I’ve made it a habit of taking a moment at the beginning of the year to review my past year and look forward to the next one.

And so… here’s my look back, and my look forward!

Looking Back

2017 stank, in a lot of ways… and was truly amazing in others. I struggled a lot emotionally, and grew a lot artistically.

At the beginning of the year, my 1st-gen Surface Pro stopped functioning as a tablet. Up to that point I had been making my coloring pages in Clip Studio Paint (Manga Studio). Losing my tablet drawing capabilities forced me to start working in real media. This was a Good Thing and has improved my craft quite a bit. I miss my Manga Studio, and I’m working to get back to it, but my craft will not suffer, and that is a good thing.

Year in review: Paintings

I had two solo exhibits this year: one at the local public library, and one at a gallery in my hometown. I sold 6 paintings. That is more than I have ever sold in a single year, let alone at a single show.

I participated in (AND COMPLETED) Inktober!

And I PUBLISHED A COLORING BOOK O_O

Totals:

Paintings completed: 10

Paintings sold: 7

Coloring pages completed and posted: 35

Books published: 1

Looking Ahead

Things I want to do in 2018:

I want to share more. I want to write more. I want to create things I’m proud of and things I’m ashamed of, as long as I’m creating. I want to have the courage to share things before they’re perfect.

I maybe want to extend my “Inktober” outside of October. I want to draw things just for the fun of it. I want to draw things to please myself.

I want to publish another collection of coloring pages.

I want to finish writing Songseeker and start something new.

I want to read more.

Will I do those things? Well… I’m going to start now and do my darnedest. ^_^