I’ve Been Blogging for a Year!

One year ago today, I started this blog. I had been away from art for quite some time, but suddenly went back to it with a renewed vigor. And I did something I have always shied away from: I tried new things. So instead of writing about my “favorite” works from this past year, I’m going to give you a recap that shows the progress of my artwork throughout the year, as well as all the different things I tried that I had never done before.

This year…

…I started working with color for the first time.

…I got a set of Prismacolor colored pencils and improved my color work with aggressive blending and layering:

(I learned that what I was doing was called “colored pencil painting.”)

…I dabbled in watercolor, starting by going back to basics:

And then made this fun “house study”:

…I finally attempted to draw in ink:

…And I made myself draw the same thing twice:

…I drew some small and “loose” sketches:

…I mixed different mediums:

And tried one I’d never even heard of before (brush pen):

…I learned a little bit about illustration and what it means (and what it doesn’t):

But best of all, I had fun, and connected with some incredible people here in the WordPress community. I got to share my work but also my thoughts, and was so pleased that both things started to generate conversations that helped me improve my work, but also appreciate what I had already done.

Thank you those of you who have been here since the beginning; your support kept me going. And to those of you just joining now, welcome! I can’t wait to see what we’ll accomplish in the year ahead.