Happy New Year!

Is it already too late to say that?

I love the energy and motivation of a new year. I’m an Aries (if you’re into that kind of thing) but I still love organization and lists. I find myself on a constant search for self optimization and the new year behooves this.

2026 has so far proven no different, and I plan to ride that high until I inevitably crash headfirst back into my old ways. Seven days in and so far I have:

• finished a book
• written in my journal for the first time since November
• hit 10k steps a day
• finally finished a painting I started last May

Yes, I finished a painting (hold for applause). A frequent gripe I have with myself is my inability to complete a project. Starting is easy. Stopping - deciding a piece is done - is where I get stuck. It never seems good enough. There’s always something else I could do, but I don’t know what it is.

The Painting In Question
I have learned it’s a real skill to have the confidence and perspective to know when to call your work complete. It’s a practice I actively work on, forcing myself to stand back and physically say “I’m done” out loud.

This painting was born from a photo taken on an iPhone. This time it came across my desk via a friend’s instagram story, and it was one of those that stopped me in my tracks.

Pointe shoes, slung over a wire high in the Los Angeles sky.

Simple, stunning, sad.

Read more on my Substack here