Hey Everyone,
As the title of this blog post suggests, I’m making some changes. Don’t worry it’s nothing crazy, but with a new year comes a fresh perspective and time to try some new things. Some of these changes are going to effect my blog and website and others will be the work I’m creating. So without further delay, I’ll just jump right into it.
Blog & Website
The beauty of having this blog and my website hosted on WordPress is that it allows you to relatively seamlessly update the look of your site with the click of a button. I say relatively because in my experience it still isn’t perfect. (Typically I always have some image resizing to do for the site to function optimally.) I’m always looking to find ways to improve the user experience and keep the look and feel of my site fresh and I think I’ve found a new template I want to give a try. With that change occurring I’m going to need to have my site down for a few days while I work tirelessly to update everything for re-launch. This is slated to occur towards the end of December or beginning of January. I’ll be sending out a reminder post before that happens so no one thinks I dropped off the face of the internet suddenly.
My blog content is also going to change slightly. As it turns out, writing a monthly column for a magazine, having a full-time job, trying to create art, blog consistently and still have some sort of life with my amazingly supportive boyfriend outside of all of it is quite the juggling act. I don’t want the quality of my content, work or personal life to suffer because I’m trying to wear too many hats, so the solution is to work smarter, not harder.
Because I’m not ready to give up any of the things mentioned above, I need to find a way to have everything work a little more harmoniously. The plan for my blog posts this year is that they will be more process focused. Some of my most successful posts have been the ones where I have shared insight into how I create my artwork. Who am I to ignore what the people want?! It’s actually something I’m excited to share more of especially when I explain where my work is heading. I will still be posting Artist Inspiration and Awesome Artist Tools I come across, they just might not be every month. Again, I want to make sure the content I share with you is valuable in some way and not just sharing for the sake of sharing. Also, my artist tips and advice will be mostly found in the articles I write for COLORED PENCIL Magazine going forward.
My Artwork
This month will be my last time entering the COLORED PENCIL Magazine Monthly challenge. For the last 2 years, I have pushed myself to draw subject matter I never would have considered and have grown my skills because of it. When I started entering the contests back in January 2015, I couldn’t have imagined that in less than 2 years later I would be writing for that same magazine. It has been beyond a privilege and I take my responsibilities of writing for them seriously. The monthly challenges require a significant amount of my free time to execute, and while I love doing them, I want to focus on exploring my own style and defining my work as an artist more as well as my other responsibilities.
A question I often get when I say that I am an artist is “Oh? What do you paint/draw?” Usually, my answer seems to be a mix of everything, which even to me sometimes feels a little directionless. The last 3 years have been about building my skill set and exploring different mediums. This year is going to be all about me finding my own voice within my art. I don’t necessarily expect that will only take a year, but I’m ready for my work to have a more recognizable style that can be associated with me specifically. I have so many ideas I want to explore and execute and my creative desire and attention is very strongly rooted in that right now.
Special Projects
I’m embarking on a special project in honour of Canada’s 150th birthday happening in 2017. The project is going to consist of a series of illustrations that honour and represent the specific provincial and territorial symbols of Canada. I’m very drawn to wildlife and nature in general as a subject matter for my work so the inspiration for this project seemed to be a perfect fit. The plan is to complete one drawing each month, but I have a feeling some might be more complex than others so fingers crossed on that one. An important note: this isn’t in any way associated officially with anything the government is doing for the celebration. I really just wanted to take this on as a personal project. Being Canadian is a big part of my identity and I love this country so much. What better time than now than to share that through my art?
Alright! So lots happening and lots of goals for myself on the horizon. I hope you will enjoy sharing this journey with me as much as I enjoy sharing it with you. 🙂
2 Responses
Seems like you’ve got your New Year’s Resolutions sorted out and some great projects up ahead of you.
Yes I think so! I try to set goals to stay motivated and keep pushing forward. 😊 of course setting them is always easier than actually achieving them but I’m going to do my best.