New Year
New Year! Happy y’all are here.
Not a lot new, but a lot in progress.
First, a call to action!
If you happen to have some cash, consider helping Yazan. His wife and him are still facing harrowing conditions in Gaza after surviving the war. They need donations to help rebuild their lives.
A year in review.
I try not to put too much pressure on myself coming into the new year, but the day of the year is important for taking stock.
I'm feeling more put together and independent than I did last year. I want to work harder to produce more ambitious work, but I love what I've done. I did a number of pet portraits. I sketched more consistently than I ever have, which is starting to open me up artistically. I kept up with this blog, which has been holding me accountable to at least some tasks.
I feel lucky that I’ve gotten this far in my creative journey, but I still feel like I want to work harder to help people. I expected to become more serious this year, but I’ve found it hard to find my voice when others say it better. So, instead of trying to express a serious opinion with serious art, I've attached calls to actions for serious causes to work that causes joy. This seems to be my mode of operation for the moment. This is what I'm good at, what I’m trained in, and what I’m fighting for: for everyone on the earth to be able to experience more joy.
I don't know what I'll feel called to in the next year creatively, but I'm going to keep fighting for the same causes, loving the same life, and making more things.
I feel like I sometimes stop myself from posting things in the moment because I want to have something well-put-together to say. In the interest of expression: Here are a collection of photos of random things I’ve done this year, as an end of the year treat.
Happy New Years, friends.✨️
(Oh, and while we’re being accountable: I completely burned out on the “100 heads before the end of the year” challenge at like, 43, and started doing pet portraits and other painting. Might pick it back up in the new year. Whatever, it’s my practice. I make my own timelines.)