Another page for you to print and colour, if you wish.
All I ask is that you please respect my copyright to the image; it is for personal use only, not for any commercial projects either in it’s entirety or in part. If you share the image, please share the link to this page instead! Of course, I’d love to see how you colour it!
Happy New Year to you all, and may it be a year full of colouring and creativity, peace and love to all.
I know, it’s a little early, but I thought I’d post this today, as well as a bit of a personal review of the past year.
2016 has been an interesting year for me, one of some major changes in my life.
It started with me being a science teacher, off again on long-term sickness due to a recurrent bout of intense anxiety and depression. I was so distressed about having to return to work as a teacher, about what else I could do. I couldn’t think straight. My capacity to read and understand what I was reading or remember it was severely impaired. I had trouble going out of my home. Anything to do with my job caused me an intensifying of these symptoms and the most distressing nightmares I’ve ever had.
Teaching has changed so much in the 28 years I was a science teacher. The pressures have increased, both in terms of workload and behaviour/attitudes of the students that is a reflection of how society has changed too. All of this resulted in triggers for my depression/anxiety/low self-esteem/low confidence.being overwhelmed by even little things. No matter how well people told me I was doing as a teacher (senior teachers, colleagues, inspectors (I never had less than outstanding in the last two inspections I was seen teaching in), I never believed them and thought it was just a fluke.
Because of this, I kind of knew that I’d have to leave teaching, but didn’t know if I could do so financially. I’m single, responsible for all my bills and so on, so whatever I did I had to make sure I had some kind of financial security.
Eventually, I made the decision to leave teaching and to become a self-employed artist/illustrator based on the success of the adult colouring books I’ve done (of which there are now many – listed on my amazon author page), and that happened in the early part of the summer, officially.
This was, arguably, the best decision I’ve made for a long time. The difference it is making to my mood/mental health, as well as progress in counselling is quite remarkable. My only worry at the moment is my first tax return and tax bill in the early part of next year!
I know I have a lot to do to create a portfolio and to come up with projects that will keep contracts coming my way, but I do have some breathing space at the moment, with just one book to be completed asap.
On the back of this decision, my home had a major clear out, again in the early summer. Though it’s not entirely finished, enough progress has been made for now. I now need to have a major de-stash of art materials to make space for either new, or just easier organisation of the materials i use most often.
I also discovered I have quite strong views politically about how our society should be a lot more caring of those who need help, for whatever reason, and how important the British NHS is and how much more it should be valued by those in power in the country, and not just seen as a cash cow for their buddies and supporters. It took me a long time, but I finally worked out that my beliefs/views politically mostly aligned themselves with the traditional Labour Party (not ‘new Labour’, which seems to me just a lighter shade of blue than the Conservative Party). So, I joined the Labour Party. Yet to make it to my first meeting, but no doubt I will do.
I also have become involved with Time to Change Wales as a Champion. This is an organisation whose campaign is to end the stigma and discrimination that surrounds mental illness. I’ve yet to tell my story at an event, but that’s on the cards for sometime in the early part of 2017. Again, this is something I have strong feelings about, especially the self-stigma that prevented me from recognising and accepting I had a mental illness (complex post traumatic stress disorder(cptsd)) and seeking help.
I am really grateful that I did recognise the cptsd, and have made the major change of going self-employed as a way of looking after myself and being happy in how I earn a living, and it doesn’t even seem like work most of the time!
I’m grateful for those who have stuck with me through thick and thin, offering me the support and encouragement that they are able to.
I’m grateful to those who have created difficult circumstances for me, and those circumstances have either shown me how far I’ve come along in healing, or where I need to focus some attention on as my counselling continues.
So, thank you 2016 for moving me forward in my life with the challenging events, for showing me how far I’ve come along in my healing journey, and for the fun and laughter that have helped me keep going.
Thank you to all those who have believed in me when I didn’t believe in myself, who have given me amazing opportunities to create and share art with others via the medium of adult colouring books, and I look forward to all the opportunites that come along in 2017 for me to continue to create and share with others.
Here, as promised, is the line art for the image above. If you’d like to download/print and colour, please do so. All I ask is you respect my copyright, you use it just for personal use, not for commercial gain, and if you share your coloured image, please link back to my blog.Enjoy, and thank you!
The design is drawn, the base colour added using Ranger’s Distress Inks. Now, I’m adding extra colour and shading using Derwent’s Inktense pencils and a damp brush. It’s going to take a goodly while.
