Where did the last year go? For that matter, who released the whirlwind that has blown by like a freight train 4 years long?
As my thoughts gather themselves and argue about what order they will come to the surface and find their way onto your screen, the one that invariably makes it to the top first is how many times in the past I have taken breaks at something only to begin feeling guilty at some point that I’ve let so much time pass and permitted the excitement I once felt fade away.
It seems that for some people, creativity and the ability to focus on something comes easy. That hasn’t really been my experience. I tend to wander, to get so lost in one thing completely and then that at some point I stick my head up and see that I’ve neglected other things. I won’t promise that won’t happen again but I will say that the things that do grab my interest generally compliment each other. So, it’s not that I’ve been doing nothing for the last 10 months, it’s just that I didn’t feel it would be of interest to many.
I’ve been taking more Photoshop courses….I even got a new Gaoman drawing screen after having worn out my last drawing pad. That I had managed to scratch the pad beyond use became painfully obvious when I began taking a drawing class. Though I’ve not yet finished that class, I have found the new screen changing the way I work with images in photoshop. I struggled with the pen tool initially but it has now become quite natural and I’ve found myself using it even when it wasn’t necessary. However, being able to draw a line or curve precisely on the drawing screen feels so much more natural. As a whole, I feel my images becoming half photograph and half painting…which is exactly where I want to go even if to most other observing eyes, the difference may not be noticeable. In the end, I want to believe that creativity takes the easiest and most natural, meandering paths for me.
Beyond the images, I’ve also been giving a lot of thought to the story I began writing nearly two years ago. The bits from that effort earlier than this post were an exercise on my part. I felt that would be a learning experience for me and boy was it! I’m now toying with the idea of rewriting that offline from the beginning but addressing issues I noticed in the story so far. There will of course be images to go with the story but not tied directly to simultaneously published chapter. I found the story to be a great catalyst for images ideas and I’ve missed that. I am ready to dive into that world again though uncertain of where it may lead.