Greetings friends and followers, I hope you have a great day! :)

       This month I worked on getting my Patreon ready for launch. If all goes well I'l launching within a few days!

       In the meanwhile I'm busy with working on two commissions, both full illustration with detailed backgrounds, which makes me happy. I always preferred working on more refined pieces like these, instead of no-background speedpaints and portraits. And I'm hoping more such commissions will come my way. :)

       In the other hand however I also feel that I want to spend much more time working on personal art and learning/practicing - in other words, on pursuing my artistic vision of following in the footsteps of great painters of the past. I hope that Patreon will aid me in this goal. For now I have two deadlines approaching: Application for the Eurofurence ArtShow this year, and something that is very very special to me: Application to a call by the Rijksmuseum of Amsterdam! Both of these have a deadline of the 31th of March.

       This year the Rijksmuseum celebrates Rembrandt, undoubtedly one of the greatest - if not the greatest, as he is in my opinion - painters of all times. As part of this, they call for submission of Rembrandt-inspired artworks, from which they will select the best ones to be exhibited in the Rijksmuseum itself! To me Rembrandt is the ultimate painter, my biggest inspiration and idol. He is my God of Painting. So this is an opportunity I cannot let pass.

       So next month I'll have to spend a lot of time on creating a painting worthy for the Rijksmuseum's call. I already have the concept fleshed out but to actually paint it is another matter. This will have to be my best painting to date. I have to do not only my best, but more than that. And even if I don't get selected, I'll have a personal piece that I can be truly proud of, and which is a homage to Rembrandt, the man who made me the artist I am today, and whose legacy will keep guiding me, likely until the end of my life.

       Once again I would like to thank You all who are sharing this journey of art with me. I can't say it enough how much your support means, however humble it may be. Even just a Fav means a lot. And I hope that some of you will also join me on Patreon soon. :)

       Dear friends and followers! It's finally coming!

       I wanted to do this for a long time, but finally I feel I will be ready soon. In best case I hope to launch sometimes in February.

       First of all, no need to worry, I will not paywall my art! I make art because I want to share it with all of You, locking it away is something I would never do!

       This however brings us to my next point: In order to figure out what kinds of rewards can I give to you for joining my artistic journey, I need Your help. I have a bunch if ideas already, but I want to hear what You think! After all, my Patreon page will be for You.

       Please check this poll: https://www.strawpoll.me/17274149

       Also, you are absolutely welcome to share any ideas, suggestions or questions in the comments below.

       Thank you in advance, and also thank you for Your continued support, and I'll hopefully see many of you over at my Patreon page when it finally launches. :)

       First of all, happy new year to all of you!

       So 2018 id over. For me, new Year is always an important spiritual milestone. The end of the year is time for reflection on my life, and it concludes in a statement of what the next year's goal, or spirit will be. I don't make resolutions, I chose directions.

       The aim and motto of 2019 will be: Returning to my true self.

       What does this mean? I could write pages about it but I'll try to put it as short as I can: I'll turn 33 this year. Most of my life was spent in poverty, depression and hopelessness, and over the last 15+ years I've slowly lost myself. I've lost the feel of being alive, the sense of who I am and where my place is in the big picture. Art helped me beginning a journey of reclaiming what I've lost but the real journey will only begin now.

       For decades life feels like a dream, all hazy and unreal, with the real me sleeping deep inside. Probably the only time I felt awake and alive again was when in 2011 I boarded an airplane to New Delhi, with 50 days before my return flight, maybe about $200-250 cash, no plans, no reservations just an old printed out map with a tiny village marked deep inside the Himalayas in the region of Ladakh which used to be in the western parts of the old Tibetan Empire. Moreover, I was planning to somehow get there via trekking through the mountains, with zero high altitude experience and zero appropriate gear.

       It was a leap of faith. And a bold one at that.

       People called me many things: crazy, irresponsible, delusional. They told me the money won't even be enough for 10 days let alone 50. They told me I won't be able to get to Ladakh and back with barely any money and no planning whatsoever. They told me there is no way I can make it. One person even made a bet with me that if I make it he pays me some money because there is no way I can pull this off.

       But I did.

       And when I was crossing the pass of Shingo La, at an altitude of 5100 meters (16,700 ft), about to walk down on a glacier in my worn $5 Chinese-made hoodie and military surplus boots, watching the rain clouds gather above me, I felt something special:

       I was free.

