Some more looking back at 2018 – highs and lows

So how has it been, is there anything that stands out in the outgoing year?

A very simple count in my image library reveals that I have been a lot less productive than in previous years. But then, number of pictures does not equal more quality output. And if I had to choose between coming home from a day out with just one good image or 50 average and forgettable ones I will always choose the first.

The biggest event definitely was the Death Valley workshop in February. For me a four day workshop like this is worth a lot more than hundreds of hours of instructional videos or books. There is just something special in the vibe of such an event, the combination of being in a great place surrounded by inspirational people makes all the difference and quite literally helps to focus. I hope to go to another workshop next year, I'm also looking into applying for an artists residency somewhere. I have a few good ones lined up but nothing is decided yet.

The main focus for the year was to establish myself as what is often called an emerging artist. Overall I am happy with where I am, I got accepted into an art gallery and invested a lot of effort in showing at a variety of local art shows. There is the occasional moment of success but things take time and nothing happens over night.

A sour spot in what I have worked on this year are my online activities. I had hoped that the website would be a lot more active with maybe even a sale from time to time. But it turned out to be a very though nut to crack and so far I haven't found a way on how to locate my niche in the market.

Again – things don't happen over night.

Almost everything I have done this year was completely new to me and I never would have thought that being an artist would be what I really want to do.

So I'm looking forward to even more completely new experiences in the coming year.