on.

I've been listening to the Narnia Soundtrack and if you know it.. if you've heard that piece "The Battle",... holy hell! Harry Gregson-Williams has a way with music! I feel stupid saying it but as I sat here working on one of the projects this piece came on I sat up and I was like "Gimme some heads to chop!!! I'm ready!!!" I had to force myself to snap out of it. It tugs at my heart-strings.

As some of you may have read in my last journal from March... my family and I were going through some very serious troubles. I'm happy to announce that today I think those troubles are half-over! Not completely resolved, but today a step forward was definitely made.
Sometimes I'm afraid to celebrate these things because I fear that the catch is waiting right around the corner. I literally have nightmares about these things nearly every night since it happened. I've started to feel like the rug could be pulled from under my feet any week, day, hour or moment. I could be completely happy one minute and find myself dismayed the next. It's a terrible way to live, but that's the reality this situation created for us. If anything, I learned how to appreciate the brief moments of peace. Thank goodness for the love of my life. Without him I'm not sure I could have come this far and still kept a smile on my face (despite the expression on my new I.D. )

There is still some unfinished business to be taken care of. I highly regret procrastinating on it and I pray to all the Gods in the Universe that in the near or far future I won't be made to regret it more than I already do. If I had to do it all over again I would not have waited this long.... but of course... hindsight is 20/20.

Aside from that I have been working on a few Illustration assignments (I didn't upload most of them here) and I feel that my Illustration career is moving ahead at a good pace. It is still in it's infancy and more can be done but a start is a start! I made some first steps at the beginning of this year and they are paying off (literally). I'm not rich by any means but it pays some of those bills. I discovered that when you truly apply yourself and you have a steady goal in life you can definitely achieve everything you want to achieve. I'm enjoying it and it is keeping me quite busy. There are days when I work from morning until 2:00 AM but hell... at least I don't have to commute and I can do it while sipping my tea and sitting comfortably in front of the TV!
Of course thanks to my family troubles I do find myself very distracted from work sometimes. Stress can be a terrible creativity killer. I'm learning to cope with it.

I still can't spend a lot of time here with all of you but I try my best.
Again I want to thank all of you for keeping up with me and commenting on my recently-uploaded work even though I haven't been able to return the favor to most of you just yet. I really appreciate the advice, critiques and compliments.

I hope everyone is doing well, having fun, enjoying life.
Love you all! !!!

Guys and Girls,

I just want to let you know that I'm still around in one form or another. I'm sure you can tell by the evidence of my recent uploads.

I have a couple-hundred comments I haven't been able to get to yet. Without going into deep details my family and I are going through some rough times right now. Things will pass, things will get better, don't worry about me. It is not health-related, so at least some things may seem a relief.

Every now and then I find the time to reply or post something, but my free time is not predictable. I'm still looking out for your new works, I still fave or comment on a few pieces/journals, but they are few and far between. I apologize for being such a poor watcher lately but I'm sure you understand.
If and when everything is finally resolved I'll be back in full-force. Until then I'm afraid I'll have to appear and disappear like this from time to time. You've all been really wonderful so I want to thank you for commenting on my work and providing me with useful critiques.

I've met so many wonderful people here on D.A. I found many great friends and love among you and I can say with full confidence that I have never come across a better community of people on the web in all my years of surfing. Not only have you all provided me with endless inspiration and ideas, but also helped me improve my work and changed the way I look at art and life. I've watched many of you progress and grow as artists and it's been an awesome experience thus far. You're all a big help even if you don't know it, and I hope I can return the favor!

Thank you all so much.

Tagged by

The rules:
1. You have to post the rules
2. Every person tagged has to write 10 things about themselves
3. You have to write them in your journal
4. After that, tag 5 more people
5. Go to that person's page and tell them about it

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1.) I learned that having great love in your life is the most important, most beautiful and most satisfying thing in this world. Having that right person standing beside you (in body or spirit) can make even the end of the world seem insignificant.

2.) I'm a traveler to distant planets and galaxies, and I have six arms. There,.... I said it. Mercury is especially nice this time of year.

3.) I give in to peer pressure just to avoid the hassle of fighting it. If someone annoys me enough they'll get their way eventually.
- "Hey Jana,.. jump off the bridge with me. Please!!!!!! Come on!!! Do it!!!"
- "Alright, alright..... just please shut up already!"
I probably shouldn't tell you that.

