Journal

It’s been six months since I was last on Instagram. Wow, half a year. This is the longest I’ve been away. This recent pause was necessary because of some personal matters—the most urgent being the preservation of my mental health. Since 2015, I’ve been constantly anxious, distracted, and depressed. While there isn’t just a single cause, I know social media is among the biggest reasons.

Hello, everyone! After a couple of years left untouched, my website has been updated with new content and a new look! This is also my very first blog post since 2016. I've been working hard over the past two weeks to spruce up this space. It isn't too far from the previous design, but it was time for a long-overdue visual update. I'm really happy because I disciplined myself and devoted time to this.

The day my birthdate matches my age has arrived! Yes, I've just turned thirty-three. That will only ever happen once in my lifetime. Since hitting 30 not too long ago, I started caring less about each additional year that came by. It was only whenever the topic of one's age (and whether you could still “identify with a number on the calendar”) came up in conversations, or when I needed to fill out forms, that I'd begin thinking twice.

I thought it'd be great to finally write about the art materials I use! Having settled into a process for a few years now, I've become more aware of my own tools and can share seasoned thoughts on what I use on a regular basis. Before going into it, a small disclaimer: while I highly recommend most of the things on this list, it's by no means exhaustive or comprehensive list for artists or watercolorists.