A Fresh Leaf

The last few years I have worked burnout to burnout, when I have energy pushing myself far beyond the point of exhaustion, following something that leads nowhere creatively but hoping it will open up new audiences which it never does. I have lost myself to ways of thinking more times than I would like to admit.

Most recently my mind has been obsessed with social media, in January as well as running Joseph Travis Art I made a side project. In total I made around 60 videos for the month. I made almost as many finished painting in January as I did in the whole of last year. I went out sketching and filming but just enjoyed my time on the beach which despite living a five minute walk from the beach I don’t get there often enough. It was one of those days I was thankful of being away from the studio and video editing software.

Along with starting working on the book that I did a Kickstarter for which I need to try and run again, January was an exhausting mess where I spent most of the month producing video and I got more interactions on social media for commenting on someone else’s post that I have a garden full of blackcurrant plants that were sent to me by Ribena when I was at University.

February I have spent so much time trying to recover that I can’t do that again, I have been looking for low tech methods of sharing, I don’t have solutions yet. Unlike with listening to music where I went back to using my Mini Disc player but it has some issues with being quarter of a century, so started using a 2012 iPod touch with a burnt out screen, that has been dropped in water so many times I am surprised still works. But that iPod was given to me in 2012 and I used it and another one I was given a few years later instead of having a smart phone until about 7 years ago when unfortunately I bought a smart phone and feel like my life was ruled by it. (can’t live without it now as it helps me monitor blood glucose levels for my youngest)

But yeah 2025 was a a slow year as I pitched several times to Arts Council England and various other organisations. And not a lot came out of it, I did one illustration job I really enjoyed doing paintings for a thing, and that thing hasn’t been spoilt yet so I can’t talk about it the actual paintings but I enjoyed making them and I was paid for the privilege of having fun and researching and imagining things in places.

Every other job just didn’t pan out. I currently have an Arts Council England project that I am waiting on a decision for so hopefully that will go better than my last two. If it doesn’t I will alter it and reapply.

So how am I turning over?

I line my desk in paper I got as a student I don’t really use A2 anymore but I like to draw and doodle and make notes, check my pens are working, what colour they are (especially for acrylic markers) I switched to a clean sheet to give myself space to think, and already started sketching the objects on my desk.

In fact all weekend I have done a lot of sketching of various places locally because I deleted all the social apps from my iPad, and have been using it as a reference screen.

My goal is to move away from being chronically online which I have been since the turn of the millennium. I want to expand my work more into the real world, seen by real people in real places, and the best way to do that is paint more and not worry about cameras rolling or editing or producing the best work for an algorimth that is looking to fill its pockets with ad revenue and a constant need to scroll (I don’t even scroll that much I just find myself opening these things mindlessly).

What I really want is to build real audiences, locally and not locally. I want to make things and not worry about making it so someone can see it on a screen for a second before scrolling ever onwards looking for the answer to the great question of life, the universe and everything, because we already have the answer we just don’t have the question. (The answer is six times seven or something like that)