Happy New Year!

2016 is over, which means my Daily Animal Art project came to an end as well. It is feeling so weird not to paint an animal each day! I counted everything up, and all in all I created 243 animal images in 2016. I think that’s pretty good! I knew I’d probably average around 5 or 6 a week, and 243 is pretty darn close to that number.

I am really proud of myself. I’ve never been very good at daily projects (I tend to quit after about a week or two!), but this one just kept on inspiring me all year long. I became a better painter. I felt better each day that I created my daily animal. It became a habit, and I looked forward to it (almost) every day. I had a great time and surprised myself over and over. I loved how much people connected to the images. The animal totem original painting sales that I held were such a fun thrill! Sending the beloved paintings off to their new homes was both bittersweet and exciting. (There are still totem paintings left to purchase, by the way! This is a potent time to find your animal guide, right at the start of the new year…)

According to the image above – from the #2016bestnine website (which tracks your nine most popular Instagram posts from the past year) – all I apparently did all year was paint animals! ;)

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Here is the very last animal image that I created, while sitting on the couch on New Year’s Eve:

It’s what I hope for myself, for my home, for you, and for our world this year.

Here are some more recent animal images that I completed in December:

The ones on white backgrounds are being turned into something really awesome for a terrific company that I’ve partnered with! I’m excited to share more about that when I’m able to.

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My favorite thing was laying out all the paintings in a grid and admiring them together. My husband was very nice and stood and admired them with me when I asked him to. (I did it often. Haha.) Here’s the evidence:

Thank you to everyone who followed along, to everyone who purchased paintings and prints, to everyone who asked when the oracle deck version of the totem paintings will be available (Answer: it’s coming in 2017! I will post details as I have them! I’m working on designing the packaging and getting final details sorted out.), and to all who encouraged me along the way. I am so grateful! This project brought me more joy than I could have imagined.

Check back tomorrow for a post all about my new creative challenge for 2017. It’s all about PATTERNS!
If you want a sneak peek, you can head over to my Instagram.

May 2017 be filled with peace, hope, love, creativity, good health, good food, laughter, joy, richness, and FUN!