Swimming into 2014

2013 will come to an end tonight.  For me it has been an amazing year.

I started this blog in the Spring.  That was a huge accomplishment for me.  I had wanted a blog for a long time, but was too sick to write one.

I’ve gotten treatment for Lyme and now, although I still spend a lot of time in bed, I have enough energy and wellness to do a few things each day.

The other huge accomplishment for 2013 was painting.  I had never really painted.  I was a textile artist.  But when I became sick, I had to put that aside.

In September 2012, a friend talked me into taking an on-line painting class from Flora Bowley.  It was an amazing experience.  Between Flora, and my friend, I learned to paint.  I had help from other people as well.  It is amazing what the Universe brings when one commits.  I committed to painting and wow, I’m doing it.

I paint digitally, so I can do it from bed.

So, in 2013, my painting really took off.  I have done things that I thought were not possible with my painting.

I found out in 2013 that I didn’t need someone in the house to help me out.  The woman who had worked here quit in May.  It was then I realized that I’m a lot better.  I was able to replace her with someone who works just four or so hours a week to help out.  That was a huge financial plus not to have to pay out so much money each year.  It was really empowering for me to understand that I’m much more able to take care of myself again.  That is huge.

As I look forward to 2014, it should be an interesting year.

I’ve just joined the Adobe Cloud.  Adobe no longer sells its software.  One has to rent it by the month.  So I got a good deal and am renting Photoshop and Illustrator.

Once I did that, I realized I had to figure out how to use these apps.  They are not easy to learn on your own.  I joined Lynda.com.  It is a great web site that has  good tutorials for just about anything you want to know.

Then, I got an email one day offering me a special deal on a figure drawing class.  For $45, I have ended up with over 200 videos teaching figure drawing.  Should I ever finish this, the guy who teaches it says that I’ll be able to draw the human figure in any position from my mind.  He’s going to have us draw the skeleton and then the muscles.  This is how Michelangelo and Da Vinci taught themselves to draw.

I’ve just made a small dent up to number 13 on that.  So maybe in 2014, human figures will start to appear in my paintings.

Another new thing in 2014, will be that my husband will retire.  That will happen in July.  He has eased into retirement by working first, four days a week, and now three days a week.  That will be a major life adjustment.  I can hardly wait to have Warren home with me all the time.  I’m really excited.

I have to say that 2013 was a very good year for me.  I hope it was for you.

I want to thank all the very nice people who have followed my blog.  It really means a lot to me that you are interested in my art and writing.

I wish everyone the very best in 2014.