seeing the storm clouds part for the first time in several days, just in time to reveal to me the last few minutes of daylight in this year's Daylight Saving Time

getting a healthy start on my first NaNoWriMo

almost done!

I enjoy the gentle layers in the concept of this one, but won't describe them -- it's like explaining your own joke before people have a chance to get it on their own...

learning to see and say good things about my work

A frequent topic of conversation with Barbara is how I feel about my drawing. For years she has insisted that I am far too self-critical and don't have an objective view of its merits. So I have been making an effort to pay more attention to feedback I get from others, to see if I can find out some of what they see that I don't.

It has occurred to me that, in this past year, more than once someone has said that the characters I draw are "fluid and alive". The same was said about my animal drawings a while ago, even though I see them as beginner student pieces. Today I find that I can look at what I draw... and agree that, yes, I often see fluidity and life in them. And those are good things, things which I am trying to capture. There may be are other technical shortcomings in them, but most of the time I also manage to capture the spark of life, if nothing else. And it makes me feel good to be able to see that, and to acknowledge it to myself.

I hope this is the most braggy I will ever get, I don't wanna become insufferable...

last night's sunset