I’ve landed on three ongoing projects for 2024 that I’m just now ready to articulate and formalize here. Each scratches a different creative itch, and each is sustainably structured to avoid some of the past pitfalls of my long term protects.

I want to share progress as I go here on the Studio (b) Log, so I’m outlining them all here to document the beginning and as reference for what each is all about.

• 365 Day Moleskine - Anything a Day

• Monthly Iterations Studies

• True Art Journal

I did worry BTW that maybe three ongoing projects might be too ambitious, but it turns out it’s not too much at all. I don’t work on all three projects every day and really, most (except for the final works I hope to create from the studies (see below)) take small segments of time. And I keep my expectations low. All I really ask of myself is that I pay attention to what gives me joy—and do as much of that as I can.

Okay - so the three projects:

365-Day Moleskine

I started filling this small 5”X3” Diary on Jan 1 with art—and today, March 21st, every page filled. I haven’t shared anything about it on social media so far—but here are a few favorite pages:

Surprisingly, it’s been so easy and fun to keep up that I don’t doubt that I will complete every page of this book all year. I can’t say I’ve ever felt this way about a creative commitment before! I think it’s because I threw out all the usual rules: Create every day, Find a “good” idea, make sure you do a good job!.

Nope, I have just one rule and it’s super simple: Fill each page with ANYTHING. And I really give myself permission to do anything, even a 5 second scribble, even “bad” art.

It also helps that small pages require small amounts of time to fill—and I give full permission to catch up a day or two when days get busy. In fact, doing a two day spread at a time seems to be a good rhythm.

I have to say, I’m delighted. Delighted with the the surprising creativity that pops in now and then as I let anything happen, delighted with this little book that is growing thicker and heavier every day in my hand—and delighted with how light I feel!

I don’t think I fully appreciated how much I judge and put pressure on myself. With this little book, I think I’ve set myself free?

Monthly Iterations Studies

So I’ve decided that I really do have some creative goals. One, I want to draw/paint in a simplified, abstractified style I have yet to master, and two, I’d like to develop a few final pieces in that style—a small body of work.

How, I asked myself, will I do this? The answer I’ve come to find out is process.

A process that begins with lots of iteration in my sketchbook, followed by many studies like this photo above—again, releasing myself from judgement as I explore—and then I hope to pull from all these studies and create those final pieces.

I’ll share what it learn.

Finally - back to a very visual art journal

I’ve started art journaling again! NOT for studio hours, but for in between creative moments in my days. Not for anything but play and self expression. I haven’t art journaled in a long time. I think I stopped just before the pandemic to focus on drawing and painting. But now I realize that I miss this particular kind of creative output, and oh my gosh it feels sooooo good!

I already love this book and I can already tell art journaling will look very different for me in the year 2024. For one thing, I’m working in a 5.5”X8.5” landscape sketchbook—which is a whole new size for me. And then, I’m trying a new process. Instead of composing each page from beginning to end as I used to, I’ve been adding bits—collage, ink, paint, graphite—to several pages at a time in small creative sessions. This means they’re all in different phases of completion, and over time pages, they each begin to reveal themselves to me.

It’s an intuitive workflow that so far at least I’m holding lightly, allowing what comes. It’s pretty cool.

The photo above is the first completed spread. Landscape size is a bit of a photography problem because I tend to create spreads not pages, which means each composition is going to be 17” long but only 5 1/2” tall—which is very hard to photograph. But oh well!