Tag: Monthly Digests

Nov 2021 – Thankfulness, Surviving Holiday Rush, & Upcoming Surgery?!

It’s been a busy bout of holidays with Thanksgiving and prepping my little corner of the internet for the holiday shopping rush.  I’m happy to report I’ve survived the rush thus far and that we had a relaxing holiday break playing video games at home with tasty leftovers to fuel the Trials of Mana marathon and watching Shang Chi (such a cool movie!).  

From our lil family to yours, we hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving (or a wonderful week, if you don’t celebrate).

This year, we’re so incredibly thankful for the fact my husband, Kevin, is still with us.  He very nearly didn’t make it back in January when he fell ill with COVID and went into the ICU.  It’s hard to believe it’s only been a few months since then!  After this huge trial, life has been very kind to us in a way we never could’ve imagined back in January now that Kev has started a new job and our life together has taken a new trajectory.  We’ll soon be looking for our forever home and settling down after years of being rental nomads.  It’s a dream we’ve nurtured for a long time!

I’m happy to say much of the behind the scenes prep I’ve been doing in the meanwhile to quietly improve my art biz’s presentation, re-designing my websites, and tidying up my product photos seems to have paid off with one of the best holiday shopping seasons I’ve had this year!  I’m slowly, but surely getting to a point where I hope to create a self-sustaining art biz that allows me to be healthy and happy without overworking myself.

IMPORTANT Announcement!  An Upcoming Hiatus?!

While we’ve had plenty of good news, there’s a bit of bad news that has been long in the coming.  After years of pain and dismissive doctors, I’ve finally had an MRI taken of my shoulder and the scans have revealed a suspicion I’ve had for years – that I have a torn labral tendon.  This happened years ago when our very large and lovably clumsy bulldog-mastiff pulled me down the stairs and jerked my arm nearly out of socket (which has to be THE most country injury ever haha!).  My shoulder muscles have been compensating incorrectly ever since.  Better late than never to fix this, right?

I’m currently awaiting the date of my surgery, which will most likely be scheduled for January.  What this means for you, my lovely Patrons, is that this Patreon will be going on hiatus in January 2022 until my shoulder heals and I am fully recovered, which could take months.  Unfortunately, this surgery affects my dominant/drawing arm, so I’m going to be out for the count until I heal and make it through the recovery process.

Life has been a long, hard lesson in adversity for us for the past few years even before COVID and I know we’ll weather the storm as well as possible!  I hope during this recovery time that I’ll get to experiment with dictating some of the story ideas I’ve been sitting on to my computer so I can at least get some writing done, as well as read the many books on my to-read backlog.

Once I’m able to return to full functionality, I plan to re-launch this Patreon with an updated structure that I hope you all will love!  (More on that later once we’re closer to being ready for that.)

Posts You May Have Missed in November

Rewards Added in November

Coming in December

December is going to be the last month of material from me for a long while!  I plan to share the following:

  • ($5+ Tiers) A coloring page of an Elvish Songstress
  • (All Tiers) A Behind the Scenes article about planning the Birthstone Goddesses’ Art Book
  • (Public/Free) An article talking about my favorite movies that make me want to paint

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Whew that was a long update, but it’s been an eventful time!  As ever, feel free to come hang out in my Discord server with me where you can keep up with minute-to-minute updates and WIPs in my special Patrons-only section.

Till next time!  Wishing you all inspiration,
♥ Ang

Oct 2021 Digest – Calendar Progress, Holiday Prep, & a Chill Halloween

Aah how I love October!  The leaves are changing and the weather is getting chill here in Georgia.  It’s been a busy month now that we’re settled in the new house and I’ve been able to really put my nose to the grindstone for the Birthstone Goddesses.  

We also got to leave candy for the kids in our new neighborhood and that made me happy!  I hope next year, we’ll be safe enough to hand out candy directly. I love dressing up and seeing all the fun costumes!

