Revisiting Older Images

Also published on my Patreon Page…

December 6, 2025

“Art is never finished, only abandoned” said Leonardo DaVinci.

In a prior post, when sharing my Gardening Tools Illustration, I also shared how I forgot to add the ties for the apron. For some reason, I was okay with not correcting this error. I was still new to illustrating in Photoshop and thought about the time and frustration that I was looking to avoid. But I have one of those brains that cannot move forward until completion is reached. So, for months I lived with an internal reminder to correct this error...

While I was creating the feature image for my "Letters To My Nieces" Blog, I worked and re-worked the image to the point where Photoshop was no longer a friction point. Therefore, when I finally decided to pick up my Gardening Tools Illustration to accommodate the apron's ties, I actually had fun. So much fun that I decided to add this illustration to a Tote Bag, which is now the first product on display at my Squarespace Artist Shop.

Then, while tweaking My Gardening Tools Illustration, my mind showed me another illustration that needed re-working. Oh, how my brain works! And whenever I had a bit of time, I decorated the illustration like one decorates a Christmas Tree. I haven't had the time to work in my studio to do these additions the traditional way with color pencils, so I went digital. So now the illustration is tradigital - yes, that is a word.

Somethings that helped me with Photoshop, indirectly, were a couple of courses I found on Domestika. The courses were unrelated to Photoshop; however, the artists worked in Photoshop. I watched how each artist tweaked and re-tweaked their illustration to get the desired results. And what I learned (in addition to the lesson from the actual course) was that whether the artist went fully digital or combined traditional with digital, they still followed the artistic process. These artists weren't just directly drawing on a tablet and voilà! These artists respected the entire art process from thumbnails to finished work. End result is that I have gained new respect for Photoshop and all that one can do with it!

And, I’m finally ready to abandon the tradigital version of my Nutcracker Doll! Which I also turned into a product, the second product on my Squarespace Artist Shop, a Holiday Greeting Card.

Image of my Gardening Tools Illustration and The Nutcracker Doll

Before I abandon writing this post… Thanksgiving was last week, and my original intention was to have this post ready then. There is a special sentiment of gratitude that I wanted to share. A heart felt thank you to my high school Art Teachers, Mr. Frank Gubernat and Mr. George Bates. I spent four great years, 2 class periods each year, being trained by these wonderful artists who showed the highest respect for the craft. They gave me such a strong base on process, materials, and tools. I’m also grateful that my high school did not skimp on art supplies, or possibly both art teachers made sure we always had the best materials on hand. Though they made sure these materials were never wasted or mistreated through their teachings. We were taught so much. It is their generosity in teaching that I remember the most. I've thought of both of them through the years, mainly sad because I felt that I let them down by choosing very last minute to go for business rather than pursue the arts. I wish I had made the time to visit them to personally thank them for the art foundation that they provided. A reason they gave for teaching in such great detail was that once we'd get to University, the focus would be on projects rather than foundation. And they were so right... in all the years that I took art courses on my own, never once did I receive again these foundation lessons.