I’m a big fan of data. Hidden behind numbers and trends is a story, a story often undetected during the course of a normal day. But, sometimes it’s more apparent. Sometimes, it’s painfully, obviously apparent.

The year I published 330 blogs was a watershed moment into how I operate and what I need to make something real in my life. That’s the obvious data point. For me, Nik, a week or month or two months is not enough time to establish a behavior in my life. Apparently, I need a whole year of intentional devotion to a task. With this in mind, I am turning my attention to new project: drawing.

Drawing is the basic skill of an artist and I need/want to grow my skills. There’s nothing worse than an idea or concept trapped in my head because my hands can’t keep up. And buddy, I’ve got ideas a plenty. So, starting today, I will produce a drawing every single day for 365 days. (Ok. Probably more like 330 for the sake of travel, holidays, illness, etc.) The quality and subject matter is less important than the doing. For now, I need to make art production an everyday part of my life. It’s not a hobby to me and I want to develop into a competent artist. So, I need to treat it more like a job, like I did writing.

The first hurdle will be motivation and for that I need to admit to myself what I want. And, what I want is embarrassing to admit. I want to be a great artist, not a doodler or “church good.” My intent after my year of drawing is to transition to oil painting, then clay work, etc. This will require time, sacrifice, and money. And, all that seems like a lot to waste on a hobby.

The second hurdle is being gracious with myself in the process. For this I will rely my history as a cook. I’m a million times better cook than I was two years ago, ten years ago, and twenty years ago. Being honest, I thought I was pretty hot shit two years ago. Now I know, I’m only half way to where I want to be as a cook. (I know. That sounds ridiculous. But, just last week, I fried up the best chicken of my life with room to improve.) My point is food and art are similar in that they are as much learned habits and skills as they are talents. I can’t draw a circle the way I want to draw a circle…today. To ease my frustration, it helps to remember the days when my rice noodles were mush and I produced one dry chicken breast after another.

Today is day one. Though I am frustrated with where I am, I know the best is yet to come.