I haven’t painted in almost a year
The last painting I completed was in May 2025. I’m a little shocked it’s been this long because I thought I was naturally approaching a creative peak in finding my own unique artistic expression. Furthermore, I thought the momentum from that discovery would flow continuously for a while, but there were some subtle signs that I was going to need to take a break.
The first sign was losing my iPad which housed all my painting drafts. Sketches in the dozens gone except for 1.
And I immediately got a new iPad to replace the one that was lost.
However, losing that iPad placed a sensitivity on me that I just couldn’t shake. I used to freehand a lot more often and naturally with the availability of technology, I leaned more on sketching digitally and I moved further away from pencil and paper. But the inkling to start free handing again was planted in me and slowly, daily, the cue became louder and louder. It felt like I needed to revisit an old method if only just to prove to myself that I still knew how to draw without any guardrails.
And then I lost my second iPad and rather than be upset I just took it as a sign that God really needed me to get back to freehand drawing. Not to mention that the way in which I lost the iPad was so bizarre and part of me feels like it’s not really lost, it’s just hiding for now until it’s time to reveal itself. Nevertheless, it’s missing for now. So, I’m imbuing unmovable belief in myself that I know how to draw. That I know how to build scenes from my imagination without having to depend on a reference photo and I just need to give myself some grace and time to build up a muscle memory that feels a little atrophied.
The second sign was the desire to see the completion of my flower chess set.
I’ve been slowly building it from the trenches of my creative reservoirs for the last three years and 2025 was going to be the year I finished. Well, it’s 2026 and it’s still not finished. However, since I have not painted in almost a year and I’ve lost my iPad being the tool that was helping me create these paintings, I decided to re-direct my creative energy into completing the chess set. As it stands, I’m about 75% down which is lightyears closer than I was this time last year.
I think in writing this, my takeaways are an artist’s path is non-linear. I detoured onto an art side quest and put down the paint brush which brought me to a bevy of questions that I needed to answer internally about where I want to go with my art.
If I am completely honest the home decor/sculptural space piques an interest for me.
And when I put the paint brush down almost a year ago, I didn’t realize a two-week break would turn into a year hiatus. I’m itching to get back to my canvases in my new bigger studio and I’m hoping I gained some wisdom in giving myself a little more freedom in my technique and artistry. Still at my core, I want to make art that is beautiful, intuitive, and symbolic of a love letter but I’m trying to be more flexible with how my art is interpreted. Consequentially, I’m both curious and eager to see where the chess side quest takes me and how my art involves going forward.