(I cheated with a phone filter costume this year. )

I’ve also been working hard to pretty up my online presence with the holidays on the horizon (which by now my annual holiday sale should be going strong. More on that soon!).  Patrons got a behind the scenes peek at all the invisible tasks I’ve been doing to improve my presentation.

Posts You May Have Missed in October

Rewards Added in October

Coming in November

I hope to keep the energy up in November as I continue work on the calendar, start storyboarding the art book, and indulging in some fun creative challenges!

  • NaNoWriMo!  I’m taking on the national novel writing challenge this month!  I’ll be sharing snippets of the tabletop inspired novel I’m writing on my project’s social media account, so tune in there if you’re curious about my writing muse!
  • $5+ Reward Coloring Page – I’ll be sharing a coloring page of Archangel Azrael painting this month!
  • Patrons-Only Behind the Scenes Posts – I’ll continue to share development posts about my journey with the calendar and art book.
  • Part 2 of the Artist Asks – I’ll be wrapping up the last few questions!

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That’s all for now!  Thanks for being awesome during all of our constant life adjustments.  At least it’s always exciting around here!

More soon,

♥ Ang

Sep 2021 Digest – Live from My Couch HQ…!

September had a slow start for us.  There was a lot to wrap up at the old house and unpacking at the new house.  Then disaster (or a shelf) struck and I injured a toenail!  That meant a week working from the couch.

Then when I finally got up and around again, I pulled a muscle lifting a heavy box while setting up the studio.  Back I went to my old home, the couch!

I actually started up an Ask the Artist/Ask Me Anything event on Twitter, if anyone wants to give me something to do while I recuperate. I’d appreciate being preoccupied with something fun while I wait for this to correct itself!

I’m currently taking these signs from the universe to take it slow, as much as I’m buzzing to get back to doing all of the Birthstone Goddess projects I spoke of in the latest Project Status update!  I’ve been doing what I can from my plushy HQ and FINALLY getting back to all the amazing lessons I learned from Emily Jeffords’ Making Art Work class (plus finishing the final few lessons I haven’t done yet because our house move took precedence).

That’s meant doing a big overhaul to my shop’s presentation, including editing mockups for my prints, creating better graphics for my coloring packs, etc.  Truth be told, without conventions for the time being, I’ve had to get my online game strong!  I’ve usually relied on in-person events for folks to get to know me and my products, so having the website updated wasn’t AS important.

But now that I’m a rare art cave goblin?  I’m going to have to finally get to all that difficult update business I’ve been avoiding!  I hope to document some of that makeover process for my Patrons in an article for October.  It’s actually been amazing to see how much better I can make my presentation with a little thought and care and I’m hyped to share that process with you all!

October is also the month of spooky things and when Autumn is in full swing here.  My favorite month!  I hope to actually stream some of my favorite spooky games (or perhaps some new ones), if you guys want to catch me on Twitch.  The plan is to start streaming more art there as well, since my face-time with folks at cons has been cut out.  I just need to get down to brass tax and make a schedule.

Otherwise, Kev and I are hunkered down until the worst of things blow over for now.  I hope you all will take care and be safe as well!

Posts You May Have Missed in September

Rewards Added in September

Coming in October

I have plans to share the following articles & Rewards in October.

  • ($5+ Up Reward) – Coloring Page – “Archangel Uriel”
    Featuring line art of this classic painting from my Angelic Visions art book!
  • (Patreon-Exclusive, All Tiers)
    Behind the Scenes: My (Art Business) Makeover – Part 1 – Product Listing Photos
    A peek at all the ‘invisible’ work I’ve been doing in the background to get my online game strong!  Discussing how I’m improving photos of my art products, sharing resources, etc.
  • (Patreon-Exclusive, All Tiers)*
    Behind the Scenes: Designing the Calendar Part 1
    A peek at the production process behind putting together the Birthstone Goddesses wall calendar with links to my resources etc. (* If I run into any delays putting together the calendar templates, I may have to delay this article.  We shall see!)
  • (Early Access) – Ask An Artist Compilation Post
    Compiling all the Ask An Artist and AMA questions from Twitter into one place for easy reference!  If I don’t get enough Likes on Twitter to finish the questionnaire, I’ll be answering the last few questions in the post instead.

