I always make new year resolutions. I think it gives me focus, a target to work towards. I know I am not an individual possessed of huge amounts of willpower, and thus I try and set myself these targets to guide me.

Unfortunately, it is now June and I have broken one of my two big resolutions — and am likely to have broken the second by the end of July.

1) Complete a piece of artwork every month.

I did so well with this last year, I assumed I could keep it up. Sadly April was an icky month. I got a lot of teaching work, and I got a fair chunk of writing done, but I just couldn’t get inspired to paint.

I think I went through 3 actual paintings, none of which I finished, none of which I even really liked. I hope to get back into it with June’s painting, but I’ve left it a bit late and I’ve only just started.

2) Complete draft 1 of Chains of Time by the end of July

This is a self-imposed deadline, but its a deadline none the less. 150,000 words, roughly, in seven months shouldn’t have been that hard, but again I’ve got a lot of teaching days under my belt this year so I’m only really 55,000 words into this.

90,000 words in 5 weeks seems…unlikely…especially as the teaching will continue.

Summer holiday is coming up, but who knows how well I’ll be able to concentrate in the heat. Its already playing havoc with me.

When it boils down to it, I have no real excuse for breaking these two resolutions. I know work — actual paying work — has kept me busy, but I know authors and painters who manage to juggle both. I guess I blame my weakness for computer games. Again.

Anyway, I am aware of my faults in this, as in many other aspects of my life, so i will perservere in getting both of these back up to speed over the coming months. Hopefully I’ll have at least 12 paintings and a completed first draft by the end of the year…

*crosses fingers*

The Black and Whites

Here we have the B&W artworks from April, May and June. Colour version for June is in progress. April and May were started but abandoned. Will get back to them. Hopefully.

April – Demajen : Final Fantasy XIV version of my FFXI character, Demajen.

May – Rowan : Actually drawn in January, this is a style reference/concept for Rowan in Chains of Time

June – Lovers : two efreeti from Chains of War