This series is titled, "Love, Yourself"--A 100 consecutive-day art challenge to create a piece of art every day. This was a multi-purpose, mixed-media project, serving as a way to dig myself out of a long-standing "Artist's Block" and a way to translate lessons learned during profound life transitions and a vulnerable "dissection of self". The title stems from the intention to create art for myself, setting aside commissioned work and confronting my fear of what the audience thinks--pushing forward creatively entirely for my own personal growth. "Love, Yourself" is a visual journey marking a progression of necessary change and reminders to myself--in which I hope others can resonate with and find comfort in. 

"Finding Foundation"/ Day 1 of 100

"Should You Forget, I Love You"/ Day 2 of 100

"!??XML!3WQQQQQZZXERQQVVWV33C"/ Day 3 of 100

"The Missus, Delighting In Her Nest For One"/ Day 4 of 100

" 'Even A Starfish Can Turn On You', She Explained, 'If They Don't Get Enough Sleep.' "/ Day 5 of 100

"Lichens, Capable Of Surviving On Extremely Low Levels Of Water, We Still Grew"/ Day 6 of 100

"There`s My View Of The Obscure Sunset And Then There's Your Obscure View Of The Sunset"/ Day 7 of 100

"Baby Girl, You Need Not Fill In His Blanks"/ Day 8 of 100

"Tis A Pile Of Relationshit, Really."/ Day 9 of 100

"With Impeccable Aim, The Birds Delivered Your Message"/ Day 10 of 100

She Caught Her Breath In An Ecstatic Little Sob And Exclaimed, "I'll Be Turning The Bird Loose. Stand By."/ Day 11 of 100

"When You Close Your Eyes," She Asked, "What Colors Do You See?...And How Many Fingers Am I Holding Up?"/ Day 12 of 100

"How You Chase The Sun On Her Face And How That Warms You, Avoiding Any Shadows"/ Day 13 of 100

"Her Light, No Doubt Is Full Spectrum--He Was Just Color-Blind"/ Day 14 of 100

"The Mind & The Amazing Feat"/ Day 15 of 100

"Get Lost And See What You Find."/ Day 16 of 100

"The Cairn & The Initial Indication Of A Direction Known"/ Day 17 of 100

"If All We Saw, If All We Heard Were Fine-Tuned Masterpieces, We'd All Stop Trying. Tribute To Vivaldi." Day 18 of 100 Day Series/ Inspired by receiving free tickets to a Wind Ensemble tonight, listening to perfection such as Vivaldi's Concerto In B Flat For Two Trumpets, and the insecurities that follow only being able to see/hear the final, flawless product, rather than the years of practice and mistakes leading up to these masterpieces. I did many sketches of the stage set up, instruments and ensemble without looking at the sketchbook or picking up the pen, and some from my memory while closing my eyes, just experiencing the music, like this piece. I thought it important others see unrefined art, mistakes, rough drafts and a taste of carelessness. As scary as it is to share the mindless, raw sketches, I think it's important I share some of my loads of mistakes and "less-than-ideal" artwork. Bottom line: It's OK to be imperfect.

"I'm Beginning To Forget What Your Face Looks Like"/ Day 19 of 100

"The Onesies, Reunited"/ Day 20 of 100

"Uninhibited Movements Before Bed Help Clear The Head", She Said./ Day 21 of 100

"Return Home, Often"/ Day 22 of 100

"So Do."/ Day 23 of 100

"If You Forget All Else, Remember This."/ Day 24 of 100

"The Insatiable Desire To Make It To The Top"/ Day 25 of 100

"Through Trial & Error, She Was Versing Herself In The Art Of Balance"/ Day 26 of 100

"Choosing To Sit With It, She Inhaled The Abundant Light, Exhaling The Shadows That Never Served Her."/ Day 27 of 100

"Diligently, She Sought Out Her Thought-Roots To Understand How They Had Entangled"/ Dy 28 of 100

"Touching On Topography: The Abstract Terrain Of The Mind"/ Day 29 of 100

Mapped Out In Front Of Her, She Observed The Liberation, The Growth/ Day 30 of 100

"She Bid Adieu Expectations, Leaning Into The Unfamiliar, Unexplored Terrain"/ Day 31 of 100

"A Trophy Worth Showcasing"/ Day 32 of 100

"She Lay There, Hand Resting On Gut, Apologizing For Not Trusting It's Instincts"/ Day 33 of 100

"Darling, This Is For You"/ Day 34 of 100

"He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not...& Other Beautiful Bullshit"/ Day 35 of 100

"With Newfound Balance, She Took Rest Atop The Bare Map, Ready For The New Directions"/ Day 36 of 100

"The Checking In"/ Day 37 of 100

"Datsuzoku Ensō" [Datsuzoku in Japanese means freedom, unbounded by convention. Ensō means "circle", traditionally in Zen Buddhism is hand-drawn in one or two uninhibited brushstrokes to express a moment when the mind is free to let the body create. The ensō symbolizes absolute enlightenment, strength, elegance, the universe, and mu (the void).] Day 38 of 100

"The Unfortunate Disconnect"/ Day 39 of 100

"What Warmth, Sitting With The Unknown"/ Day 40 of 100

"And I'm No Fool"/ Day 41 of 100

"Things Were Looking Up"/ Day 42 of 100

"Undoubtedly, Our Soles Know Where They're Taking Us"/ Day 43 of 100

"When life throws you a curveball...hit like a Babe"/ Day 44 of 100

"Try Pulling Your Own Strings"/ Day 45 of 100

"Sharing Harvest"/ Day 46 of 100

"Fold Up Your Expectations. Take Rest. Take Rest. Unfold."/ Day 47 of 100

"Pee Off A Rooftop"/ Day 48 of 100

"Embracing A New Norm, She Held Herself Up"/ Day 49 of 100

"Nobody Puts Baby In A Corner", Said Nobody's Baby./ Day 50 of 100

"Avo Observation"/ Day 51 of 100

"Yer Most Certainly More Beautiful Than How You See Yerself"/ Day 52 of 100 (Drawn with eyes closed, memory of what I look like, then colored in with eyes open)

