Eighteen months on Substack

What's changed?

Today marks eighteen months since I started my Substack account. Why is that significant? Well, it’s not. Not really. But my first ever Substack post ended like this:

I hope I’ll be able to look back eighteen months from now and say I’m no longer tackling art angst. That I’ve developed a new style of work and way of working that I love and that I’m a better writer as well as a better illustrator. But my brain is a chaotic mess at best so let’s wait and see…

So, eighteen months on, time to check in on that chaotic mess.

Am I still suffering art angst? Yes. Very much so. Every day I question the choices I make. I look at mid-century illustrations and wish I could draw like that. I see other artists using Neocolours and, well if you read my post on Neocolours, you’ll know where that leads. I use coloured pencils in my sketchbook and fall so madly in love with them, I want to throw out the whole portfolio I’ve been working on and only use coloured pencils from now on. I create one bad picture and question all my life choices.

Perhaps that kind of indecision will always plague me. I’ve been known to skip meals because I couldn’t decide what I wanted to eat. I’ll take weeks to buy a new sketchbook or pen as I weigh up the pros and cons of everything on the market.

Flirtation with coloured pencils aside, I have found a new way of working. Eighteen months ago I was very much a watercolour artist. These days I’m all about Procreate and I haven’t touched a paint brush in months. I’ve also seen a shift in the way I draw. The shapes I use. After a long period of experimentation, I’ve found my new favourite materials and the techniques that feel right. I refound my style.

And with the help of my mentorship with The Illustration Department, I’ve applied that new style to a portfolio of work and a number of picture book dummies. All of which is very timely since my small creative business has taken a hit lately. First there were the bricks and mortar shops I sold my art in that didn’t survive covid. Then GPSR laws prevented me from selling to the EU. And just this month, Trump’s tariffs and the removal of the tax exemption on items under $800 mean thousands of small, independent businesses like mine can no longer sell to the US.* The EU and US previously made up a significant chunk of my business. So the times, they are changing for me. Right now I’m in a period of uncertainty, but not panic. I hope eighteen months from now, my life as an illustrator will be different again.

I am extremely grateful for all your support, to all of you who’ve read my posts, left a comment, bought me a coffee, thank you. Eighteen months after my first Substack post, am I a better illustrator? I hope so. I think so. Am I a better writer? Maybe. On a good day.

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*I may not be able to ship products to the US any more, but for those of you on that side of the water (and indeed in the UK or Europe), my prints are available through InPrint. I recently ordered some samples of my work from them and they’re honestly beautiful. The quality is impressive.