The Year of the Bear
According to the Lesser Known Victorian Calendar
I’m starting to settle back into a groove after the end of year interruptions and it has me looking towards what I want to accomplish in 2024. Here’s a rundown.
YouTube
I tested the waters a year ago, and once more recently (see my last post). I have a love hate relationship with creating videos. On one hand, I enjoy the process immensely. On the other, I can’t stand the bombastic bull pucky that makes the majority of what’s popular on YouTube. I can’t stand the one-secret-shortcut-no-one-told-you-about-until-now clickbait videos that say nothing of value for 20 minutes. I can’t do it because I have integrity and it’s not true—there are zero shortcuts to success. Just hard work and luck!
Even though I won’t have a big following or make a lot of money (I don’t dance for peanuts, anyway), I want to make videos. I want to show how I do things and what my process looks like. I get a lot more out of that sort of content and I don’t think I’m alone. I want to share helpful books and resources that I’ve found along the way because the good stuff, the resources that will really and truly help improve your craft are few and far between, often overlooked for whatever is new and trendy.
That’s a lot of words to say I’m doing my own thing on YouTube. I hope you like it, but I’ll continue making videos regardless. You should, too. We need more unique voices. And speaking of unique voices, enjoy my Appalachian accent. It’s not going anywhere!
If you’re not subscribed to my channel, you can do so by CLICKING HERE!
Comic Strip
I have a comic strip coming out this year! I’m light on details because most of my family is still the dark and they get to know what I’m up to before anyone else because they pay the daily toll by dealing with my special brain and charm. You can always hit the little X in the corner to make me go away, but they’re stuck with me! Muahahaha!
The (hopefully) humorous strip will be available online completely free. No ads. No signups. No guilt trips. There will be exclusive benefits for those kicking a few dollars my way, but the entirety of the comic strip will be available to everyone at the same time, free or paid. That’s a core principle I didn’t want to budge on, so it has taken quite some time for it to find a home.
I’m happy to say it is entirely creator owned and independent of any big players who would want to censor or otherwise take away from my vision. It’s all traditionally hand drawn and colored, and will be released weekly at first with the plan of moving it to a couple times a week then perhaps daily depending on my workload and reader interest.
More details to follow very soon. Like, very soon. I have to finish writing this and go work on it!
Sculpting
I took a brief break from sculpting to finish up some lingering projects and nearly lost my mind. I’m addicted to moving the stubborn clay around. I’m more stubborn, so I always win. I’m about half way through an anatomy sculpting class which has proven to be the much needed foundation to carry out my plans of offering realistic human sculptures. Sculpting from imagination was easy for me. Who can say that my imagined rock goblin isn’t supposed to look like that? But have one unnecessary bone jutting out of a realistic human sculpt and even the most unobservant oaf has something to say…
I’m happy to report that schooling is going well! Not even a single unnecessary bone!
I want to put these new skills to use in two ways. First, I want to sculpt something that I can cast and reproduce that will be more widely obtainable than an original sculpture (don’t worry, there’ll be plenty of those, too!). I’m thinking a set of chess pieces. Second, I want to offer portrait sculpture commissions. Everyone likes portraits of their loved ones, but what if you could have a three-dimensional portrait of said loved one? Kids, grannies, cats and dogs—I’ll sculpt them all—even a pet possum! In fact, if you have a pet possum, I’ll sculpt him for free*!
*No I won’t. But I would be really envious!
Snowy view from sculpting table.
Paintings
There’s a few drying as we speak. That’s the problem with oils—they take damn near forever to dry. I paint in layers, or indirect for all the art snobs out there. Each layer must dry to the touch before applying a new layer. This may take a few days to a few weeks depending on environment, pigment, and a million other factors. There’s a lot of considerations to be made, but ultimately oil painting in this way is just a game of patience. That’s one life skill I have!
