I'm back with another artsy update for this week!

As stated in my last post, I am currently juggling several projects at once. While challenging, it has been quite refreshing to rotate between different works in progress, especially when arriving at a mental standstill after staring at a piece for so long. It helps keep the creative juices flowing. I am using a different medium on each piece (two in acrylic paint, one in ink and alcohol markers, others in graphite), and I find that switching from one to another has been somewhat helpful in alleviating inevitable creative fatigue.

Frankly, this week has been very rocky compared to last week. Finding inspiration without spending any time outside has been a huge struggle. It is sort of like squeezing water out of a brittle, dry sponge at this point, but I'm determined to find other methods of working around this situation. So far, I've stuck to my music and any funny or interesting long-duration YouTube videos I can find (special thanks to channels dedicated to r/niceguys and r/choosingbeggars and the like). It also helps sometimes to put down the phone, lie back, close my eyes and meditate a bit. This makes me feel a bit more grounded when I feel like I'm falling too deeply within my own thoughts.

Progress on my piece with ArtSnacks' Tombow Bonus Box. Colored with Tombow ABT Pro alcohol markers, inked with Tombow Mono drawing pen. Progress is moving slowly here because I have virtually no experience with alcohol markers. I am trying to find a balance between a colorful/stylistic approach and realism. I have been questioning every mark I make with this one.

A photo of the markers with my very first test page. I made the mistake of testing on the "wrong" kind of paper (watercolor), and I was confused as to why I couldn't blend the colors whatsoever. I didn't realize at first that the watercolor paper might have been too absorbent. It turns out the "right" paper (above) was already included in the Bonus Box (Chartpak Ad Marker Paper). This paper has a coated, smooth surface that allows these markers to glide effortlessly and blend nicely. The colors really pop beautifully on this paper.

Below are different areas of progress in my painting "Still Blue." This painting has been a challenge to say the least. The level of detail I have committed to this piece has been quite different from that of my previous works, and frankly it has been mentally taxing at times. I am seeing it through to the end, but I will definitely be taking a break from rendering detailed textiles/fabrics. Perhaps there exists a more efficient method which I have yet to learn.

I do feel good about my choice in having the earrings be the only items fully colored. I want to portray them as some sort of "relics" from when I first began discovering new ways of expressing myself and finding happiness through creative exploration.

Close-up of painstakingly-painted crochet stitches. I'm still deciding which was more of a challenge - crocheting this scarf or painting it. I might have to go with the painting. I still love both.

That's all for now! Thanks for reading!

I'd love to hear about what other artists have been up to!