In the past, it's always been important to look at other art and learn from other artists to create great work. This is how it's been for the last couple hundreds of years.

But things are a bit different today.

I realized those artists are only known because their art looks like someone else's. You can probably think of artist's right now that you currently follow who have a style that mimics other famous artists.

This made me question the work I was creating and all the studying I was doing.

Think back to a time when you were disappointed with your work. What kind of thoughts and emotions did you experience?

If you're like me, you probably felt that you weren't good enough. You put yourself down. You tied your self-worth to the thing you created.

We learn from a young age to look for stability in just about everything we do. After a while, stability becomes something we try to manufacture.

The problem with this is that is just doesn't line up with reality.

Transitions have a way of teaching lessons you don’t sign up for.

At first, they can feel disruptive or even painful. Like something's been taken from you. But if you stay with them long enough, you realize they’re shaping you in ways you couldn’t have planned yourself.

Out of all the sketchbooks I’ve filled over the years, one stands out more than the rest. This particular one, I started back in 2018 which I dedicated to drawing only my cat, Kitty, from life.

Working long hours, putting pressure on yourself to create more each day is a recipe for burnout. This kind of lifestyle lacks balance and harmony. We weren’t meant to live like this.

The problem is: this goes against nature.

Nature is patient and takes her time.

The point behind all of these paintings I made was that during this time I was taking an inspiration fast. This helped me to create more freely and to create more often too.

This month was a month full of focus and painting for me. I somehow created 58 paintings - almost 2 per day, while still working a day job. I’ll share what I learned, my process, experiments, and results for this month of focused painting.

Nothing adds more contrast to your sketches than pen & ink.

But the problem is when you’re too afraid to try it because it’s permanent. And when you do try it, you’re so concerned with making mistakes that your linework turns out too stiff. There’s no life in your lines or your sketch.

We left early in the morning from Islamabad and started driving towards the north with Batakundi as the destination for the day - about 7-8 hours away. The sunrise was amazing on this day.

Something I've struggled with for so long is balancing all of the creative outlets I enjoy in my life.

If you're like me, I imagine you've tried a few different creative hobbies once or twice before. Things like drawing, painting, playing guitar or piano, doing puzzles, learning magic tricks, doing origami, photography, learning languages, graphic design - the list could go on and on.

Hey there, how's it going?
Finally a new year, so I wanted to catch up with you again.

I wanted to share with you a lesson I learned from last year - and also share a short list of some of the most valuable content I created last year.