Christmas cards have been sent and gifting is about done. I am already looking back at the year and evaluating how things went. About 6 years ago I was sitting around thinking about how I hadn’t done a single painting all year. I wasn’t drawing or doing anything in my spare time other than watching TV. I decided to start drawing again. I didn’t have a specific goal in mind. I just wanted to start drawing regularly in an attempt to do something. I started small. I gathered some old leftover paper with different colors and textures and made them into a small sketchbook. I mean small, like 4″ x 6″ small. That size wasn’t intimidating. Even a doodle could end up filling the entire page. I started some new podcasts and made a habit of ending each day drawing with my headphones on.
Last year ended with the decision to shutdown my website and blog and just step away from everything. Work was particularly challenging and I was burnt out. When I decided to pick it back up I was devastated to find that I had lost over 2 years of posts. Those were peak years for the site. They included some very personal and raw stories. It helped me develop my writing and it was some of the best writing I have ever done. I look back and I honestly don’t think I could write like that again. I decided to start writing again but this time with the goal of keeping it a little less personal. 2020 was an interesting and difficult year for a lot of people and I saw more than a few people breakdown in very public ways. I was afraid I might fall into that trap so my posts have been a bit more guarded. The site isn’t as good as it was but I am making up for the writing with other artistic endeavors.
I rebuilt the site. It is ok but it could use a bit of an overhaul. I think I will start working on that in the next few weeks here. I started a series of drawings that were ink on wood. Part of that was building frames. It was a good learning experience that has been very satisfying. That lead to some other projects that were a little more personal and introspective. I focused alot on the idea of family. Turns out that was a good thing to delve into this year in particular. I also expanded my tools for making art and what art meant to me. I’ve always struggled with the idea of being an artist and this year I really just let that go. I made stickers and sculptures. I blurred the line between “fine art” and being “too pedestrian” and my work has never been better or more satisfying. Staying motivated wasn’t an issue this year. I accomplished alot and with it came some special memories. Whether it was the late night drawing sessions with my daughters or the long conversations I had with my nephew just talking about art. All-in-all it was a pretty good year even with all the challenges.