       At that moment I felt, that if I don't make it, if I die here now, caught in the ice cold rain on the glacier with no waterproof clothes and freeze, like so many do every year who try to crosse the mountains without proper gear, I'll die without regrets. I'll die without fear.

       This is me, at Shingo La: https://www.furaffinity.net/view/22626598/

       On that day I felt perfect freedom and peace. And one day I'll go back there again, because a part of me stay up there in the mountains, calling me. But for now, I have other challenges to face. Other leaps of faith to make.

       The leap of faith before me now may not be as dramatic as the the one I just told you about, but is just as significant. It is time to stop dwelling on my mistakes and stalling in a never ending circle of "I'm not ready to jump yet". It is time I finally reclaimed my life. And this is my goal for 2019.

       As for you, my friends and followers, this will mean new directions in my art, releasing an updated price sheet and terms soon, as well as other steps that I'll talk about more when it's time. Things will change. Things will have to change. And I would like to hereby thank you for your continued support, and do my best to create art that will lift your spirits and make you happy. After all, even though I'm trying to make a living selling art, my main motivation has always been and will always be to give people something through my art. To do my small contribution to trying to make the world a better place, one painting at a time.

       Thank you.

       Happy Winter Solstice to everyone!

       I do not observe Christmas since I'm not Christian, so I use this opportunity to wish everyone Happy Holidays, regardless of what the holidays they observe may be! :)

       As for me, the Winter Solstice is the symbolic time of the light defeating darkness, new hope and new beginnings being born, and the time between the Solstice and New Year (referred to as Yule by pagans) is the time fo reflection, when we should get away from the noise of the World and spend our time with the people who are the dearest to us, and with reflecting on our own life and decisions, coming to terms with whatever hardship we may have faced and whatever mistakes we may have made, so we can move on to a new year, filled with new hope.

       So I'll spend this time just like that, reflecting, and also finalizing and preparing my big plans for next year. I have made mistakes in the past that I finally need to put to rest and move on. I can't let these mistakes define me, and hold me back anymore.

       That's right, I have some big plans! I want to leave a part of my life behind and start a new part, one that is defined by artistic growth, productivity and an end to poverty. So stay tuned, as I'll make some announcements come the New Year.

       But for now, everyone just enjoy your respective holidays, and maybe do some reflection as well. :)

       See you in 2019!

       So, after a few visits to the vet, our cat seems all right.

       The blood test was negative for kidney issues, and his teeth weren1t so bad after all so the vet only cleaned the abscessed wound and removed tartar from the teeth. He still gets some medicine for two more days, then he will have a final checkup with the vet, just to make sure the wound is healing all right.

       However, there are some considerations for the future. He has some teeth overgrown by the gum, which possibly signals a teeth issue which may result to teeth needing pulled in the future, but the only way to know is by an X-ray. Also he has some digestion weirdness and after a simple ultrasound the vet saw something that could possibly be a tumor, but again, the only way to know is via taking him to a clinic for a proper, high quality exam. Both of these are things that are impossible for us to afford - but at least they are not super urgent. Still, the sooner the better, obviously.

       So for now this only cost us about $140 but for us that is a lot of money, and we had to borrow money for it, so we will need to find a way to make it back soon. And this forces my hand to go through with two critical decisions, that I'm going to write about soon.

       At least the cat is fine - for now.

Last night our older cat had a lot of pain and we took him to the vet today. He has an infected bite on his front leg that turned into a large abscess full of puss that needs to be opened up. But upon further inspection and discussion other problems were found too. For once, he has teeth problems, most notable a back teeth that got lose and rotated 90 degrees inwards so now it points right towards the tongue. That tooth needs to be removed, and possibly others too. Also, the vet suspects he may have kidney issues, so a blood sample was taken and sent to a lab (delivered by me right after the vet visit so it can be ready by tomorrow morning). The results of that test will decided a few things, e.g what meds can be safely used to knock him out for the tooth removal and abscess cleaning.

Needless to say that we want the best for him so what needs to be done will be done but this sets us back with a large amount. Two to three weeks of living costs for the two of us is going to the vet, and we did not have any savings whatsoever, just barely scraping by. I borrowed from my mother but we will need to find a way to pay that back soon because she cannot afford this much money either.

