Off to night shift

I'm going to night shift in January. I was beyond pissed when I found out. Bu the small light at the end of tunnel is that my job will be a lot less time consuming while actually at work. This will allow me to have more time to work on drawing. My goal is draw up the first chapter of my comic within the first couple months.

I found time!

I'm I'm It feels like forever sense I've posted anything on here. I found some free time over the past couple days and did a few sketches.

I made these pencil drawings after I made the ink sketches below.

I think I like my ink sketches better then may pencil sketches.

My wife had a cake project she was hired todo. I was drafted to make these figures for the top of it. Apparently they are from a game called Five nights at Freddy's.

And finally, this is an older collage I made from newspaper pictures. I added the wording in the middle.

Keeping the flame alive

I had some one at work ask me what I wanted to do when I was in college. My immediate answer was that I wanted to be a professional artist. I wanted to spend my days hidden away in a studio drawing, painting, and sculpting with the hopes that someone would pay me to do just that. But here I am, it's been three years sense I graduated. God I hate myself for how much time I waisted when I was in school. I could have done so much, but I procrastinated and lost focus on that goal. It's as if my years in college never happened, as if they are events from another life time, another universe. To say that this does not sadden me would be a complete and total lie. But that does not mean that I am not happy with where I am. I have invested time into starting a family and found a stable career path to follow. I am blessed by the fact that my new career path will allow me to retire as early as 45. I have to remind myself of this fact because it will allow me to pursue any path I wish at that point. I could go into teaching, create a graphic novel, start a business, I can do anything! But until that point I have to keep the flame of creativity burning. Maybe I can foster a sense of creativity in my son. I look foreword to the future and the endless possibilities that it holds.

Graphic Design Full Time

At least for the next two weeks I will be diving into my first experience with working full time from home. The construction companies I am doing graphic design work have decided to allow me to work full time as I transition from warehouse work to a state job. Right out of the gate there have been a few challenges. I've set my computer up in the living room so that I can keep an eye on mason while jackie does other things around the house. This location of my work space prevents me from being side tracked by Warhammer models (those little buggers have their way of just jumping into your hands). But the added distraction of dirty diapers and feeding time is now a factor. Over all it keeps me accountable for the time I spend working.

The main projects that I have been creating are "Selection Documents" for the different products they offer. Basically they are digital sample boards. The biggest struggle so far has been translating the list their venders supply, with the samples on the vender websites.

The kitchen company actually had me rework their website. It wasn't a "code from scratch" website. They had paid a graphic design company thousands of dollars to make a crapy four page website. In a matter of three weeks I was able to make them a more functional website from one of those drag and drop website builders. It amazes me how small businesses would fork over a large sum of money to a small time firm to build an "original" website, when they could pay something like $100 a year for a site they can build themselves, or have a student organize.

As I move foreword, I hope to continue working with these companies and possibly expand my cliental. I am looking into a couple local companies that are looking to hire graphic designers, but for now I'll stick with the freelance work and the state job.

Time is Money

With a baby on the way, I find my time is better spent working on freelance graphic design work, rather than my painting. Its been quit some time sense I have just picked up a brush to work on anything. This is the unfortunate reality of the real world. My artistic spirit is not dead, nor am I saddened by this reality. I am over joyed about becoming a father. But the fact remains that I must spend my "free time" working on freelance projects. Right now I am only working on selection documents for a remodeling company, but once I get the chance to fully create something original, I will share it on here. That also goes for any paintings I may do. I still hope to sell paintings one day, but for now I must follow the money towards graphic design.

Permanence

Eleven years ago I was uprooted from all that I new, all that was familiar and comfortable to me. My parents had built a house and we had to move away from the town I lived in. This occurred while I was nearing the end of middle school, an unpleasant memory to begin with. I was in an unfamiliar place, surrounded by unfamiliar people. 

This new house became my home, my constant. It would be the setting of many happy memories through high school and college. It was the place I could return to and find my center. 

I haven't lived in that house for over a year now. My wife and I have found our own place to call home. But that house was still part of my home. 

My parents have had to move away from that house, much to their dissatisfaction. But life has pushed them in a new direction. I told my mother not to cry, that it is only four walls, that a home is made by those we are with. 

This house was my constant. But it is only four walls, it holds no physical permanence in my life. I feel as though I should cry and weep at the change that has came, but it is only four walls. It shall always be that past constant, but as the days go by I cannot forget that life is always changing that there is no physical permanace for me. This house shall be only a memory.