Huh! And here we are. Fifteen years ago tomorrow, on February 17th, 2009, I began this blog. On top of that, 2024 marks my twenty-fifth year as a professional artist, and in June it will be nineteen years since I starting making monsters for WotC. A lot has happened, a lot is actively happening, and there is an uncertain future ahead for all of us. Not everything in the past year has been good, and this is one of the reasons I haven't posted a 2023 year-in-review post. It is all still too fresh and actively happening. I mean, I can't even post images on the internet anymore without processing them twice to protect them from being stolen by billion-dollar tech firms.
A little look at the studio a week or so before this is posted.
By the time you are seeing this, the piece I was working on will now be completed.
Will any of us be employed this time next year? Will there be any need or want for art and artists in a year? This is definitely NOT where I foresaw myself twenty-five years ago, on so many levels, both good and bad. We shouldn't have to ask people not to steal from us, but here we are. But I want to stay positive... as much as possible in these uncertain times. Since mid December I have been on fire making new art for book two of The Grand Bazaar of Ethra VanDalia. Like, a LOT of art. I am moving at speeds and getting things done at a rate not seen in four years. It has been really nice - as if I am finally breathing a deep, full breath after being submerged for nearly too long.
Throughout the COVID years (2020-2021) I was moving in slow motion and the "post" COVID years (2022-2023) has been spent adjusting to the new normal and all the horrors that have since surfaced. But in the past few months, I am finally beginning to feel like myself again, like a working artist. So, with all the chaos in the world I am doing my best to stay focued and work on my little world and focus on getting to the next day. I have been doing this stuff for a quarter of a century. I hope that I can keep this thing going, that we all can keep this thing going. If not, the world will become a much worse place.
I will get back to making art; you should probably do the same. If you ever have any questions about my work, this blog is the best place to direct them.
That is all for another exciting week on the blog. See you back here on Monday! Until then...
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