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Friday, March 18, 2022

Long Live Blogging

5/26/12 Gas Works Park

The day I began Fueled by Clouds & Coffee, trendsetters and others in the know had already declared blogging dead. Facebook, Twitter and other stuff called “social media” had been gaining ground for years. Not conducive to continual, real-time interaction, blogs were deemed too slow, too wordy, too 20th century. I had only recently become aware of blogs shortly before I started mine. Always on the leading edge – that’s me.

That day was March 18, 2012 – ten years ago today. I had thought about it for quite a while before I launched. What would be the purpose of my blog? How would it be different from what I do on Facebook? And if blogging was already dead and everyone was moving on to the next cool thing, why start now?

First, I’m a writer by vocation. I express myself best with written words – not clumsily truncated words to meet a 140-character limit or words riddled with typos because they were typed with thumbs on a phone – but carefully considered, crafted, edited and proofread words. Call me old-fashioned, but that’s the way I like my words to be presented.

By 2012, I had been on Facebook for several years, and I had noticed how difficult it was to find items others had posted. The search function was unusable (and hasn’t improved much since). I was even having difficulty finding things I had posted myself. If I had something worth saying or showing, then I wanted it to be easy to find on a platform I could manage to some degree.

Finally and foremost, I had just started learning to draw about six months prior. It was the first time in my life that I had the opportunity to document my own creative process nearly from the beginning. Blogging seemed like the appropriate medium for a visual practice.

3/12/13 Zoka Coffee

As I began drafting my first posts, I felt like I had plenty to say. Since I was trying to draw daily, I thought I would be able to create new content regularly. Even so, I gave myself full permission to stop blogging any time I wanted to. If I got bored, or the process gave me more pressure than pleasure, I could end it without apology or excuse. It would be nothing more than an experiment.

As the months went on, I saw that a few people were visiting my blog, but comments were rare. I figured I was mostly talking to myself, and I was OK with that. I truly enjoyed analyzing and articulating process thoughts or telling the stories that went along with my urban sketches. To my surprise, the blog itself began motivating me to keep sketching every day – not because I thought I had an “audience” to entertain but because I enjoyed the habit and process. In that way, it was like the written journal I had been keeping most of my life – except now I had to use my professional editing chops to clean up my writing for public consumption (which I do not do in my personal journal).

In addition to process documentation and storytelling, I knew that I would talk about art materials (because who doesn’t like to talk about art materials?). I didn’t realize, however, how much I would enjoy writing product reviews. Obviously, I sometimes have strong opinions about the materials I use, and it’s fun to pontificate. (My product reviews are always the most popular posts, so I have to assume readers are interested in my pontifications.)

2/5/14 Forza Cafe

The longer I blog, the more readers I “meet” through occasional comments and private email conversations, and I realize that I’m not always talking only to myself. Many readers have told me that they are on a similar drawing journey and appreciate what I share. It’s gratifying to know that others might be benefitting from whatever I learn and write about. It adds to my motivation to keep blogging.

I have only one regret: That I did not pay for a more robust and flexible blog platform instead of using free (and limited, inflexible and increasingly buggy) Blogger. When I began, Blogger seemed good enough for what I had in mind. Now I’d like a better platform, and I’m certainly willing to pay for it. But migrating 10 years’ worth of blog posts with tons of images and links seems burdensome and fraught with peril for a non-techy person like me. I’d rather use the time to sketch. (I’m still considering moving it someday, though.)

So here I am today, still using a medium declared dead a decade ago. To celebrate my 10th anniversary, I thought I’d cite some blog statistics. Since March 18, 2012, I have published:

  • 3,289 posts (including 274 product reviews or other posts focused on product information, observation or opinion)
  • 11,421 sketches and other images (I don’t have a count of the number of sketches I’ve made because I don’t scan everything, but a quick look at my folders of the scanned sketches I’ve posted shows an average of 900 per year.)
  • 994,196 words (Whoa, that’s close to a million words! I guess I do have a lot to say! My most verbose year was 2021 . . . a global pandemic will do that.)

12/24/15 Pike Place Market

According to Blogger’s statistics (as of March 16, 2022), Fueled by Clouds & Coffee has received an all-time total of 1,519,591 views (page views? home page landings? Not sure; unclear stats is another Blogger weakness). Google searches are my top referrer. Most of my readers are in the US, but a surprising number come from Germany.

My most-viewed page is Favorite Art Materials (15,800). My most-viewed post is How Many Colored Pencils Do You Really Need? (4,500) followed by The Colors of Autumn (3,720) and Book Review: Mike Daikubara’s Sketch Now Think Later (2,590). For the longest time, the review of Mike’s book was my most-read post ever (I think I got a lot of click-throughs from the global USk Facebook page). I can understand why How Many Colored Pencils took the lead eventually (hits on my product reviews and other product-related posts far exceed other posts), but why so many hits on The Colors of Autumn? That sketch and story certainly aren’t anything extraordinary, nor did it get reposted anywhere that could have led to more clicks. Maybe that’s just a Blogger glitch. (I don’t care enough about stats to investigate.)

