April 2021 Newsletter (Patreon)

Hello Everyone! 

I hope everyone has had a good april! Spring is here, in Ohio at least! This newsletter may  be a bit shorter than normal, only because I feel like its been a bit weird for me this month inspiration wise! But its okay, we all go through these phases! I'm honestly hoping I can pick the pace back up soon, and that i'll come back even stronger. I feel like I may be going through a phase of either a style evolution or even just realizing my mistakes more so I spend more time focusing on them, which sucks at the time but will really help me in the long run! Honestly, I think being a bit cooped up inside all winger had something to with it, but thanks to the newly warm weather I hope that changes soon! I take a lot of my inspiration from outdoors and places like antique stores, but obviously due to covid and the cold weather that only recently ended, its been harder. Luckily, i'm fully vaccinated now so its a step in the right direction! 

Sometimes its just very hard to be inspired, even when looking at images that inspire you the most, its not always easy to make something of it or have an image in your head immediately. But it's totally okay for this to happen because I just have to keep reminding myself that it wont last forever and that inspiration and motivation is literally impossible to keep consistent. This past month i've also been focusing a lot of time to my mental health which has taken away some time to focus on art, but has been helping me tons!! A lot of this has just been spending more time outside, I found out once it started getting warmer that there’s a large trail right behind my house! Now I know where all the deer that were coming into my yard came from! Within my first few trips back there I found some new mushrooms I’ve never seen before, some bones, and heard some barred owls! It’s always small things like this that bring me the most joy.

Groundhog jaw I think? 

Honestly, little things like this are what has given me the most inspiration this month, when I have happened to feel inspired! Nature has so much to offer for artists (for everyone, but especially artists imo). For example, I’ve been so stumped all day on what to write about considering I haven’t been too motivated recently, but the moment I step outside and start typing this up outside, everything seems to come to me. Sometimes you just need a change of scenery, and I’d say my view is pretty good! And since this month this happened to be what I spent most of my time doing, I figured I’d share it! Especially since I don’t have many other inspiration sources to share at the moment 😭 I hope I can kick back into gear next month! 

I hope everyone else isn’t having as hard of a time with inspiration as I have been recently!
honestly another big thing that’s helped me stay focused this month is listening to new music, and weirdly enough, what’s been motivating me the most is revisiting songs I listened to in middle/High school? I’m not sure why, maybe it’s the feeling of remembering simpler times or just the joy of hearing those songs for the first time at that age. I think my absolute favorite has been listening to the entire adventure time soundtrack, including the background music. It’s just so unique, and it inspires me to step out of my comfort zone with art somehow! I’ve also revisited music like crystal castles which I haven’t listened to in so long, but has become an obsession yet again. Honestly this music has been helping me get through this month a lot! Im used to listening to a lot of melancholy music and will always have a soft spot for it, but changing things up a bit has honestly really helped my mood, and for some reason it feels like the louder the song, the more I can focus on art? Idk, it’s a weird discovery about myself but I’m glad I found it out! rediscovering anything you used to be into is always a fun experience to get back into!
I’m hoping that this next month I can find more time to focus on more projects, this month was just filled with so much and went by way too fast!

Anyways, I’m sorry this part was cut so short this time, but! I’ll move on to the Q & A section that will probably have more insight on more of what you were probably hoping for with this newsletter.

Q: how did you develop your style, how does that reflect you and your artistic goals?
A: My style has definitely developed sooo much over time and has constantly changed. I’ve gone through just about every style change in the past, and I still don’t feel it’s fully developed yet, but it’s still me. Honestly myself as a person changes a LOT. Im always changing my style with how I dress, my hair, my passions, and I think my art changes so much along with that. I get very bored with stagnation and I think that has something to do with it. My art is constantly changing with me!

Q: What is your favorite drawing you’ve done so far and why?
A: honestly, it might be a tie between these two. Both of them have things I really like, the first one has a background which I don’t do tooo often, but when I do I love how they turn out. Also because I came up with the idea in the middle of the night and for once it turned out almost exactly how I imagined it the next day. I feel like it embodies me very well. And for the second one, I just love LOVE pottery. especially “weird” pottery like these. I just love me a good teapot shaped like a creature that you wouldnt normally think to be a kitchen appliance. And also because I’m really hoping to get into pottery myself eventually! 

Q: What is something you would tell someone who is struggling to create/draw what they themselves want to, because of wanting to please other people instead?
A: Honestly this is something I’ve struggled with myself, and still do. But I’ve found there is definitely a good inbetween. Honestly what’s worked best for me is dedicating certain days and times to drawing ONLY what you want. You don’t have to post it, but getting something out that you really enjoy drawing, as opposed to “pleasing the people“ helped me a lot with developing my style and creating art that does a bit of both! Drawing only what you think will please others is fine, but you need to make some time for yourself too to do what you love!

Q: Do you have any tips for people who are struggling with finding art inspiration during covid and being stuck inside all the time?
A: well, after reading the beginning of my newsletter saying I’m having trouble with this same things, it’s a hard one to answer. BUT! Last year when COVID was at its peak and I didn’t leave my house, ever, I still somehow kept drawing. I think what kept me going the most during that time was trying new things at home such as cooking new foods and trying new projects, honestly just pushing myself to do something new even if I didn’t want to or think I’d be good at it! It helped my discover how many other things I’m actually capable of doing! And honestly helped me discover new passions like baking and woodburning! 

Q: You mentioned before about your dream of being a park ranger, how would that play into you making art?
A: honestly, if this ever did happen, or if I ever did happen to get an non art related job, it obviously would take up most of my time and I probably would discontinue things like patreon, etc, BUT! no matter what, I could never ever see myself stopping with creating art. I’d always find time to fit it in somewhere, and hopefully still have my Etsy up for the long run no matter what happens! This is far in the future though, and I enjoy just doing art full time right now!

well, this concludes this newsletter! I hope you enjoyed reading it, even if it was shorter than before! I hope I can find more motivation next month to make even more content! Thanks for reading!