(Re-) Introducing myself - My first proper post on Hive!

I used to blog on steemit but as work got busier my blogs tailed off… now I’m back but on Hive! So I thought I’d do a re-introduction before I start off blogging about random art stuff again.

A long, long road...
It's been about 4 years since I left my full-time job in a Zoo to become a full-time artist here in the UK. HERE's my original introduction post on steemit! It's been a hard road and 2020 feels like it wants to break me financially and mentally (I'm sure I'm not the only one in this position)!

'Me, back in 2018'

What a difference a few months make…
My last blog (on steemit) was written about 10 months ago, here. I had big plans. Then brexit happened, a billion+ animals died in the Australian fires, the US erupted in race riots, climate change got worse, the Arctic had a heatwave hotter than in Europe...oh, and there's a global pandemic...amongst MANY other things...

So, some of my plans have changed (for example, not a single print from that last blog post sold) and some are still the same. Here's a brief summary of what I'm up to at the moment, but over the next few weeks I will write a lot more about these things!

'Tilly', 2020, private commission

Pet portraits (Ko-fi)
These are all digital one-off portraits. I enjoy doing these but it's not where my real passion in art lies. However, the added income from commissions has just about kept me going, and the detail work I have to concentrate on has given me a lot of extra skills (including patience)!

'My Creary page screenshot'

Portfolio (Creary)
I started a new portfolio of my work here a month ago (getting tired of INSTA). I decided to mix up all of my work in one place, so you'll see a broad range of my art from the last few years. I still have a lot to add but it's been fun seeing how they all sit next to one another.

'Impression of lillies', 2020

Rare artwork (SuperRare)
I love experimenting in art and SuperRare seems the ideal place to put these explorations. The work here is mostly a mix of traditional methods (paint and canvas), which is then re-worked digitally. These will always be single editions.

'Katinka', 2018

Conservation art and early work (NFT showroom)
A huge part of my life has been nature and conservation, so I want some of my work to reflect that. I also want to pass on some of my profits from my artwork to conservation and wildlife charities. NFT showroom and the Hive community seems like the perfect place to continue that tradition for me!

'Beacon Oak', 2016, Edition of 10

I'm also putting up a small range of editions from my early unsold digital landscape paintings, like this one!

The cryptoart community have been a life-saver these past few months. I have had some exciting sales, and I'm super keen to get more work out there again. In fact, I've not been this excited about my artwork in a long time!

Recently, Crytpoartnet listed me on their database of artists, as part of the 'second wave' of cryptoartists, which was a great honour! I'm now even more determined to make a mark in this amazing community.

However, the hard work is not yet over, the road is still long... but sometimes the hardest roads are the ones that are most worth exploring.

Thanks for reading my post!