ETA: MAJOR EDIT
I’ve changed tactics. I’ve started a GoFundMe in efforts to find customers outside of my own circles. I want to sell my work, but donations are gratefully welcomed.
If anyone can help out by spreading the word through Facebook, Instagram, or whatever, I am in a severe time crunch and it would help immensely if I could find 5 to 10 paying customers within the next 24 hours. I don’t know if legs will be broken, but this is serious.
I sent out a couple of paintings today, completely cured and varnished. It’s nice how they turned out. After they were “fingernail test” dry, I chose to put a temporary acrylic varnish on them to protect them from any atmospheric damage, and then recently varnished over that. They turned out great, and retain even the finest little artifact (like artifact in photography) which feels good to me. I like a little texture in the image.
Often when I have a painting that is completed or near completed and I need to allow them some time to dry, I will hang them on the wall of my friend’s hair salon. She’s closed today, so I have to wait for Monday to go grab the portrait of @Kii 's girl.
Meanwhile, I picked up an older 8 X 8 that I had been working on before the pandemic, and realized it really needed some revisions. Almost done here, but has anyone ever found some old work (of any kind) you did in the past, and wonder what the hell you must have been doing? 
Anyway, almost done and I’ll offer it up for sale.
Testing out my Uni Posca paint pens today…and I am ecstatic. Now I can sign my name on my artwork like a doctor instead of a four year-old. 
Ok, now I am happy. I just need to walk away for a bit because it’s time for the finishing touches – whiskers. I may or may not travel across the river to get a fine point brush for the whiskers today. It can wait until tomorrow if I have other errands to run.
Ope, never mind! I found an old, skinny brush here in my art junk. Whiskers painted. All done!
All done with this as well (okay, maybe just smooth out that wiggle at the edge of her lower left cheek).
I’ll give it a couple of days to dry before I oil out for the last time and check for errors, and then a temporary acrylic varnish a week or so later to protect against the elements until it can be properly varnished.
Okay folks, THIS IS IT for me. It’s down to the wire and I am in great need for some more work, or some monetary help in any fashion right now.
I managed to raise $2000 in the past ten days, had to spend around $500 of that to take care of urgent needs and art supplies. I need to gather at least another $2000 right away, because tomorrow the hammer comes down.
If anyone can make another try at boosting my signal on social media, it would be greatly appreciated. Instagram, Twitter, commissions, donations, etc., anything works.
I tried to ask for a loan from my credit union, but I got turned down for lack of credit because I don’t use credit cards or have any loans in recent history. My credit is clean, but not strong enough due to lack of use.
I cannot donate plasma because I take prednisone. I can’t find any day labor within the San Diego city limits or south of there that isn’t seriously health-threatening for someone my age. Art is my only way out.
Using the GoFundMe portal is not particularly important right now, you can use PayPal or Google Pay, too. I just really, really need the work before things get really bad tomorrow.
ETA: Just for clarification’s sake, when I pay this amount a very big financial problem will be taken care of and not come back again. After that, I’m back to owing only small stuff like rent (mine is small), internet, and cellphone on a monthly basis.
ETA: Just FYI, I think I’ll be pretty busy through Saturday, including going over into San Diego. If anyone needs to contact me, you can email me at knox672000@yahoo.com because I will have my phone with me.
Kicked in a bit - hope that others can help out as well.
This is much appreciated.
I have two time-sensitive pieces I am working on at the moment for November. That gives me a little wiggle room if anyone comes up with something else urgent before Christmas.
When I need to let things dry, I’m going back through paintings that need revision and/or a little repair (from the leaky roof in my old apartment) before mailing them out.
ETA: I just made some edits to my Instagram posts to include pertinent hashtags, and wow…so many likes!
Contributed
Hoping things settle for you soon
Thank you!
So, we’re off to a janky start with another painting. It will get better, I promise. Blocking in is always the part I hate most, because it often doesn’t look like the finished product but still looks crappy enough for you to doubt yourself if you let it.
I will have some progress shots posted by tomorrow, but in the meantime I hope some folks might help me out with another push on social media.
The big debt is taken care of now, but I’m still in need of commissions (or even donations) to deal with everyday stuff. Food, cat food, kitty litter, cellphone bill, rent, etc.
