The dance between learning and creating
Paint vs pixels
I went full time on climate art nearly a year ago now. When I took the leap, I was new to both the climate space and art world. I have been learning on the fly constantly, often painting about a topic I knew nothing about 24 hours earlier.
Now I have a bit more breathing room, but that same sense of needing to learn quickly hasn’t subsided.
The last art class I took was AP art in high school. iPads didn’t even exist when I was in high school (cool cool cool, a strong reminder I’m turning 30 in a few months). Now, I do digital illustration on my iPad nearly everyday for client mockups. I love working on Procreate (a tool like Photoshop but for iPads) just as much as I do watercolors. But I am FAR less skilled. When I look at other professional illustrators my imposter syndrome kicks in hard.
So, I’ve been taking online classes with Skillshare and good old Youtube University.
I’m trying to find a balance between learning new art skills, new climate information, and completing my client work. Fortunately, this is a fun problem to have. I love all the pieces in the pie chart of my life right now.
Some actions I’ve been trying to take to help with this:
Listening to climate podcasts or audiobooks while I paint or illustrate.
Create one piece of unique art every week, 1 newsletter, and 1 page for my coloring book.
Watching Youtube tutorials when I’m tired (takes less energy than actively taking a course/following along but I still learn).
Blocking off Mondays and Fridays for no meetings so I can get into flow for art (mostly successful at this). I like to take care of client work on Mondays to get a head start on the week.
Taking IRL art classes! I’m really excited about this. I took a cartoon class last week that I’m going to share more about soon.
My question for you:
What are the pieces of the pie chart of your life you are balancing? What works for you to dance between them?
Life updates:
Creativity Circles for climate folks is gonna be a thing! I’m working on the curriculum and logistics now. If you are interested in that, fill out this form.
I’m coming to LA + SF in less than a month!
Ways to support me:
📗 Buy my book! It’s a great coffee table book for yourself, your office, or your nerdy climate friend.
Client Spotlight
I created a piece with Dayenu for Passover this week!
