Back To Conventions For 2021

After almost two years of pandemic hiatus, it felt so great to be back to conventions. I started just doing local conventions in Washington D.C. (Awesome Con) and Baltimore, MD (Baltimore Comic-Con).  I’m so happy to be sharing my work with new and old fans alike.

I introduced my latest project, the personal connection totems. These first totems are prints of my various work mounted on 4 inches round backs with circular rings designed so that the artwork can be hung or placed in any orientation.

At both of these conventions, I presented several new pieces that do not yet have prints made and really wasn’t going to have prints made. I was asked many times about prints for the artwork “Awaiting Dawn”. I think there is enough interest that I am considering making prints for this new piece. I will post updates on my various social media when I get prints made. 

If you’re interested, please stay tuned for more info and thank you so much for your interest.

My Color Pencil Samples - Derwent, Faber Castell, Caran D'Ache

These sets of color pencils have been sitting around so I decided to create a sample palette of all the color pencils I have and see how these colors are. They are pretty fun to play with. I must say that I am very partial to the very expensive Caran D’Ache. They feel really nice going over texture of the paper.

Do you have a favorite color pencil brand, or a favorite color?

"Identity"

Identity has always been a struggle for me, fighting between who I feel I am and who I feel will be accepted by others. Most of the time, I just feel invisible.

This piece is “I Am Me”

“Who am I

I am the light whisper in the gusty wind

Can you hear me?

I am the bright sun light behind the dark clouds

Can you feel me?

I am the twinkling star against the dark sky

Can you see me?

Hear me, I speak to you

Feel me, I touch your soul

See me, I am facing you

I am the notes singing in the night

I am the rays warming your skin

I am the full moon pushing back the veil of darkness

I am me”

Taking a Breather

 If you’ve noticed that I haven’t posted much on my various social media platforms lately, well, first of all, thank you for noticing! I haven’t disappear, nor quit. I’m still around. I’m just slowing things down a bit and taking a breather.

For awhile I was going non-stop with the “business” side of art and feeling the pressure to create sellable art. I thought if others can do several postings a day, long articles on their Patreon several times a month, packaged orders and still have time to create fantastical large paintings, edit them for prints, not to mention have time to eat and sleep and take care of kids if they have them, I can do it too … right? 

It took me a while to figure out and accept that everyone is different, and just because you cannot keep up, it doesn’t mean you’re lazy or not as dedicated to your creativity. I had to repeatedly tell myself not to stress. I had to slow things down and allow me to be me, and that is to just create and just create the things I love to create, even if it might not appeal to others. I’ve heard the saying countless times by other artists: Be yourself, be true to yourself, be authentic. It is so counter intuitive when the “being yourself” can mean that the art may not appeal to others, and “appealing to the mass” means you cannot be true to who you are as a creator. 

I was still trying hard to create for the mass during the pandemic, but with no gallery exhibits or conventions, it was starting to become depressing. It was only in the last few months that I started slowing down everything but the art creation. The result is I allow myself to play more with my creation and not feel like I was wasting time and effort because the result might not be something I can sell. 

This is my journey. I think that perhaps every other artist went through this journey during their 4 years of college. I was on a different journey during my years in college, a creativity of a different kind. I hope you’re still following along.

“A Moment of Reflection” Totems

 I’ve talked about these totems I’m creating. You can read the previous blog article here. I call these “A Moment of Reflection” totems.

I think the majority of the time, when one talk about “a moment”, one usually refers to life changing spectacular moments such as a marriage proposal, a birth of a child, the first man on the moon, the first transatlantic flight, etc. Or one might think of emotionally charged terrible tragedies like a shattering earthquake, a cat 5 tornado, a school shooting, an attack on the world trade centers, or the recent attack on the US Capitol building.

I want to reflect on moments of a much smaller scale, ones that mostly go unnoticed but still have great effects on a deep emotional level. Individual moments that most of us experienced by ourselves and think we are alone in that experience. Sometimes it only takes a moment to drop into the abyss, and we need a moment to get out of one.

When I think about what these totems mean and what I want them to represent to the individuals who have one of these, I think of them as nebulous objects that mean something different for each person. Often times I don’t think that meaning is known or realized until the instant when it is needed and the meaning is clear or clearly defined. Maybe it happened on the last leg of a journey, at the bottom of the barrel or the end of the line, when hope seems elusive and the light on that final match begins to fade into darkness. What if there is something that can be a reminder that hope is not lost, that provides the strength to feel through the darkness and find another source of light. 

Sometimes an instant in time, a moment of reflection, can provide a sense of clarity. Sometimes it can alter the course of your life. One hardly notice these tiny minuscule moments during the course of day to day living. What if we just take time to acknowledge them, to notice that they make minor or major impacts on our journey. What if some smaller moments lead to an even bigger one. Can an artistic totem provide that instant if it is allowed?

I’d like to think that these totems can provide a place where, if one wants to, one can stop and reflect on that moment, while being overwhelmed or anxious or nervous or scared. A place to just stop and take a moment to breathe and try to get some clarity.

This is the start of my “A Moment of Reflection” project. Is it ambitious of me to think that my totems can help illuminate how reflecting on a moment can make a difference in someone’s thoughts and feelings in a positive way? Maybe, but I would like to at least try to provide some sense of calm, peace, sanity and clarity to those in need, one person at a time.