artists_beware | Advice Needed!

Hey all, longtime lurker, first time questioner! Anyway, I'm in a bit of a pickle and need some advice as to what to do. It's been a yearly tradition that on the Ukfur Forums, we have a group picture commissioned of those who want to be in it and pay. The 2011 picture was organized by a member, and all appeared to be going smoothly. Towards the end of last year, we still hadn't seen anything from the artist, and after a bit of a stink was kicked up, the original organizer was banned from the forums. This is where I come in, as I offered to take up acting as a point of contact and see the picture through till the end. After a bit of prodding, I got the background of the picture sent to me (this has taken about 6 months if I recall), and I presented this to the Ukfurs. Anyway, since then, contact has been very sporadic with the artist, with the occasional note. I have twice been promised updates but have no received them. The artist gave me their skype but I've yet to see them on it. Artist was paid upfront by each participant, to the tune of £5 each. I believe it came to about £300? The deadline was pretty much the start of the year, and about a year from the start all we have is a background. If I recall, the artist is suffering financial issues, and is continuing to take on commissions and streaming. Basically, what do? I literally just offered to be a point of contact because I thought it was progressing well, so I'm a bit stumped really. I really wish I hadn't taken this up, but I didn't know about these issues at the time, and I'll admit, I'm really inexperienced with dealing with problems with commissions, as everyone I've commissioned so far has been awesome to work with!

Advice Needed!

Re: dang