We take the cat back to the vet tomorrow in the morning for the needed surgeries, and we will see where to go from there. We still have hope that the blood test for kidney problems comes back negative but if it doesn't, things get way more complicated, and he will need special food for the rest of his life.

We are looking int out options for covering the bills. There is an animal protection group in the next town that may be able to help us pay the bills but I have no idea how to qualify for that, so I need to talk to them. If that isn't an option, then we will likely have to set up a fundraiser - assuming I find any site that is available in Hungary. Last time I checked YouCaring was the only one, and since then GoFundMe bought it up and made it US and rich countries only, like GFM and all the other such sites already are. Because apparently it makes sense that fundraiser sites are not available in poor countries...

I'll keep you updated but right now I have to think things through. And this timing is horrible because there is another matter which will be emotionally super hard on me that I need to face, and I was just getting ready for that when this came along. :/

       Anyone have a spare Fallout 4 key (preferably for Steam)?

       I really want Fallout 4 but can't afford to buy it any time soon. I have a bunch of Steam, Uplay and GOG keys I could trade.

       Edit: Got the game from g2play. :3 Thanks for the suggestion guys! :)

       Last weekend I posted about being taken to the ER with strong sharp chest pain, and exams being unable to find out why.

       So a few days ago I was just about to embark on a painful walk to the local doctor to follow up. The pain was medium bad, breathing and walking both hurt. Then suddenly I hiccuped pretty strongly. It felt like I got shot in the ribs. The sudden muscle contractions of the hiccup triggered such strong pain I was literally shaking and had to sit down. After a minute or two it started getting better... but it didn't stop at getting back to where it was before the hiccup. It slowly got better and better, until the pain was almost entirely gone.

       I could breath freely again, move around, even jump and jog with no problem, only having some minimal, negligible residual pain in my shoulder and ribs. Whatever was the mysterious cause of my condition has been fixed by those strong muscle contractions. And I thought: What the actual fuck just happened?!

       I went to the doctor regardless to talk through the whole ordeal. When I got to the part of how the hiccup fixed me he was just scratching his head and be as clueless as I. He said the only thing he can do at this point is prescribe some anti-inflammatory meds and send me home to see if things clear up. So I did that. For a few days I was resting, while making sure to carefully exercise and move my shoulder and side, as apparently movement was what this needed. To be on the safe side I took the medication for about two days but it made me feel sick and my condition just kept improving so I quit it.

       Yesterday I was already drawing for a few hours, and today I concluded that my issue is indeed fixed, so it's time I get back to work with full force. I have lost almost a week, and now have a lot of catching up to do. Finances were also impacted heavily so now I need to focus on making some money. I had a few new commissions incoming, luckily.

       What annoys me most is that once again this ends up delaying my work with the backlog, which is really frustrating because I want to clear it up ASAP, but bills have to be paid and food bought so I have no choice. Let's just hope that the next few commissions provide enough income that I don't need to take another for a while.

       I also really want to start a Patreon, but I didn't want to do that until I make significant progress with the backlog. :/

       I was taken to the ER today with strong sharp chest pain and fever.

       After spending 7 hours there, mostly sitting on a super un-ergonomic metal bench (Hungarian healthcare...) they ruled out all the life threatening possibilities, but we still don't know what's wrong exactly. It is likely pleurisy.

       For now I will just rest and see if I improve, otherwise I'll have to go to another hospital for more medical exams.

       I'll try to work a bit if I can sit comfortably in my chair but rest is top priority now.

       I've arrived back from Eurofurence a few days ago - only to get sick right away. Damn con crud! :(

       But with the pressure of finishing art for EF gone, and making a small profit through selling art, I can now focus on the backlog again - once I stop being sick, that is.

       Overall the con was great and I gathered lots of inspiration and motivation, made some new connections and got lot of kind words on my art, which feels good. I also felt I got lot of validations on the direction I'm heading, along with some encouraging and constructive criticism.

       So what can you expect now? Mostly backlog updates, and some sketches. There are also some new commission inquires that I'm going to place on waiting list and accept them slowly as my finances demand.

       Finally, I started considering again the idea of setting up a Patreon, but for now I'm still working out the details. I know lot of furs have a bad experience with Patreon thanks to some artists abusing it, so I want to make sure I can do it in a way that provides a positive experience for everyone.

