Don’t Be a Stranger

To the danger that is kissing you;
Your beauty must be rubbing off on me.

I’ve been absolutely plagued with headaches this past month or two, and it’s too bad because it’s been a long time since I’ve had this kind of creative… not energy, but drive. I really regret being bed-ridden so much while I have all these fun ideas. Clear vision for an art project is a pretty rare thing for me. I haven’t been practicing like I should.

Still, I wonder if I’m starting to find my place in art. About two years ago, I started work at Gemini where, at the time, I was using nothing but this little vector program, Fireworks. I thought it was the most ghetto thing ever. I thought it was Illustrator’s cheap little brother. I thought it would take ages to figure out all the little workarounds to make it usable, and hell yes, I struggled. It took me quite a while before I realized that it was probably one of the best graphic programs I’ve ever used.

Now I get the feeling I could be on my way to making some pretty cool things with vectors, but my worst fear is making kitsch, meaningless art. It’s probably the fear that’s hindered me since I first learned that art could have beauty but lack soul. But I think the way I have to look at it is that practice is just that. Once I’m really great and fast at vectors, then I can worry about the meaning behind it all.

I’m going to start posting my art, as a log more than anything. I’ll be honest… probably for the first time about this: I don’t take criticism that well. In the end, part of art, to me, is just coming on my own to an understanding of how to make something visually better.

I was a passionate and uninhibited artist as a child. I drew what I liked and didn’t worry about whether it meant anything. As a tribute to that and as a hat-tip to the new and awesome SSB Brawl, I drew… Sonic the Hedgehog!