"Evidence, Washed Away"/ Day 53 of 100

"The Easy Way Out, She Sought Not"/ Day 54 of 100

"Your Top Shelf--More Confirmation We Were Meant To Be Friends"/ Day 55 of 100

"It's Time We Unravel From Our Knots"/ Day 56 of 100

"That Time We Wrote On Each Other's Backs"/ Day 57 of 100

"Trust Fall"/ Day 59 of 100

"Off With The Head!" Her Ego Said./ Day 60 of 100

"She Begged For No One's Pardon"/ Day 61 of 100

"Sally Wanted To Be Loved For More Than Just Her Impeccable Nails"/ Day 62 of 100

"Let It All Swirl Through"/ Day 63 of 100

"Her Wish, She Gave To The Wind"/ Day 64 of 100

"Turn To Try & Try To Turn"/ Day 65 of 100

"Operation Self Dissection"/ Day 66 of 100

"Pretty Little Prison Puzzle"/ Day 67 of 100

"Beauties Like Nadine"/ Day 68 of 100

"Define Originality"/ Day 69 of 100

"Dad, Onstage"/ Day 70 of 100 Abstracted drawing for Father's Day

"See We're All Equal"/ Day 71 of 100

"Her Own Supreme Sexiness"/ Day 72 of 100

"Find All The Barriers Within"/ Day 73 of 100

"Each Firefly Took Their Turn Kissing Her Goodnight"/ Day 74 of 100

"Moments Before Orabelle Realized The Cure For Pain Is In The Pain"/ Day 75 of 100

"Staying True To Her Roots"/ Day 76 of 100

"Sabina & Her Chances"/ Day 77 of 100

"Eraser Marks, Accepted"

"Breathe Before It's Gone"/ Day 79 of 100

"Backwards & Upside Down"/ Day 80 of 100

"It's OK To Not Know"/ Day 81 of 100

"Love Harvest"/ Day 82 of 100

"How To Be A Girl"/ Day 83 of 100

"It's OK...She's Right-Brained"/ Day 85 of 100

"Ain't Nothing Gonna Break Her Stride"/ Day 86 of 100

"Midnight Made Me Do It!"/ Day 87 of 100

"Giddy"/ Day 88 of 100

"Patriotism, Smudged."/ Day 89 of 100

"No Need For Words"/ Day 90 of 100

"Hold Your Tongue And Listen"/ Day 91 of 100

"Intercepted"/ Day 92 of 100

"You're Centered Already"/ Day 93 of 100

"Your Own Hero" Day 94 of 100 Tonight's theme came to me while meditating on this insatiable search--usually always external--to find a hero. A hero to save me from suffering and fears primarily. A hero doesn't have to be a person, but anything that might save me from pain--such as self-help books, therapy, talking about it with others, food, distractions, etc. While some of these can be incredibly meaningful, helpful, healthy and necessary at times, this piece is about owning the fact that there's no better hero than ourselves. Cliche?... perhaps. Maybe not executed how I would have liked visually or within this written explanation, but the concept/reality brings me comfort and zero disappointment in others as it is a relief to stop always looking externally for the answers, for the hero that's supposed to be me.

"Inspect Your Thought-Knots"/ Day 95 of 100

"One Of Those Nights, One Of Those Run-On Sentences"/ Day 96 of 100 Text Reads: "One of those nights where all you can think to do is free-style write as fast as you can to keep with the ridiculous pace of your heart, the kind of night when you're biking home and hear a woman screaming under the bridge and yelling for you to help her and she can't breathe, holding her side, half her body not responding, you smell alcohol and the only thing you understand her say is "I'm too fucking young for this shit" so you call the ambulance and they know right away it sounds like "Renee" and sure enough it's Renee and sure enough before you know it, you're writing a damn run-on sentence and it's one of your top pet peeves but that's not all because you go home past the fire hydrant spewing a fountain of water in your path so you take a detour where four cute little girls come out of the bushes with home-made bow & arrows assuming you're the person who has been stealing stuff from front yards in the neighborhood, but you assure them you're not and if that's not enough you come home to an empty house where the backdoor is not only unlocked but opened and you can't find your switchblade that is the only thing that comforts you since that sex offender broke into your home only 7 months ago while you were home alone and walked into your bedroom and you passed out and for some unknown, lucky reason left you unharmed but feeling violated and on-edge since and meanwhile not knowing if you're alone in house you frantically look for your mace and hear someone or something walking outside your bedroom window and you're also thinking how inconvenient it is that you can't go outside to turn off sprinklers and flood your new, lovely garden and then you notice an earwig and spider in your bed you just changed the sheets because for past week you've gotten bit every night and so bad you almost went to urgent care it swelled up so huge and scarred and then you notice a few dozen spider babies crawling on ceiling you end up killing and hating yourself for because you're Vegan. That kind of night."

"What Will You Make Of It?"/ Day 97 of 100

"The Moons Stays Bright When It Doesn't Avoid The Night"/ Day 98 of 100

"Why Wouldn't We?"/ Day 99 of 100

"That's All Folks"/ Day 100 of 100!