I’m afraid AI has surpassed me, as I still can’t draw hands. Seriously though, I miss doodling all through school. I don’t know where that free creativity has gone, but I’m working to bring it back. Some early jobs left me in a dark rut, but I’ve settled into a decent job, a career even, and feel a certain mental calm and freedom trickling in.

I was aiming for something resembling a pose often struck by St Michael in depictions of him defeating demons. I don’t have a goal for the actual identity of the figure, nor what they’re doing. Ultimately, I want it to be triumphing over something. The end goal is to explore ideas for a tattoo. It already worked beautifully once, where I took a crude drawing to an artist with a style I liked, then watched them bring it to life with more talent and their own flair. I picked the elements, laid the composure, and outsourced the details to an amazing artist. What better meaning to a tattoo than “I basically made this”? With any luck, lightning will strike twice… Or more.