       Stay tuned!

       Instagram seems to be the big hype for artists today - probably because of so many people using it.

       I have decided to jump on the bandwagon, so if you by any chance you Instagram, you can find me here (still uploading art):

       https://www.instagram.com/stormengineer/

       With just a week until Eurofurence I'm busy with preparations. I just ordered some really pretty custom frames last Friday, and today I've taken my prepared art files to the professional art printer (giclé print) studio. The owner of the studio actually liked my artworks so much that he asked if they could upload some photos of my completed prints, and maybe of them being hung at the Art Show to their Instagram and Facebook!

       I'm taking 8 limited prints to the Art Show - wanted more but I've been sick for a whopping two weeks, which crossed my plans. So I'll get the prints Wednesday or Thursday, and the frames on Friday, then I can frame them.

       In the meanwhile I still need to get some business cards and card holders to be placed on the panels, and some custom stickers for the backs of the prints. I also need to buy some new clothes.

       So for now I'm resting a little while taking care of the remaining tasks. And then, see you at EF!

General & Personal

♞ What is your gender?
- Male (Actually genderfluid but mostly in the male zone)

♞ Relationship Status:
- Open

♞ How old are you?
- 32

♞ How tall are you?
- 187 cm

♞ Which languages do you speak?
- Hungarian, English, PHP, CSS. And I can insult you in a few more. :P

♞ What suit(s) will you have?
- None :(

♞ Do you drink Alcohol?
- Yes, in moderation.

♞ Do you smoke?
- Cigarettes, no, and I hate cigarette smoke. I sometimes smoke a wooden pipe though, and rarely a cigar.

♞ What do I have to watch out for, when I am meeting you?
- I have several issues due to mild autism (Asperger's Syndrome). I can't remember faces or names, I tend to talk too much and too loud and not recognize when I'm being annoying. I may also act angrily when something annoys, but I calm down quickly. I'm sensitive to a few things, including loud noises. Also, I have a very hard time to understand speech when there is background noise - I can hear it, just my brain can't filter it out from the noise and can't process it.

Generally if I act inappropriate let me know constructively, because chances are I'm unaware of it.

♞ If I see you, how should I get your attention?
- I suck at recognizing eye contact so the best is to walk over to me, maybe even touch my shoulder - or you can just try waving frantically, but I may still not notice it even though you are right in front of me.

♞ What is the best way to contact you?
- If you really have to, use Telegram - but please no random idle chatter, no messages consisting of "Hi" and "What's up?". Contact me only if you have something meaningful to say, eg. you want to meet up or invite me to an event. My handle: @StormEngineer

Travel and stay

♞ Where are you staying?
- The Estrel!

♞ Means of transportation?
- Train from Budapest to Berlin... 11 hours... 2nd class... May the gods show mercy to my buttocks.

♞ Sharing a room with:
- My lovely mare  kyeramoon!

♞ When will you be arriving and leaving?
- 22th Wednesday - 27th Monday morning

At the con

♞ Where will you be most of the time during the day?
- All over the place! :)

♞ Who will you be with?
- Mostly with my lovely mare  kyeramoon and friends.

♞ How can I find you at the con?
- I may turn up every now and then in the Artist Lounge and at the Art Show but if you really need to find me use Telegram (see above).

♞ Attending any events?
- I'm interested in some panels, especially the art related ones. The life drawing I really don't want to miss!

♞ Holding any panels?
- Not this year.

♞ What/where will you be eating?
- Anything vegetarian and not too expensive.

♞ Will you be having a room party?
- Unlikely.

Art

♞ Are you buying art?
- Maybe, depending on how my own sales go. :D

♞ Do you do free art?
- No.

♞ Do you do trades?
- Maybe - but only if our skills are not very far from each other. I prefer fair trades.

♞ Do you do commissions?
- Yes! Not at the con though, I won't have my equipment. But we can discuss commissions.

♞ Will you have panels in the Art Show?
- Yes! Half each in the SFW and NSFW sections. My SFW will also host a piece from my roomie and friend  akitary!

♞ Will you sell something in the Dealers Den?
- Nope. But I may have something in the Artist Alley, we will see.

