This is the first piece I created for myself since graduating college in April 2020. In the past, I have felt that each piece of art had to have a purpose. They fell into the categories of school, portfolio pieces, or commissions. I had the issue that I rarely made illustrations just for myself. This piece was created after I finished one of my first editorial illustration jobs. One of my ideas involved drawing a house for birds, but it wasn’t chosen. After finishing the commissioned piece I had this itch to create my own dream birdhouse.
It was really liberating creating this illustration and experimenting with textures and a new style of drawing. This experience opened me up to creating more personal work for myself. Looking back my work has evolved and changed since then. As much as illustrating is very precious to me, I don’t want to create the pressure for myself that the next piece has to be the best.
