Cloudy Days
It’s been a tough few months, for a bunch of personal reasons, including the passing of my father in December.
Other than here and there, I haven’t had a whole lot of creative energy or enthusiasm for things that would normally bring me happiness. The only constant has been working on THT every day, which is always great challenge that gets me into a flow state, but it’s not creative in the same way that art or game design is.
I tried to keep reminding myself that life events are like the rolling of waves, or like the weather. Bad times come, and it seems like it’ll never end.
But like a storm or a season, they do eventually pass. Same with the good times.
Sunny Days
Thankfully, the bad times have to started to pass (knock on wood) and, along with the coming of Spring, good days are starting to happen again.
The one thing that has helped the most: daily walks outside.
This is something I’ve always enjoyed, but with the warmer weather, I’ve committed to taking longer walks which have helped my brain get right.
And thankfully Chicago is a nice and interesting place to walk!
Road Trip
A couple weeks ago, I decided I needed a change of scenery, so I took a road trip.
I discovered recently that the Cleveland Orchestra is considered one of the "Big Five", and by coincidence, my favorite composer (John Adams) would be conducting one of his works there (City Noir), so I rented a car and drove out.
I was seriously worried that my brain wouldn’t let me enjoy the music, but it was every bit as exciting and inspiring as I hoped it’d be.
And I’ll admit, their concert hall is kind of nicer than Orchestra Hall in Chicago.
Dark Side of the Moon
Coincidentally, I realized that a couple of days later, the path of the total eclipse would be passing right over the city, so I figured I’d stick around for it.
While I was in town waiting, I visited the Rock-N-Roll Hall of Fame where, in the theater, they were playing in the entirety of Dark Side of the Moon.
Honestly, the actual eclipse ended up being pretty cool, but for some reason listening to that album from start to finish, in that theater, is what I’ll remember more.
Upcoming Projects
I’ll be taking a watercolor workshop, which starts this week. I’ve really struggled with this medium, so I’m hoping this will get me on the right track.
I want to practice more urban sketching in a loose style. Thankfully, after trying like 5 or 6 fountain pens, I finally found one I actually like (the Lamy Safari).
A big THT update is still on the horizon. I’m really happy with how that’s coming together, but after that I want to re-focus on game development.
Shower Thought of the Day
Artists learn to see things in the world differently so that they can capture it in their art, right? But I wonder if it’s the other way around.
Maybe the real benefit of being an artist is not in the art that you create (which will probably not be commercially successful anyway), but in gaining the ability notice and enjoy the details that few other people see — light, form, gestures, postures, expressions. It lets you experience everyday life on a much different level.