BILL BITES:
Whatever happened to Joe VDB?

Replacing Bill Bites this month is a guest column by former NorCal Guild member Joe VanDerBos. In it, Joe describes his transition from Guerneville to Kalamazoo, freelance to full time and saving money in Fly-over-land with the aid of the sushi station at his local grocery store.

Some of you might remember me as one of the founding members of the Nor Cal chapter, former National Treasurer and Executive Board Member, or maybe that illustrator guy in Guerneville. I enjoyed my time as an active Guild member, meeting people I would've never met, and doing things I never would have otherwise done – like participating on the Peep Show organizing team, and the Repeal of the California Sales Tax effort. I wouldn’t trade those experiences for the world.

It's been 2 years since I departed California. My plan, with my partner David, was to improve our quality of life and financial condition, be nearer my family and have an adventure. So we did.

We found a lovely 1920's house in Kalamazoo, Michigan, where I had gone to college. I continued doing illustration work, and pursued an adjunct teaching position at the local community college. David found a job. We made friends.

When a part-time job for a graphic designer appeared in the paper in Fall 2004, I applied at $12 per hour for fifteen hours per week. It was more a social event than a paycheck, and it was at an architecture firm.

I was able to do as much of my own illustration as before, with none of the pesky self-promotion, knowing that I had a steady, bare-bones income.

After a while, I found I liked having co-workers and a schedule. Fifteen years of self-employment makes one a productivity god, so I was producing in 15 hours what my predecessor completed in a week. I received a substantial raise without asking. By comparison, my art studio seemed insular and disconnected from life. My work hours gradually increased, but I continued taking on illustration assignment work.

I essentially had 2 'jobs', but to my surprise, I found illustration the less interesting pursuit. After all this time, I needed a break from the freelance life. Getting away from my career as "Joe VanDerBos, Illustrator" was starting to feel liberating.

The strangest thing about working was earning vacation time. I was a bit giddy when I realized what it meant – being paid to not be there. It was a foreign concept as a sole proprietor … never feeling able to disconnect from work.

Oh yes, and taxes. No fuss, no muss – they get taken out before I see the deposit.

Let's get real: Before I left California, I was living a financial delusion. I knew I had to save for taxes, but I never saved enough, and always played catch up the first four months of the year. When the check came in, I felt as if it were all mine, even though I knew I should set aside 30% for taxes and retirement. I managed credit really well, never got in trouble, and always knew how much I'd pay the IRS. The illusion of cash flow kept me going for years. When I sold the modest Guerneville house and paid off all debts, I started to see the situation more clearly.

Where am I now? With the realization this year that I was working almost full time, I applied for a position at a competing company. I now find myself starting a new job with a 5-minute drive to work, excellent pay, fully paid medical insurance, 3 weeks paid time off, a flexible schedule and telecommuting as an option in the future.

I'm not teaching, and have an unofficial moratorium on accepting illustration work. Not promoting myself has taken a tremendous weight off. I have time for hobbies! … for just 'being'.

In Fly-over-land, I've been able to actually save money. I can get cool baby lettuce all year round. Rummage sales are overflowing with bargains, and quality antiques. There's a sushi station at the grocery store. Every conversation here isn't about real estate. Imagine!

I'm back to being profitable, something I haven't known, and surely didn't want to measure, for the first time since 1999. I know it's an illusion of another sort, but I like it. The constant nagging worry has been removed.

On the less wonderful side, the idea that I would spend more time designing fonts has failed to materialize. Life as an under-employed illustrator was the perfect breeding ground for fonts, which require a lot of unoccupied time to fully develop. I haven't got that time now.

The job includes some drudgery, the worst of which is PowerPoint presentations. I've learned a lot about Photoshop layers and drop shadows. I've downloaded a boatload of royalty-free photography to use. If there was any doubt about the crack-like appeal of RF, it's gone for me. Yep, I'm that person. I've advised at least one inquiring and desperate illustrator to spend time developing PowerPoint skills. However unsatisfying, it's marketable and in demand. I don't own the rights to the work I do ... and for the most part, I'm not concerned by that.

Speaking of rights, what about that foray into stock art sales? I never found it was worth it. Even with all the options I offer people on my web site, the sales of stock art never covered the time I spent trying to organize, present, and produce it. My web site is still there, in case I decide to return to illustration.

It's not the exactly the picture I had in mind on I-80 heading east in March 2004. I miss California dearly, as well as the friends I made and my peers in the Guild, but I like my life here too.

Let me know how you are doing. Drop me a line.

Warm Regards, Joe

Photo credit: Joe

See the archive of previous Bill Bites columns