In the last couple of years, I’ve become increasingly more reluctant to share my work on Instagram (or online in general). In fact, my frequency in posting went down drastically this year. It’s not that I don’t want to share what I’m working on: it’s because I’ve been dissuaded by all the things one must do to get one’s art in front of everyone. I don’t like recording myself while drawing. The act of pressing ‘record’ makes me so self aware that I can’t get into a flow state. I worry about the angles, how long it’s taking, the lighting. Ugh, the fucking lighting that changes throughout the video because I work slowly compared to other artists.
It’s hard finding time for my art practice with a full-time job (which involves creating content for social media) and life in general, so the thought of adding one more thing to my plate is enough to make me implode. And when I do post something, not many people see it because of Instagram’s algorithmic sorcery. It’s discouraging, so… I work in private for the most part.
So let’s go back and see all the work I did do this year and what I’ve gathered along the way.
Starting with my trip to Spain last March, I decided to be more intentional in how I documented my experiences (even the “boring” ones). I wanted to push myself and use more mixed media, embrace “ugly art” (this remains a challenge), and draw things I usually don’t, like buildings. I was off to a good start, drawing the Spanish countryside with a looser hand to reflect my view from the high-speed train, focusing on the intersection of two buildings, and the patterns in decorative tiles. You can see more of my Spain sketches in my last two posts.
Also around this time, I finally started work on my graphic novel project. It’s been planned as an anthology of three stories detailing the exploits of Alien Raver, an anthropomorphic vulture guy. I want to pitch this book around to publishers, so my goal is to have all three stories outlined and at least one story fully penciled with a couple of final pages inked and colored. Needless to say, there is a lot to get done!
Instead of doing things in order, I’ve been bouncing between different stages of the book: I’ve outlined two of the three stories and started storyboarding one I’m tentatively calling The Double. I chose to work on this story first thinking it was my shortest one, however, I keep adding more pages to it, even changing the ending a few times. But that’s ok, it’s all part of the process of finding the best way to tell your story. Sometimes, that means taking two panels and expanding them into a whole page for more clarity—and other times, it’s whittling a scene down to two panels, leaving most of the action to the reader’s imagination.
Which leads me to my artist residency. I work full-time, so it’s hard finding the focused time and quiet to fully dedicate myself to my comic. Luckily I applied and was accepted to the Studio Kura Artist Residency in Japan. I was originally scheduled to go in 2023 but I suffered a lower back injury and had to postpone it a year. With my back now mostly healed, I found myself in Japan this last November.
The residency is located in southern Japan, on the island of Kyūshū in a small town called Itoshima. I spent a delightful month there working on my comic. A typical day would consist of working on the comic until dinner time, then my housemates and I would eat dinner communally and recount our day, then I’d go back to my room and sketch until bedtime. I penciled the first couple of pages in order to show my entire process of making comics at the Open Studios at the end of the month.
I also filled up my “idea bank” by walking around the rice fields and watching the birds dive into the irrigation canals, exploring the small town, taking the train to Fukuoka to see the art museum. It was hard putting my sketchbook down—in fact, I haven’t been so prolific in years! The other artists in residence with me (especially my housemates) were wonderful. I enjoyed getting to know them and talking art shop.
It took me a while to get into the swing of things when I got home. It was December, so everyone was in holiday-mode and I was still processing my time in Japan. I didn’t work much on the comic that month but I did keep exploring Japan through my sketchbook.
Creating art these last few months has felt like pulling teeth at times. Guilt creeps in when I don’t feel I’m making enough progress on the comic. I try giving myself grace in those moments because the way the world is right now, it’s hard doing anything. Lately, a big freelance project has been keeping me busy, of which I am thankful. Once this job is done, I have PROMISED myself that I will focus exclusively on my graphic novel. I have a loose deadline in mind for when I’d like to submit to publishers, and time keeps flying.
Looking back, I have had a pretty productive year. It doesn’t feel like that in the moment but of course, it’s easier to see the bigger picture when you’re far enough from it. I will be back soon with more Alien Raver comic updates, a photo recap of my time at the Studio Kura Artist Residency, and a sketchbook dump.
Watching: The Eternaut (Netflix); The Last of Us (HBO)
Reading: Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler; The Book of Goose by Yiyun Li
Lovely! ✨
I’m on a Greyhound headed home from Chg and so happy to read your Substack and see your vital expressive works. I love Alien and so will the world!!! It will happen🥰