2022

Call this a disclaimer. 

Maybe it should be my New Year's resolution to keep my blog more consistently. I'm reminded, regularly, that we consume the social media spaces that we participate in - we don't actually own our content there. So, while I might post semi-regularly on Facebook and Instagram, there might come a time where those spaces don't exist in the way they do right now. And, if that's the case, all of my content that I've created is gone. 

Anyway, here it goes, the end of the year blog post. The commitment to do better next year. The recap of my main projects. It's going to be a long post. It's been a long year. 

January 

I made three pieces of art in January this year. Looking back on them in my storage drive I'm kind of surprised - I remember them. I'm just surprised by them. They seem like they were made an lifetime ago. 

I guess they were. When I made them my life was in a totally different phase. I wasn't married yet. I didn't have a baby. We weren't really renovating the house. The way that I was able to create was different. 

​My favorite piece of art from January was the avocado toast. I really like the light on the yolk.

February 

In February I made one piece of art: a digital artichoke. I can't tell you how many hours went into this - I didn't count even though I probably should have. 

I remember working on this piece for quite some time. This is the month that I got married. This is the month that we told our parents that we were having a baby. This is the month (like previous months) I was sick, so horribly, horribly sick with morning sickness. 

​So, I made one piece of art in February. So, I learned to break down digital pieces into grids and focus on layering. So, I'm pretty proud of this.

March 

I finished eleven pieces of art in March. There were two digital pieces and eight acrylic paintings - some were mixed media with the gold leaf. The large cactus painting was donated to the hospital for their annual clay shoot. Last year I donated a pheasant. I'm most proud of the Jackalope, a large 30x30 piece that took me a few months to finish. I do, though, also love the other rabbits. 

April 

It's so interesting the way that my brain connects memories with images. I remember this month. I remember being so proud of my three mini-series. The waterlily is the first that I've done and it's a subject matter that I've been avoiding. My mentor loved lilies and she wanted to paint over 100 of them before she did - she got so close to her goal. I'm pleased with the final result. I was also very happy with the three digital pieces I did this month (the rabbit, the ram, and the giraffe). 

I was at a stage of pregnancy where I wasn't as sick as I had been, but my body hurt so badly all the time. It was a challenge to sit and work on art. 

May 

May was hard. Looking at these pieces of art I'm reminded just how much of my year felt hard or I was in pain. I love the little river rock painting. 

I also started making art for my own nursery. My cousin is an artist and quilter and she offered to make a quilt for the nursery with some of my art - so that we'd both contribute to it. This version of Jemima Puddleduck is one of the first pieces for that quilt and a print of it also hangs above my son's crib. 

I also liked the digital portrait and the color use  in the digital work of the orange. 

June

I made art about gun violence when an activist online called for art. I listened to Rep. Eric Swalwell describe an activist and mother telling him and his constituents that her daughter asked her "mom, what picture will you use for me" - implying that the child believes she'll die in a school shooting. I made art for my nursery thinking about mothers who would never hold their babies again. I made art fearing for my own unborn baby and wondering how I could keep him safe.

I painted whales. I wanted to paint 100 whales. I love, love, love the pink whale. And I delighted in painting the flying whales.  

July 

I didn't make any art this month. It was hot. I was heavily pregnant. I was so uncomfortable. No art. 

August 

I didn't make any art this month. It was hot. I was in pain. I had a baby. 

September 

This is a mixed media piece and the only art that I made in September. I wanted to create something but didn't feel like I had a lot of energy to be able to make something. I had just a baby the month before. I was trying to adjust to my changing body and a colicky little person who was dependent on me. 

October

I always feel like I struggle in October. I always want to do something that's fall-themed and other than pumpkins my mind always seems to go blank. This year I did corn and a pumpkin. I did make a TikTok with the corn song - that made me ridiculously pleased. 

Looking at these pictures I remember sitting in the den, holding my sleeping tiny human, and watching scary movies with my husband. 

My pumpkin was submitted to Canva and accepted as usable clipart. 

November 

I made a lot of art in November. And I made some choices that I wasn't anticipating. I began by working on three illustrative pieces with a bright sunset. I'd taken a trip to the desert with my husband this month and I wanted to work on some art inspired by that trip. I did some digital sketches.  That turned into working on 12 digital paintings. I wanted to do something a little different than my normal style - bright colors and little detail. They were so fun! I also worked on a memorial painting for a sweet girl who passed away during the summer. 

December 

December. The final month of the year. I don't see myself making a lot of art this month - although if I do it will be in another post or I'll update this. In December I have two books coming out. The first book, Animal Friends of West Texas, features my 12 colorful pieces of art inspired by my trip to the desert. They are thoughtfully paired with animal facts. I'm so excited about this book. The second book, Bats! An Illustrated Fact Book, is specifically about bats and bat facts. I go through each section of a bat body with colorful illustrations and factual information. 

I was also asked to work on a logo for a local business. They've done some work with our Aussie and I was delighted to complete the logo for them. It's exciting to see something that you've put hard work into being used in the community you live in. 

Fin. 

I'm not sure if I'll do another post before the end of the year. I like the run down of the different pieces of art that I've made in each month. You can follow me on Instagram and on Facebook to see my top nine pieces of art for the year - I'll share that at the end of December. Thanks, as always, for coming on this journey with me. I'm excited for 2023.