The nights are getting chilly, all the stores are full of pumpkin pie spice, and the afternoons have that golden glow that only Autumn can bring…it’s a good time to evaluate where I’m at before the whirlwind of holiday fun comes blowing my way.
So what were the goals I set up for the past three months?
Goal #1 Get started on finishing the picture book
Goal #2 Prepare for art exhibition at the library
So how am I doing? The months have passed and I’ve barely done anything on goal #1. Why? It’s too big. Real life has been so crazy this past year that every time I sat down to do anything with this goal it was absolutely overwhelming. I tried breaking it down into chunks by making that little progress chart I shared a while back, but I think even those chunks are still too big. But let’s pause on goal #1 for a second and move on to the next one.
Goal #2 turned out much better. I’m making good progress and steadily adding more critters to Redbubble. I have bookmarks, a physical email sign-up sheet, and other paraphernalia for any physical appearances or book signings I might go to. A library opportunity I thought was going to happen got delayed and may not actually happen, but overall I’ve still been successful because it’s only a minor set back. I still have library connections even if the precise event they said would happen has been postponed. I can still create an event on my own with the other library I have connections with.
It’s not finished, but I’m pleased with the progress I’ve made on goal #2. So why am I barely past the first step on goal #1?
It’s a good lesson on the importance of what makes a good goal. Perhaps for someone else with the right mindset and life circumstances, goal #1 would be perfectly fine. Maybe my checklist would work for them even though it didn’t work for me. Each of us is different, and each of us needs to be realistic on our current season of life, our health, our workload, and how much time we can create.
This is not an excuse, but it is a reminder to be patient with oneself. It is also an opportunity to try again and find out what does work. It’s not failure if one keeps trying!
So with that in mind, what might work for me?
I said that goal #1 was too nebulous. “Get started on finishing the picture book.” I set up a progress chart of goals. That counts as “getting started” right? Goal accomplished. See the problem? There’s no defined target, so it’s impossible to actually feel accomplished even if I technically actually did what I set out to do.
To be fair, I did set up the chart of smaller goals. But I think even the progress chart still has the same problem. Each task is still too big, with little definition for an actual target in any sort of time frame. A better goal would be “draw a spot illustration each week.” It’s small, it’s concrete, and there’s a time limit to do it. Even better if I limit it to the drawing, with no coloring involved. Besides, I want to do all the coloring at once instead of switching back and forth. It’s easier to get into the rhythm that way and the finished illustrations are more even.
So for the final months of the year I’ll try to focus on that. Progress on Paleopetshop stuff will be small with the holidays coming up, but like I always say, small progress is better than no progress! I’m ok with being a tortoise instead of a hare.
My lessons for this month…
- Be patient with yourself. The difference between an excuse and self-understanding is one’s willingness to work with or around those limitations instead of fighting against them or blaming them for failure.
- Keep coming back to your goals to reevaluate them. Use set backs or limitations as opportunities to grow. If you are not accomplishing a goal, then look at your reasons for doing it or your target. We are all unique and our motivations reflect that. Reframe your target as many times as needed until you find what works best for you.
And the Critter of the Month is…
Ichthyosaurus cruised the shallow seas of early Jurassic Europe. Where exacty? The Blue Lias Formation at Lyme Regis, on the Southwestern coast of Dorset, England. In this area known as the Jurassic Coast, Mary Anning discovered the nearly complete fossil of Ichthyosaurus communis in 1821. Since then, as with many other fossils at the time, it was a way to group other Ichthyosaurs into the same pile until at last there was enough fossil material to separate them into different genus.
Just in case you are new here, the genus would be a group of specific animals, like Zebra. Species define that already defined group of animals even more, like the Grevys Zebra, Plains Zebra and Mountain Zebra.
There are six known species of Ichthyosaurus, all known from Lyme Regis. A few isolated fossils have been discovered in other places around Eaurope, including Portugal and Germany.
- I. communis– The first discovered and the type species.
- I. larkini– Very similar in size to I. communis (6.5-8 feet long)
- I. somersetensis– The largest species (about 10 feet long).
- I. conybeari– The smallest species (about 5 feet), but lived later in the Jurassic than the others.
- I. anningae– The most recently discovered species.
- I. breviceps– Another species discovered by Mary Anning. Its snout is shorter than the others.
Ichthyosaurus was perfectly adapted for a life in the water. A dolphin-like body and crescent-shaped tail- similar to some of the fastest ocean fish- make it a strong and speedy swimmer. Large eyes and dense bones in the inner ear give it excellent vision and hearing under water. Perhaps it regularly dove down to greater depths, or maybe its favorite food lurked in the deep during the day, but migrated closer to the ocean’s surface at night? Better for night hunting if you don’t dive deep. The questions and possibilities for interesting behavior are endless.
It’s a bit ironic that I say that, and yet Flipper is all by himself in an empty sea. Ah well…I just wanted to give him a slightly more interesting background than just blue for his critter profile. I mostly wanted an excuse to paint water shinies like I did with Chum. We can call it a study in light and water. 🙂
Now that Flipper is all nice and shiny he is ready for adoption! Just click on the picture below or CLICK HERE to go to Redbubble and take a look at him.