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That’s all for now, folks!  I hope to get to some real work in October, if the couch will release me from its thrall!

Till next time,

♥ Ang

May 2021 Digest – Upcoming Changes to this Patreon + Coming in June

It’s been a busy month behind the scenes!  I’ve continued my journey with Making Art Work, despite our official graduation happening this past Friday.  There was so much great material that I needed time to absorb and I got a little behind!  

I’ve kept a whole list of changes I’d like to make to my art business based on all the revelations I had during this course and I’m STILL adding to it as I wrap up the last 4 of 12 modules I’ve yet to complete.  

I’ve also been caught up in a massive redesign of the Birthstone/Gemstone Goddesses website utilizing all the wonderful info I learned in MAW.  It’s probably the most ambitious I’ve gotten with a website to date and I can’t wait to (hopefully) roll it out with a launch celebration this month!

I can also finally share the GREAT news we were waiting on before.  I’m so hyped to report my husband, Kevin, will be starting a new job soon!  It’s the kind of IT job he’s always wanted where he gets to advise others on networking and cloud services.  We expect a lot of doors to open thanks to this amazing opportunity!

This means things are about to get crazy for us now that we can resume our plans to buy our first home!  We’ve endured mold, gas leaks, and more at our current rental and can’t wait to get into a safe place that we can really call home.  I expect this will mean more comfort that will be conducive to happiness and making art!

Coming in June

Here’s what I have planned to share this month:

  • A new digital coloring page for $5+ Patrons
  • New addition of Metallic Stickers to the Secret Shop for All Patrons
  • Website Launch Celebration! (Hoping I get it all done by end of the month!)
  • New Birthstone Goddess fashion sketches for my Fine Art shop.  All Patrons will get first dibs on them in a post here before they go up in the shop!

Upcoming Changes to this Patreon

As we enter into a new phase of the Birthstone Goddesses where I have less art to share and more invisible work like designing page layouts, writing, etc. for the art book, calendar, etc, I’m considering changing the way this Patreon works.  Patreon has been stressful to maintain of late with everything going on and I always feel bad when I don’t have new art to share.

To keep my stress levels down, I’m considering changing this Patreon to a Tip Jar format temporarily (possibly permanently).  The tiers will still be similar to what I have now, with a base tier and a couple more premium tiers for those who enjoy some of my higher priced perks, like Premium Tutorials, etc.  

The main difference will be that I only add material when I feel I have something interesting to share, which may not be each month.  You’d basically be tipping me to help support my art and for the following perks, (which should all look familiar as it is exactly what you’re getting now, I would only be changing the frequency at which I add to some of them):

  • Access to archives of coloring pages, digital wallpapers, & Premium Tutorials added as and when I’m able to produce them
  • Access to Patron-only posts (Behind the Scenes peeks, Secret Sketchbook posts, etc.) added as and when I’m able to produce them
  • Secret Shop access for all Patrons
  • Ability to vote in polls  
  • Private Patreon Discord server access
  • Eternal discount codes that don’t expire
  • Art launch announcements, including first dibs on collecting new originals

I also hope to add a fancy Merch tier that will be replacing the Art Collector tiers down the line.  These will be tiers where the longer you stay pledged to them, the more cool swag you will accrue as you reach your loyalty milestones!

These plans are all in the works, however, and I will definitely warn you all before things get massively shuffled!  For now, my Patreon will remain the same as it is currently with at least one post per week.  I just wanted to give you all a head’s up for my plans for the near-future!

Digest of May’s Posts

Rewards Added In May

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For now, I’m celebrating learning so much via MAW and can’t wait to share the fruits of my labors with you soon!  Thanks, as ever, for your generosity and encouragement.

