Why Gabriel was late and 2020 changes (Patreon)

I mentioned it in the work in progress posts for Gabriel last month, but I was doing that piece in collaboration with Procreate. They had approached me to create a piece to promote the new version of their software and I obliged because they were giving me total creative freedom. 

In situations where a client allows me to make whatever I want, I have charged for the work as both a commission and here on Patreon. The Zodiac series was done this way without incident and Gabriel was supposed to be a repeat of that process. The problem was, the client decided to change our deal after the fact, leaving us in a brutal disagreement. That disagreement dragged on for the last three weeks and delayed basically everything.

I don't like the way deals like this make me feel and now I'm worried they leave me too compromised. Even if I had an iron clad contract stating that I had real freedom to paint whatever I wanted, I would rather not risk creating bad will here on Patreon. It's easier to just going to swear off deals like this, regardless of how lucrative they are.

What's next

In 2019, a number of freelance opportunities raised their heads and distracted me from my obligations to Angelarium fans. This Patreon campaign is far more important to me than any freelance client. Not only financially, but also personally.  In the end, it's hard to say that the benefits from this outside work were worth the sacrifices they took to make. 

My major goal in 2020 has been to refocus on what's important. That means art and fans. My very late revamp of this campaign should begin rolling out next month. Here's quick list of improvements I plan to make:

• Opening up the Discord to more people
• Posts scheduled in advance, so nothing is updated late
• Combining reward tiers, so more people get more stuff
• A return of bonus physical rewards like pins
• More educational rewards

While I plan on keeping the Legacy Print subscription in 2020, I do plan on changing how I release new Limited Edition prints. Starting next month, I don't plan on making Limited Edition prints of every new piece that comes out. That means this that next month I will have to phase out the $75 tier.

Taking a break from monthly print releases might mean making less money, but it will also mean more freedom to create without commercial pressure. My goal is to get back to how things were at the start, before I had expectations about how I should be working and how I would be selling my work.

Revival of Hesed

This month's painting is the first product of my refocus on art without restriction. Rather than continuing with content planned for Angelarium book 3, I've decided to revisit one of the Emanations just for fun. I'm already feeling a huge weight lifted. I hope you like it :)

Thanks for sticking with me! 

Art updates restarting tomorrow.

Much love,

-Pete