I like to follow other artists - because they create lovely things, and to get ideas for my own art business. Often when I read other artist's blog posts, they have these flower-y peom-like entries.  Very artist-like, in my perspective.  And the titles of their artworks are often equally poetic and thoughtful.

I think that's lovely, but I've never been able to muster up that kind of blog post or title my work with such flourish.  These two designs, for example, are called "Carrot" and "Potted Plant." (And don't get me started on titling blog posts, I never know what to title these things.)

And my blog post are not poems, rather I enjoy talking about the technical process of creating my art and other things from my daily life.

This used to make me a little insecure - that I wasn't serious enough about my art, or artist-y enough. But reflecting on my personality has helped. 

On the Meyers-Briggs personally assessment I think I'm a bit more of a Sensing person than an Intuitive person.  Usually artists lean toward more the Intuitive type, which means they like abstract ideas and are often more idealistic and imaginative.

I definitely have aspects of that type. I'm not totally devoid of imagination and abstraction.  But I do think I lean slightly more toward the Sensing type, which means focusing on concrete details, noticing things with my physical senses, and thinking more literally. 

This really resonates with me in the way I create and think about  my art. I relish the process and product of creating, rather than the philosophy behind it. My art doesn't really having some deeper concept or message I'm hoping to express.  I just think it's really cool how lines on paper can turn into something lovely and interesting.

Reflecting on that and has helped me feel more free in the way I create and think.  I can still be an artist without being the head-in-the-clouds stereotype.

But I can still enjoy drawing clouds.

It's been a weird week.

We had to put our dog, Akon, down on Monday evening.  We knew it was coming, he wasn't really eating much or walking well, and he was old for a German Shepherd - eleven.  Ryan took him to the vet because of the not eating etc. He got an ultrasound that same evening, revealing the bad going on inside him, and we put him down that night. It was expected, but also so quick.

Here is a recent picture of him; he plopped down in the garage after a walk around the block wore him out.

I'm glad he isn't hurting anymore, and frankly we were ready to not have a dog anymore to make life more simple (and less hairy and muddy). 

But I've still been crying on and off this week. I wish I could do back to Monday night and pet him a little longer.

Interestingly, I've been working on a pet portrait for an Etsy customer (interesting because I rarely get pet portrait commissions). I finished it up yesterday, it was a double pet portrait of a bird and a dog. It was a fun challenge.

So of course now I want to draw Akon. I think I'll surround him with roses. Yesterday we got home to discover roses on the porch from Ryan's work. I think it would be nice.

He was such a good dog, I've never met one better.