♥ Ang

Apr 2021 Digest – Temperance Launch, Lady of Eternity Pins & more

It’s been a little tumultuous behind the scenes as our house moving plans have been delayed by some other exciting developments!  I can’t quite talk about them yet till they’re a sure thing, but I’m hoping to have some good news to share soon.  For now, we’re still in a bit of limbo as we pack up the house and wait on things to come the good word to come.

Meanwhile, I’ve been learning so much during my Making Art Work class!  I’m halfway through the material and it has been an intense and informative experience.  I’ve been experimenting with what I’ve been learning in class on my new Instagram account and taking my presentation to the next level with the launch for Temperance that happened in April.  I’m really excited to present my art with as much care as the passion put in!

If you want to keep up with the revelations I’ve been having as I go through the class, I’ve started a Twitter thread to collect my thoughts here.

Coming in May

Thanks to MAW, I also have some great ideas for redesigning the online gallery for my Birthstone Goddesses.  The class has given me a lot to think about as I move forward and re-center myself and my art biz.  I’ve been pondering how I can make the experience better for myself and for my fans.

My overall plan is to get my core presentation running like a well-oiled machine so that I can move forward with all the big plans for the releases I have in store for the Birthstone Goddesses.  I feel like if I can get that central rhythm for myself figured out that it’ll mean a smoother flow for everything else.

I’ll be adding another angel-themed digital coloring page inspired by one of the keyword sketches I created, plus I’m planning Behind the Scenes articles about the Birthstone Goddesses site, how I photograph my work, and an inspiration list of my favorite movies for visual inspiration.

Digest of April’s Posts

Rewards Added in April

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In other news, I received my 2nd dose of the vaccine this week!  This means being one step closer to being able to hang out with our friends again, which will be such a relief.  It’s been a long journey for my husband and myself dealing with COVID this year, but I’m so grateful that we’ve been able to pull through these difficulties safely with Kev’s full recovery!

I hope everyone is happy, healthy, and hanging in there!

♥ Ang

MAR 2021 Digest – Upcoming Tarot Art, House Hunting, & MAW

March flew by as I returned to work after taking some time to recover with Kev, who also went back to work in March this month after his recovery from a severe case of COVID.  We’re both doing so much better knowing that he’s safe and healthy!  I’m slowly, but surely, getting back in the game and managed to finish my Temperance card painting for the Woven Path Tarot (which I’ll be revealing publicly next week!).

We’re also back on the house hunt, as our current home is a rental and we’re finally ready to invest.  We’re both looking forward to having a new space all our own!  We just have to survive all the paperwork and touring first.  I’m already dreaming of ways I could set up a new studio space. Here’s hoping for a room with lots of sunshine!

I’ve also started MAW (Making Art Work) with Emily Jeffords this month and wow has it been a knowledge bomb to my brain!  I’ve been learning about branding, marketing schedules, SEO, and so much more. I’m already buzzing with plans to redo my Gemstone Goddesses site with all I’ve learned and might be a little slow in April as I focus on absorbing all this knowledge to implement into my art biz.

Coming in April

Now that the Tarot piece is finished, I’ll be offering a Temperance coloring page and a wallpaper to my Patreon Patrons at the appropriate tiers!  I was thinking about sharing my progress with redesigning the Gemstone Goddesses site, but would that be boring stuff?  

It probably wouldn’t be as in-depth as my last article about website redesign, but more showing you progress shots as I map out the new site and make it a lovely space just for my Goddesses!

The Lady of Eternity pins also arrived in the mail today, so it’s time to pack them up and get them out to you guys! (More on that in a future post, soon).

Digest of March’s Posts

Rewards Added in March

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I’m looking forward to seeing how everything I’ve been learning lately will help make my art really shine and how I can make the experience of it better for you all!

More soon!

♥ Ang

Feb 2021 Digest – Health, Happiness, & Looking to the Future!

