Let’s catch up.

Because it’s been awhile since you’ve heard from me on here, let’s do a quick catch-up about what’s been going on in my life and how I’m picking it up again.

heart = broken.

Let’s just get the hardest part out of the way and start this post with the biggest reason why it’s been a little quiet on here these past few weeks. I lost her. Leia, the sweetest feline in the world and a fighter till the end, couldn’t go on anymore so I had to let her go. I’ve known her kidneys were in a really bad state for a while now, but it still felt like everything just went so quickly all of a sudden. In what I now call the worst week of my life (I was dealing with a major case of the flu, as well), she went from eating well again, to not eating at all, crashing, then getting through that at the vet for a night, then back to only being kept alive by a heat lamp and a drip. Seeing her like that broke my heart, and having to let her go hurt even more. Getting so say goodbye to her in the most beautiful way - with my brother and sister by my side -, however, was quite comforting in a weird way. Props to my team of vets for handling the loss of a pet as well as one can. I still miss her every day, though, especially in the quiet moments or at night, when she loved to cuddle up to me the most. Or when my other cat, Strummer, gets an attention tantrum clearly stating he’s also a bit out of sorts ever since his sister’s gone. Or when the feeling of guilt nagging in the back of my mind makes its way to the surface for a second; because I was so busy in the run-up to losing her, or I should’ve noticed she was sick sooner (though I KNOW cats are total pros at hiding these things), or I should’ve cancelled more plans and spent even more time with her, or …
Needless to say we’re going to need a little time to get through this, but I’ll be damned if I ever forget her. Impossible. So here’s to you, Leia. Eight years was waaaaay too short, but you made them more than worthwhile. Miss and love ya forever.

little/big rays of light.

Going through such a hard time really does have its silver linings, though. At least: when you're surrounded by a bunch of the loveliest people possible. You really find out who’s in your corner, who you can count on, and how nice it is to feel that loved and understood. I’ve read dozens of really heartfelt messages from people I’ve only just gotten to know, too, which was really nice although they, more often than not, made me bawl my eyes out even more. Understandably, I guess. But so nice! Thank you for that.

window poetry.

Now, when it comes to work, there’s one big project that claimed a lot of my free time at the beginning of this year, thus being the second reason why it’s been a while that we spoke. I had the pleasure of being one of the illustrators for ‘Weesgedichten’ for the second time in a row, you see, and although the weather really wasn’t on my side this year, I had SO much fun placing those poems and illustrations on people’s windows. A lot of people leave them there way beyond Poetry Week, by the way, so if you live near here; plan a little walk and go spot them! Consider my favourite poem/illustration combo right under here a little sneak peek and/or motivation to get out there:

picking things up again.

After all that, I’m slowly getting ready to begin working on some things that have been on my to do list for a while now (updating my Patreon tiers, brainstorming and drawing a spring/summer collection, launching a new type of commission), as well as following up on the commissions already on the agenda. Up next? A sweet little birth announcement, some lovely wedding invites/save the dates, and the last of the commissioned portraits. Stay tuned!

q || what have you guys been up to these days?
I hope you’re all well!

Love, always.