Selling Things

I am very tired today, but I'm feeling much better, at least. I can breathe quite easily and painlessly now, which is definitely a boon after the last few days. I've gotten too far behind on work, though--I've been sleeping entirely too much. I got two new sketches done for Misguided Games last night, and I'm going to start painting those as soon as I've got approval from the art director. Even before that, though, I simply must finish that commission I've been farting about with all this time. Tonight. I'll get that done tonight. Yesterday, I redid the background in green, yellow, and red. I had done it in purple and blue before, but I don't like purple and blue. I wasn't satisfied with purple and blue, or with anything else about it. I hate to turn out sloppy work on commissions. If it's just another rat painting for my own entertainment, the occasional slipshod job isn't too heinous, but I can't take someone's money in exchange for some half-arsed painting.

This time, I've gone for a late-afternoon/early evening sky, with greenish-yellow sunlight escaping from a rift in the clouds. I've stuck some coniferous trees in the distance, and a castle, and a river leading down to a lake. I used a bit of a different approach from my usual, though--I painted the whole thing first, using very simple strokes, and then started building forward. Usually, I start with just the background, and stick the foreground in later. I put in some sloppy shapes where the figures will be, then go back to painting leaves on distant trees.

This time, however, I took everything quite a lot further before I started adding details to the background. I'm not sure yet if it was a good idea. I'll have to see the finished product first. There are still some lighting issues to work out with the background, and then there's the second foreground to contend with. This is an odd painting--it's arranged in a bit of an arch shape, with an outdoor scene in the background, then an art-nouveau styled frame on top of that, and then a standing figure in front of everything. I haven't drawn that figure yet--just the background scene, and the frame that holds it in. I have not yet decided whether to make the lighting on the figure match the background or not.

I should be getting the Bad Rats prints I ordered for school early this week, and I'm quite eager to see how they look. I have sold quite a lot of Bad Rats prints. People have seemed delighted with them, saying that they look loads better in print than on the screen. I, myself, have never seen one, so I'm anxious to see what all the fuss is about.

After my final presentation, I reckon I'll auction off all eight Bad Rats prints on eBay. Put a bit of money by for Sweden, what.

Speaking of which--today, I have made an enormous sacrifice. I sold all of my oil paintings to a friend, for the paltry sum of five hundred dollars (less than fifty bucks a painting). I was over a barrel, though: I couldn't possibly take them all to Sweden with me, nor could I afford to have them photographed professionally, with a view to hawking them online. Ah, well. They were hardly masterpieces, anyway. My oil painting skills have improved a lot since I did these. The really good ones were all sold already. Besides, I can always make more of them when I get to Sweden. Better ones.

I can't wait to get my cheque for the last eight pictures from Misguided Games. I've been paying for my dinners on plastic for a week*, and I'm not looking forward to paying my Visa bill. I need some cash in hand, and some money to pay the bills, as well. I've got a couple of hundred in uncashed cheques, and another two or three hundred in my PayPal account--I could take that out. And with the cheque for these latest pictures, I'll be in good financial shape. But at the moment, it's just me and my Visa. And the Takeout Taxi guy bent it last night. My Visa, that is. He put it in one of those portable credit card things, and--criiik! Right on the magnetic strip, too. I'll probably have to get a new one now. Unbelievable. I wonder what they'll charge for a replacement?

Oh, that reminds me. I must ring Mother later on. I haven't been answering my telephone for the last few days. She'll be getting worried. She always worries. She'll have started thinking I fell out the window, or something.

Anyway, I must away. Work beckons. That's all for now. Except that I'm having a baked potato for dinner tonight, and I'm having a chicken sandwich, too. And apple juice. It will be delicious. I'm sure you're envious.

* [Footnote added in August of 2005] - I can't even imagine living this way, now. I had apparently not heard of cooking back then, or even buying frozen food and heating it up. Granted, I was very ill, and hardly up to preparing elaborate meals, but I'm sure I could've folded myself a pita. I had not yet adjusted to an artist's budget, I think.