I started writing these blogs, Sketchbook Confessionals, in the fall of 2019, as a way to take inventory of all the art that I made, books I read, and fitness things that I did in the past month. Writing these blogs has helped me remember what I do each month, a kind of ‘done’ list rather than a ‘to do’ list.
I made several paintings of Mt. Elbert near Leadville in January 2021:
While painting Mt. Elbert and lupine flowers, I made a couple sheer abstract paintings using the paint left over. It is very fun to just cut loose and let the paint flow freely on these kinds of pieces. I call these Leftover Paintings, and I’ve been making them off and on since 2015:
Sometimes, in my opinion, the leftovers are even better than the mountain paintings.
In January I made a ton of Rainbow Cats too. I’d estimate I made about 95 of them.
The Rainbow Cats are fun for me to make because they are all different, all handmade, yet they are simple enough to get repetitive, zen, and very satisfying. A Rainbow Cat is kind of a relaxing art that I make. I draw the stripes for the Rainbow Cats while watching Twitch in the background. I can’t do this with oil painting - if I try to paint and have something on like a video, it doesn’t work very well.
Another art form that I worked on in January was video art, as I got my art projector to work again. I am not sure what I will do with it yet, but I made a couple videos for Instagram where I projected an animated gouache painting onto myself. The process for these is:
Make abstract painting using gouache
Animate the painting in an app like Pixaloop, using simplistic paths
Save the file, load it into the projector, project the animation onto a wall
Stand against the wall
There has to be more I can do with this but I am not sure what, or how to make it into more meaningful art.
Reading/Watching/Playing:
A sword, drawn by our party DM, the “Sword of Songs” utilized by Arlina, the Changeling Bard
The funnest thing I am playing continues to be a D&D game I am playing with several other artists and designers, where I play a Changeling Bard named Arlina. I think we are up to almost 20 sessions now, all happening over zoom/videocall. Playing D&D is something I look forward to, specifically because of its improvisational nature. It turns out that I really like the feeling of being on my toes, unexpected monsters, funny changeling hijinks, and our DM is doing a great job.
I realized how important D&D was to me when I went too hard on a big 10 mile run in the summer in DC, got dehydrated and too sick, and couldn’t make a session that night because I was struggling to keep down water and ibuprofen. I was so sad I couldn’t make the session, which I had been looking forward to all week, and pretty much had to say “please go on without me comrades.” At that moment I realized, wow, I really, really like D&D a lot. Now I plan my runs more carefully, haha!
My drawing of Arlina, the Changeling Bard
It’s fun to play Arlina, she has become like Averle, my character in Elder Scrolls Online - an extension of myself who has stayed with me for some time. Changeling hijinks, like changing into an Orc but not knowing Orcish, changing into an antagonist yet not knowing exactly how he would act, and changing into an NPC who had passed away - all of these are moments that were interesting to play as a Changeling.
Even though Arlina is like me, in her base form, it is fun to be her because she can kind of be anything. Since she is a Changeling, similar to Mystique in the X Men, she can be a big dumb orc if she wants, or a shadowy thief.
It’s wild to remember that our D&D experience is different for each person in the party. Whatever we are all imagining in our heads is completely different from the next person. If we happen across an ice cave, the ice cave is totally different for me versus the person in the zoom window next to me, and the person next to them. In this way, D&D is a lot more like five people reading a book, than five people watching a movie or playing a video game. This is why it is so special, I think.
This month, I also started playing Octopath Traveler again. This might be one of those games that I just keep playing throughout life. Witcher 3, Final Fantasy games, Ocarina of Time, all of those are like that for me.
When I think about how I first started playing Witcher 3 in my Austin apartment, and later moved to Houston, Maryland, DC, and back to Colorado, I remember what a longevic, eternal game it is. I remember Witcher 3 specifically because I got CARDED to purchase it at Target in 2015, which was quite flattering and also very funny and entertaining to me. Some games just hold up forever. Octopath and Witcher 3 are like that for me.
I wish I had read more books in January, however, I was very tuned into the news. I don’t think there is anything wrong with this, there were a lot of important moments in January for the United States.
Fitness:
This January, I hit a couple big runs, including an 8 mile run at the very end of January on the 30th. When I am feeling my best and running well, the miles pass very quickly, as they did on this particular 8 mile run.
I’m getting better overall fitness too. Aside from not drinking alochol, I don’t watch my diet too closely, though I do try to eat well enough overall. I will eat lots of bagels, lots of mexican food and thai food.
More oblique ab definition in January! Not sure why, must be all the running + strength + dancing?
For some reason, this month, I started getting more definition in my oblique abdominal area. I don’t think I deserved this at all, because I haven’t been doing planks like I used to. I think it all must be coming from running big miles, and the strength routine I am doing as part of my training. Sometimes I also dance in my studio since I miss doing Zumba.
Completing long runs on the weekend to the order of 6-8 miles reminds me of when I was in Tokyo, and I would walk 5-10 miles each day to see all the art that I could. I was so tired each day and so hungry from all the walking, I would struggle to find enough food to stay energized. Since portion sizes in Japan were so small, I would order things like three croissants from Starbucks and buy several sodas from vending machines. Walking and running really do take a lot of energy from me, and, I suspect, from most people. Whenever anyone asks me for fitness advice, I will always say ‘run'! and if you can’t run, walk! And once you feel pretty good about that, do some planks. My advice will always be pretty simple like this.
Jan 1 marked 7 months of no-alcohol for me as well. It may sound strange but I don’t even think about alcohol at all, I don’t seem to have cravings. It might be that my exercise routines have replaced alcohol completely, and that staying at home for COVID, ie, not going out to bars, ect, has made it even easier to forget about alcohol.
To sum up: In January 2021, I did a ton of work in painting and video art. I completed a total of 10 paintings. I played a lot of D&D and ran something like 75 miles total with a couple large runs mixed in. I hope to continue this trend in February.
Who wrote this:
