Well, fuck. I’ve been so used to dealing with emotional roadblocks around my art practice, and felt like I’d finally been getting the hang of things this year and then… I gave myself some kind of repetitive use injury.

It all started back in August when my unconventional grip finally got the better of me and I strained my thumb. That led to me trying to correct my grip and opening a giant can of worms such that I’m now dealing with nerve issues through most of my arm, and pain when I write or draw. From the elbow down the whole thing feels unnervingly cold all the time too. I’d been ignoring it and hoping it would get better or at least wouldn’t get worse, but it’s finally become too big to look away from.

So the last week of February I’ve been wading through all the unglamorous work of sorting out new healthcare and doing taxes. Blugh. All done with my left hand as even computer work seems to aggravate it now. My insurance kicks in today, so hopefully I can schedule some appointments and get some professional help with it.

It feels like it’s taken over the entire month, though looking back I actually got a bit of work in too.

I started a new 30 day project working through Katie Moody’s prompt list. It started off so fun! I am really bummed that I can't draw right now.

For the “master study” prompt I chose Santi Sallés. One thing I notice over and over in work that I love is the artist has a deep core competency in their work, but then branches out to make it playful or messy or stylized in some way. But undergirding the whole thing is the ability to draw quite well.

Rita introduced us to him in the Urban Sketching: Focus on Vegetation class and I got a copy of his book about illustrating nature, which is wonderful. It’s actually in Spanish, so I had to run all the text through google translate, but it’s been an invaluable resource. After studying a few of his works directly, I made my own in a similar style.

I also finished all of three little monsters. And have been wrapping my tiny paintbrushes in self-adhesive bandages to make them easier to grip without strain (too little, too late unfortunately.)

I think for March my goal is working bigger and abstract so I can give my hand and wrist a break.

February Recap + Nerves

January Recap