My thanks to J. E. Lattimer of Fictional Machines for nominating my little blog for this award. Fictional Machines is a story of intrigue and possibilities. And machines. Where is Jack? Has he stumbled upon an alternative reality? Is he dead or is he finally home? Who is really in charge of the planet, what’s with all the robots and will Charlotte ever snap out of it?

Danny Gregory’s blog is my pick for Blog of the Year 2012. Danny Gregory, as some of you will know, inspired me to start drawing in 2009 when I first read his wonderful book The Creative License. I’ve been a fan of his work and his philosophy ever since. Danny gives us — in his blog and in his books — something we actually already have: permission to be intensely, brilliantly and wonderfully creative. He talks about what creativity is, how to stimulate it and how to express it every day. Here is one of my favourite quotes (an excerpt from his blog, posted way back in 2004):

All I Really Need To Know I Learned From Drawing:

Always carry a pen.
The best way is to be still.
Everyone can do it, except those who say they can’t.
Forget your eraser. There are no mistakes. Only lessons.
Don’t do it for fame. Do it for you.
Don’t seek beauty. See it.
Everyone’s perfect pen is different.
Learn from others. But don’t be an imitation.
No books, no teachers, no system, can teach you as much as practice.
If you don’t like a drawing, turn the page and do another.
Study how kids do it.
A forest is just a lot of trees. A tree is just a lot of leaves. And you know how to draw a leaf.
Value everything you make.
Give your drawings away.
If you can do it perfectly, it’s boring.
It’s all about the Now. That’s why it’s called a drawing, not a drawn.
Know when to stop.

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Here are the ‘rules’ for this award:

1 Select the blog(s) you think deserve the ‘Blog of the Year 2012’ Award

2 Write a blog post and tell us about the blog(s) you have chosen – there’s no minimum or maximum number of blogs required – and ‘present’ them with their award

3 Please include a link back to this page ‘Blog of the Year 2012’ Award and include these ‘rules’ in your post (please don’t alter the rules or the badges!)

4 Let the blog(s) you have chosen know that you have given them this award and share the ‘rules’ with them

5 You can now also join our Facebook group – click ‘like’ on this page ‘Blog of the Year 2012’ Award Facebook group and then you can share your blog with an even wider audience

6 As a winner of the award – please add a link back to the blog that presented you with the award – and then proudly display the award on your blog and sidebar … and start collecting stars…

Unlike other awards which you can only add to your blog once – this award is different! When you begin you will receive the ‘1 star’ award – and every time you are given the award by another blog – you can add another star! There are a total of 6 stars to collect. Which means that you can check out your favourite blogs – and even if they have already been given the award by someone else – you can still bestow it on them again and help them to reach the maximum 6 stars!

Check out Frequently Asked Questions for more information about this award.