Most people know me as an artist. This is understandable considering I’ve spent the last fifteen years promoting myself as an artist. That’s what I got my degree in, and that’s where the majority of my professional experience has been. The truth is that I am also a writer. It has simply taken me longer to discover this for myself. Upon reflection, writing is something that has always been in the back of my mind. It was never something I consciously intended to pursue, until a couple of years ago. I have always written, I have simply never publicized it.
I have spent the last few years concentrating on a project which has been in the back of my mind for nearly twenty years. I am just now beginning to see it come to fruition (well it’s blossoming, there’s not much fruit yet, but I remain hopeful). I have felt both exhilaration and fear over this endeavor. Still, when people ask what I have been working on, expecting to hear about paintings, confusion inevitably crosses the person’s face to hang in the silence when I mention writing. It still feels awkward to tell people I have been writing a novel (which has unintentionally grown into a series). Additionally, I’ve had more than fifteen years practice talking about my art, whereas I’ve never before told people about my writing. As I was pondering how to bridge this gap. It occurred to me that the best way to discuss my writing would be through my art. Especially since these creative endeavors are so much the same to me. The creative processes of writing and drawing/painting are very closely related. Particularly since the genre of art I am most passionate about is narrative art- art that tells a story.
As Gaston said to Belle in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, “How can you read this, there are no pictures?” Well, I intend to illustrate my novel.
This coalescence of art and writing is essentially where the idea of this blog was conceived. When people asked what I was working on, it was so much easier to discuss my writing in terms of my art. So I began telling people about the illustrations I’m working on for my novel. The more I told people this the more I realized I needed some place where I could display both simultaneously, prior to and in anticipation of the project’s actual publication.
As I contemplated the logistics of actually starting a blog as opposed to theoretically starting one, I was very hesitant. Not only have I kept my writing hidden from the public eye, but the prospect of maintaining a blog (which I new nothing about) seemed exceptionally overwhelming to me. My conviction and my interest vacillated between possibility and fear and I began to refer to the project as “Reluctant Blogging.” This blog is the proverbial “leap of faith” (merely a step really) toward overcoming the fear that would hold me back as I share my work with others. You can read more about my “Reluctant Blogging” here.
So, in this blog I will share thoughts and work in a variety of related topics. Namely, my Art, my Writing, Mythology (which I am extremely passionate about), news and updates about my Current Projects (including sneak peeks), and some Personal Muse-ings including my experiences, and other sources of inspiration. My goals for this blog can be summed up as follows by three main objectives:
- To share my artistic and other creative endeavors.
- To overcome fear.
- To find like-minded people and make a connection.
