2011 was a massive mix of highs and lows for me. I don’t want to dwell on the lows, 2012 is about moving forward and building on my successes of the past year. I hope, wherever you are, that you will take a moment to farewell the bad points of 2011 and happily remember the good. I hope no matter what 2011 was like for you, 2012 will be better! I am proud of the accomplishments I made this year, and the people I met. The milestones I saw others reach and the achievements of everyone around me. This is a list of the things I am proudest about from 2011.

• I painted and painted and painted some more, my skills were increased and I know that I made some of my best work this year.
• my studio is a sanctuary. It is incomplete, but it’s going well and is a constant source of joy.
• I participated in lots of exhibitions. I unleashed my inner geek.
• I saw opportunities and I found shows in unlikely locations.
• two students interviewed me for their assignments on artists and inspirational art
• I did a public interview with Phantomimic
• I was invited to speak on a panel in Sydney and overcame my fear of public speaking to speak about a subject very close to my heart. I am intensely proud of this
• I saw Bill Henson speak twice, I asked him a question in front of thousands of people and cameras
• I filled my life with art and watched how that influenced my toddler to start creating.
• I made contacts with some really lovely people.
• I became more confident in talking to others and marketing face to face
• I made good sales even in this economy. Not as good as some years but still enough to be proud of.
• my affiliate marketing started paying real dividends, rather than just supporting my online costs. it provided a steady stream of income to supplement my art income.
• I watched a wonderful artist recover and survive a terrible beating with the health stick and come back fighting and ready to take his art career to the next level.
• I learned to ask for what I want, and make more of every opportunity
• I was one of 32 artists selected to be a finalist in the Art Revolution Taipei international art competition. Over 2500 artists entered!
• I got a new imac, it’s awesome. it picked up my rendering times no end.
• I started physics based rendering, I’m still really new at it.
• I watched Erica start to walk, and talk more, watched her love of books and drawing grow and watched her develop in so many ways. I’m very lucky to work from home so I can still share in these special moments!
• I overcame my fear of cameras a bit and started posing again. I intend to conquer my fear more and get some new profile pictures soon!
• I completed my 505050 project, despite paper shortages and uploading problems. Not all the works are up yet but I completed them in time. this is a pretty big effort!
• I redid my website, new back end, new design and all new traffic! it looks pretty sweet. I have more to do but I’m very happy with how it is going.
• People told me I was their hero. You can’t get cooler than that!