Hi, how are you?
January is always a blue month for me, but as I said on the last post, I’ve got a sort of anticipation in November-December, so Jan gone by with a renewed energy even if I had to accept to navigate bad days making the most I can without complain, and it goes well.
I didn’t any big resolution for the new year, my life is very complicated actually and without going in deep to the focal point of those issues, I can say that I feel brave enough to continue to pursue my own little step goals, one to another, just because I won’t throw the sponge yet.
So, between one washing machine and another, between some thoughts and a constant job that keeps me busy 9 hours a day to keep things going, I found the time to pursue my goal to apply to some big illustration awards for this year, and so it was that in January I sent my application to 2 important competitions.
I cannot show you any of them yet, and sincerely I cannot wait. Those two projects I’ve entered are very personal and I felt very involved, so couldn’t share them is hitching, but you know, everything that calls for a wait is a good one.
I’ve also decided to keep all my art material recorded in a sketchbook to get a reference every time I’m going to choose a color palette or a medium for an illustration, I want to be more organized and conscious about what I’m doing.
Talking about drawing, this month I ended up with two postcards, I’ve got the Valentine one on Etsy for about ten days before shut down the shop yesterday, cause I’ll not be able to ship anything in February.
The Bear and the Owl is an illustration that was enriched after a chat talk with two member of SCBWI-Italy group, and if you want to know more about the vantage of joining a critique group,I wrote a post on my Substack titled "Are You Stuck? Join a Critique Group." In it, I discuss the benefits of participating in a critique group for writers looking to improve their craft and find support within a community. If you're interested in exploring what a critique group can offer you, check it out for insights and tips on getting started.
Talking about small step goals, in February and March I want to improve my digital coloring skills, I gear my Ipad Pro with a Sketchboard Pro 2, so will see if this helps to work better.
For now I’m lost into my sketchbook, grabbing it when I have a few minutes to be creative (and believe me, in this time of my life, it’s very rare finding the time to draw), I like to share those instant sketches on Instagram and now also on Bluesky.
See you there and here monthly, and if you want to boost my drawing and support my dreams, consider to sign up to my Patreon.
Thanks a lot for reading this, I really appreciate your interest. So, that’s all for now, since next time, xoxo, G. aka Jdeebella at Soulfulcrane, the Creative Nest in Italy
