Today I would like to talk to you about Artists, whether it’s an illustrator, painter, or even a writer or filmmaker.

All artists put a ton of work, effort, and talent into what they do. Many of them have a process of which sometimes they have no control over. Artists bring happiness and joy into our lives whether it’s through a painting, an illustration, a book, or even a movie.

Here are some rules on dealing with Artists:

1. Never ever ask for free stuff, especially if they are a friend. As a friend, you should be there to support them in their craft and not expect freebies.
2. Expected deadlines will come and go, please be patient as there could be things out of their control preventing them from delivering on time.
3. Always be respectful and don’t harass, being a fan means you are there to praise them and support them not harass them when you are not getting what you want.
4. Artists are allowed to have lives, you are not going to work 24/7 so don’t expect them to.
5. A lot of their time will be spent promoting which means more of a social media presence, this is part of their job. Don’t you dare think that you can tell an artist to get off Facebook and get back to work.
6. Artists are also allowed to have vacations…and you know allowed to have time to eat and sleep.

With all that said let me tell you a Story about an Artist, her Name is Ali Akiyama. You may have seen her name on my home page. I met Ali at Dragon Con at the Art Show and was instantly in love with her Artwork, of which one of her illustrations is featured also on my home page.

It is very rare that I come across an Artist whose work truly speaks to me so when I came across her table I gasped (Or I might have yelled out “bunnies”) for her artwork featured one of my favorite things that make me happy. Bunnies. Her artwork was breathtaking and beautiful and it brought me so much joy just looking at it. Even though I wish I could have purchased it all I picked up a print and a couple of postcards and was determined to subscribe to her Patreon to further provide support.

Several weeks later after I decided I was going to start a blog I knew that I wanted to feature one of her illustrations as the main image to my blog, even though I fully expected her to say no she agreed to give me permission to use one of the pictures, specifically the print I bought at the convention for I felt like the bunny was lifting herself up through positive reinforcement. I told her how my blog was meant to be joyful and happy and to try to combat anxiety and depression.

I was so honored that she let me use her image and this goes back to point Number 1 in my list. Support the Artist however you can, I gave her credit on my site plus added a link to her site. I also increased my contribution to her Patreon and plan on buying the rest of the prints when I can.

Do you have any artist that brings you joy?