stop the noise

Original drawing is sold. (ink & watercolour, 8x10 inches)

I often think about moving to the country, or to a small island, to get away from the noise and and the chatter and the busy-ness of the world. But I think a great deal of the noise in our lives is self-imposed. All the chatter on Facebook and the deluge of images on Instagram and Pinterest is noisy and overwhelming after a while, but we can't seem to help ourselves. No need to move to the country to get away though - the solution is as simple as turning off our screens for a bit and spend a little time with our own thoughts (instead of in everybody else's).

Check for other available drawings and signed prints in the shop.

I don't really know what I'm doing

It's true. I don't. What is it that I do, exactly?

I don't really know what drawings are going to work, to be well received, and which ones aren't. What am I trying to accomplish, anyway? Be funny? Clever? Political? Or just honest?

What am I going to draw next? Should I work on a series? Should I make a story? I really have no idea.

I think I had a better understanding of what I was doing two years ago than I do now. I don't know what's changed. 

I try to get out of my own way, to stop labeling things, but the analytical side of me wants to figure what works and what doesn't, so that I can use that information to decide what to make next. But it never works (at least not for me). I can't cater to specific demands. I can't always be funny. 

So I keep on making drawings and sharing them here. Some of them are enjoyed, some are forgotten. The only thing left to do is to keep making, and keep sharing, and embrace the unknown. It scares the bejeezus out of me, I'll admit.

There's a great deal of pressure on creative types to only put out your best work. This can sometimes lead to only sharing predictable work. Forget perfection. What if you want to try something new? What if you've been thinking of yourself as a photographer, but there's some fantastic short stories inside of you waiting to get out? Or you've been blogging about restaurants, but you've got a terrific DIY project to share about how to make your own lamp? It might be good, and it might fall flat. But I think it's worth giving it a shot. That's the beauty of the internet. You can put something out there, and see how it goes. It doesn't cost you anything (and you can always delete it later). I find that the act of posting something, of seeing it on your blog or Flickr account can be really helpful. It makes it a bit more real, and it helps me see it in a new context instead of just on my messy desk. Anything that keeps the door open to future possibilities is a good thing.

The original drawing above is sold. Check for other available drawings and signed prints in the shop.

she rarely reads past the third chapter

Original drawing is SOLD available. (ink & watercolour, 8x10 inches)

I'm totally guilty of this. I have a really hard time getting through a whole novel. Maybe I'm reading the wrong books? When you have young children, you have a great excuse - I have no time! I'm exhausted! Now that our kids are a bit older, I need to relearn how to settle down, relax, and surrender myself to a really good book.

Check for other available drawings and signed prints in the shop.

sixty dollar drawings

I made nine drawings last night, and they're just $60 each. See them in the shop.

Before I even sat down to draw them, I knew I'd be selling them for much less than my normal pricing. I was conducting an experiment. I wanted to see if I created differently, knowing that the end price was going to be lower. I have say, it was kind of freeing. The ideas flowed more easily, and there was no pressure to create anything too precious. In the end, I think the results were quite good (if I'm allowed to say so?). All kinds of worthwhile ideas bubbled to the surface.

So I could have raised the prices, now that I'm happy with the results, but I wanted to commit to this experiment. I need to believe that there is an endless supply of ideas (it hasn't felt like that lately), and there will always be many many more drawings to make.