Inaugural Post

 

 

Everything starts somewhere, eh? So here we have a new blog to share my drawings and writing. Me and social media, well we have a sh*tty relationship with each other. 

I need a place to express myself in a way that I can discover new patterns in my work and observe skill improvement and style development. I want you to see that too, because seeing one artist's journey is a great way to relate to your own process over time.

As ever, I plan to share ways to make art easy - especially on a regular basis in a journal. Because doing so, both in the keeping of a journal and in the sharing how-to, has saved my life over and over again.

I'm currently in year 5 of drawing comics, and I'd love to have a place to keep them as the ideas grow and change.

 

I'm also in year 5 of making zines, though I did make some attempts in college I only got serious about finishing them in 2020. I took a break when I was too busy with work, and the past year has been a trip getting back into sharing ideas in print and PDFs. 

I have been printing and stapling and folding zines and leaving them around my city. I'm hoping to start up snail mail again soon too - it was so much fun back when I was making linoleum prints in a proper studio prior to 2020 (when I moved onto my boat and a million other situations after). 

Funny enough, for the first time since 2012 or so I'm back on the Blogger platform (owned by Google) because it is so accessible. My income is limited right now due to being disabled, so having a free blogging program is the best way for me to proceed. In 2019 or so I had a self-hosted Wordpress.org blog and that was great, a challenge to learn, but so customizable. I even had a web shop!

Well for now, this is what I have.  My shop is at Ko-fi (https://www.ko-fi.com/birdbo/shop) which is kind of a combination of Patreon and Etsy -- but easier to use in my opinion -- less costly for the artists, plus you can use PayPal if you want.

Since I'm collecting my thoughts here for posterity, I'll also share that I am building up my portfolio for pet portraits so that I can offer commissions. Yay for #catart !

So here's me cracking open a bottle of champagne on this ship's bow, hoping for some fair winds and following seas! Best to you, and may you make so much art and be gentle on yourself when you aren't quite able to.