Well well well, it's been quite some time since I posted a journal entry here...almost a year, to be exact. Time has really flown by!
So, let me catch everyone up to date: From the post last year, I took a pretty long break from my art. I was completely burned out and really upset that, from a previous art convention, I did really poorly. It left me in a very disappointed state not only with how my art career had been turning out, but about my art in general. Even looking at a pen drained any energy I would have had to draw. I believe it was about...4-5 months(?) before I started sketching things out.
I didn't like anything I had made.
My art felt stale - Faces didn't seem right, poses were lackluster...I couldn't find anything to make my pieces really jump out. I was gearing up for my next convention (which I'll get into later in this post) and I needed something that people would stop and say "I gotta buy this." I started evaluating my art and what's inspired me, and I started some new sketches. The style change was almost immediate and I knew I was onto something. I also changed how I colored my work - I really got into oil painting and was studying it as much as I could. I haven't been this confident in my art for a long, long time, and it feels really good to say that.
So, going back to the convention this year: it was the same one from last year that I had done horribly at. There aren't many conventions to sell art at around me, especially this year, so I had no choice but to come back to what felt like my biggest failure.
Let me tell you, it was amazing this time around.
Not only did I make back my print costs, I also made back my table as well. In the 2 days that I was there, I had never felt happier selling my art. Personally, my real-life job has left me unfulfilled, so just this little bit of time at the convention not only felt good, it felt right. It felt like this is what I'm meant to do.
I have a newfound look on my art career, and it's putting me on the right path.