Burn Out!

Well I haven't posted much in quite some time and I apologize for that but I have been feeling extremely "burnt out". I've worked all day doing artwork for banner & t-shirt companies for 23yrs and then freelance for t-shirts at night leaving no time for personal projects or any desire for that matter. It's a struggle to pick up a pencil and create and then depression sets in when ideas or creativity flounder and I'm left with a blank canvas and I retreat into movies and video games to lick my wounds. Well all that needs to change. My freelance work is dead now, I quit doing it. No more tracking down clients for work or to pay their bills. No more will I exhaust myself in a direction I no longer have heart in. My focus needs to be on me and my goals and my creativity so that's what I'm doing. A few friends have asked me to create some illustrations for them and I found the projects interesting so first off I will knock those out and try to regain my focus and then on to more personal work. I've started for the first time writing stories of my own. With this as a springboard I plan on working more OC illustrations as well as commissions if I get requests. I'm tired of feeling "tired" and I miss the illustrator I once knew and look forward to seeing him again and I hope you can enjoy the ride with me. It won't be a fast recovery but I will recover. A close friend and brother told me recently I need to just "grind it out" and no stronger words could have been said to me at a lower time in my creative process. It was a slap to the face I truly needed (thanks Dirk). And with that I leave this journal to pick up pencil and paper and go grind it out. Thiings are in the works and I can't wait to share them.