Category: Creative Independence

As artists and illustrators, we constantly talk about style. It seems the most coveted aspect of our practice. We consider it the most important goal when we want to be known or recognized. Well-known artist’s portfolios are cohesive and consistent. We rarely see the steps it took to get there. It’s advantageous, no doubt. A… Continue reading You Don’t Need to Find Your Style

This essay was shared with my newsletter subscribers last week and it resonated so much I decided to publish it here as well The optimism waned almost immediately. A yucky feeling installed itself right above my navel and I couldn’t quite pinpoint it. What do you call this? It’s not sadness nor anxiety. It’s not… Continue reading The Instagram Problem

We enter the Summer. This means silencing the information overload and ceasing to participate for the next two months.I wrote about this in this post. I need it for mental health and physical health. My eyes, mind, and body are tired. I’m worried all the time. One of the most tiring things is to be… Continue reading Living Small, Slow and Quietly

I’ve been avoiding reading about covid-19. I receive the Quartz newsletter and that’s about all I was able to handle. But today, March 25, 2020. I’m reading about how we got here. Last week was crazy, anxiety inducing, scary. This week is more of the same but at least I know in Canada we are… Continue reading Today

Raise your hand if you’ve tried to reduce your time online or at least your phone. I know I have. For the longest time.  I hated that I couldn’t do it. I hated that I read all these books about how terrible our technology is for our brains. How our brain pathways are being re-programmed.… Continue reading How I Manage my Time Online

I have been crunching numbers. It’s my least favorite thing to do and as a creator it’s twice as painful because through the corner of my eye I can see my brushes and paints calling me. But I have no choice. The question about dropshippers and POD companies pops up in every artist group I’m… Continue reading Is Etsy Worth it?

I find it realistic to say that you will only get good at your craft after a minimum of two years of hard practice. Quantity does not mean quality. If you crank out ten drawings,  maybe one is really good, the others were just warm-ups.The one that is really good, I should make it again… Continue reading Advice for New Creatives

By the middle of June I was done. I looked around my studio and felt such overwhelm despite having fulfilled a lifelong dream: a room of my own. Walls full of scraps and notes, images and quotes. Piles of artwork, lots of art material. Tons of sketchbooks. Then I opened my computer and my Trello… Continue reading A Summer Without Instagram (and most Social Media)

   The begining of my reconciliation with Yoga. A 30 day journey. For years I said I didn’t like Yoga. I first tried it almost three decades ago in Mexico. The instructor wanted us to take a cold shower before and after the practice and to push our bodies to the max. Needless to say… Continue reading Five Things Friday