Drawing Still Feels Good
June 3, 2023
Hello and welcome to the first offical blog post on my new website! It's been a while since I've made one of these. My Newsletter has been a bit of a supplement for my blogging, but I've missed doing my longer form stuff that isn't mostly project updates.
If you've been following my Newsletter you would know that my winter was a bit rough, but I made it through. Spring saw me going on more walks and hanging out with friends, and this summer will hopefully be more of that. I started posting my newest long form narrative project, Earthshine, which has its own website that I coded myself. Oh yeah! I've been learning how to code! Though that's pretty obvious if you're already here haha. For anyone who has come over from my old portfolio website, welcome! Things are hopefully going to be a lot more chill over here.
I'm still doing my usual assessment of what I want out of my art. The good news is that I still love doing it! Despite all the stressors from work and current events I still love to draw and write and create. Since deleting my twitter account and limiting my presence on social media as a whole, I've been enjoying it even more. I am still solidly of the opinion that artists should get paid for their work, but I gotta say, not having to worry so much about how much money I can get out of my art has helped me calm down a lot and really enjoy the process of creating. This is made easier by the fact that I do have a day job that pays me enough to keep me housed and fed, so I recognize my luck here.
I don't know haha, I've never really felt like I was talented enough to make a sustainable income off of my art in the first place. But I do really love making it and sharing it, and I do believe that what I have made is of a good quality and skill. I simply like to make the beautiful things I would like to see in the world, be they a long form webcomic about a human and an alien or an epic illustrated webnovel about demon hunting lesbians. Sometimes just drawings of unicorns and tigers is enough.
I was a vendor at the Montreal Comic Arts Festival at the end of May, and despite the intense stress I felt returning to selling my art in person and talking to strangers, I had a good time. I have decided that I want to do more local comic and zine festivals, and make stuff that can only be found and bought at those festivals. The stress I felt doing a local festival after quarantine was NOTHING compared to how stressful travelling to exhibit could be pre-pandemic. At least I could still sleep in my own bed and eat my own food. I've always disliked travelling so I'm glad I have options.
After the festival I took 3 days to myself and holed up in my apartment, getting work done, dodging a late spring heatwave, and just drawing and paining a bunch of tigers and unicorns in watercolour. As of typing I've drawn 22 different pieces haha. This watercolour craze came from me going out art supply shopping with a friend who came to visit during the festival. I spent some of my festival earnings on some really nice tubes of high quality heavily pigmented watercolour and been having fun with the limited palette.
I don't yet know what I want to do with these paintings. I might just give them to family and friends, but it would also be a bit fun to sell them at future festivals. I don't want profit to be my primary motive for making these though. It just feels good to draw.
