Building a Creative Sanctuary: Why I Started a Patreon for My Art
After years of quiet dreaming and burnout, I finally made a space to connect with kindred spirits. This post is not written by a machine. Consider supporting real artists.
I ran across Essential Works of John Stuart Mills the other evening and started reading his memoir. He makes this statement about work that took me by surprise:
“Work without hope draws nectar in a sieve,
And hope without an object cannot live.”
That evening I was walking around the house pacing the living room and debating if I should work on two large 12x16 illustrations for children’s rooms. It was about 10pm and I wasn’t tired. Most days between the hours of 9 to 5 “work” means deleterious technical left-brained exercises of my graphic design skills.
In truth, this isn’t my true work. It’s a path I have been on for years. My real work has always been the creative illustrations I wake up burning to paint. It’s the colorful dreams I have and wake up wanting to recreate. Sometimes these creations are the product of burning late night oil and sometimes they are the product of me getting up at 5am to chase a dream that began when I was a child.
Mill’s statement about work resonated with me that evening. What hope can there be for a creative person if they aren’t working at the their creativity? That’s why I have restarted my Patreon for community, support, and to share these beautiful things.
On Patreon I will be sharing progress updates on the 12 illustrations for this year long project of botanical plants, animals, literature and whimsical themes. Each illustration will have a different animal and a story. I will also be sending Patrons a postcard for each month. (You can vote on Patreon if you would prefer to get a stationary card instead of a postcard in the mail). I want these rewards to be something you can regift or keep. Please consider supporting me on Patreon so I can turn this into my 9-5 and make beautiful things to bring a smile on peoples faces.
I’d love to hear from you if you agree with John Stuart Mill’s quote or if you disagree. Let me know what you think of creativity and work or if this resonates with you also.
* I won’t be sharing posts written or rewritten by AI. I appreciate the value of an AI tool, but I won’t be using it to communicate with the people who support my work. I feel like it wouldn’t be genuine. Thank you for supporting me even though I’m slower than a machine. Art takes time and genuine connection. Please consider supporting a real artist.
You are welcome to use the image below as a subject photo for a painting. More subject photos to come on Patreon and a new Youtube video around the corner!
