Saving Money part one.

      

 Hello my friends.  I hope everyone had a great weekend. Mine was great and I got a lot of work done, as you can see.  I did this painting in a total of 10 working days which I am very happy about, and I didn't sacrifice the quality in any way. Now on to a quick pencil of Horror Hostess Roxy Tyler, then on to my next painting "Dragon Mystress" Another thing is that I have really been studying the work of Catherine Jones, one of the most amazing artist I have yet to see. I am starting to do some things I have picked up from her, like doodle sketches (and I will be posting some of those soon) with a pen in my sketchbook, just concentrating on the dynamics of a figure. It also helps to understand contrast in your work better and I cannot express just how important that is to any piece of illustration.  It is far more important than how you use color.  If you are not familiar with Catherine's work, look for her on Facebook and friend her. You will be glad you did.
    Here is the scan of the painting I did for Halloween, it is an oil and it is called "Hellcrow" I was finally able to scan it.

     This year as you all know, I have been rebuilding my studio basically from scratch. Most of it I had to leave in NC when I moved to Michigan and the rest was stolen from me. That is one of the main reasons I did digital art for 2 years, simply because I had to replace all my traditional art supplies and equipment.  We all know that artist are not rich people and buying a new tube of oil paint is a big deal for us. lol  So this blog and a few more are going to be about how to save money on the things you need.
    The first and easiest thing to get is plastic milk crates. (see the pictures below)  You can make tables out of them, desk, storage bends and so on. I got these from Wal-mart for a dollar each and I know they will last forever. If you have a friend that works at a food store, they probably can get you some of these as well.

     The table pictured above is made out of 12 crates and is very sturdy. I just covered it with a cheap black cloth and it fits right it to the studio. I have 4 more similar type of tables built of these crates as well.

    Since Madison has to sleep during the day, and i at night because of her job, I keep my everyday clothes in the studio. I used 9 crates to serve as a dresser.
    On these next pictures, please remember I am not a carpenter, lol  I built these shelves for storage of paper, artwork, masonite that I use for painting, and tools. I spent around 50 bucks on all the wood to make them with, and that includes liquid nails and screws. I haven't painted them but probably will when we move into our own home in the future. These also save a great deal of space and allows you art to lay flat.

    I did buy one of my chairs brand new, but if you go to a used furniture outlet, you can buy them pretty cheap. I still need to buy one more for the drawing area. Right now I just switch chairs around as I need them.

      I thought while I was taking pictures I would take one of my published work.  The top 3 shelves are publications my work is in or I did the cover's for. An during the move, one large box of my published work got missing, so actually it would fill the whole shelf if I had that one.  No use crying over spilled milk.  If I knew that I had to go through all that i did to be where I am right now, I would choose to take this path again. Even the bad I would embrace knowing how it would all turn out.  I have become a working madman, lol. I haven't been on Facebook or any of those kind of places lately.  I have to much work to do, and honestly that is all I want to do. 
    I hope to see you next week and I will have plenty of new work for you to see. Much love my friends, and "May the darkness comfort you."