Art amidst the fray

Maybe about a week ago I realized that mid-February was approaching—I needed to make a blog post! Once a month is my goal, and February is a short month, if you know what I mean. It’s now or never.

What art have I to show for the past month and change? Well, not that much, but I do have some art from November/December that I never posted. First is a pencil portrait I did as a commission for a friend of mine. It’s entirely in graphite and is small—only about 4 x 6 inches. I really enjoyed working on the portrait as it’s such straightforward work: look at photo reference, translate to paper. Photorealism at its essence and the type of project where I can sit down and relax with a cup of tea and a good podcast (or two, or….twenty in this case). Oh yes, placing tea near artwork is not a good idea. I’ve had a few near misses but I keep doing it, anyway. Painting with tea has also happened more than once.

The second piece is in colored pencil, on duralene (which is a transparent film that makes the colored pencil feel like butter when pressed to the page), of an Opalescent Nudibranch. This was also a commissioned piece for a Christmas gift. This one was a little tricky, as all the photo references I found on the internet had different lighting and coloration, and unfortunately for me I haven’t seen one of these nudibranchs in real life. It’s my best shot, but I did learn that encrusted sponges are really hard when you don’t have enough good photos.

I was glad to receive a few commissions over the holidays to keep my art muscle flexed during one of the busiest times of the year.

Graphite portrait

Opalescent Nudibranch

Since the new year began (2021, why must you have started with as much turmoil as 2020?), I settled into a couple of new freelance gigs. One is helping a friend of mine design a book, which is really fun since I haven’t used Adobe InDesign in quite some time. Somehow, organizing information over a page spread is strangely calming, and I usually do the work in the evening after dinner and after I have put my son to bed (did I mention I have a 2 year old? So if I ever DON’T post when I should, he is the reason why—toddlers do not equal productive art making unless it’s highly abstract!)

I’ve also recently picked up a little side gig helping edit infographics for a nonprofit. Again, it’s satisfying work without it being high stress, which isn’t really what I need during a pandemic with a toddler I take care of all day every day. I should mention how incredibly grateful and fortunate I feel for having the opportunity to do creative work, no matter how little, during this stressful and traumatic time for everyone. I am safe, healthy, and have the privilege of taking care of my son every day. It is definitely Work with a capital “W,” but it is chosen work, and I know that is an incredibly lucky position to be in.

All that being said, I find myself having to be more patient with my creative self than I have ever had to be at any other point in my life. There were many times during my twenties that I took my creativity for granted, or set it aside in pursuit of some other interest. It has not always been a welcome companion in my life. But there is nothing like age and motherhood to suddenly feel desperate for it. Suddenly it feels like this is something I must keep doing, no matter how many excuses I come up with (dishes, vacuuming, laundry…you get the picture). So even if I visit my creative self only a few hours a week, it’s a check in I want and need to make to remain sane and grounded. It feels like the thread running through every chapter of my life, and I want to hold on for dear life as the weather gets rocky.

So this is for all of you out there who are trying to keep holding onto that thread, no matter how gently. I’m slowly learning how to give myself grace to be my creative self in my own way, in my own time.

And that’s my rambling for February! Happy Valentine’s Day.