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The Artist’s life: Myths and Misconceptions

This post is for those who are aspiring artists, those who are living the artists’ life/fighting the good fight, those want to know what the typical artist’s life is really like, those who erroneously assume we are on some pedestal above the working class, and especially those who see us as something lesser than the hard-working masses.

I really enjoy what I do, and I enjoy every person I interact with online, and every person I meet at shows and conventions along the way, when we are able to make conventions anyway.

Often times, I find myself being labeled or referred to as a “successful artist” – and I suppose that, if artists were paid in web hits, kind comments, web features, magazine features, book features, television news spots, peer/colleague recognition, and used bandwidth, that just may be… And, really, there could be nothing better, save for that ever-distracting rumbling from within…

– Some people mistakenly think that being an artist means not having to work – joyfully stroking away at a canvas with a very long brush so we can still recline in a golden hammock, while dining on peeled grapes and supervising our apprentices to urinate more passionately upon a silk-screened soup-can.

– Others assume that being an artist means not wanting to work, as if we spent all of our days on play and recreational drugs, and only picked up a brush to avoid “real work”, or maybe just to have something to offer for money… like that guy on the corner offering to sell you a handful of dumpster findings from his pockets, because he knows you’d rather just give him 50 cents.

For an actual artist, one who lives for art, and lives as an artist, *neither* assumption could ever be farther from the truth:

Now, I am talking actual artists here: Not those jet-setters who would gladly have fame rather than create something worthwhile – Not those coke-headed scenesters to whom “art” is rubbing elbows with the wealthy over champagne while conversing about the deep and existential meanings behind sloppy paint on a half-assed doodle ready-made to satisfy the “chic” galleries’ demand that an artist produce 12 pieces a month to be considered – Not the “I’m gonna splatter this paint on a canvas” guy you see making a living off 5 minutes work per $50 painting (or sometimes $4,000,000 painting).

… No, I am talking about those who couldn’t live without being able to create things worth being proud of, and would gladly die of starvation or lack of sleep if it meant finishing that one last work… which in its conception and crafting is nothing short of amazing, but completed, will never, ever be good enough, but always one step closer… while never anything worth patting oneself on the back over.

Even a step backward is a step forward, every failure is a triumph. We learn through experience, improving our art through noting the good and the bad – and for all the works you’ll ever see, are at least three that get crumpled, scrapped, abandoned, burned, or shot and buried ceremoniously.

Artists included – Any of us who struggle to work for ourselves, are the most tyrannical of bosses – We typically spend 16 to 36 hours at a time on our work between 4 to 10 hour naps, grabbing a shower or a bite to eat when there isn’t an important deadline to meet, or paint threatening to dry on the pallet. (I’ve managed over 150 hours of straight-painting in my worst/best days – bathroom breaks and Mountain-Dew refills excluded).

On the very best days, those hours are spent on art alone, though those days rarely come – so the days get longer and longer, bedtime gets that much further away, just so some actual art can be managed before “day’s end”..some 48 hours later.

If we are doing well online, much time goes into ordering tubes and packaging, ordering prints, wrestling with cardboard and glue to make painting-shaped boxes, rolling prints, printing labels, signing things, making certificates, running to and from the post office… it keeps us from our work, but it is happy work. Sending my art to hang in the home or office of another person keeps us going, emotionally and financially.

The rest of our time is spent writing blog entries, redesigning our sites, managing our “social” network pages, creating sales, adding new products to the web, looking for affordable advertising, logging clicks and cost, submitting to boards and sites and magazines, answering our email, waiting for others to answer theirs, looking for new markets or merch like skins and tattoo flash and tee shirts and such, and doing work for others to make ends meet: Web design, ad design, various other things “artistic” which are not “art” and often soul-sucking – especially that every hour spent here, could have been another hour of painting.

Things being what they have been these years, we spend more and more time on the latter, less and less time on the former, and all those extra hours of tearing our hair out and staring into this screen, mean bedtime is that much further away if we are to get any actual painting or drawing done… because an artist who does not create, is not an artist, but a “seller” if they are so lucky as to be making sales in that time.

And when things suddenly go well… due to some freak internet occurrence, some kind soul with a lot of traffic posting our images, or numerous kind souls posting the same to their friends, Tumbling, Stumbling, Tweeting, whathaveyou, or just the purchase of an original work: When we have shipments out of the way, if we have money left over, what we don’t re-invest in replenishing our art supplies – we use to allow ourselves time for our very best days: A worry free day or week of making more art, maybe sleeping and eating more regularly… maybe even putting ourselves on the list for a convention.

