The Biggest Joke Here Is That I Am An Adult

The biggest joke here is that I am an adult 

with a master's degree 

who teaches at a university

From something old, we make something new.

Summer portrait commissions

Hi Tumblr. 

For those of you who don’t know, I teach part time at a university. What this means is that during the summer, I’m effectively unemployed. The problem with that is that I don’t get paid particularly well during the school year, and I have to save enough money to cover bills and rent and student loans during the summer months. 

Normally, it wouldn’t be an issue as long as I don’t plan on going anywhere or doing anything that requires money, and as long as nothing unexpected or horrifying comes up. 

However! Both of these things have occurred! 

The first part of this is: I need to earn some travel money. One of my best friends is getting married to her cool girlfriend, and since we’ve known each other for around 15 years, it’s kind of a priority to get myself to the Pacific Northwest so I can be present for that. 

Additionally, my aunt has been diagnosed with stage four lung cancer, which I believe I mentioned in an earlier post, and I have no idea when I am going to need to simply drop everything and travel four hours with my mother to see her. I don’t have that kind of money saved up, as this is something no one was expecting. 

The second part of this is: I am in that horrible middle zone where I make too much money to be on Medicaid, but I don’t make enough to be able to afford health insurance, as long as I want to keep being able to do things like “pay rent.” So, as of June 1st, I am now completely uninsured.Thanks, American Healthcare Industry! 

So, in the interests of raising travel money and being able to afford health insurance, I am offering portrait commissions:

These are portraits of actual people. Here’s how it works: you email me, telling me what you want, and we agree if it’s fair or not. I am up for negotiation, but my time is worth money, and I reserve the right to turn you down. At the moment, I am taking a limited number of these commissions.

Full body shots: Starting at $40, depending on complexity and size

Examples: 

Busts: Start at $15, depending upon complexity and size

Examples (4 inches by 5 inches):

Cartoon caricatures (good for icons!): Start at $10, depending upon complexity and size

Examples (these are pretty small):

I am also open to other possibilities, such as character portraits and portraits of animals. These are just select examples of commissioned work I have done previously.

If you’re interested in something I haven’t listed, please send me an email (myousa at gmail dot com) and we’ll discuss it. Please keep in mind when you contact me that additional complexity will result in a higher cost, and due to the expenditure of physical material, traditional media works cost higher than digital ones.

If you commission work in traditional media, there is also the option of me shipping you the physical piece of artwork.

If you don’t want any art at the moment, I would super appreciate some signal boosts. I have been trying to keep pretty low key about crises at the moment, but it hasn’t been easy.

The heads return.

Studio stuff is suspended for a while, and has been. I got another bad infection right as soon as finals were finished, and after that, a serious family emergency came up. A member of my extended family has stage-four lung cancer and is, in all likelihood, going to die sometime within the next year. Things have been a bit chaotic here. 

I’m trying to get back to it, but in some ways, I also need a mental vacation. I started making Japanese ricebran pickles, nukazuke. They are delicious and healthy. I’m planning a post saying that I am open for portrait commissions. Been reading books, that sort of thing. As artists, we don’t always have to be going full-on, especially when there’s other things going on in our lives. 

This is Pushpin Howard. He lives in the studio now. I had a leftover head from a bad casting and figured it might as well go to use.