Friday will be the third anniversary of my little blog. My, how time flies!

Three years ago, I graduated from Design and Arts College NZ with a Diploma in Communication Arts and Design (graphic design). I started this blog as a way of putting my student projects online ― and then I wondered what to do next:

There were graphic design jobs (logos, business cards, posters), a couple of research projects (when I considered becoming a children’s book illustrator), and I even entered a few design competitions (which I didn’t win):

Nothing motivated me quite like my blog, though, to experiment and really explore my options. In particular, there were the ‘Shoot it, Sketch it’ posts…

…the ‘Thank You’ posts…

…and the ‘just for the heck of it’ posts:

Two years ago, I started getting more serious about painting. I taught myself about underpainting and painted on canvas for the first time:

I began my ‘In the Style of…’ posts and was inspired by some of my favourite artists and illustrators to experiment and see things differently:

I was thrilled when, out of the blue, I got my first commission…

…and over the moon when someone asked to buy one of my ‘Shoot it, Sketch it’ paintings:

About a year ago, I opened my Etsy shop… and sold my first painting online!

2014 was also, rather astonishingly, the year I passed the ‘1000 followers’ milestone on WordPress:

Since then, it’s been more of the same, really ― I’ve painted and sketched, posted ‘Wordless Wednesday’ photographs and inspirational quotes, I participated in my first craft market late last year…

…and I’m still happily working from home as a graphic designer:

Phew!

Now I’m getting ready for my first big (proper big) art show… but I’ll tell you more about that next week. Thanks for reading : )