Hey there, how's it going?
Finally a new year, so I wanted to catch up with you again.

I wanted to share with you a lesson I learned from last year - and also share a short list of some of the most valuable content I created last year.

What do you see when you look at a blank piece of paper? If you're anything like me, you see the most scary and intimidating, valuable canvas, which will easily be wasted as soon as I start to draw anything on it.

I have had many times where I become frustrated while creating art, whether it be a pen & ink drawing or a watercolor painting. I would guess around one-third or even more of my art is just garbage - or not quite the quality I was looking for. This is just how it is sometimes.

Even though I’ve been consistently creating art and following this passion for over 10 years now, I still have times where I struggle and run into problems.

It’s extremely tough to earn a living off of one’s art. In fact, researchers have determined that only 10% of art school graduates find a way of supporting themselves solely from their passion.

Have you ever wondered how to make money as an artist? If so, you're not alone. Even the most prestigious Fine Art colleges in the world tend to forget to teach their art students this little important bit of information. Why is it that there doesn't seem to be a clear path or way for artists to make a living nowadays?

For the past few years now I've been selling small paintings on Etsy and shipping them out myself and I've had to figure out the best way to pack them safely so they don't arrive damaged in any way. I use the USPS free flat rate boxes - usually the Medium size - as these allow for extra room around the painting for padding, in case the box gets stepped on or dropped the painting won't be touched.

The main point of this post is to discuss shadows and their temperature, color & other aspects in order to achieve a realistic image. A general guideline that has been talked about for years is "Warm light, cool shadows or Cool light, warms shadows".

I recently posted a video on my YouTube channel [here] addressing a subscriber's question dealing with creating a painting with less detail. It's questions like these that keep me on my toes and make me contemplate the madness behind my painting.

Choose a subject you are interested in, otherwise it won't seem fun to paint - it will be uninspired and feel like a chore. If you are unsure of what interests you, then you have some self-exploration to do.

We are programmed by society to think that taking a break is not productive to creating anything and that we should work non-stop, but upon further inspection you will see how valuable it may be to take a break from your work.