I’m so pleased to have good news to share this month!  My husband was able to come home from the hospital and has managed a miraculous recovery from COVID.  Kev has gone from possibly needing a cane and an oxygen tank to needing neither with no adverse effects, beyond bouts of fatigue he’s still struggling with.  He’ll still need to strengthen his lungs, as they were weakened by COVID and pneumonia, but we are so relieved, as things could have gone so differently!  We’re so grateful to have been able to celebrate our 4th anniversary together.

It’s given us both perspective to enjoy life while we can.  Our plans to find a new home continue and I’ve meanwhile returned to work this last week in February with renewed focus and appreciation for our good fortune.  I’m also slated to start new training with Emily Jefford’s Making Art Work in March, which I hope will help me figure out a path forward through the difficulties of this pandemic.  I look forward to making my Birthstone Goddesses the best they can be as I continue with their journey to publication and expanding that vision in the coming months!

Coming in March

There will be a new fantasy-themed coloring page and a wallpaper for my Patreon digital library. I’ll also be sharing Secret Sketchbook notes for my next painting of Temperance for the Woven Path Tarot.  I have some exciting major project updates to share as well, now that my muse break with the Exalted Art Challenge is over! 

Digest of February’s Posts

Rewards Added in February

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I’m happy to see life returning to a form of normalcy for us and to take a big step forward as I return with renewed energy to the next and final phase of the Birthstone Goddesses!

Till next time. More soon!

♥ Ang

Jan 2021 Digest – COVID Diagnosis

I’m afraid I won’t have much to share from January, as this month began with massive anxiety during the riot in the Capitol and has ended with my husband, Kevin, in the hospital with COVID and pneumonia.  It’s a trying time for us and I’m not sure how much work I’ll be able to do while I focus on Kevin and keeping myself healthy.

The bright side is that while Kev is currently hospitalized as of this writing, his prognosis is good and he will hopefully be able to come home in a few days once he is able to strengthen his lungs and come off oxygen.  Meanwhile, I have tested negative, but will be sequestering at home just in case I was exposed after my test samples were taken.  We made sure to don masks here at home as soon as Kev started feeling ill, which I think helped a lot!

We’re unsure of where he picked it up, as he had only been going out for medications and work and had been wearing a mask whenever possible.  We had also opted to cancel cons for the remainder of this year as well.  This is a prime example that it should not just be one person who wears the mask, but the people around them as well.

I hope I have some better news to share soon and that Kev will be able to be happy and safe at home again soon!

Coming in February

It may be a thin month for new art while we stabilize our situation, but here are a few things that I still want to happen in February:

  • A new angel-themed coloring page for my Patreon Digital Library.
  • The price of my lowest tier will be going up to $2 to offset the fees that are eating into what I take home as a Creator. REMEMBER that if you are currently pledged at $1, you can stay at this tier! You will only be required to pledge $2 if you leave this tier and need to re-pledge.
  • A Special Offer is coming for the month of February! I’ve already laid the groundwork for offering a reprint of my Lady of Eternity hard enamel pin for everyone who missed out on her. Stay tuned for a post with more details on how to snag a free pin if you’re pledging $10 or more!
  • Finish up the Exalted Art Challenge!  I’ve been delayed on this because of everything going on, but if I can concentrate enough, I want to wrap up the final topic by the middle of February.  The birthstone Goddesses await my return!  I may end up shelving the last bit of the Challenge for another time if I can’t wrap it up by the middle of February.

Digest of January’s Posts

Rewards Added in January

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Please keep us in your thoughts!  I hope to return in February with more positive news and inspiring things to share.

♥ Ang

Dec 2020 Digest – Wrapping up the Art Challenge, 2021 Goals, etc

December was a time of contemplation and recuperation. I spent it wrapping up the last few topics of the Exalted Art Challenge (with only 2 more to go that I’m still working on and hope to share soon).  Kev and I had a quiet holiday at home cooking and making apple cider.  It was pleasant and I hope you all had similar peaceful times!