♞ Will you hang out in the Artist Lounge?
-Yes! Or well, I'll try to.

Permissions

♞ Can I dance with you?
- Me and dancing don't usually mix... but I doN1t rule it out entirely.

♞ Can I touch you?
- Yes. Just apply common sense.

♞ Can I talk to you?
- Sure! Though I may be busy sometimes.

♞ Can I hug you?
- Assuming you are clean, yes.

♞ Can I take photos of you/with you?
- Sure, but I'd appreciate if you ask first.

♞ Can I buy you lots of drinks?
- Lots, no, but a few I won't refuse. :) The Berliner Weiße Grün sold at the bar is one of my favorite drinks. *hint hint* Note though that I avoid getting drunk, so if I feel tipsy I may refuse to drink more alcoholic drinks until my head clears a bit.

♞ Can I give you lots of money?
- Sure, I guess... but I will want to know what is your aim with this. Money won't get me to do things I wouldn't do otherwise.

♞ Can we hang out?
- Why not? Though I'm introverted and may stick with people I know. Nothing personal.

♞ Can we go out for a dinner?
- Generally speaking, sure! But I'll likely join friends most of the time.

♞ May I kidnap you to my room?
- Hmmm... maybe... but you need to talk to me first.

♞ Will you tell me your room-number and can I surprise visit you?
- No. Absolutely no surprise visits. Ever.

♞ Can I look in your sketchbook/conbook?
- Sure, just ask, and don't disturb me when I'm drawing in it.

Miscellaneous

♞ Are you nice?
- You will have to decide that yourself.

♞ Other cons you may go to?
- I would love to go to many, but it's expensive. I'll probably go to ZodiaCon and EF each year though.

♞ How many furry conventions have you attended before?
- Two. Ef and ZodiaCon once each.

♞ You look pretty tired, are you OK?
- If I stop moving administer a 2:1 mixture of Monster Energy and Club Mate intravenously.

♞ Last time/last con/last meet/last chat we talked so much and now you forgot my name? Why???
- I have some issues, including being face blind (I won't recognize you) and having a really tough time to remember names. So don't be surprised if you tell me your name and I ask it again mere 10 seconds later.

♞ What's your goal for the con this year?
- Sell all my Art Show pics, and have a great time!

♞ I have a personal question for the convention. May I ask you that?
- Sure, I'm open-minded. In worst case I'll decline answering. Just be nice.


[Empty revamped meme for use: https://pastebin.com/XxFG0QVH ]

       I just arrived back home from Amsterdam late night Saturday.

       The trip was amazing, and I gathered lots of inspiration. Most importantly I've visited two places of critical importance to me. The first is Rembrandt's house-museum, where he lived, worked and taught his students during his best years - furnished almost exactly as it was back when Rembrandt lived there, and complete with an oil paint making demo in his studio, and copper plate printing demo in his printing workshop. And the second place, which you have probably guessed, is the Rijksmuseum where I could see in person The Night Watch, the most famous masterwork of Rembrandt as well as more paintings from him and some more of the greatest Dutch Golden Age painters, such as the The Milkmaid and Little Street and some others by Johannes Vermeer, The Merry Family and several other paintings by Jan Steen, several paintings by Pieter de Hooch, and much more.

       Being able to set foot in the studio of Rembrandt, considered the greatest painter of all times by many including myself, and then seeing his and other great Dutch masters' works in person and from - more or less - up close was one of the most powerful experiences in my life. And the fact that I could share these moments with my mare kyeramoon made it even more special. I'm such a lucky stallion to have a mare who shares my love for classical art and can truly understand and appreciate my dedication to following in the footsteps of these great artists.

       While the trip was physically exhausting it invigorated my drive as an artist and my dedication to working harder and harder to improve so that maybe one day I may be able to stand up to my art idols.

       In front of The Night Watch I silently sworn that I'll work hard and do my best to become a master painter one day. While it's unlikely that I'll ever be comparable to Rembrandt, the only way to properly honor his heritage is by trying anyway. To never settle, and always strive to do better. To push your limits and go Plus Ultra.

       Sic itur ad astra per aspera.

       I'll be out of town for a week, spending some time with my mare. I won't check FA or read Notes or emails until I'm back.

 
       I have just returned from ZodiaCon a few days ago and am now back to work at full speed.

