Hey everyone! I know it’s been a minute (as always lmao). You might be asking yourself “why doesn’t Minervalus Art post more often?” The answer is I’m secretly hiding in my room working on projects and then never sharing them. Posting on social media takes sooooo much effort. You got to make it look pretty and can I tell you how hard it is to take a good looking picture of a painting or drawing in my room? The lighting and shadows hate me so much. But I’m learning! I’m ever so slowly getting better, so thank you for sticking with me!

And now, we return to our regularly scheduled programming…

Asking the big questions today are we? Yup. That’s what we do here. Have big philosophical conversations. 100%.

Seriously though, why do we make art? Ever since the beginning of time, we’ve made art. Whether it’s handprints on a wall or the Mona Lisa, humans are always driven by a need to create. I’m no different.

I create because it helps me think and process. Of course it’s also fun and interesting. I personally don’t always go into a piece knowing exactly what I’m going to do. I have two modes; I must create this piece exactly as I imagined it or I’ll cry and ehhhhhhhh we’ll figure it out on the way. The process is what matters for me. I get to bring the emotions and thoughts out in a constructive manner.

There was a book I read a long time ago. I forget what the name of it was, but one of the plot points was that a giant pile of books was collected because they held fragments of the writers’ souls. Of course it was being used for evil by some soul sucking entity, but I agree with the concept. I mean of course art is created by an artist, but so much of an artist’s energy and emotions can go into a piece. You can look at a painting and understand what the artist was feeling or trying to convey. I’m not always sure what I’m feeling or trying to channel, but it always ends up in the piece and, in my opinion, makes it better. Art can’t exist without an artist, there has to be a creator.

At the end of the day, I think we make art because we have a desire to connect with each other and ourselves in any way we know how. Sometimes words just don’t work. Sometimes we need visuals even if they’re an abstract blob of how we feel. Whether it’s expressing our feelings about the current state of the world, or illustrating the silly thing our cat did, it’s important to us that we share it somehow. Even if your art doesn’t go far, and it hides in a sketchbook where only you can see it, you sharing it with your future self is important. Taking out energy, processing it, and turning it into something wacky or beautiful or spooky or any other word that can describe it is important to me and so many other people. So I think that’s why we make art; to connect and to process.

Speaking of art (haha), would you like to see what I’ve been up to? Of course you would, that’s why you’re here, isn’t it?

First up, this is a commission for a very cool person I work with.

Once again my inability to take good photos or remember to take good photos is biting me, but that’s okay. This was a fun piece, I don’t create people very often, as you may or may not know. I had a reference photo though, so everything was okay! I think it came out very pretty, I’m definitely very happy with it, as I haven’t done watercolor in a while.

Next up, this is a mixed media linocut print.

This was a piece that started as a linocut stamp carved from a bunch of scraps, but became so much more. I added a watercolor background accented with line art in pen, and oh goody did it come alive. I’m super proud of this piece and am excited to see where it goes.

Besides this, I’ve been working on commissions and Christmas cards and presents, so I don’t have a ton of “showable” art right now. Next time though!

Thanks for reading all of this to those of you who stuck around! Please enjoy this picture of my cat as gratitude:

Alright, here at the end of this newsletter, here are some things I’m excited for in the new year!

Once again, thank you so much for reading, and I’ll see you in the New Year!

If you have thoughts and feelings, feel free to respond below!