Year End Review

You probably have a never ending to-do list, like me, but once in awhile its good to take stock of things already accomplished. Looking at the list of things actually crossed off as done, as well as things we had not intended to do, but surprised ourselves with, are truly satisfying. I have not stopped appreciating this surprising year since it started. I pulled things out of my hat that I never would have considered a few short years ago.

Last year I began painting again and as an exercise in humility posted a painting on my blog and offered a few in my Etsy shop that I originally started to sell vintage finds. I thought it would be kind of cool if I could sell a couple of paintings.
The morning of March 13th, I was sleepily browsing through my normal list of blogs, clicked on The Pink Pagoda, scrolled down ignoring the text and spit out my coffee all over the screen.

I laughed out loud in disbelief.  Jennifer's post was charming and the eye-opener I needed to instill a little confidence in myself. I still had a tough row to hoe to convince my family that my painting was a good idea. I joined a local art association and entered work in juried shows.
Starting with "Figure 2" above, many were accepted, much to my surprise. My blog life started to fill up too. Linda of My Crafty Home Life  led a few of us in  Spring into Action, a series that nudged the procrastinators to finish something up. I chose a framing project to put the finishing touch on my dining room.
From this, Nancy of Powell-Brower Home and I became pals and even went on a field trip or two. She is so much fun and the connection was one of those surprise benefits of blogging that I never counted on.
I got rather sick in May but made up for things in June. Brisk painting sales and a few commissions led me to launch my website, www.KerrySteele.com.
I also paid a visit to Loi Thai at  his Bethesda shop, Tone on Tone. I posted about it HERE.
There were a few missteps.

Like this tongue in cheek tutorial of flower arranging. I couldn't get it right to save my life.

Then there was the Paint a rug party that still makes me wince when I think about it.

I think I should stick to stretching canvases and
recovering stools.
I had tons of fun designing fabrics on Spoonflower.

I was even more surprised when a few people bought them, LOL! 
That leads me to my resolution.  Why am I always so surprised when someone embraces my work? I am very unsure of my taste and talents but if 60 paintings and a few yards of fabric are any indication, I need to keep going and and not question my self so much. A little humility is a good thing but not when it becomes a roadblock to successfully doing what you love. At the end of the year I also like to look beyond my life, consider the lives of others and the world. It is another chance to be thankful and reach out to others. I hope you take the time to do that and remember all of the positives in your life.
Have you made a list of the highlights of this year and all of your successes?