       Sadly I didn't make as good progress in the last months as I hoped, and I'm behind my plans so now I have to try and catch up. My focus is in three areas currently: Clearing my backlog, getting ready for Eurofurence (creating pictures for the Art Show) and taking a few commissions to have my living costs covered.

       At the moment I have to prioritize the ArtShow, as I have less than three months to have enough art ready and printed to fill my panels. Printing and framing will also cost quite a lot of money which I need to save up, but I'm hoping that I'll be able to make enough on the auction sales to cover most, if not all of the costs of EF. I'm also hoping the Art Show participation will earn me potential new customers.

       As for the backlog, while I would want to get rid of it ASAP, I have no choice but to assign lower priority to it for now. After EF however I can focus on it again. My plan is that even in the absolute worst case I must have all backlog cleared by the end of this year, but I would like to get there much sooner than that if possible. Sadly speed is not one of my strengths right now, but I'm slowly improving in that regard.

       My depression is also steadily improving, even if quite slowly. It will probably take years or more, and eventually professional help to get rid of it fully. For now I just try to make sure I'm not falling back into another months-long artist block, but it's easier said than done.

       Anyhow, thank you all for being part of my artistic journey, and stay tuned for more art! :)
 

       Pro tip: Don't get salmonella infection. It's not great. Knocked me out for an entire week, but I finally recovered a few days ago, and now trying to make up for all the lost time.

       Finances are OK for the moment thanks to a very generous friend who I cannot thank enough (you know who you are) but I'll still have to make up for lost money and time, so I'm working on a new YCH. Hopefully after that I can return to working on my backlog for a while.

       In other news, I'm flying to Berlin on Friday to spend almost a week with my lovely mare kyeramoon! Tickets were purchased and paid before the electricity breakdown so it won't cost money now. I'm coming back Wednesday, April 2, so I will be unavailable until then.

       Finally, a little extra good news is that recently I spent some time on painting practice and learning, and developing a few new Krita brushes for myself, and I feel I took a huge step forward. The new YCH I'm working on will be the first piece where I apply all the new things, so stay tuned. :)

       I'm knocked out since Sunday evening with what seems to be an intestinal Salmonella infection based on the symptoms. Let's just say I've been through a mini-hell in just three days.

       The main symptoms are gone now but I'm still weakened and fighting dehydration due to constant diarrhea. I was unable to do anything meaningful since, but I'm hoping that maybe tomorrow I can get back to work again.

       On the other hand the electricity provider finally reconnected me to the grid on Monday, but there is still no connection between the inner circuits of the house and the new meter. The technician supposedly comes back today with materials I paid for yesterday, setting us back even more, and start building the connection.

       In best case, we can reconnect everything using the current, outdated, unstable wires inside, and hope that they hold out until I can afford to replace them inside the walls (LOTS of money and work, moving furniture, drilling and chiseling walls...) In worst case we will have to keep living without lighting and extension cords all around the place until said replacement can be done. And we will only know if our attempt works or not when we are actually trying it.

       So here was I a week ago, happy and full of hope and inspiration that things are finally getting better for me - and here I am now, with broken down wires, a huge debt and bills I cannot pay, very sick, hoping that it doesn't just get worse. :/ Let's just say, I'm not exactly happy right now... but I'll have to pull through somehow.
 

       Yesterday the electricity in our house failed. Turned out it's the incoming cable to the meter that is faulty - BUT, due to regulations having changed since that meter was installed, it cannot be reinstated there.

       The whole incoming part, cable from the pole, meter housing, meter installment, from the meter to the house circuit has to be redone. We are looking towards a $6-800 cost minimum, and have little to nothing to spare.

       A neighbor's electric technician friend agreed to do a friend's deal for us, so we paid him $200 (about all we could spare) for materials, and we will have to pay him the rest over 2 months or so. A gentleman's agreement, thanks to the neighbor vouching for me. I would have had no chance to pay this money otherwise, and even this way, this will be very hard.

       If all goes well we will have power back before next Monday, but there is also a fair chance that the new system's fault breaker will not turn on, meaning the house's internal cabling so too old and unsafe, having to be replaced, meaning we will be looking towards an additional $600-1000 cost which we won't be able to do in any reasonable time.

       For now we have limited power courtesy of another neighbor via extension cord, supplying only the PCs, desk lamps and the fridge - no lighting or hot water.

