On March 13, 2020, I left my classroom for what was supposed to only be a couple of weeks; however, it turned out to be a whole lot longer and extremely stressful. Like everyone else during the pandemic lockdown, I struggled mentally and emotionally. I knew I needed something to focus on so I could quiet the chaos of the moment, so I subscribed to Skillshare and took a few art lessons.

I should have taken many more courses, but I have the attention span of an ice cube. Honestly, most of my education came from friendly advice, quick tutorial videos, and a whole lot of trial and error.

I tried every medium possible to see what I'm good at. Thankfully, I am surrounded by wonderful family and friends encourage me, and I somehow sold/gave away over 75 of my works (mostly watercolor) in a year and started a stationery card line on Etsy. Nothing spectacular, mind you, but I was still surprised at what I could produce.

All of this changed on September 4, 2021, when I discovered Adobe Fresco. THIS is what I am good at doing.

I was able to quickly learn how to use Adobe's digital brushes, control the flow and color loading, and work in layers, and within two weeks I sold my first dog portrait to someone in a social media dog group.

Now I have expanded to producing my own artwork on top of the commissioned digital portraits (in between teaching and grading), and plan to enter several art competitions and exhibitions in 2022. Wish me luck.

A special public shout-out to my husband, Dennis, who has been the greatest enabler of my art addiction, and everyone in my life who's encouraged me to keep going.