Challenge 112: Fresh Start: 2019 Fresh start... such an important topic for me, personally. So important, in fact, I was having a creative block when trying to think of a way to handle this subject matter. I had already touched on it before, back in 2017 (the bottom image), in a way that I was proud of, and didn’t know how else to visualize it. After a lot of sketching of other lukewarm ideas, I finally gave myself permission to handle it the same way and make a sequel piece, instead of starting from scratch. I think this was the best choice I could have made. When I illustrated the original, I had recently gone through a very bad breakup, in which I lost more than just the relationship. I lost the place I called home, most of my closest friends, and a contract job, because of how interwoven these things in my life had become. I’ve continually viewed my life as a garden, during and since the breakup, so painting this piece just made visual sense to me. I keep telling people this: 2016 was the year everything burned to the ground. 2017 was the year I replanted all of the seeds. 2018 was when it all started growing back, and 2019 will be a year of filling in the gaps in my garden. Two years after the original illustration, a lot has changed. I am so grateful for the areas of my life that have flourished and grown, far past expectations or even what I thought I had before. Looking into 2019, I’m just thinking about filling in the holes in my garden, now that’s it’s growing back so well. The thought bubble shows a pink tulip, which is representative of friendship 🌷 Remember— no matter what falls apart in your life, you can surprise yourself with the strength to replant those seeds. In your life garden, what would you like to see grow this year? Caitlin