Tag: round up

We’re officially in Autumn mode now! I’m glad for a change, this summer was … interesting. As always my artistic endeavors are shifting and changing. I focused on spending as much time in my art studio as possible. I had some wonderful painting sessions just making marks and experimenting with compositions and various media. I fell in love with acrylic ink and very watery acrylic paint.
Much of this takes time for me. I do a lot of pausing and waiting for layers to dry while I decide what needs doing next. This also means my calligraphy just isn’t getting as much dedicated focus and time. I made less, and when I did I focused on simple pieces. It feels like I’m balancing my new artistic interests with something I’m much more confident in, the calligraphy. To balance the fear of sharing something new and untested with my proven calligraphy skills. I’m glad for the days I can lean back on what I’ve worked so hard on for the past few years with my calligraphy. But I’m excited by the thrill of trying something bold and new, in spurts of bravery. I don’t know what the future holds, or which way I will wander, but I hope you can enjoy the journey with me. And I imagine you artists out there can relate! Happy Fall everyone.

Honesty time… I’ve been slowly falling into an uninspired era. I was trying to fight it, but I think I just need to accept that this phase is here to stay. So I’m going to be taking the best care of myself possible in the coming weeks. I think there is no particular reason for this phase, or maybe it’s just a reaction to having a very productive couple of months. It felt good to be making lots of progress and creating new products for my shop. But all things ebb and flow and I need to nurture my natural rhythms for now. It’s probably a good time of year to take a little step back because the holiday season will presumably be quite taxing and busy. Lots of promotion and content I will need to create to keep up. Maybe you needed a reminder to be kind to yourself and hopefully I can provide that for you if you are in a similar headspace. Consider this your permission slip to take time for yourself. Rejuvenate. Relax. Accept good enough. Sending you creative kindness and compassion.

Another month bites the dust. I focused a bit more on illustration this month than my usual lettering and calligraphy content. I am finding myself a bit stuck creatively and starting to fight against burn out. So I pivoted to another interest I haven’t explored in quite some time… digital illustration! I do design digitally for my shop products quite often but I usually stick to typography or lettering.

I haven’t done a portrait or figure in many moons. I’m still not sure what spurred me to try it again but I am so glad that I did. I feel refreshed and renewed by trying something new. I am a beginner again and the growth I can make from one piece to the next is exciting. I think the changes in my calligraphy were becoming less noticeable as I got more skill and got further along in my learning. The excitement of something totally new is one of my absolute favorite parts about being an artist. Maybe it’s a curse, or maybe it’s a blessing but I do like to change things up often. I have been staying with calligraphy for almost 3 years. I’m not saying I’m leaving it by any means. I still love lettering and calligraphy. But I do want to mix in other art forms here and there and I really hope you don’t mind. I’ll add the two illustrations that I made into stickers for my shop below. See you next month!

(Oh and as always check out the links to my social media to see the videos and detailed photos that go with each image.)