… and for those days of pure art, still working most of the day, we feel like kings; It boggles my mind to see these people who get huge funding and fame for their art, and could actually bear to spend their days just riding out that fame, when they could be using all that money and attention to make bigger and better art… and not just things that will sell or grab headlines simply because a famous person made them.

Truth be told, if art were not so incredibly important to us, we artists could live far, far better begging on the street, or even working a minimum-wage job. We are in a class below “poor”, and often looked at as much less – though we don’t get government money to sit on our butts, no medical coverage, no paid rent, no food stamps, no $5,000 EIC for making babies we can’t afford … Instead, we *choose* not to be a burden on society, we *choose* to overwork ourselves to death, and do so for much much less, and a lot of nothing in between.

We live on caffeine, adrenaline, will power, and most importantly the hope that all of our hard work will someday mesh with the American dream: That determination and sacrifice will pay off in the end.. knowing that having spent years of your life on this pursuit, that giving up now, or tomorrow, would render all that suffering and struggle pointless.

And this is not for lack of skills or knowledge; The both of us are very adept in crazy things like PHP, HTML, CSS, Javascript, Actionscript/Flash, Photoshop, Illustrator, In-Design, and other things that *could* be making us a decent living; We put all that time invested learning into our web sites, magazines, pre-press on our own artworks. We know how to work power tools, we know how to shape and work with lumber, we know how to work with more materials and how to do more things than most people could imagine, because every thing we don’t yet know, reflects something we may one day want to use for art… and we learn it all on our own time, without grants, without scholarships, with no reward greater than simply knowing … and being able to do whatever we cannot pay others to do.

We are thrilled to be able to justify $8 on drive-thru food we don’t have to cook, being able to spend that time instead on art is like Christmas for us… the same goes for trading blown-out boots for the next 2 years’ “new pair” or getting a pair of glasses that are less scratched-up in order to struggle less with the painting. We drive a car the mechanics gave 6 months to live, and have done so for 3 years waiting to have $350 that does not need to go to bills or art. We pay for our medical expenses out of pocket – and just hope for the best on anything we cannot pay for: Abscesses, unknown pains, troublesome coughs, broken bones if they are not compound fractures.

… Really, If I haven’t just cooked up the last breast of chicken and the last egg in order to make sure the cats are fed, or if I am not stressing over catching us up to “$nothing”, it is a pretty good day… yes, I live on the brink of homelessness – and I work very very hard to live on that brink.

For all of our work, despite the amount of homes that have our art hanging in them (including those where the art was paid for), or how many people know us online, or how many places you can find us, or the appearance of our web sites, these hard-working artists are really lucky to make $1 an hour for their 100+ hours a week.

… And I hope I die never knowing what it is to give up on my dreams. If that is sooner, or later – then I hope the the latter as I am not yet where I want to be with my art. Though I don’t think I will ever be satisfied with what I do, I know that choosing comfort or even life over art is death for me.

Any artist who can survive another day, having lived a day as an artist, is a lucky artist

… and I suppose, *yes*, that does make me “successful”.

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– If you are another artist and maybe looking for some clues on how to survive “the Great Art Depression”, it is pretty simple: The secret to survival is to not give up and die. Those businesses who made it through the 1930’s Depression, came out on top, and remained there for the rest of the century.

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– If you are not an artist, and I have provided some level of understanding, or if you simply agree – Please take the time to add to the success of the creatives you appreciate seeing work from. Buy a CD, buy a book, or an e-book, watch a program and wait through the commercials… And though some of the art you enjoy may be a bit dark or crazy for your walls, do something more than just setting a desktop image. Maybe this means giving them $1 – not as a handout – but in appreciation for the millions of hours of thankless work and study  they invested into just getting to the point where you can enjoy an image – or maybe this means telling a few others about their work.. stumble, tumble, blog, do *something*… become a part of the creative process, a part of history, by tipping the scales in favor of what you like to see, hear, or read.

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Steampulp Baba Yaga

“The Magic Hut”

I’ve been dying to do a Baba-Yaga themed piece for some time now. I could probably do ten more and still not cover all of her faces or personalities.

This one I took a heavy-mechanical and clunky tentacle whipping approach – with the hut trampling trees and tearing the earth and road below on its rampage into a sleepy town

20 limited edition giclee prints are available Here

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Fundraising Drive – Get original art… cheap

I have some new approaches at art I would like to give a try, unfortunately, that means picking up some supplies I don’t yet have… special tinted art papers, white pencils, some new oil mediums and acrylic mediums.