4.) I have a terrible, debilitating addiction to drawing horses. (You didn't notice?)

5.) I hate the idea of having important responsibilities, but I'm happiest when I feel needed. I like the idea of somehow making a difference in the world. That's my goal. I'll make my mark dang it! Now if I could just figure out how to do it while sitting on the beach on a sunny Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday morning, and watching the waves crash against the rocks. --sigh-- I'll figure it out.

6.) I have a million brilliant ideas with about a 2% follow-through. If voicing ideas (including the bad ones) payed money, I'd be extremely rich.

7.) I have trouble understanding people who don't like being around animals.

8.) I love to read and to learn new things but I have trouble retaining most of the information. I know a little bit about everything yet not too much about anything. It's like trying to build a giant puzzle and losing half the pieces. Frustrating!

9.) When I was a kid I nearly suffocated in an antique and defunct refrigerator after I realized I couldn't open it from the inside. I was playing hide-and-go-seek with my cousin, thought it would be a great hiding place. I was right. She gave up looking for me. Miraculously my dad found me just in time, but it was a very close call.

10.) I want to see and experience the world (hopefully it's good side). I want to travel and see all the great historic places that shaped our society.

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Tagging:

I realize I have a lot of replies to catch up to, but I've actually been busy doing...... -wait for it- waiiiit for itttt-- work! Sorry! (hopefully I'll continue to be lucky enough do a lot of that for a while, but I definitely intend to get back to all of you when I can.)

I have a question for those of you who get/do commissions and maybe it's asking for your secrets, but I would very much like to know how much you charge for your work and how you determine a price. If you don't want to discuss it publicly, a note from you would be wonderful....please!!!

I've read all kinds of books on pricing art, I've calculated the time it takes me to make something, the trouble it will cause, the difficulty or easy-goingness of the client... but I'm still not quite confident about quoting prices. I don't know if I'm asking too much or too little. My prices sound reasonable to me since I know how much time I spend on something, but sometimes people make me doubt myself and I start wondering.... "Am I charging too much??? Do I think too much of myself???"

I know we've been over this before but I just think that "outsiders" have no idea what it takes to make a great drawing or a great painting. Truth is that if I'm creating art for a living I need to make enough to cover all sorts of expenses. Therefore I'll determine a per hour charge based on my skills just like most professions would and I go from there. Sometimes when someone asks me how much I charge for a portrait for instance I think to myself -size, materials, hours, detail-. I then enter it into my nifty calculator and come up with a price. Sometimes the price looks about right, and sometimes it blows me away. I think to myself "No one's going to pay that much for this even though it is a lot of work".

Am I thinking this because I'm used to people wanting things for free? Too many people out there assume that since art is so much"fun" for me, it must be a privilege to want to draw something for them. Or am I thinking this because I overprice myself? I just can't tell!!!! That's where you come in. This is why I'd like to know how you do it.

Though I asked my question already, I need to rant on. It bothers me that so many people out there would love to have a beautiful custom painting hanging on their wall, but they wrinkle their noses when you tell them how much you expect from them. If I sit there for two weeks painting.... having no time for anything else..... how do they expect me to live??? I need food, shelter, clothing.... all the things they need too. Just like they, I can't sit on my ass for two weeks for $200.00 (hypothetical price) So then another question. Let's say I agree to such a silly price.... should they budge on the deadline? I guess if I had two months to work on it I could fit other things in as well on the side in the meantime.
Why do so many artists go unappreciated for their skills, work and talents?? It took us a lifetime to get where we are today. It's not something you wake up with, and oftentimes it's not something just anyone can learn to do, no matter how long they attend school for this. It drives me crazy. It drives me especially crazy when talented people practically (and sometimes literally) give their work away for free.

Oh.. and then there are the people you know don't have a lot of money, but you want to be nice and budge on the price for them. I'm all about making people happy, but where does the charity end??? I wish mechanics and doctors felt charitable toward me when something goes wrong. That would be nice.

Don't pay attention to me. I'm just bitter because I didn't become a doctor instead.
I guess art is just one of those professions that isn't vital to man's day-to-day survival. Don't worry, my brain is working on solutions to my dilemma. I'll figure out some genius plan or scheme and that's when the world shall tremble before me!!! I'll make them pay!!!! -literally-

Of course I have more to say, but I really need to get back to work now.