Studio Note 07/25

​

Hello Reader,

I hope July was good to you. It has been unbearably hot at times, so I have spent most of my time indoors. It's definitely a blessing to have central A/C in such a hot and humid climate.

​

Art Notes

I haven't had much time nor energy this month to paint much. I'm trying to scale back the size of my work as well as the expectations of perfection of them. I completed this sketchbook spread inspired by the Unicorn Tapestries and a simple question : if unicorns wore armor, would they fight back against their potential captors?

So what do you think? Do you think they'd be fierce warriors? Or the gentle, passive beasts so much media likes to depict them as?

​

I will continue exploring smaller pieces such as these, where the pressure is much less and the satisfaction of finishing something is higher because it takes less time to complete.

I've come to realize that creating in "series" doesn't fit with how I naturally create! Two or three pieces in, and I've already lost interest and am I questioning my direction. That's just no fun. So I'm going to try creating in "collections" instead by having a few "theme buckets" that I'm drawn to and will just continue adding pieces into those buckets. We'll see how it goes!

Social Notes

I logged off!

I've seen a few artists lately distance themselves from activity on social media and honestly, same. I've been open in the past about my struggles and bad relationship with it. This past spring, I gave it up for Lent (even Youtube!) and felt lighter. My mind felt less cluttered, and I had an abundance of time that was always there, I was just too distracted to notice it. But when the pause was over, I was right back in front of the screen, scrolling away for hours. Yeah, HOURS. My average screen time was around 4.5 a day. That's like another part-time job spent just...doing nothing.
​
I'm going to be stepping back from it more. I've logged out of my accounts on my devices, and to create more distance between me and it, will only be interacting with in on a desktop browser. I do have some affiliate promotions I'm obligated for in the coming months, but I'll schedule those through a social media planner, and pop in only when necessary.

I just need to put some space between myself and the pressure to share everything I make. I think calm and slow monthly updates like these newsletters and on Patreon are just what my mind and heart needs right now. I want to improve and experiment with different mediums without feeling locked into a certain way of doing things because an algorithm favors consistency. And I can't do that if I don't fix my mindset.

Your art deserves more of your attention. Your business deserves more. Your family and friends deserve more. YOU deserve more. Not these platforms.

Note : I wrote this section of the newsletter up around the beginning of July, when I went to an "Instagram in a Browser Only" method, and since then my screen time has plummeted from 3-4 hours to less than an hour on average. So if you've been on the fence about putting some distance between you and distracting platforms, this is your sign!

​

Shop Notes

I expect to be finished with update prep by the middle of the month, so a shop update at the end of August looks like a possibility. I'll announce a hard date and time when I've chosen one, but it will likely be the in the 3rd or 4th week of August!

A Note About Visibility

I've come across some truly delightful artist centric videos on Youtube recently. This one by Airi Pan has resonated with me the most. She touches on why making art and pursuing a craft is still important, even if you think no one sees it.

​