2023 in Review
Welp here we are in the final days of 2023. I’m not sure where the year went. It was an exciting 12 months of outdoor adventures, friends, art, travel, more travel and a lot of work. It was an amazing year.
Personally, there are a lot of fun memories woven into 2023. I can’t remember anything before like June but I am sure it was a great time lol. Anyway, things like a rugged trip to a cabin in the Middle of Nowhere, Arkansas, a few hikes, weekends spent on the lake with friends, symphonies, concerts, dinners with friends and family and lots of moments in between. I also took my first international trip alone! Special thanks to my friend Ritika for teaching me how to travel. Ily.
I best write something about art since you are on the art website. In 2023, I didn’t exactly add much to my art resume. I continued to study portraiture with Steve Forster, who is now teaching at (running?) the Long Island Academy of Art. An interior designer requested a custom pet portait for her client and the entire project was a lot of learning. It turned out beautifully and I have no idea what I would have done without Adam Kittrell and the Innovation Hub’s CNC machine. (See gallery below for finished piece).
Also, I began to ideate a new series and took photos on my trips abroad. The ideas are reflective of styles like Edward Hopper (one of my personal faves), some other Instagram artists whose names I cannot recall at this moment and scenes of liminal spaces that feel lonely, mysterious and beautiful. I hope to finish a show full of works toward the end of 2024, although right now I owe several people pet portraits and other commissions.
Some things I learned this year:
Always be honest. Yes I already knew this. But BE HONEST ALL THE TIME.
Yes, people do notice hard work and thoughtfulness. Introverts and over-thinkers unite! Quietly, tomorrow.
Caring will get you very far actually.
Learning is really f***ing cool. Don’t stop.
It’s perfectly okay to have no idea what you are doing.
I hope 2023 treated you all with care. Cheers, y’all, to 2024!
