Looking back at 2018 and forward to 2019

2018 was the year I started a series of mixed media paintings of an imaginary land called Brinwyndale. Mostly messy gardens and birds so far but also some white houses on hills and a town full of white dogs, and I have plans for so much more in this series in 2019.

Here’s a few of that series...

I also did a short series of “inchies” for an Instagram art challenge in 2018 that was very fun, and I have a bunch of ideas as to what to do with these inchies in 2019 but for now they sit in a tiny bowl and make me happy.... 

here’s a few of them....

And I did a bunch of  little characters also in 1” size in a sort of comic book idea, and a bunch of bigger ones.... no real purpose other than as a daily practice, but they may be part of a book someday, or made into pins, patches or stickers in 2019 so here’s some to show you....

According to my Instagram stats the next photos are the type of art pieces that are my most popular style of art. I do these when I want to paint something just for fun. So there will be more of these in 2019 and I may even design some for mugs or products in my cafe press shop.... not sure yet on that.

And here is one that I just started.... I thought I might try illustrating another book I have had in my head for awhile.... I have about 5 that I think about often but this one just seemed to want to come about first....it will be about finding what I call “small magic” in nature; river rocks, crystals, pine groves, etc if you want to see more of that as it progresses then follow me on tumblr  

at andreadeanethompson

Or in Instagram 

@andreadeanethompson

In 2018 I read all the following books....I finished more than I had hoped for on my goal list..... many of the Alice Hoffman ones were my second time reading them. I am also still in the middle of writing my novel called “wild phlox season” which is basically about a group of 5 women and how the scent of the wild phlox in spring has unpredictable effects on the whole small town. I have been working on it for years but I really hope to settle down and finish it in 2019. It is in the magical realism genre like all of Alice Hoffman’s....

And finally here was my goal list for 2018.... I managed some but crossed off the ones I didn’t quite achieve.... instead of redoing my Etsy shop I closed it.... but in 2018 I do hope to redo it,  with all new stuff.... I am thinking embroidery patterns. We’ll see if that comes about. I didn’t hike more or finish the quilt or the novel but as I said, there’s always 2019...

I DID try weaving...this might get mounted and framed or become the top of a hat... 

I did sketch regularly.... (apart from the watercolors) and here’s a few pages that document my life in one way or another.....

We did go on a small trip to Black Moshannon state park and enjoyed that... I got to kayak a bit! 

Next year will be another state park as well...

In 2018 we got to have all our 4 kids back home together over the summer and again just last week for Christmas! It is Always so nice to see them all again and can’t wait to retire to move closer to them, but that is not in the plan for 2019 quite yet.

And let’s see, we had another good year with our garden...

Lots of canned salsa...

In 2019 I am starting a perpetual nature sketch journal ... where I plan to do  a few sketches of nature each week on a full page spread and reuse those same pages the next year and possibly the next..... the same spread for the same days if each year. Not sure I am describing it well but you can follow along as I go on my second Instagram account @fallingladies
And I did create my website....it still needs work but the basics are there. You can check it out at 

www.fallingladies.com

I also got a big promotion at my day job in 2018... I am now the DSS accounting supervisor for our county. Lots of relearning involved, which was part of the reason I shut down my Etsy shop. I am finally feeling a little less stressed about that change!

Well, that’s the highlights! Reading this back to myself, that sounds like way  too many plans for 2019 so I guess I’ll just pick a few and try to focus on them.... maybe fabric and pattern design, and finishing that novel. And getting in better shape, and submitting to a few publishers (always in the list but never followed through in on the past)....

Wishing you all a happy 2019 and a healthy, peaceful year!!!