Obviously, I haven’t the money I need for these things, hence the fundraiser. If you would like to skip to the deal and bypass my explanation, queue to the dashed line headed by “The Deal”.

One thing that people assume, with my art all over the internet, having worked for a few great bands, been in magazines, etcetera – is that this must mean I must be at least somewhat financially comfortable.

Though you’ll see our art in a lot of homes, and on a lot of web pages and personal profiles, things really haven’t been that great for us since 2008. Things really haven’t been that great for anyone, possibly, probably you – and of course we artisans and other resellers tend to suffer from that all trickling upward, or downward – our payment for bringing the world new things to look at and discuss often being in the form of comments and “retweets”, which are awesome BTW but sometimes we need a little bit more in order to keep making things and to make bigger and better things.

I’ve been working 16 to 36 hours, sleeping 4 to 8, doing it all over again – catching up on commissions in between looking for new ways to drive traffic here, or get some sales going – and I feel it is a lucky week if after printing and shipping and packaging and ads purchased I bring in more than $2 an hour for all my combined time.

It has been this more and more this way over the last few years, but pretty steadily sucky these last few months.

To add, we’ve had a tough couple of months here otherwise: Hospital expenses, lab visits, and other unforeseens.

I haven’t enough time on my slate to take on any more big commissions; I have two to finish and that is a lot considering how much time I like to spend on a painting – but I can see being able to make three or four new drawings in those moments I step away from the canvas.

I would like to make a bit of pocket money in that time, and it would be extra-awesome if those works could add to the body of work I have been building for the book: “Airships and tentacles”… meaning they should be strange-fiction inspired works with a steampunk spin, if not specifically involving airships.

——————- The Deal ——————

For $65 + $5 S&H:

I will draw on a sepia-tinted sheet of 8×10” bristol board in black graphite and white charcoal.

I will make them pretty – because I really cannot  bear to let anything go if I do not feel it is worth showing. This means I tend to put way more time than paid for into any work I do for anyone because I am just that picky.

I would prefer that these works be airships, but don’t require it. If they are of Lovecraftian influence, alchemical, metaphysical, otherwise spooky and pulp, I can go for that as well… especially if they involve tentacles.

I will customize… somewhat. Tell me (in the payment details on the paypal/payment side)  something about you or things you like. Don’t make it *too* hard on me (Don’t leave me trying to find a way to put “podiatry” together with an airship), but give me something that is interesting and possibly unique to you. I’ll fit it in.

Depending on whether you are the first, or the fifth, that drawing will come to you sooner or later. I’d say allow a month to a month and a half.

Your original will be the basis for a colored piece, or non colored piece to go in the book when it is released. So, you’ll have an art original that is in a book – and that is really pretty cool, especially for the low investment price.

If this seems like a good deal to you, you can go to the purchase page here

Pencil Drawing from last year's fundraiser
Pencil Drawing from last year's fundraiser
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Art Originals on sale on Etsy this week

Normally, I prefer to sell here, but when it comes to originals, I often put them up on Etsy first for added exposure.

We’re running on a deficit this month, so I put these three items up for sale on Etsy, significantly reduced in price until one or the other sells, then the others will go back up, and find their way back here.

If you’ve been wanting an original work from me, this week may be the very best chance to do so, and do so cheaply.

Lost City 14×11 in acrylic on Bristol board $395 $300

The piece is done in acrylic paint on acid-free bristol board, and is 11×14 inches.

It is detailed, as with most of my paintings, down to a single hair or less for countless fine details.

It features two airships moored to the ground amidst an abandoned city which is carved into the surrounding plateaus.

Gadreel over Mackinac Bridge: 44×32 sculpture in wood and light, ready to hang – $550

I based this design on the airship from “Behold the Machine”, it is carved in mahogany, and painted in several types and layers of stain to separate the airship from the sails, clouds, bridge, and water.

It is roughly 44 inches by 36 inches and 2 inches thick. It requires no framing as it has 2-inch thick sides which are also stained and varnished. Hangers are already installed on the back.

I made a network of LEDS inside of the sculpture, and drilled holes for light to come through (along the airship and bridge), and put two red LEDs at the top of the bridge.

It is battery powered, but if the piece sells, I can buy the resistors and wire needed to make it powered by AC, with a 3-volt 500MA power adapter. Unless the new owner would prefer it remain battery powered.

For all the work I put into it, and since it was originally a part of our ArtPrize bid, and since it isn’t something I can make prints/reproductions of (completely beyond OOAK in that regard) I’d typically price this piece at $2,700 and would prefer to sell it for no less than $1,000. But, money is tight this week, and I am throwing it on Etsy at a steep, steep discount for now.