We can eat for a day, but I need to get some food and enough kitty litter for the cats, most importantly.
This time, I ask folks to use PayPal or GooglePay, because the turnaround from the GoFundMe takes a few days to process.
I’m still steadily painting, but I have an urgent need to help with the cats. Kitty litter, cat food, and maybe even a trip to the vet for Ripley and Charlie for sterilization so I can put them and Dulce up for adoption.
Normally, I would ask $300 for this painting, but if someone can make a reasonable offer (not just $1) I could let it go at a discount.
Regular brands like Tidy Cat are not an option with six cats, and Arm & Hammer is the best for odor control, and it goes for $11 a box both in San Diego and Tijuana. One box = one pan.
Commission arrived. Carefully packed. It looks fantastic 
edited to black out the name. I almost never put pics of her on the internet and was uncomfortable with her name on there. So just imagine an elegant first name where the black blob is!
Beautiful!
It’s so wonderful to see something so beautiful come out of our humble BBS community!
So, here it is February and life is still throwing curve balls, especially being so close to financial independence again.
I am just a few thousand away from having some of my major problems behind me, but I still need to make some money to get there, so I have a new proposal…
I will still charge $600 per painting, but for a limited time I will be willing to create some special large panels for 5-10 people if I can only receive the help I need quickly. I have the materials, and would need to make arrangements with clients for hand delivery later in the year.
To show what I mean, here is an image of some particle board panels I have for the purpose. Each is 2 feet by 4 feet, but I am prepared to construct panels that are larger if you want. All I ask is for folks not to take advantage and ask for something that is impossibly large, like a building mural.
I have some other work to finish at present, but I can begin work at the beginning of March. I wish to be able to take a trip across the US, delivering every piece around the same time, possibly in late fall. If personal delivery is not possible, we should consider a modular work that can be easily assembled and installed by someone handy.
REASONS: So many things are falling apart for me at the moment just as I am getting close to being able to earn money without depending on art sales. I need to renew my passport (for the ability to travel back and forth between San Diego and Tijuana), get some much needed dental work to replace several fillings I’ve lost over the past year, pay my federal income tax, and so many other things.
Once these important things are taken care of, I have a few months left with my SNAP benefits, as well as the opportunity to qualify for an Obamaphone, and hopefully Medicare. A few months of financial relief will allow me to get back to the financial standing I had this time last year, which means no more begging for work.
So many things dependent upon other things, it’s been frustrating, but I am positive that if I can gain 5 more customers (or more), everything will be fine again.
As it stands, I think my internet might be cut off before Monday, but I can still check my bank card balance at the ATM, so the first money I get will go to paying my internet and I can communicate again. Next, applying for my passport in person (required), getting the new cellphone, and then other necessary things. All in all, I think the most important things will take up the payment for one painting, $600.
So, I wonder if anyone might be able to help me by passing around the information on social media? You would have permission to post images I have painted if it helps. My older GoFundMe is still active, but I cannot access it to edit until I can restore cellular service to use the two-factor authorization.
I can accept payments at PayPal also. I considered trying Etsy, but their fees are twice the amount.
If any folks need proof of my dental situation, here’s a lovely photo showing my gum trouble after losing my fillings. I won’t bother with the molar, because it’s too difficult to get a photo on my own.
ETA: Just a quick breakdown, for clarification…
1-2 painting orders = immediate problems taken care of. Passport, visa, and several small things that need attention, but nowhere near being able to stop begging for work.
3-4 painting orders = this means I can take care of one big debt that’s been holding me down this past year.
5 or more painting orders = All current issues solved, and enough capital that I can generate income without having to beg for painting work anymore. I will still sell paintings to those who want to buy, but I will also be able to use some of this capital to engage in arbitrage of various forms like reselling retail, and foreign currency exchange (I was doing this after pandemic payments stopped, so I know it works).
Okay, a quick update…
I received payment for one panel today, so I am 1/5 closer to my goal. Tomorrow or the next day, I can get the paperwork started on my replacement passport as well as be able to utilize my SNAP again and get the Obamaphone I’ve been trying to get for the past month. Those three things will help immensely in moving forward with life.
Also, a little cash might light a fire under the guy who promised to help me troubleshoot the photo software on my tablet so I can post more images.
