Some failed projects

...and what I got out of them.

I am excellent at starting things.

Some things I’m great at starting:

• Paintings

• Projects like a 100 Day Challenge, Inktober, my Daily Dawn Project

• French lessons

• Pulling everything out of the cupboard to declutter

A sketch made during Inktober 2022

I’m not, however, always the best at finishing things.

Some things I then lose steam on and don’t finish or continue:

• Paintings

• Projects like a 100 day challenge, Inktober, my Daily Dawn Project

• French lessons

• Pulling everything out of the cupboard to declutter

Example 1 - a painting that i have started but not finished!

Where does this leave me? Well, in the case of decluttering, on the floor, staring dejectedly at the massive pile of my own belongings that now need to go back into the cupboard.

In the case of French lessons, it leaves me smiling stupidly at people when I don’t actually understand what they’ve said but I’ve already asked them to repeat themselves twice and feel too awkward to ask again.

Is it truly a failure?

In the case of creative projects, however, even if I don’t make it to the finish line, I come out the other side with some things I’m proud of.

Take my Daily Dawn Project. I’ve made it 6 months into a year of waking up at dawn to make art. The most recent attempt, I was going super well until I got hit with first trimester morning sickness and exhaustion, then I threw in the towel. However, within those first 6 months, I made some nice art and I saw over 100 beautiful sunrises.

With sunrises like these, it's easy (well, easier) to drag yourself out of bed at 4:30am.

Or the 100 Day Project and Inktober I’ve seen people doing across social media. I started full of energy and enthusiasm, only to be hit with a stumbling block however many days in.

Day12/100

Once again, I made some art that I was proud of (and some I wasn’t super happy with) despite the fact that I didn’t quite complete a full month or 100 days or a year.

Day 19/100

It was recently my aunt’s birthday. I was able to pull out some paintings to give as a gift that I made during one of these projects. Coincidentally, one she chose was made on the day of her birthday!

Day 15/100, the print I made in 2022 for an aunt I hadn’t met yet

One day I’ll actually finish one of these projects then I won’t know what to do with myself.

Now I have a baby and it’s hard to do anything.

He’s not quite 3 months old, and he takes up most of my day (and night as well!). I’m hopeful that as he gets older and nap times get more regular I’ll be able to do more painting and more things that I enjoy doing. I might even be able to start waking up at sunrise once I’m not up multiple times in the night to feed him.

For now, my plan is to try to do 1 hour studies while baby naps. On goes the alarm, and at the end of the hour, I pack everything away.

So far, I’ve snatched an hour to paint 3 days in a row. Wish me luck!

April art download - how’s the serenity?

I made this digital painting at the start of my Daily Dawn Project last year while staying on the other side of the island near Ha’apiti.

If you’re a free subscriber (or not subscribed at all) and you’d like access to the download, consider supporting my work by becoming a paid subscriber. You’ll get one free download per month along with the satisfaction of knowing that you’re helping me make more art. You’ll also get access to all of the previous free artworks… if that’s not good value for money I don’t know what is!