       I'll report how things go but we will be forced to take on several new commissions just to cover the costs since we had no any savings. :(

       I was a bit silent in the past few weeks. A few things happened, including a long weekend trip to Berlin to meet with my mare, and I had a bit of falling back into depression and art block but I'm back now.

       My schedule with the large YCH drifted a bit, which I'm not happy for. I'm resuming full effort work on it now to try and make up for the lost time.

       On the side however, the funds that allowed me to go without any paid work for months are running out now, so I have to take on some paid work.

       I'm about to upload a new full illustration YCH in a moment. Once my backlog is cleared I plan to create several 1-3 character YCHs, and I may create a few more until then as finances necessitate it.

       Stay tuned for more art!

       I've mentioned already that I'll need a new chair, and 4 days ago I finally got one. Originally I was looking at a $165 gaming chair that felt pretty ergonomic and had the lumbar cushion to help with my back pain. There was also a $205 chair that had adjustable back and a neck cushion as well and I thought I wish I could get that one, but it's too expensive. But then on the day I went to buy... the more expensive chair was on a huge sale, for 6 dollars less than the cheap one I wanted to buy!!!

       So I got a $205 chair for only $159!

       OH FUCK YES! Check it out: https://www.furaffinity.net/view/26607741/

       And it's amazing. Sitting in it for the first time was cathartic,k I could feel my spine getting realigned to a healthy shape. My back pain and tail bone pain is gone completely. I can also breathe much more freely in this natural position. And the adjustable back allows me to rest against it while in a fully upright position for drawing on the digital tablet.

       This is a huge quality of life improvement, and working feels much better now, with the pain gone. I wanted to make a journal but I was so distracted by the experience that I forgot.

       Also, today for the first time in my life I have no unpaid bills! This is an important step towards stable finances. And I celebrated it with chocolate pizza and cherry beer! ;)

       Now just focusing on getting work done with the paintings, and everything will be fine. :)

       I slacked off a bit lately but I'm catching up with productivity again!

       I started rendering the details of the Anubian YCH. I want to finish it ASAP, and I didn't want to dork on anything else until it's done, but looks like I may be forced to take on something...

       My current chair is falling apart, literally. The back is held in place by the armrests but the right one has broken out completely and I feel it twist every time I lean back. It's a matter of time before it falls apart, and I can't work without a chair.

       It looks like this now: https://www.furaffinity.net/view/26469158/

       I also suffer from back pain so if I'm going to buy a new chair it should be one that can help with that. Gamer chairs are designed for comfortable sitting over longer times, and are still cheaper than special orthopedic chairs so I looked into them. I found one on the cheaper end that looks good enough, the Genesis Nitro 300.

       It comes with an adjustable lumbar support cushion that would greatly help - right now I have a small pillow tucked behind my back but it's not very effective. I had a chance to sit in the Nitro 300 displayed at a supermarket, and it was amazing.

       However, being on the cheaper end of gamer chairs it still costs about $170 and I doN't have a coin to spare, so I will need to do more paid work to finance it.

       I need to think this through.

       So, for now my Journal writing habits were all over the place. Sometimes I was silent for long except for things of key importance, other times I rambled about personal things, or write short journals for small things. But I know Journal spam can be annoying. So I wonder, what do YOU think? Should I write about anything? Or only important things? Somewhere in between?

       [ Click here for Journal vote ]

       And what about my Twitter? What kind of tweets do you want to see the most from me?

       [ Click here for Twitter vote ]

       Also feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below.

       I underestimated how slow can a Flu heal... several days ago I already started feeling much better and thought it will be gone in 1-2 days, but I'm still not fully healed.

       At least though I'm getting better day by day so today I'm finally getting some work done. I've lost a whole week due to being sick and I really didn't need this right now when I wanted to make quick progress.

       In the meanwhile, continued uploading older pics I didn't before. There are only a few more left now.

       My flue seems to finally leave. I'm feeling pretty OK, thought not fully recovered yet but if all goes well tomorrow I can be back to work!

       Also, I'll really try to be active on Twitter now. I have a normal and NSFW acc, if you don't wanna miss anything please follow both.

       Normal Twitter: Storm_Engineer

       NSFW Twitter: Storm_Enginr_AD