Whenever The Well-Appointed Desk links to one of my posts, the views on that post go through the roof. Thank you, Ana – I always appreciate your boosts!

12/30/16 Grand Central Arcade

I have written a couple of other retrospective posts about my blog on the milestones of my 2,000th post and my 1,000th post (I meant to do a retrospective for the 3,000th post, but I forgot). As I did for my 2,000th post, I’m showing old sketches here that have nothing to do with anything except that they were in a folder of scanned sketches that I never got around to blogging about. Although my thoughts today are not random, please indulge me in some random sketches.

Blogging is dead. Long live blogging. 

10-Year Anniversary Giveaway

If you have read this far, then you are one of the readers I want to thank for your visits, whether occasional or regular. Even if you are silent, I appreciate your companionship on this journey. Knowing you are out there has helped keep me posting regularly (which I will continue indefinitely, even if my blog is the last one standing).

3/12/18 Green Lake

To thank you for your readership, I am offering a first-ever giveaway! If I reviewed a product here, then I purchased it myself (this is not nor has it ever been a sponsored blog). I also review products for the Well-Appointed Desk, where supplies are provided to me for the purpose of review. In any case, I have accumulated quite a few art supplies that were only lightly used, and even if I like them, I may not get around to using them up in this lifetime. It’s time to share!

11/4/19 Green Lake Starbucks

If the winner is in the US, I will put whatever will fit into a medium-size flat rate Priority Mail box. If the winner is in any other country that the US Postal Service will ship to, he or she will receive 8 ounces of art materials. To enter, please comment once below. The winner will be drawn on Friday, March 25 (selected by Random Number Generator), and announced shortly thereafter.

27 comments:

  1. Congratulations on your continued blogging, Tina! I've never commented before, but the potential of new art supplies does inspire me! I appreciate the artists and writers who still blog and haven't transitioned into abbreviated thoughts and sharing via social media - I just don't get as much out of it. Thank you for still sharing your journey with us.

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    1. Thank you for reading, Rebecca! I appreciate your comments. You are entry No. 1!

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  2. I enjoy reading your posts and have been inspired to include colored pencils in my work. I'm still trying to discover my "style" and I love the added textures and color variation they give to watercolor. Thank you for your dedication!

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  3. Hi Tina! I've been reading your blog for a year now. I used to avoid colored pencils (association with childhood coloring tedium plus broken prismacolors), but because of your posts on rainbow pencils I got some and have a lot of fun with them! I also got a set of Durer Magnus pencils because they're so chunky...I love pencils with a fun factor now. I was also the commenter who inspired the recent post about Uni WCP cores being made by Faber-Castell! I felt starstruck ahaha. Anyway, I prefer following a handful of blogs to social media feeds. To make things even more old-school, would you consider putting out an e-mail newsletter? Thanks for keeping such an entertaining blog, I really appreciate your attitude towards sketching and enjoying the process.

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    1. Hi Veronica! Thanks so much for your comment that led to my Uni/Faber-Castell brain blowout! ;-) Happy to hear I've inspired your colored pencil use! I'm not sure about a newsletter, but I'll think about it! You are entry No. 3!

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  4. I'm not sure how long I've been following you, but I always enjoy reading your posts and seeing what you have sketched on the other coast. It was really exciting when we got to meet in person...a personal connection always makes things more interesting. I like your idea of celebrating your blogging anniversary with a giveaway. Glad I didn't miss this post. We've had company and I haven't been checking things as regularly the last few days.

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    1. Joan, you are among my longest-standing (I didn't say "oldest" ;-) ) loyal readers! Thank you so much for your continual readership and comments! You are entry No. 4.

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  5. Hi I never commented but have been following you since I started drawing during the pandemic and have always found your older posts relatable and informative. Thanks for always posting it's very encouraging to keep drawing.

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    1. Thank you, Henry! I'm glad that you've found the blog encouraging. Keep drawing! You are entry No. 5.

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  6. Hi Tina, I have been meaning to reach out to you for months now to thank you for your blog! I found you last year and I have been inspired in so many ways. Yes, I find your product reviews extremely useful. I’m now working with polychrome colored pencils and the pencil sharpener you recommended. But I think my favorite posts are your process posts. I love to see how your mind works as you learn. I draw (and learn) too.

    You often inspire me to try new things…and now you have also inspired me to blog again! I half heartedly blogged over these last 10 years (1/8-heartedly? 1/16th?), but I could never find my way to making it a part of my art practice—as something else I make—until now. It just came to me that I make art because I love to make it. Why not make blog posts because I love sharing too? You are an excellent role model. Thank you so so much!