The holidays gave me time to reflect on our journey this year.  2020 threw a curveball at me with the cancellation of nearly every in-person event, something I had prepped for by withdrawing from cons in advance.  2021 is proving much the same and today I’m working on building an agenda for myself that doesn’t include conventions.  I’m excited and a little less scared of yet another year without conventions!

I’m hoping that I find some ways to still stay connected with people via streaming, videos, and sharing my journey here. I want to put the time and energy I’d be prepping for cons into other ventures (IE. getting my site/shops proper, releasing new merch online, re-focusing on the Birthstone Goddesses, etc.).

It’s been a rough time for all and I am so very honored so many of you stuck around in 2020!  Your support has meant the world during an uncertain time where my artist income has plummeted without in-person events.  We’re thankfully stable, if a little stretched thin, as my husband’s job is considered essential, but that is also a double-edged sword of the risk he must take on being unable to work from home much of the time.

Still, we’re doing what we can to stay safe and keep things hopeful and in good humor around here!

Coming in January

I’m currently gearing up to return my focus to the Wall Calendar and Art Book for my Birthstone Goddesses series, as well as to make some changes to this Patreon’s tiers.  I’ll explain those plans in future posts soon!

  • New Coloring Page – $5+ Patrons – I’m also planning to add a new coloring page Reward for $5+ Patrons
  • New Secret Sketchbook Posts – $1+ Patrons – Progress continues on the Temperance painting I’ll be completing for the Woven Path Tarot.  My Patrons will be getting exclusive creative notes on my progress!

Digest of December’s Posts

Rewards Added in December

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It’s a fresh new year and I hope to use this New Years energy to start off strong!  I’m getting my Trello Boards in a row and trying out some new scheduling rhythms for myself.  Upwards and onwards!

♥ Ang

September 2020 – Website Re-launch, Positive Vibes, & Upcoming Fun!

This year has been an odd one, to say the least, and I can’t believe we’re already 9 months into it!  The trend of re-centering myself and taking things slower continued in September with a month that was filled with biz maintenance tasks and exploring a new project in the Tarot vein, something I’ve always wanted to do!

I miss seeing all of my kindred spirits at conventions, but I admit to enjoying this extra time I have to update that old website, take stock of all the art I have around here that hasn’t made it into my shop yet, and other important things that never seemed to get done when I was rushing from deadline to deadline.

All in all, the big positive I’m taking away from this year is that despite not having conventions, I’ve made some great strides in improving my online presence as well as giving myself important rest time that I had been meaning to take for way too long!  Kev and I are happy and healthy and that is a blessing in and of itself.

As we move into next month, I feel such a swell of relief that I am taking October to truly focus on art themes that I have pushed to the side for years now!  I love my Birthstone Goddesses, but I have sorely needed this complete break from the subject matter so I can return to the final leg of my journey with them refreshed later.

New Website Launch!

For those who missed the posts, my Art Nouveau site has gotten a complete makeover!  I’ve retooled the entire website and menu so you can easily find all of my collections and explore the art process for my pieces within!

Coming in October

I’m so very excited to indulge my geeky muse with a tabletop RPG-inspired Art Challenge featuring the cool world of Exalted in October!  I’ll be active on my Patreon’s Discord community sharing sketches, inspirations, and thoughts.  I also have a section dedicated to Art Challenges, if any Patrons would like to join me there during this busy creative month!  

You can read more about Exalted, the Challenge I’m doing, plus see a few teases of art here.

I’ll also still have a coloring page release for my $5+ Patrons, so stay tuned.

Digest of September’s Posts

New Rewards Added in September

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Are any of you taking on a creative challenge in October?  I’d love to hear about it!  I’m always keeping a list of challenges, since they have been proven to be excellent ways for me to jumpstart my muse and have proven to be good mental/creative breaks in the past.  (See my Monster Girls)

I’m so excited for next month! I can’t wait to share and hope you will enjoy the diversion as well.  I know you all come for the Birthstone Goddesses, but I hope you’ll stay for the gunslinging demigod ladies (at least for a little while)!

More soon,

♥ Ang