Slowing Down and Stillness

I was pondering the nature of stillness while working on this four part koi illustration. The past few years there’s been this leaning in towards slowing down. Creating personal time apart from work and turning off mobile devices has become common corporate culture in many organizations. Slow food and slow eating has taken hold and people are actually paying attention to what they eat again. There is interaction with and interest in how food is sourced. Now slow blogging has started to take hold. People are mindfully considering content over capacity. Hopefully other media will pick up on this and maybe we’ll see a diminishment of the 24/7 news networks mongering fear and creating division amongst us…

Every day we are pulled in a million different directions. It all needs to be done yesterday and we are expected to multitask in almost everything we do. Even meditation, the ultimate form of slowing down, has been indoctrinated into the multitasking cult. Binaural beats can have some great results, but come on… meditation multitasking? Talk about an oxymoron.

My favorite ways to slow down mostly involve the outdoors and nature. Cycling is the most zen activity I can imagine. Everything is just flowing and I feel like a kid again. Running is also a great way to quiet my mind, although lately when I run my body is screaming so loudly that my quiet mind is lost. Swimming is a great way to slow down and be still inside. The water drowns out most noises and you’re enveloped in a very womblike state. Even if you’re not into physical activities, meditation is the perfect way to still the mind. You can do it almost anywhere, too. I’ve made it through many an international flight with screaming babies and drunk businessmen by putting on the noise-cancelling headphones and eyemask and pulling my hoodie over my head and just turning inwards.

When we slow down, we become more aware. We become more responsible for our actions. We participate more deeply in our lives. We appreciate what we have instead of constantly yearning for the past or the future. Slowing down and embracing stillness is effectively the fountain of youth, a way of making this short life ours seem longer and more fulfilling. Put that way, why wouldn’t you try?

 

Be not afraid…

I remember being a kid, windswept hair and dirty fingernails, legs dangling as I balanced precariously on the highest branch of a tree and peeled sunburnt skin from my shoulders. I was living a life that was a little dangerous, a little vulnerable, letting fly that which no longer suited me.

The last year or so has felt similarly, peeling away the layers that I no longer need and holding close that which brings me balance. Leaving the corporate world and making a go selling art is one of the boldest moves I’ve ever made in my life. It feels a little dangerous, leaves me a little vulnerable, but it also suits me very well.

Every day now I take small steps forward, accepting and learning from my myriad mistakes, ignoring the self-doubt, reveling in the small wins. It’s fulfilling and joyous and I feel so blessed to be in this place in my life.

Zodiac Constellations

Today I worked on some constellations. They’ve been something I’ve played with in my paintings for the past couple of years. I love the bright colors in these and the mindful mantras make the cards really appealing. You can get them on my Etsy store here. I also created a print that includes the twelve zodiac constellations, too.

 

Fall is my favorite season

I colorized the Vermont Leaves illustration this week and I was pretty happy with the way it came out. I’ve put it up on my Etsy store as a print and am considering making it into a card set as well. It makes me think about sweater weather and crisp fall mornings, the sound of leaves crackling under your feet, and looking out on a skyline lit up with warm colors. Fall is my favorite season, mostly for the gorgeous colors and breezy weather. Winter gets to be a bit glum and I find myself going into hibernation mode, although I do appreciate all of the blue, purple and gray colors everywhere.

I’ve been working on Frank’s Adventures illustrations quite a bit. Working and reworking them. I’ve started three more panels and have the basic images complete. That brings me up to six images out of thirteen mostly done (fourteen if you include the small illustration at “The End”). The cover is also in progress, but needs some rethinking. At this point, since I have so many pieces done, I can start to make sure that they all work together: matching color palettes, consistent imagery, that sort of thing. I was considering drawing out a little map of the woods where Frank is adventuring, too. I loved that in Winnie the Pooh when I was a kid and later as an adolescent in Lord of the Rings.

The Kickstarter for Frank’s Adventures is 43% funded with a little less than three weeks to go. I hope that bodes well for the project. I’ve been getting inundated with emails from crowd-funding marketing companies wanting to help me promote the campaign. I was tempted with a couple of them, but honestly, it’s hard to weed through them all and determine if it’s even worth the cost. Some of them were ridiculous and I can’t imagine anyone would fall for their tactics, but some were genuinely tempting. The idea of getting eyeballs outside of my social network is very alluring, but I don’t want to just throw money away. I did some online research, but wasn’t able to completely satisfy my concerns about which ones were actually effective. Does anyone have any experience with any crowd-funding marketers?

My goals for this week have been to keep plugging away at Frank’s Adventures, both the illustrations and promoting the Kickstarter. I’ve sent in my drawings to my new art licensing agent and hope to start working closer with them soon on some textile design basics. In the meantime, I’ve been teaching myself new Photoshop techniques through various web tutorials. I’m hoping Santa brings me a subscription to Lynda.com and SkillShare this holiday!

Nautical inspired wall art

All the cold wintery weather lately had me dreaming of warm sunny days sitting on the beach, which in turn inspired me to design this series. Everything is hand-drawn, including the lettering/typography.