The Shallow End – September 2020

Hello September!

After spending so much time in my sketchbook lately, my goal for this month is to work on some actual art pieces. In theory I’ll be able to keep up my new sketching habit too, but honestly, who knows?

As I’m getting back into art outside my sketchbook, I’m trying to exercise some patience with it. I don’t usually rush my work, but I do get obsessively focused. Like, “I must now work on this non-stop until it is finished” focused. After so many months of practicing the role of “fine artist” instead of “artist entrepreneur extraordinaire” I’m learning it’s okay to take my time…so I’m trying to find a new slow and steady pace for working.

This new outlook and time management is letting me work on multiple projects at once, tackling one thing at a time, following my creative interests as they ebb and flow, and letting the paint actually dry before starting the next bits. My days are even less structured than before as a result, but honestly I’m not making any less art. I’m probably not making more, but definitely not less, and I’m finding the whole process to be far more relaxing.

I’ve painted a new landscape duo “The Mountain Waves” and am working on painting the landscapes I drew last month, and painted my first map! I’ve also got full-detailed sketchbook studies of maps that I want to try to do in larger scale as finished illustrations. And I’ve been simmering on a few ideas that I’m looking forward to exploring in my sketchbook eventually. So yeah, definitely not less work. Just different work, and more thoughtful work than I’ve given myself room to make in quite a while.

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Outside of work, I’m still just livin’ my best quarantine life. Hair is mostly shaved again, and I’m a bit late to jump on the bread-making bandwagon, but it’s nearly fall, so why not?!

We finally finished watching Dragon Ball Super, all hundred-plus episodes… But our Adult Swim addiction continues with YOLO: Crystal Fantasy. It is bizarre and brilliant and I love it. I’m so sad that there are so few episodes. I don’t know that I recommend it, technically, because it’s so weird and I don’t want to be judged… but I like it!

And if you didn’t think I could get any nerdier, I’ve started brushing up on medieval history…for fun! But also so I can make maps of medieval-ish walled cities (see photo above!) that are grounded in a little bit of accuracy, even though I plan on making them up otherwise. So I started reading The Time Traveler’s Guide to Medieval England by Ian Mortimer. It’s pretty good so far, and way different than most history books I’ve read, which is interesting. Coincidentally, I’ve recently learned about “Bardcore” music. Yup. Bards. It feels like ages since I’ve listened to music regularly. But now it feels like “middle ages” instead. Heh. (Okay, I won’t pretend I’m listening to it a lot. But it’s been fun to listen to Bardcore covers of modern songs now and then, because why not?!)

This is fine…

Thanks for joining me in The Shallow End!

P.S. – I just realized I haven’t shared a poem in months. Oops!

The sky glows
golden clouds
upon a soft
still brilliant
blue.
The trees burn
in their colors
against the growing
gray shadows
of sunset.