Chuck, over at "Terrible Minds,"  found a cool article,  “30 Things To Stop Doing To Yourself” — and came up with an incredible version that could be easily applied across the board to the creative process. He aims it at writers, but nearly every piece of this could sub "painting," "drawing," "sketching," "3D Development," "concept art," etc. The creative process.  Being a writer, Chuck took it from the viewpoint of a writer, and wrote, "So, I started to cobble one together. And, of course, as most of these writing-related posts become, it ended up that for the most part I’m sitting here in the blog yelling at myself first and foremost."

"That is, then, how you should read this: me, yelling at me. If you take away something from it, though? Then go forth and kick your writing year in the teeth. Onto the list."

I wonder if mid-winter depression is a blessing wrapped in a curse... a shaman's journey, if the seeker allows it. Walk through Chapel Perilous, and there's wisdom to be learned. I have to wonder if that's where I am right now. Then again, I may just be a self-deluded twat. It's hard to tell.

I haven't been updating my blog (http://portiastlukeillustrations.blogspot.com/ ) for some time. To be frank, I wonder how the artists who are also prolific writers manage to create their (often amazing) art and write at the same time.

I sealed myself off from the world. I set my instant messaging to invisible. The people who need me can leave a message... I'm never really that far from the screen anyway. You know the computer's in the studio. I'll see it eventually. I'm probably at the art desk 6 feet away with my nose too close to the paper, inking something.

Enough other folks have told me that having a Blog is important that I really can't ignore them anymore. However, writing about the art itself feels a little too much like “Art Therapy.” “What was I thinking? How was I feeling about this piece?” Do I write from “inside the looking glass,” or as the outside observer? How much information is too much information, anyway? I've been told that having a Blog is important for an artist, but I'm not entirely sure what I'm supposed to communicate about that work, or that process... or how.