Hello! Now that Spring is here, I thought I’d write a bit of an update on the year so far and my plans for the months ahead. I always feel like I’m coming to life again with the arrival of Spring and creative plans start to flourish.
So far, this year has felt like a bit of a blur - and I am sure most people are feeling much the same after months of lockdown and continuing to navigate living through a pandemic. I’ve buried myself in a combination of gigantic jumpers & blankets, and drawing & painting. Hibernation mode at its finest.
I expected January to be fairly slow and quiet, but it turned out to be the opposite. I ended up working pretty solidly on pet portrait commissions for the whole month, and into all of February too. I’m incredibly grateful for all of these - it was a very good way to start the year! Here are a handful of the pieces I created…
I also managed to find time to fit in plenty of online drawing classes - both traditional life drawing, and animal life drawing. I’ve worked my way though several sketchbooks and have spent a small fortune on new art suppplies! I’m continuing to do these sessions regularly, since they are a brilliant way to make time for creative play and experimenting. The sense of community and working alongside lots of other artists (via the power of the internet) is especially lovely, when we can’t do so in real life right now.
Here’s a selection of my pieces from these sessions - it was difficult to choose just a few to share!
In amongst all of this work, I have struggled at times too - being at home all the time makes it hard to put things in perspective and all the focus has been on my work. I often put a lot of pressure on myself to create work to a certain standard, and as a result I struggle a lot with my confidence. Comparisonitis has also been rife! When looking at other people’s work on social media, or at an online drawing session, it makes it so easy to fall into that trap of comparing your own work with other people’s. It’s a bit of a constant battle with these things, and I know most creative people will feel the same too. The best way forwards is just to keep on going and focus on your own path! Easier said than done sometimes, but I think I am getting better at it at. Looking back over my work from the last 3 months, I have learned so much, and I am really happy with where it’s going.
Speaking of which, I’ve been working with a creative business mentor recently, to figure out how to move my work forwards and create my own path to follow. I must have scribbled out hundreds of pages of ideas and plans… I’ve become a lot more focused now and I’m happy to say I have plans in place for the next few months. I don’t want to give it all away just yet, but I will tell you I am creating a new collection of artwork, and side-stepping away from the illustration side of things for now. I’m going to both streamline and expand my offering, and my branding & website will be getting a bit of an overhaul very soon! I’m excited for these things and I just need to make it all happen now… Spring feels like the perfect time to do so. Stay tuned!
~~~~~
PS. I’m happily still taking commissions for pet portraits & other things - I’m just taking on slightly less than usual at the moment. If you’d like to commission something I would love to hear from you, and you can get hold of me by emailing hello@fionapurves.co.uk.
