April Check-In 2026: Still on the Wild Ride – Spring Blooms, Graphic Design Grind & Joy Hunting Mode

April 9, 2026

The Wild Ride Continues

Wow, what a wild ride the last few months have been. That’s what we always say every time we do one of these check-ins, right? I don’t think that’ll ever change. And honestly… do we even really want it to? It’d probably get way too boring if things ever fully settled down.

These past few months haven’t exactly been the most fun version of the wild ride, I’ll be real with you. But right now, in this moment, I’m sitting in a place where I feel genuinely happy.

Finding Happiness Right Here in Washington

I’m happy to be here in Washington. I’m happy to be making art every single day. I’m loving diving deeper into graphic design, having a blast building out my website in all these magical little ways, and just soaking up the changing of the seasons as we slide into April.

 

 

The Money Side of Creative Life

The tricky part has been staying locked in on the work that actually pays the bills. I’ve been learning so many new things and exploring a ton — which has felt exciting and expansive — but none of it has turned into real money yet. That part kinda sucks and it’s been weighing on me heavy. There’s always something to worry about, you know?

That being said, I’m really, really pleased with how my skills using Adobe products for graphic design have leveled up. It feels like a huge, solid step in the right direction for this whole entrepreneur journey. Graphic design feels like something I could happily ride for a long career — it can shift and evolve while still staying right in that creative sweet spot I love.

I’ll keep watercolor painting as my pure joyful hobby and take on the occasional commission just for fun, but my main focus right now is building steady income through graphic design.

What I’m Ready to Create for You

I’m ready to start landing actual jobs in the field — whether it’s stickers, T-shirt designs, brochures, flyers, social media graphics, editable Canva templates, branding, packaging, print-on-demand products… you name it. I can create all of it, and I have a ton of fun doing it. Right now most of it has been for myself or stocking my own shop, (such as this rad new t-shirt design below, it's on my Merch by Amazon shop) but I’m wide open and excited to create for others too.

Another big one I’d love to do more of professionally is book illustration and creating full books for Kindle Direct Publishing. I’ve got the platform pretty much figured out and I know I can deliver good work — I just need those first real leads to roll in.

Website Updates & Shop Progress

The website has been evolving in some really cool ways lately. If you’ve poked around recently, you’ve probably noticed the updates. I’ve been uploading a bunch of my existing framed and matted art as products in the Shopify store, with shipping all sorted and (I hope) a smooth customer experience. It’s been satisfying getting everything loaded nicely.

April Magic + Big Picture Thoughts

We’re now at the beginning of April and it genuinely feels magical. The sun is starting to stick around longer, flowers are blooming, leaves are popping out on the trees… it really does feel like the birth of something new.

On top of that, I’ve been riding a wave of happy news from NASA. The Artemis II astronauts just completed their historic trip around the Moon — the first crewed lunar mission since the Apollo days — and they’re currently on their way back to Earth, with splashdown expected tomorrow (April 10th). It’s such a massive, uplifting piece of news in the middle of everything else going on. I love that humanity is reaching back out toward the Moon again.

Back in February, when the launch was originally planned for the 6th, I painted a watercolor of the rocket lifting off with that exact date on it. Even though they had some issues and the launch shifted, I still love that painting. It captures that sense of excitement and forward momentum so perfectly. I’ll be uploading it as a product in the shop soon if anyone wants to bring a little piece of that lunar magic home.

 

Even with all the wars and chaos going on around the world (and yeah, it feels especially intense right now here in the US), moments like this are a reminder that chaos and change are just constants. Prices will rocket and then drop. New things get invented, old things become obsolete. Good people stumble, bad people turn good. Leaders rise and fall. Empires come and go.

I’ve been reading a lot lately about lost civilizations — the Maya, Aztec, Olmec, all of that — and it’s wild how their art still speaks across thousands of years. Power and poverty, war and love, struggle and beauty. Things happen. Things change. Time keeps moving anyway… and sometimes, it feels like we’re moving forward again too.

Safe-for-Work vs Spicy Art on the Site

On a lighter note, if you wander around the site you’ll see I’ve kept things nicely separated: the safe-for-work area with all the tame stuff, and then the spicy section for the erotic art and nudity. Fair warning — some of it gets pretty graphic, so if that’s not your vibe, no hard feelings at all. I’m all about nudity in every form and there’s zero judgment here. It’s just separated so everyone can browse comfortably. For those who are into it, I hope you find something you love.

Big News: Seattle Erotic Art Festival

I’m also super excited that two of my pieces got accepted into the Seattle Erotic Art Festival this year! It’s happening the first three days of May (May 1st, 2nd, and 3rd at Seattle Center’s Exhibition Hall). I submitted ten pieces and two made the cut — that feels like a huge win and something worth celebrating.

Having the website more organized now makes submitting to shows feel way more doable than before. I’ve got my art sorted, photos ready, dimensions noted… it’s actually exciting to think about applying to more events instead of feeling overwhelmed.

Let’s Work Together

So yeah, the main mission right now is dialing in the graphic design side. If you need a T-shirt design, a banner, a flyer, a booklet, social media graphics, custom Canva templates that match your branding, or anything else — reach out. I’d be grateful for the work and happy to connect.

From My Little Fort in Tacoma

Until then, I’ll be over here in my little studio apartment (my “fort”) in Tacoma, building the site out even more. New graphic design examples and pages should be live soon — come check it out when you can. It’s starting to show more clearly what I do and where I’m headed.

If you’re a fellow creative out there, keep creating. Stay focused on your strengths and the stuff that actually brings you joy. It’s way too easy to get lost in the sauce and spend our lives doing things we don’t like just to impress people we don’t know.

That’s about it from my little fort with the killer window view — buildings, water, ships coming and going at the port, and good ol’ Mount Rainier in the background catching the sunrise and sunset. The weather’s shifting, spring is waking everything up, and I love it here. I just need to keep beefing up the income so the bills stay paid.

Alright, back to work. Gotta make more art.

Wings adjusted. Gut still trusted. Joy actively hunted.

Hell yeah.

Love from the fort,

-Dan