It can be tough being a self motivated artist and figuring out what to do next. What art to make, what project to work on, how to spend your making art time in general. I’m a little bit stuck right now. Not really stuck but I don’t have an idea in mind for any kind of big project.
My big project for the last three years or so has been my illustrated version of “The Great Gatsby.” I’ve almost finished it. I still have some work to do on it but for some reason I put it aside and haven’t looked at it in months. That could be because the finishing touches seem pointless to me now. I have no plan for it after I finish it so why should I finish it? That’s kind of a crazy thought but it’s where I am with it right now.
I’ve also been getting a lot of stuff done lately but most of it is the regular stuff that I get done. Somehow that doesn’t count and anything “Big” in my brain but it’s not like I’m sitting around doing nothing. I just finished inking “Dreams of Things” cover number 283. When I finish cover 300 I think I’m going to take some time and put them all into a digital book. But that’s in the future. I’ve been getting one of those a week done so number 300 isn’t far away but it’s not today.
I’ve also been getting a lot of “Tiny Drawings” done. I only started doing those a few weeks ago and I’ve already drawn over two hundred of them. I’m drawing them faster than I can give them away and the plan is to give them all away. But that’s way more drawings than people that I see. I’ll keep making more though. As long as I’m not tired of them I’ll keep drawing them. But that’s not a big project in my mind.
I’m thinking about doing a bunch of paintings this summer. Back in the summer of 2021 (was it really that long ago?) I made a series of five 24×36 inch paintings. That was my last “Summer of Painting” and I think I might try to do the same thing this year. I’m not sure yet and it’s only March 29 as I write this so the summer is still a couple of months off. But maybe that could be my big project.
I’ve got a lot of stuff done over the last few months. I’ve been keeping up with writing and finishing my five times a week “Four Talking Boxes” comic strip. I’ve been doing that for over fifteen years but since I always get it done it’s one of those things that doesn’t count as a “Big Project” in my head. I also finished up all of 2026’s “Drifting and Dreaming” strips. I’m usually finishing those about now but I fished them early this year.
Another thing I finished early was a new comic to replace my “Message Tee” comic. That just kind of happened organically. A few years ago I started making these comics that were a drawing of a superhero’s head and shoulders with a word balloon. They were like my “Art Cards” except they were bigger. The art cards are 2.5×3.5 inches and the “Super Talk” ones are 5×7 inches.
The bigger size gives me more room to put detail into the faces plus the larger balloon size lets me write a little bit more. I did about a dozen of these over the last few years and thought nothing of them but then, back in December 2024 or so, they caught fire with me. I figured out a new way to do them and started making a bunch of them. (http://radiantcomics.com/art-writing-big-superhero-cartoon-art-cards/) I ended up writing and drawing fifty two of them and now they are going to replace my “Message Tee” comic for 2026. So that’s done.
I started out making those “Super Talk” comics with India ink and marker but then halfway through I switched over to India ink and watercolor. (http://radiantcomics.com/art-writing-another-watercolor-try/)
Watercolor was never my strongest medium but I like to give it a try every now and then. I think this has contributed to my sense of being stuck. I recently bought some larger watercolor paper. It’s 11×17 inches compared to the 5×7 inches I was working at. I made two pieces at that size and I think they came out pretty well. But then when I went to make a third piece I got stuck. I started painting it but then stopped. I don’t know why but I grew disinterested in it as I went. So it’s sitting there only part way done.
It was two days ago that I started to work on another watercolor piece. This time I took a different approach. I didn’t feel like making a whole new drawing so I looked through my vast archive of scanned in drawings for something I could use. I have way more working drawings than finished pieces. I was looking for something complex that I could just fill in with watercolor. I found something.
I spent part of yesterday inking the drawing. I made this new version of the 11×17 inch drawing with a brush and India ink. It came out okay but now that I look at it I can’t seem to find the motivation to break out the watercolors and finish it. I don’t know why.
Usually I’m not an “Inspiration” person. I don’t sit around and wait for inspiration to hit. I get to work instead. I’ve made plenty of good art when I’m not feeling inspired. I have enough things going on and in progress that I can pick one up and work on it. It’s a good habit to get into. It beats the bad habit of doing nothing.
I’ll probably pick up my watercolors sometime today and try to start painting over my drawing. I’m not sure what I’ll get done on it or if I’ll lose this feeling of being stuck but I’ll give it a try. I might end up switching over to working on some other thing that I’m not even thinking about right now. Either way I’m not really stuck. I just feel that way at the moment. Luckily there is a mother moment coming up.