I just quit my job
I just turned in my resignation letter to my boss giving them notice that in 4 weeks I'll be gone. I've been here a year and a half and it's just time to move on. My wonderful girlfriend just got her dream job on Chincoteague Island, Virginia and if that's where she is, then that's where I want to be. Things always work out in the end, or at least they have lately. Things have been so insanely uncertain lately that I'm barely sleeping, can't focus on making things, and just shuffle around doing nothing when I'm home.All kinds of questions I couldn't possibly answer racing through my mind all night long- things I have absolutely no control over.
This move couldn't come at a better time- proven even more when I told them I was quitting they were relieved to finally tell me my position wasn't being renewed. The permanent position (meaning tuition remission, benefits, days off, salary etc) I'd been waiting for, working my butt off for just disappeared. Had I not been quitting who knows when they would have told me? I would've had to be a contractor for another year before it was even available, and this was after I was 'guaranteed' I would be going permanent. It's not the fault of my managers, or any one person in particular, really. It just goes to show how much worrying changes things - exactly none.
So with the burden of that removed, I'll be finishing the last 4 weeks of work here and preparing to move on to the next thing. That next thing is working part-time on the island (bike distance!) and doing everything I can to make myself an independent artist. I'll be drawing, painting, writing, designing, and posting right here to my hearts content - doing honest work to make ends meet until I can support myself with what I make. Is is a sure bet- absolutely not, but neither is waking up everyday.
I'm finding myself to be very lucky to be in this position, and to have one way or another, made the right call. I can't wait to see what's ahead, even with no way of knowing what that might be. Like Tom Petty said: "under my feet baby, grass is growing, it's time to move on, time to get going"
In the coming months I want to do more. I want to share more of my process. I want to connect with other artists and learn about their processes. I want to be out in nature more. I want to bike to work.
You might think this is all really stupid, and it very well may be. It may blow up in my face. But I can't allow myself to be afraid to fail. The door has opened, and I'm going through it.
Here are some sketches from what I've been working on lately. I haven't had much time or focus for finished work, but I've had this concept of this young priestess in my head for some time that I wanted out. She's an adventurer, explorer, and does nature magic. It's a silly idea, but might turn into something eventually.
HAPPY 2014!!
I officially suck at illustrated type. Here's to working on that this year!
2013 is over! Kaput. Done for. There were some good things and some really not so great things. My family is all still here and we're as healthy as we're like to get, so there's nothing to complain about.
For this website though, 2013 was amazing and it's only getting better. In December I had the most traffic in the history of the site! Almost 700 pageviews in December and over 2000 this year! I really cannot express how happy I am that people are coming to my site and seeing my work. You can see a huge slump through the summer- that was kind of a weird time for me and I really got away from my personal work and didn't put much up here at all.
On November 11th, I made my relationship with illustration Facebook official and really applied myself to putting things online. Look at what happened after that! I know they're just numbers and really mean nothing to anyone but me, but I can't overstate how much confidence that breeds.
This year I made more than I've ever made before and I've never felt better. Seriously! This year I developed this insane habit where I go to bed at a reasonable time then get up and make stuff all morning until I go to work around noon. I can't overstate how beneficial this has been, I highly recommend it.
If you like my work and want to show your appreciation, the biggest thing you can do for me is to like my Facebook page, this post, or share any of my content in your chosen social circles. That is worth way more than money to me right now, and will make me feel like I'm really doin' thangs, just like Big Bear here.
THE BIG UPDATE (THINGS #70-94)
Hello everyone,
At the beginning of the year I made a goal to make something everyday this year. Things were going reasonably well until a really great freelance job came along. Now, I work full-time besides, but I figured it wouldn't be too much time every week. Like many designers before me I became completely overwhelmed. The job finished and now here I am.
Just because I didn't post things to the internet, didn't mean I stopped making things. In fact the opposite happened and I've been making things more than ever. So keep coming back, there is A LOT of fresh work going up here and in future posts.
Stay tuned
Matt
A month in review
Since the beginning of the year I've been completely focusing on making myself a better designer. I've been attempting to make something every single day and upload it to the internet. I've also been focusing on promoting myself online. I've got some friends and designers on twitter, almost no one on tumblr, and a nice bit of followers on dribbble. Squarespace is so incredibly awesome with stats and as you can see below, I'm slowly but surely growing. Getting the "Pro" versions of Dribbble and Vimeo, were also very good decisions.
The combination of making content, and publishing that content to various social type sites has been a boon for me. Online promotion has never been a strong suit of mine, but like making things, it's something to get better at. So, a month in, I'm feeling really good about this, and hopefully I can turn some of this momentum into some client work. If you like my stuff, it would mean a whole lot to let me know. Maybe share it with your friends, or just a short email. It goes a long way.
I'm feeling very positive right now, and practicing my tools has been great. Here's to 11 more months of this!
