newest painting+ exciting updates+ some art I've made

Hi everyone! I've been staying busy at my internship this month (working full time for no moolah) so I've been burned out creatively on this final stretch. I've been slowly chipping away at some landscaping as the weather is perfect for being outside has been changing. I hate humid summers, so I've been trying to get ahead on outdoor projects while temperatures are moderate. I've planted some apricot tea roses and white gardenias in front of my house, and this week I've been pruning my crepe myrtles. So you can basically say I'm a gardening expert, right?

With this rest, I've been finding my back and wrist straining going away a bit. Staying away from sketching or painting has also encouraged me to brainstorm more about what I want my paintings to evoke and where I want my art to go. Being connected with nature and starting to get into the world of tattooing (following tattoo artists and designing tattoos for my friends) has also opened me up to new subject matter and creativity. I've been enjoying thinking up what pieces I want on my own body, and that's helped me translate new concepts into my art. I hope to begin creating more art that evokes my emotions and is personal to me once more. I used to paint like that in the old days (all my darker art), and that passion trailed off as I was looking at creating art as a job and something that was marked by deadlines.

This piece is pretty basic as far as concepts go, but I had fun with slowly dipping my toes in the pool of *backgrounds*, and all the cherry blossoms have been blooming in my town. My seasonal depression has been fading, and I definitely have so much excitement for this summer.

Which leads me to three things I'm gonna be doing this summer. 

1. BE A BARISTA AT MY FAVORITE COFFEE SHOP!!!!!!! You heard me right; I'm living the dream of being a little barista artist. I'm so excited to learn how to make amazing coffee.

2. WRITE AN ACTUAL BOOK. I've just signed the contract. I'm working on a book on digital painting with a real publisher. It will be 150-200 pages and have about 25 projects in it. The manuscript is due at the end of July, and I'm taking many of my own reference photos with models for it. I'm so excited to make a beautiful book explaining my process for you.

3.  MOVE MY SHOP TO AN OFFICE SPACE! One of my good friends in town is renting out an office with his friend to turn into a recording studio. During the day, it's going to be a shared office space with some other friends, and we've talked about me moving my shop to the office. This would increase my productivity sooo much, and I can imagine so many good things in store for my shop if I do take this leap. I want to know what shop products you want!!! Also, I probably will be painting a mural in the office..!

And lastly (this is a deadline at the end of this month), but I'm going to be creating some ✨sustainable✨ shirts! It's gonna be a short one week launch with KOTN, and I'm going to be doing a front and back design, so if you have ideas for the design, pleaseplease let me know. I'm thinking of something magical/plant themed. The color of the shirts will be this dusty cream color. I'm sooooo excited.

Tattoo designs

Here are two cute tattoo designs I made for my friends. I'm excited to do some more in the future, and working in this different style has inspired me in my own art.

I've attached PDF of some of the fun stuff I've worked on recently. 

Let me know how you're doing! Have you also been affected by seasonal depression? And do you have any short term goals when it comes to art, productivity, or lifestyle?