Greetings fair folk,

I’m a mess! I’m absolutely all over the place. How are you?

To help myself, I’ve decided to take socials off my phone for a bit and also make some art for me. I’ve been making a lot of creative work for others lately and have sorely neglected my own exploration. I used to be really dedicated to my own personal practice but we all slip!

Before my slip, I kept this small sketchbook on me for a while and animated a flip through:

Sticker on the back by sammy_g_design

The world we live in is so noisy — I have struggled with disengaging from the news as I recognize it is a privilege to look away. However my constant engagement was helping no one and only harming myself.

Anyway! Back to the topic of a personal art practice…

I wanted to share the sketchbook page below and talk about this phenomenon: If you’re an artist/creative person, have you ever noticed a difference in how you approach personal work vs. work for others (paid, trade, etc)?

My partner Cole and I were talking about the differences between this painting in my sketchbook vs. a painted poster I’m illustrating for a client. The painting in my sketchbook is so loose and free with lots of beautiful accidents and happenings. Whereas my client work is more tight. To be fair, I have been striving to introduce a looseness in my client work and I think I have achieved more of that recently than in the past.

I want to believe that neither result (loose or tight) is best… I try to hold both approaches gently and find a balance. The secret formula I strive for is actually contrasting both in one piece: dry brushing on a solid fill of color for example, or a bold line next to a flow-y color wash.

After all, it’s subjective. I must steer myself through the process to the finish line and make choices along the way. More and more I try to leave room for the unexpected. I allow myself to change my mind. I listen to opinions and ask for help, using my intuition to take what I need and leave the rest.

Whether or not the personal sketchbook experiments are “better” or not, it remains an important place for me to spend time with myself. I am free to play and try new things, to make mistakes and try to resolve them. I do care about the final result, that’s like… my whole deal. I try my best to create something I can live with and learn from.

I hope you’re doing okay out there. Take care of yourself and others and keep making art.

Thanks for reading!

Events:

• I’m in a show called Plein Air Buddies with some buds!! The opening is this Sunday 9/21 from 12-3 at Carioca Bowl on NE Alberta. Swing by!

• I have a few paintings on view in Hood River at 301 Gallery for the Inspired Show through the end of September | 301 Oak st. Hood River OR

Currently Listening to:

• I’m enjoying listening to this new band Haute & Freddy – it’s dance-y! I’m seeing them perform live at the Holocene the day after Halloween

Currently Reading:

• I’m going to finish Two Towers today! Cole and I re-watched the Fellowship (extended version) so we’ve both been looking forward to me finishing the second book in the series so we can continue the re-watch. I just love these books, I’m so glad I decided to read them. Even if you’ve seen the movies, I recommend cracking open the books.