I'm a web developer by trade but art has always been one of my first passions. Early last year after going through some old artwork I came to the realization that I can do a drawing or painting and throw it in a drawer and still have it ten years from now, while nothing I've done on the web from that long ago is still around. The web has nothing even close to the same longevity – it's an ephemeral medium. Sometimes it feels like ice sculpture that's melting away before it's even finished.

While I enjoy web development and I love programming, if I had to choose a life without painting or a life without coding… well it wouldn't be that hard of a decision.

And so it seemed a better use of free time to get back into doing art on a regular basis. For similar reasons I've also been trying to focus on simplicity: smaller works, flatter colors, and limited details. Some would probably consider my subject matter to be ephemeral or otherwise kitschy in nature, and I'm under no impression that it constitutes "fine art" – whatever that means. But you can seldom go wrong in taking yourself less seriously.

I'm also trying to make physical works without the aid of the computer, both as a way to challenge myself as well as limiting my time in front of a computer – I get plenty of screen time during the day. There's a unique gestalt that happens with analog materials that you'll never get when working in PhotoShop. It's also much more direct and expressive. Mechanical tools look mechanical. Even an innocuous tool like an airbrush has a way of dictating its own style on you such that all airbrush artwork tends to look the same, as does a lot of digital artwork.

Also when it's done, it's done. There's no infinite dials and opacity layers to fiddle with. If you're not happy with something start over or just accept it and move on. Dried paint FTW.