Back to the blog - An essential catch up of art and Life

It's been a while... and a lot has changed, not only in the world but also in my life since I last posted on this blog. The past few years have given me space to reflect, I've had to adapt and realign myself to become much more focused on the future and discover what I truly value. I'm looking to restart this blog, to share some insights not only into my art journey but also into the journey of finding myself. To provide you with the lessons I have learnt and what I derive value from which may offer help to you.

For many years I had lead a life of never really thinking about the future. I was never good at planning things and would always worry about things when I was in the midst of panic, thinking things would sort themselves out or leaving it all to chance. I began to open myself up to growth, learning more about different ways of thinking about the life I had been choosing to lead. Opening up to understanding that I need to focus a lot more on responsibility and accountability of my actions.

Figure Drawing Exercises (https://www.adorkastock.com/sketch/)

Audiobooks, Minimalisim and all that is Essential.

My wife had taken a course at work which introduced her to the work of Stephen Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. Where I was struggling with my identity and future prospects she offered up some insights into the book, but I wasn't ready to receive the message yet. The title of the book instantly turned me away and the thought of self help books offering advice on the missteps of my choices had always irritated me (how dare you presume I'm doing something wrong) As I began spiralling further into this loss I began to seek answers, something had to change and that had to start with me. 

My weight had increased significantly up to the period of the start of the pandemic where I'd not been looking after myself, utilising food as a reward and searching for food that wasn't providing the best nutrition to my body. I'd began to look at content around food and diet, I'd developed and intolerance to certain foods and I had to work this out as this had become a factor of distress and anxiety on a day to day basis. A friend recommended a food intolerance test which I'd sent off for and found I was intolerant to eggs, cow's milk and whey. Through this knowledge it helped me to adapt my diet, reducing the intake of these food sources to minimise discomfort and anxiety. Once I'd began to take back control of my diet I'd began to search for answers about the other parts of my life.

Enter Matt D'Avella. The bicep-bound, self-help filmmaker who introduced me to the ideas of minimalism, financial freedom and seeking value and meaning through life. His content provided a stepping stone into a journey of understanding, taking account of the mistakes I'd made and looking into reducing the probability of this predicament happening again. I had now opened myself up into searching for answers. My wife, who had suggested Covey's work previously, came along for the ride as we looked to not only strengthen ourselves but our relationship. Starting with Covey initially and then through the Matt D'Avella's content I found other vital teachings such as Ramit Sethi's I Will Teach You To Be Rich (again a title that kind of makes you roll your eyes but has provided such incredible value to me)

Netflix released The Minimalists: Less Is Now in 2021. Directed by D'Avella following the stories of Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus as they explain their journey of rejecting modern consumerism in an effort to focus on the value of less. This film had shone a light into my own habits of mindless consumption, not only of 'things' but in areas such as food and wellbeing. Minimalism isn't the process of getting rid of everything and living with nothing. It's a focus on living intentionally, to not be driven by impulse, to develop creatively and grow with with purpose. 

The Minimalists: Less Is Now

Development

I'm looking at development consistently. My wife and I decided that to ensure a level of security and to grow purposefully we have looked to set aside monthly to invest in ourselves. This year I have invested in the help of Linkedin Learning tutorials which have built on the foundational learning I had for the Adobe softwares. I have also invested in the Schoolism learning platform which is being used as a focus for digital painting and illustration but will drive growth in 3D ventures as well. I am investing in myself daily through the help of these platforms, to better myself at least 1%. 

Through this development I am aiming to pursue my dreams of design, hoping to provide value along the way to inspire others who felt stuck like I was. Every day I calm the frustrations of my past missteps, but now more than ever I am excited for the future. Through the past year my wife and I have set a strong foundation of financial security and a path to securing that future as well. We've invested into our relationship to become stronger selves and a stronger unit together. These steps will ensure that we can live a life filled with purpose a grow intentionally in our passions.

In the future I will utilise the blog to provide updates on what I have been working on in the pursuits of design and artistry. I will also look to sharing content that has inspired me in the hopes of passing on the value that I have gained from it. 

Thank you for your time and I hope this post and the blogs continuation provides value to your day.