27/6/26 - Art fight?

I've been focusing the past few days on sketching and drawing, I feel really motivated to get my drawing skills to a level where I feel proud. I am still very much a beginner artist, but I do seem to be able to draw a decent approximation of what I had in my mind.

Related to that I know art fight is starting soon, and until a friend had mentioned it to me I hadn't considered joining in. It sounds like it could be quite fun, and a great chance to try drawing different types of characters, I can maybe even step a bit outside my comfort zone!

With art fight I know the main focus is OCs, which I personally really do not have, other than my sona and some extremely vague ideas. I think I will draw my sona bit, as well as some other character ideas I had, and then join in on art fight!

23/6/26 - I finally did it! My album - Out to Sea!

For some time now i have been sitting on an almost finished project, there were just a few more things that needed to be done, and I kept thinking about what I should go back and change. But it has been 2 years now at this point since I finished making all of the tracks in FL Studio for this little album of mine!

I figured at this point I need to just release it, it's the first proper album I've made, and it's not perfect by any means, it's rather rough, but it's mine, and I thought it was finally time to put it out there.

I was inspired by nature, the sounds of the sea, and rain. I coupled that with my own experiences and feelings as an immigrant, longing for a comfort and belonging. 2024, when I started making this, was when I was finally coming out of a multi-year depression, which honestly was quite a blur to me. Seaside Lullaby was the first track I composed, and what I ended up trying to build everything else around. It was a soothing, gentle song, which washed away the dread the previous track instills in you. I wanted the album to feel like you were taking a scary step into the unknown, and then making it out the other end hopeful. It would make me happy if this were to resonate with at least one other person.

The album is available on my bandcamp, and you can pay for it if you wish.

19/6/26 - Reflection on being an "artist"

Am I an artist?

A doubt that often crosses my mind is one regarding the label of "artist". It's a label that seems to hold a lot of value in my mind, despite the real neutrality of it. The definition most people have is fairly simple, an artist is someone who creates, someone who is creative. As someone who has dabbled in various forms of creative expression the label should apply, no?

But, I've never created actively, focused, for long stretches of time. My ideas and will to create come sporadically, in a flash of creative fury, and before I know it, the next time I feel that again it has been months, maybe even years! Perhaps it's the adhd, or something fundemental to the core of my being that causes this disconnect, this gap between who I am capable of being and the idealized "artist" I should be. So I struggle to earnestly call myself an artist, for if I were an artist wouldn't I settle into a routine, stay a while and emerge victorious from my creative quest to once again dive back into it immediately after? Instead I take a detour, a visit, like some starry-eyed tourist, taking some pictures and memories back home with me, but never making that destination my home.

Though, humans are multifaceted, we aren't entirely one thing, and the person we are changes as time marches forward. So perhaps it is naive of me to expect myself to be so dedicated to my craft when I have other interests and hobbies. And I would be doing myself a disservice if I neglected to take my neurodivergency into account. My brain inherently craves novelty and struggles with routine (despite my desire to maintain one) I am not a machine that has been optimized for the maximum amount of creative output. If I saw someone online who referred to themselves as an artist, I would not doubt them for a second.

As I write this I'm reminded of something a therapist of mine told me once, that the world teaches us to be cruel and harsh to ourselves, to give others grace and ourselves criticism. Maybe this is where this comes from. To create is to be vulnerable, to put our time and soul into a project to then set it free, to be observed and torn apart. If one doesn't call themselves an artist it doesn't matter if they get a negative reaction. "It doesn't matter, I'm not an artist anyway!"

Maybe the brave thing is to fight against this urge to be self criticlal and avoid vulnerability.The definition of who is an artist is simply one who creates. And well, I create things, I put them out into the world.
Therefore, I am an artist.
And there is no special criteria that needs to be met. I am enough.

19/6/26 - Surfing to somewhere familiar

I have been a fan of Homestuck since around 2011, so fan songs and really anything inspired by it always hold a bit of a special place in my heart. I was back at it again with some websurfing, and some familiar candycorn coloured horns greeted me on an artist's bandcamp.

Today's discovery is an artist who has worked on some Homestuck related projects, as well as some video game OSTs! That artist is dbnet18.

His speciality is videogame music, and you can really tell he has a deep love and appreciation for it. Every track I listened to felt right at home in the universe it belonged to, and his covers of existing songs have their own unique little twist to them. As for originals I could get a sense of a game's themes with just their tracks alone, without the need for any visuals.

The bleeps and bloops are arranged in just the right way, and I encourage you to check out their bandcamp and soundcloud! If you've ever read Vast Error, you will recognise some of their music for sure.

17/6/26 - Fresh beats from websurfing

Now for something a bit different. I love seeing all the different forms of art people post on their personal sites, and I enjoy taking some time to take it in. Just letting myself appreciate whatever it is the human somewhere else in the world put out into the web.

The artist I happened to stumble upon today was mf dook who has a neocities site, and a page dedicated to all of their music.

Their tracks are all quite varied, though there is a melancholy through-line throughout them. (With a couple exceptions) They have their own original albums and singles, as well as a Daft Punk remix. All of their music is available for download on their website, in either .mp3 or .flac formats, (.flac is only available for their more recent releases) you can also stream their music on youtube!

I like what I have heard from them so far, and I enjoy the variety in their releases. Apothecary stood out to me in particular, and I thought the atmosphere in Adagiokind was great as well. I will have to keep my eye out for what they come out with next.

Hopefully next time I do some websurfing I come across some more interesting things like this. What a treat.

15/6/26 - Music I've been listening to

I've been branching out and listening to new music lately, and I want to use this blog to talk about music. I am by no means a proper music critic, and my knowledge of musical terms is rather limited. I hope my writing ability makes up for that, though I feel my posts will be rather brief.

Currently I have been checking out TWRP, specifically their album Together Through Time:

I've been enjoying it quite a bit, its a very funky album, the vibes are immmaculate. I was just browsing the web while listening, able to lose myself in the album a bit. It reminded me at times of an album Daft Punk could have released. It was great for working on my site a bit, and I was rather surprised to hear Dan Avidan featured in one of the songs! (tbh I wasn't sure if it was him or not so I had to check, and there he was in the track title lol) I think I will go on to listen to their album New and Improved next! If its anything like this I will for sure have fun with it.

Since switching to Mint I have been listening to the albums I have on my computer in their entirety as well. I really do love having more intention with my listening habits, and I think the ipod shuffle I have will help with that as well. STOMACH BOOK's GOODNIGHT HYPNOPOMP has been one of those albums I have been listening to, and it's definitely still a fave, I listen to it on repeat quite often, hehe

If you haven't listened to any of these albums I think you should check em out!