👀 Flashing Back: What Are My Creative Milestones?

It was in the middle of the night as we crossed Germany by bus. I can't recall the destination, but I do remember the bright lights of the magnificent Allianz Arena in Munich waking the person next to me. He rushed to get his camera to capture the iconic structure, but in his haste, he didn’t realize the flash was on. As a result, all the light bounced back on the bus window, leaving him with blurry, useless photos. The bus continued circling the city, and he kept snapping away with innocent determination.

I often think about this young man and his collection of null captures. He’s become my metaphor for when I approach things in a rushed, single-minded manner. For the past seven years, I’ve created illustrations with a similar approach. Every Saturday, I’d research, late Sundays I’d create the postcard on my iPad, write the accompanying text, and post it Monday morning on Reddit and Instagram for people to see during their morning commute. I’d update the shop, follow up on comments, fulfill orders, and then start all over, never really seeing the image again. If you scroll through the series, you might think different artists created the art because I was often so rushed that I never made time to check if the flash was on. Despite this, I managed to complete 230 illustrations, each speaking to the time they were made, and I’m incredibly proud of them.

Recently, I’ve allowed myself to slow down and explore new directions. I’ve always wanted to expand the series to other cities, but I realized I didn’t have a clear plan for how to do that. It took a lot of introspection and visual experimentation to start feeling comfortable with my own steps. In the coming months, I’m thrilled to share what I’ve been working on for the past two years. Expect to see a whole new series featuring different cities, a refresh of old favorites, a cute series of storefronts, and a new online shop. Thank you for reading!