    Is blogging dead? Well, from the view from my RSS Reader (Feedly), it absolutely is not! I follow 20-30 bloggers who, like you, add so much to my life (and another 50+ who don’t blog much these days, but every so often a gem from one appears in my feed). I think a ton of early bloggers migrated to social media to chase the algorithm money making machine—but there are plenty of writers and thinkers and artists left sharing on their blogs another kind of gold. I think there are plenty of us who know we are richer for it. Sure, we hope more people will find the treasures…but who are we to know where and when our work might touch someone new?

    Again, thank you!

    P.S. if I “win” your giveaway, please give it to the next winner in line…I don’t need more art supplies and plenty of others do. I am really just inspired to write this overdue thank you note in response to your post today about your blogging journey.

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    1. Denise, thank you so much for your comments! I'm happy to know that my blog inspires you. I still follow several excellent blogs that assure me that blogging isn't dead. ;-)

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  7. Hi, Tina! I tried to comment here yesterday but it seems it didn't go through. I started reading your blog 4 years ago when I began drawing, and have been meaning to thank you for your writing for a long while now. Your posts are full of great and useful information, and while I do like the in-depth product reviews (and photos!) I especially enjoy seeing your process, thoughts, and journey day-to-day. It is so nice to have insight into what another artist sees in their world. Your recent work with drawing from memory has inspired me to try it myself, and your plein air triadic work has been great. Thanks again for blogging, and doing it well!

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    1. Thank you, Lee, for your comments (and for returning to try again... sometimes Blogger won't let me comment on my own blog! :-( )! It's great to know you are finding inspiration here. You are entry No. 6.

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  8. Hello and congratulations, Tina! While I'm the occasional visitor to your blog (btw, great to meet you in person), I value the write-up you do on products, your sketch journey, or anything else. If I need to get more detailed entry on your social media post, I know your blog would have it. Way to go! And yes, I like your note, "Blogging is dead. Long live blogging."

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    1. Hi Mel! I appreciate your visits and comments whenever you can make it over here! Thanks for your encouragement! You are entry No. 7.

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  9. I mostly lurk but enjoy reading your blog. I enjoy longer form content so I still have a feed reader for my fave blogs. Happy anniversary! Thanks for the generous giveaway

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  10. This post made me teary eyed! You know my story. I found you through The Well Appointed Desk via a Google search abut a fountain pen ink. I was just starting a sketching habit, with ink, and after reading a few very helpful posts I decided to 1) read every one of your posts from the beginning and 2) start my own blog about my sketching journey. My blog has been dormant for the past 2 years since I got in the IG habit, but I still think about restarting it. What platform would you move to?
    I am glad you posted the giveaway idea, because I love seeing a few of the others who follow you coming out into the daylight. You have been so overwhelmingly generous to me that I, also, would like to pass on my ticket to the next person. Long live the Queen! (you already appropriated the paraphrase that was ringing in my head ;-)
    Anne

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    1. Anne, thank you so much for your comments and devoted readership! I'm happy that we met here and continue our friendship and mutual inspiration online! Re: blog platform: I haven't done much research, but people who still blog seem to like WordPress. As for "Queen"... don't forget the rest of the title: Queen Geek of Colored Pencils! ;-)

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  11. Hi Tina, Congratulations on your blogaversiry!
    I'm glad to read you will keep on blogging because I really appreciate your posts. Just like you,I started and quit drawing for several years.
    Reading about your journey inspires me to keep going this time!

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    1. Thank you for your comments, Hetty, and please keep drawing! You are entry No. 9!

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    2. Hetty, you are the giveaway winner! :-) Congratulations! Please email me at tina.k(at)juno(dot)com and tell me your shipping address!

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  12. Congratulations on your 10 years blogging anniversary!
    While I'm part of the "silent" readers, I really enjoy reading your thoughts, and appreciate your storytelling talent! I'm always glad to see your posts, and I hope you will keep them coming!
    (Also "How Many Colored Pencils Do You Really Need?" is a post I go reread often, as source of inspiration!)

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    1. Thank you for your comments, Matt, and I'm glad you find inspiration from my pencil obsession. ;-) You are entry No. 10!

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  13. I’ve been reading here for a few years, and lately I’ve been reading back through the travel sketching posts because I finally have a trip planned! I especially appreciate reading about your experiments with different techniques, materials, palettes, and constraints. I’ve tried to post this comment a couple of times, so I hope they don’t all show up!

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    1. Thank you for following along, Robin! I'm happy to hear that you'll be traveling again soon! (Sorry for the problems posting comments... I have problems myself sometimes... I blame Blogger!) You are entry No. 11!

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