T.T.F.N... Ta-Ta, For Now

It's Jimmy Akin's fault I ever began blogging, or looking at blogs. That was - holy cow - back in 2005! I posted at JimmyAkin.Org for a while, and in 2007 I started Old World Swine and began posting very regularly.

I've racked up 650 posts, almost 2500 comments and 143,000 page views. Thanks, for that. I've enjoyed all of it. I enjoy it more than is good for me, truth be told.

Those of you who have followed my blogging arc know that my posting activity has dropped sharply over the last year or so, and there are some good reasons for that, though I have mixed feelings.

Over time I've come to the conviction that - though I love blogging and though it has helped me keep my sanity at times - it is a luxurious time-sink that I can no longer very well afford. See, though I really enjoy writing, it does not always come easily for me, so even a modest post might take me an hour or two to polish up so it would be presentable in public.

In addition, I have for a few years been working to make a shift in my career from graphic art to illustration and fine art. This would be an admirable task even for a better talent, but for a "bear of very little brain", it's even more tricky, because one thing I've discovered about myself is that I am not good at balancing a lot of different kinds of activities. Studio art requires a major time commitment and a certain kind of concentration, and it takes me a while to find The Zone. Once I'm there, it is a pain in the arse to be shaken out of it. It's like deep-sea diving; it takes a while to prepare and to arrive, and it takes a while to decompress.

All that is to say that I'm no renaissance man. No polymath. It appears to me that I have to choose between being an amateur writer and being a professional artist, and put in those terms, there simply is no choice to make. I am an artist, not a writer (dammit, Spock). I already gave up being a rock star. My guitar sits gathering dust (figuratively speaking. It's actually in a case).

Hopefully, those who know me now mainly through my blogging will know me in the future mainly through my artwork, which will be cropping up here and there, especially in Catholic circles. I'm really itchin' to paint some saints, God willing.

So, anyhow, though I may post here now and then, this pretty well marks the end of Old World Swine. I'll keep it open here, and I've archived it just in case. Many thanks and blessings to all of you who have dropped by, left comments and had conversations. It has meant more to me than you know.

I'll be posting from time to time at Jimmy Akin's blog, now, so I hope to see you around!