Happy Holidays! And a New Year!

Howdy y'all~! Because of the holiday season I don't have any classic art to post- just for my projects. But since it's the end of the year I wanted to do a bit of a round up.

It's been a crazy year- bouts of mania and ambition tempered by self doubt and stress from the world's situations. Everything feels so uncertain these days- and sometimes that's overwhelming, and sometimes it makes me want to try harder to live the life I want and need to in the face of everything going on. And this year was really embodied by that.

Some of my ambitions didn't work out- I came into 2024 being all "Okay, this is my year- I'm going to break into making Visual Novels and games." And while I did publish a couple of games- including the experimental dress up style one. I had felt like I had failed- I hadn't lived up to my goal. All that saving, planning, budgeting- and I didn't have anything to show for it. Of course- that's not true. I'm amazed by the support my games have gotten on itch- and that they're still being played and remembered fondly. Not to mention- I learned a lot about myself and my work pace- what I "need" to stay productive and how much I should plan my projects instead of diving in without a plan.

Then, things took a turn when I decided to apply for that art grant for Indigenous Canadians. And I actually got it! As you've seen, my output changed a bit- as now I have this amazing opportunity. I submitted my project to the organization with the goal of improving my acrylic painting skills and portfolio. It's still got three more months of the goal- so I've got a lot more painting to do. I feel like I've been learning a lot- and it's... weird to be so "free" to guide my creative output like this. Hell- it's another reminder that I can be stressed out when left to my own devices. And holding myself to impossible standards.

I'm hoping to host a gallery in April or May to show off all I've done. It'll be like "coming out" again to everyone in my local community. We'll see. We'll see.

Speaking of- next year, I'm going to Sizecon! Yeah, I'll be there in two months to party hard! I hope to see some of you there.

Otherwise- I'm not sure what the future holds. It's a scary time we're living in. And, sometimes drawing my silly little drawings, and thinking of my ambitious impractical projects feels... like not enough. Like, I need to be working harder and on grander things. I dunno what I'll accomplish next year. But thank you all, so much, for the support. It means the world to me- and I hope to keep bringing you all interesting stuff to look at for a long time!

Happy New Year!