It’s still November 2023 when I started writing this, but I wanted to get some thoughts in order. So, yes, it’s that time of the year again. What’s amusing is that I still posted it late.

I wanted 2023 to be a continuation of more learning, experiences, and events. I really believe that I kept my word on these because I feel exhausted whenever I backread on all of the things that I did this year. The plans that I wanted to do this year (move out, open a shop, etc.) did not push through. So I said, fuck it, I’ll do whatever I want this year – every event, exhibit open call, convention. I’ll do them all even if it exhausts me. Burnt out. In a different view – I think I spoiled myself a lot this year due to the same reasons. I thrived as an artist.

I joined these events this year – 8 USK QC events, 2 PGW events (Daniel Smith launch at Art Caravan, PGW National Convention), 4 conventions, 8 Where WIPS Get Made discord meet ups.

USK QC – What’s surprising about this one is that its still not my favorite subject to paint. But I attended because my friends were there. The community is also friendly and it feels safe. I LOVED painting while hanging out with friends. You could consider this as an outdoor art tambay, I guess? So while its still not a favorite, I still added specific colors in my watercolor palette so I could paint more urban scenes. One of the most memorable sketch walk was the Taal Heritage town trip. I hope we could go back there to paint the rest of the heritage houses, and I hope I could attend more events this 2024.

PGW – There was an attempt to be more active this year. I participated in the monthly challenges in the first quarter, but quit eventually because I wanted to focus on convention prep for the rest of the year HAHA. I loved both events – the DS launch at Art Caravan because I won and splurged money on Daniel Smith watercolors, and the PGW convention because I finally joined the group exhibit.

Conventions – I joined the following this year: Patron of the Arts July, PaperCon, Art to Cart, and PlannerCon. 2 of those were new organizers that we took a risk joining, 1 was a sought after con, and the last 1 was a sought after organizer but they rebranded their Day 1 to accommodate a specific crowd. I have accepted the fact that I would go solo as an artist last year, but I only managed to truly go solo without an assistant on my 4th con. Because one of the plot twists of the year is that I now have a constant convention tablemate – which is Inggo! He started crochet last March. We bought so much convention stuff this year to accommodate our needs – mesh wires, mesh baskets, a camp wagon. I hope we could participate in more cons this year! We already have 2 confirmed conventions!

One of my proudest moments this 2023 was helping my friends start out on their convention journey. I helped them from registration, artwork layouts for printing, production, table set-up, and up to convention opening. I helped 3 people last year. I really am willing to help, but please don’t treat me as your google search engine. I was also accused of gatekeeping information lol – I still feel bitter about it. It hurts to be accused when I really am passionate in helping people with their con journey. Look at who I helped and how they are thriving right now. I feel like their successes are my proof that I did my best.

WIPS – I feel really blessed to be a part of this artist discord server. I’ve met so many wonderful people here. We hang out everyday on voice. We do art challenges every month. They supported us during our conventions, so I try to return the favor by supporting their events as well. I get inspired whenever I look at their works. We even had a Christmas party – where 22 people attended! It was so much fun. I hope to have more events with them this 2024. More chika please!

Based on my art folders, I created around 120 drawings this year. I felt there’s more artworks somewhere that weren’t scanned. But that’s still a lot of artworks!

There were some splurges this year. My laptop died around March because I forced it to play Diablo 4. We bought a new one and by luck, got a really good price for it on the last day of their promo. I also bought a drawing tablet around September because I felt that I needed one just in case I want to create foil stickers. I still haven’t gotten back to it yet after my hands injury. I hope to practice more digital this year.

Ahhhhh. I tried so many art-related things. Going to events isn’t lonely anymore. I feel content at the end of the year. Used to plan everything but this year proved that its okay to just enjoy the present and the unpredictability of life. ♥

What do I hope for 2024? I would like to be greedy and still continue my wants – more learning, more experiences, more events. Whatever the writers have planned for this year, I’ll face it head-on!