I usually just start drawing and see where things go for this challenge, so it was different to spend time today thinking about what message could be. I came across a number of things that resonated with me (a big one was something along the lines of “don’t let overwhelm steal your joy”), but I settled on “Be Seen” after I start painting and filing up the cardboard. I pulled the trigger and decided to enroll in the “Leverage Your Art” course with Stacey Bloomfield (which is where I heard the overwhelm line), and that’s been giving me a big push, a big rush of energy, not only to create more work but to really try to get out there and start to think about building a sustainable business with my art. I’ve started flagging and watching courses on social media strategy on Skillshare and restarting some courses on surface pattern design in Affinity Designer and selling on print-on-demand stores. I didn’t even know about banned hashtags or being shadow banned on Instagram, so I still have such a long way to go, but I’m starting to take these small steps (again). I implemented some hashtag tips from a Skillshare class in a recent post and saw just the smallest amount of engagement, and it made me feel like those baby steps are taking me in the right direction. The biggest piece of it, though, and why I decided “Be Seen” felt like the right message for today, is I’m becoming a little more comfortable letting other people see me and my work. Just a little bit.

I also didn’t have a plan for what I wanted to paint today and just started trying to use up some left over gouache in the palette again. It ended up being like…the bottom of a castle or tower? Something weirdly fairy tale like. Ran out of space for the letters again, and I put the letters down first and had to go back and fill in the tower/bricks behind it. It looks like a beaver chewed through the part of the tower behind the letters.