And by drying, I mean oxidizing (for my art snobs), because that’s what oil paintings do. Acrylic paint evaporates water and become dry while oil paintings undergo a complex chemical process. While an oil painting may be dry to the touch relatively fast, full oxidation won’t occur for another 50 years or more—no, really!
I’ve developed this simple five step process to determine if the painting is dry enough for another layer.
Poke it with a finger (doesn’t have to be yours).
Look at finger.
See paint on finger and curse this awful existence you’ve unwillingly been subjected to.
Wait a few more days and paint over fingerprint.
Repeat for next layer.
There will be many completed (dry!) oil paintings available for purchase this year with fancy art prints for those who prefer them.
Unfortunately, I don’t feel comfortable sharing works-in-progress because it’s a PR nightmare. A real WIP is ugly. They stay ugly for quite some time. I really enjoy seeing WIP because I learn a lot about how another artist thinks. But the average person doesn’t understand or appreciate what they’re seeing. They see a mess of a painting, and scroll on because all they’ve ever been exposed to are pretty, finished (dry!) paintings. Trust me. I’ve been in this game long enough to know how these things shake out.
However, if I’m able to show a WIP in a light that demonstrates my process, I’ll be happy to share!
Writings
I have a full writing plate. Overflowing. There’s multiple blogs, the soon-to-be released comic strip, and a soon-to-be announced comic book anthology. I like words, even if I sometimes use the wrong ones or put them in the wrong place. I have more stories to tell than my lifespan will accommodate, but they will begin steadily dripping out over the course of this year.
Unfortunately, I don’t know how to share what I’m writing until it’s finished. Story writing is an ever evolving process that simply doesn’t lend itself to sharing until it has finished. But I’ll do my best to keep you posted with my progress on the longer projects, and I may even share writing tips I’ve accrued over the years.
Scale Models & Nature
I know a handful of folks reading this are here because I build scale models. I’ve struggled with how to share my models in this space and have ultimately decided that even though it’s just a hobby for me, it is a big part of who I am and is a beautiful art form. Occasionally I’ll share what’s on my work bench and beauty shots of finished models. In the same vein, my chief partner in crime (hereafter known as CPC or wife) and I will be out in nature often this yea. I may share some of our adventures as nature is a big part of why I create. I can’t promise professionalism on either account, but I’ll make sure the posts are at least entertaining.
Advertising & Marketing
Holy Anxiety, Batman!, do I ever hate this aspect of owning a small business. I don’t like it. I don’t understand it. Bleh.
I’m letting a professional (my CPC) deal with it this year. People appreciate my work when they see it, and this year CPC will ensure it’s in as many faces as possible with a solid advertising & marketing plan!
An advertising and marketing plan that CPC will come up with and carry out because bleh!
To that end, we want to help you share my work. We’ll make little infographics that can easily be shared on social media or even printed out that have all the pertinent information, if you believe in what I’m doing (if not, why are you here?). Of course, everything I post, wherever that is, is shareable to all popular social media platforms with a simple button press. On this particular website, simply hit “SHARE” at the top or bottom of this or any post, and select social media of choice.
Your friends and family won’t think less of you. They don’t pay any attention to what you share on Facebook, anyway, so why not make an old bald guy happy by sharing? Come on! Do it!
Politics
Unfortunately, God help us, this is an election year in the good ol’ US of A. And it’s going to be bad. More than $10 billion dollars is expected to be spent on political ads this year. You can’t escape it! But there is a safe place…
My websites, social media pages, writings, and artwork are 100% free of politics. I have no agenda or ulterior motives. I love art. I love talking about art. I love creating and sharing my art. That’s how I spend my online time and that’s all you’ll ever get from me!
I will not try to convince you to vote for a candidate or even vote at all. That’s not how I operate. You’re a smart, capable human. The last thing you need is a artsy guy with potential turpentine toxicity to tell you how to think or run your life. You do you, champ!
Closing
That’s it. It’s going to be a great year. I can’t think of anything else to share even though I know I’ll think of ten more things soon as I post this. As Sinatra crooned, that’s life!
Until next time!
-The Bear