The Ruins: 14×11 acrylic on Bristol board – $375 $275

The city in the mountains is inspired my collaborative work with Bethalynne Bajema on the 30 foot x 10 foot mural we did for Artprize and showed at Destination 1111.

I wanted to see how bits of this city would look in a mountain landscape setting – and like many of my landscapes, the airships or other vehicles serve as a mode by which to explore — adding that human element without making the piece completely about a character or group of characters… maintaining that wondrous and serene landscape feel.

The piece is done in acrylic paint on acid-free bristol board, and is 11×14 inches.

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New Wallpaper: Lost City 1280 x 960

Not the greatest scan… alright, it is a shite scan. But, I killed the big scanner and the Lexmark scanner is never good for anything save for documents. So, the subtle clouds and color in the sky are somewhat washed out, and some detail is lost as well.

Regardless, being wallpaper and all, I figured it’d at least give you a chance to preview this image whilst I work to make what I need to get a good scan of some of these recent works.

Lost-City-Desktop Wallpaper
Lost-City-Desktop Wallpaper
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New Wallpaper: The Rescue 1280×960

This one is finally available.

It took me forever to settle on the right cropping for this one, but I managed – much of this due to regular requests to make this one available.

This painting features Abney Park’s trademarked HMS Ophelia, and was commissioned by Captain Robert Brown of the famed steampunk and retro-future band: Abney Park.

The Rescue -Steampunk Airship Wallpaper featuring Abney Park's HMS Ophelia
The Rescue -Steampunk Airship Wallpaper featuring Abney Park's HMS Ophelia
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New Wallpaper: The Wait: 1280×960

New wallpaper made from a crop of an older work. I’ve been reworking the file tonight for some giclee printing, and decided I’d like to have it as a desktop, and of course am sharing:

The Wait - desktop my Myke Amend
The Wait - desktop my Myke Amend
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New Wallpaper: The Ruins 1280×800

This piece is somewhat based on my collaborative work with Bethalynne Bajema … That 30 foot x 10 foot mural we have sitting in our garage awaiting a studio space to display it in.

The mountain city-scape in this picture is *heavily* influenced by her creations, as well as my desire to see them as functional parts of a mountain landscape.

The original is available here: [link]

35 signed, dated, Limited Edition Giclees ($90) are available here – but the first ten are available at $55 here: [link]

The-Ruins-1280x800 Steampunk Fantasy Art Desktop Wallpaper by Myke Amend
The-Ruins-1280x800 Desktop Wallpaper by Myke Amend
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Specific Items Still Available for Holiday Shipping

By this date, the only thing I can offer Holiday delivery on are original works of art (paintings, sculptures, engravings, woodwork, etc…). Gift Certificates however are available for my site via paypal, and a perfect gift -especially if you were wanting to give something from my store, but not sure what. The below link will take you to the page for purchasing a printable (or email-able gift certificate).

Buy Gift Certificates Here

Originals can be found via the right-hand column (store Category: Originals), plus I am adding a few previously unlisted originals to the mix, tomorrow (December 19th) … as long as I find that blasted camera anyway.

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Rescue Sale

Long story short: The Rescue 11×14 Metallic prints are on sale for only $24 through Mid-December [here]

The Rescue (featuring Abney Park's HMS Ophelia) can be found in my store (click the Store link at the top of any page)

I am at month 7 of trying to get an issue resolved with the printing company who used to be my favorite. 7 months of getting no response back here or there, or a simple “cut and paste” via phone or email.

Their customer service has recently upgraded to an email here or there, and actually trying to sort the problem out, but mostly a lot of “I’ll be in touch tomorrow”, followed by a 2 day wait and me trying again.

Fortunately, I found another company to order through… though this did not help me much for SteamconII, the World Steam Expo, or the 7 months of added expense/time ordering elsewhere, printing locally, and/or looking for other elsewheres to order from…. the prints are every bit as beautiful as the sort of quality I once expected from my former printing company (though they cost me about double if I don’t order in bulk).

Of course all this chaos had to be happening during Holiday rush, and I neglected to put up any sales…

I am at the point where, in a few days (December 15th), it will be too late to order from me and expect your gift orders to arrive in time for gift-wrapping and giving.

… Except…

I plan to order a huge re-stock on 11×14 Metallics of “The Rescue”… that pesky best-seller I wasn’t able to send to Steamcon this year.

So, if you already have this print but would like to give one to someone else, or if you haven’t yet gotten one for yourself, I am selling these for only $24 through December 16th, maybe till December 20th if supplies on-hand hold out.