There is no excellent beauty that hath not some strangeness in the proportion.”
Francis Bacon
In August 2019, I set a goal of drawing and sharing something new everyday, and I ended up drawing more in five months than I had in the previous five years.
Whether it took me minutes or days or even years to complete, self-consciousness and doubt and fear have always been hard to overcome because I was aiming for excellence. The result is far less finished work with only slightly-improving quality. After more than 30 years of calling myself an artist, I really should have much more to show for it.
For so long, I thought art was a matter of crafting perfection, but making something that I’m happy with is more important than creating a masterpiece. An artist doesn’t have the power to deem their work good or bad or anything beyond that. That belongs to the viewer.
So this first drawing of the year represents the incredible vulnerability of sharing my personal art with the world and what 2019 taught me about embracing the discomfort that comes with it.
Today, my only concern is communicating what’s in my head (be it amusing, weird, fantastical or downright disturbing) and that I’ve done it to the degree I think is most appropriate — not the best, or the fastest, or even the clearest. Better to let it be rough or unusual or embarrassing instead of never letting it be at all.
Thank you to everyone that showed love and encouragement for what I’ve shared so far. Turns out I needed it so much more now than ever before. There’s much more to come in 2020, and I hope you’re down for the ride.