I’ve finally done it!
I’ve left teaching to set sail on a new career as a freelance illustrator/artist and whatever else happens along my way. It’s both exciting and scary.
A lot of things came together at once to get me to start a new path. Another bout of long-term illness being one, a good look at the amount of work available to me from existing editors/publishers being another.
I think the financial aspect of the change is the biggest scary thing I have to face. For 28 years I’ve been a teacher with a permanent contract that has a regular monthly salary attached to it.
Now, there’s no regularity in income, which is a tad scary when I stop and think about it in connection to my past. However, I am doing my best not to do that, to think positively about my future, a future that is so good for me in so many ways.
One excellent thing about it is being able to choose as and when I work. After 28 years of dancing to a regimented timetable and day the freedom is bliss! I can make use of when I’m inspired and full of energy and motivation. The deadlines I have to work to help with the focus, but I know that I do have a lot of flexibility in how I work to meet those deadlines. I also love the ability to have energizing afternoon naps when I need to!
Working from home is another plus. It’s been my refuge and place of safety and security for so long that it’s nice to be here. My cat really appreciates me being home too; at 14 years of age and a clingy pusscat with some health problems I’m happy to be with him. He’s good company and makes sure I go to bed at a sensible time; simply because he wants to cwtch up to me for his big nights sleeps.
Of course, the biggest wonderful thing about changing career is that I am doing something that I’m passionate about, that brings me joy and pleasure.
Not that teaching didn’t. It did, for a long time, but it’s time for me to change. I’m sure I’ll use my teaching skills in other ways as time goes on, but not in a school environment. However, for the foreseeable future I’m going to be focusing on my arty pursuits, as well as learning about a lot of things such as accounts and accountants (I have one, I just have to collect together all that she needs from me …) and get into a routine of keeping receipts and a log of journeys made in connection with my business.
My home as had a HUGE clear-out to make space for me to work in comfortably as well as to store all my arty crafty supplies and completed artwork and various forms of paperwork and so on. Eighteen years of accumulated stuff had to go as well as stuff I no longer need, value or find pleasure in. My niece helped, rather, did most of the work, and between us we were ruthless! There are still bits and bobs to sort out and do, but deadlines take precedence for the next couple of weeks or so! The clear out has me behind, eek! Luckily I have so good and understanding editors who always build wiggle room into contracts for me without telling me what that wiggle room is.
The process is mostly finished, but a deep clean is on the cards for soon, and some repairs need doing so I need to find reliable tradesmen who charge fair price and do a good job, something else I need to learn about!
It is all exciting.
Add to that there’s more colouring books and stamps coming out that I’ve done the designs for.
I’m currently working on a Tropical Rainforest themed colouring book for Skyhorse Publishing and the sixth in the series of the Color Me books along with Lacy Mucklow. The sixth book is appropriately named ‘Color Me Grateful’, and grateful is something I really am of my new career, my cleared out home, my family and friends who have helped in so many ways, and the many experiences from my past life as a teacher that have helped to get me to this point in my life, both good, indifferent and bad.
Friday last, I met up with a small number of colleagues from the school I taught at for 27 years for high tea in a local country house hotel. There was lots of laughter as we remembered the good times over those many years, not a lot of mention was made of the not so good times. All the characters we’ve worked with and known, both staff and students! It was good to do. I couldn’t go into the school for the official farewell gathering as my emotional/mental health isn’t strong enough for that yet. But a quieter gathering away from the school was perfect!
One other thing I do hope to do is to make more frequent blog posts once I find my ‘voice’ for my blog. I’m thinking of adding some tutorials to do with the arty stuff I do, maybe. Feedback or ideas are always welcome, whether for blog posts or ideas for future books, artwork themes and so on.
I have designed sets of clear stamps for Hampton Arts. The range is called ‘Color Me by Angela Porter’. It’s been a lovely challenge to do, and another string to my artistic bow too.
I’m being sent my own sets of the stamps and I can’t wait to play with them and embossing powder in particular to get the ‘stained glass’ kind of colours that I so love!
Of course I’ll post my versions here. It’s all exciting for me! Everything!
Coming up in the Autumn is another book in the Color Me series – Color Me Stress Free, published by Race Point Publishing.
There’s also four books coming out from Michael O’Mara books where I am one of a few contributing artists.
All of these books are available to pre-order on amazon, and here are the links.
The Can’t Sleep Colouring Book
Art is the Adventure 