See you December 1st for the next Critter of the Month!
This dino loves to sing and dance with her friends.
Share your guess in the comments! She’ll be one of the critters over on the critter page. 🙂
Pete's Paleo Petshop 
That is a lot of progress!! It’s always so great to see another critter up for adoption in the Redbubble shop! I find it very helpful (I’m sure many others do too) to remember that life circumstances are very different for everyone, and self-understanding isn’t the same as excuses. It reminds me of the Edison quote – finding out what does and doesn’t work really is progress!
Also great to remember the importance of setting small, specific goals. It’s so easy to get lost in one grand idea and lose sight of the steps!
And yay, Flipper has a new background! He looks very happy in his new habitat. 😀
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Hi Brownie! Thank you so much! I hope that anyone who is struggling to meet a goal finds this post encouraging. 🙂
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Keep up with the progress, Ms. Patricia. You can take as much as possible to get those goals done. A couple things I want to share with you:
1. CollectA revealed three dinosaur figures for next year. I just wanted to share that to be fair.
2. This month is my birthday (I’m turning 17 this treat).
One more thing: my guess as to next month’s critter is Bella the Camarasaurus.
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Thank you, and happy birthday! 🙂 I took a look at the CollectA figures, and I like the look of the Hadrosaurus.
Nope, not Bella. It’s a good guess though because she does like to sing.
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Everything else from CollectA is revealed. I would like to hear what you have to say about each even if you may not buy any at the moment.
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I must say CollectA has a great line up this year! I always love to see other prehistoric creatures represented, so Koolasuchus and Anomalocaris are very exciting. I really like the look of the Shastasaurus too. It’s good to see some proper meat and possible blubber on a marine reptile, and the black and white is striking yet plausible coloration. The Mosasaurus looks nice and beefy too.
For the dinosaurs, I think Hadrosaurus, Stegouros, and Ruyangosaurus are pretty cool. Hadrosaurus because of their attention to detail based on skin impressions, Ruyangosaurus for the unique sauropod silhouette compared to what we normally see, and of course Stegouros for being so new. I’m amazed they managed to sculpt and produce one so quickly!
I like how CollectA gives lesser known genera attention, but I’m less fond of the trend when attention is given to fragmentary species. Illustrations can easily be changed or updated, but how often can one release a new figure when new fossils and information is discovered? In the case of Spinosaurus itself I rather like how companies are cranking out new models to keep up with the research, then we can have the progression of research on display. But for more obscure species I find it’s better to sculpt a figure for those with more material to go on.
It’s always good to see more iguanodontids. 🙂
What do you think is most exciting?
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As for me, I’d say that the Koolasuchus, Shastasaurus, Stegouros, Ruyangosaurus, Brighstoneus, and Hadrosaurus are the most exciting.
The Mosasaurus didn’t convince me until seeing others give positive criticism/feedback on it, which could mean that I may be looking forward to it now. While I am impressed by CollectA giving us more and more invertebrates, I’m not really sold on the Anomalocaris; there are better figures of it. Still, I must say, keep giving us invertebrates.
I’m not convinced on the Triceratops as we have way more than enough of those.
And finally is the sole theropod of the bunch: Ceratosuchops. Though fragmentary, I’m glad this is the only theropod, although we could use more ornithomimosaurs and non-Therizinosaurus therizinosaurs. It’s also one no one has made before, so I suppose there’s that as well.
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I must say CollectA has a great line up this year! I always love to see other prehistoric creatures represented, so Koolasuchus and Anomalocaris are very exciting. I really like the look of the Shastasaurus too. It’s good to see some proper meat and possible blubber on a marine reptile, and the black and white is striking yet plausible coloration. The Mosasaurus looks nice and beefy too.
For the dinosaurs, I think Hadrosaurus, Stegouros, and Ruyangosaurus are pretty cool. Hadrosaurus because of their attention to detail based on skin impressions, Ruyangosaurus for the unique sauropod silhouette compared to what we normally see, and of course Stegouros for being so new. I’m amazed they managed to sculpt and produce one so quickly!
I like how CollectA gives lesser known genera attention, but I’m less fond of the trend when attention is given to fragmentary species. Illustrations can easily be changed or updated, but how often can one release a new figure when new fossils and information are discovered? In the case of Spinosaurus itself I rather like how companies are cranking out new models to keep up with the research, then we can have the progression of research on display. But for more obscure species I find it’s better to sculpt a figure for those with more material to go on.
It’s always good to see more iguanodontids. 🙂
Which one do you think is most exciting?
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Your artwork is amazing. One of these days, I have GOT to learn how to do digital painting.
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Thank you so much! There is definitely a learning curve, but you have a very strong foundation with traditional art, and so it would just be a matter of learning the finer points of digital art as a medium. When using a wacom tablet or similar device, the biggest challenge is the disconnect between the screen and the surface you are drawing on. The brain is incredibly plastic though, and it just takes some practice to get used to that.
Probably the biggest challenge (aside from the up front cost of your tablet of choice), is making sure things don’t look so artificially smooth, as if everything was made of plastic. I’m still learning, and I always will be, but I find it really helps to treat a digital painting like I would a traditional piece.
I’d be happy to help with any questions!
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