​Among the American films released in 1993, there is a film called "Rudy."
Rudy is a  biographical sports film directed by David Anspaugh. It is an account of the life of Daniel "Rudy" Ruettiger, who harbored dreams of playing football at the University of Notre Dame despite enormous obstacles.

   ​Rudy was born into a poor blue-collar family, one of 12 kids. Like his parents, Rudy also had to work as a factory worker as if it were his fate. He only dreamed of becoming a football player at the prestigious University of Notre Dame. 

   All but, he didn't have enough grades to enter the prestigious Notre Dame or muscular body, physical status, talent to become a minor football player. Additionally, there was neither a wealthy father nor a legacy within the university to open the back door to college naturally. 

  ​ Even though he had many hurdles to jump up, he eventually overcame all kinds of trials and tribulations and became a football player at the University of Notre Dame. Based on a non-fictional story, this film depicts the hard work toward a dream and the process of overcoming it with moving anecdotes.

   ​Rudy saved the money from working as a factory worker and moved near the University of Notre Dame. Neither his family nor his girlfriend understands Rudy, whose dream fits his situation. Rudy worked hard for all-A credit in his courses, starting with his community college. He tried to transfer every time and dreams of moving but failed. Fortunately, Rudy succeeded in admission with one last semester remaining. But he also had great difficulties becoming a football player. Above all, his body was short and under average in the team. 

  He couldn't even afford a house to make matters worse. Fortunately, the school manager helped him sleep in the school office. 

 ​Rudy dreamed of playing at a football stadium someday, and of achieving that dream, he cleaned the stadium and exercised hard on the football team. His enthusiasm like this moved the teammate around him. 

 Each of his fellow seniors, led by team captain and All-American Roland Steele, lines up to lay his jersey on team coach Devine's desk, requesting Rudy be allowed to dress in his place for the season's final game. "Please let Rudy play instead of me." Eventually, all the players put their jerseys on the desk like this. But he's still not out of luck. But his passion and hard work pay off in the end.

  ​ At the time, A teammate's little "Rudy" cry echoes throughout the stadium. Finally, everyone shouted Rudy. The coach, who always opposed Rudy going to the finals, had no choice but to push Rudy's back. Devine finally lets Rudy play on the Notre Dame kickoff to Georgia Tech. Rudy stays in for the final play and sacks the Georgia Tech quarterback.

  With the help of his teammates, Rudy could run his dream stadium in the final game.

 The Rudy was carried his teammates' shoulders to cheers from the stadium.

  ​The final scene is very moving to see the players running with an undersized Rudy cheering for the stadium. I wish we could write a success story like this in our lives. If hard work and passion are recognized someday, society will be a truly healthy society.

However, although the director made a movie based on a true story, many people cannot live in such a healthy society with their hope.

  ​Anecdotes and success stories that evoke such strong motifs and passion are all around us. But looking at the illustration below, it makes you think again whether this is really that easy.

  I know Rudy's heart. How many people like Paula above illustration can't still live their dreams because they have no money, opportunity, or time to support their families?

   Art education, in particular, is an impossible field without money, resources, and support. But is it a sin for a poor student to have a dream because they like to draw?
How should these aspiring artists make their dreams come true?

 In Rudy's movie, someone like an angel appears to help whenever Rudy is desperate and frustrated. The people like guardian angels encouraged him, supported him, and helped him unknowingly. I think Rudy was fortunate. In reality, most don't.

  ​I know a student who studied like Rudy. One of my husband's relatives is an artist. He was poor and had no money to buy art materials. With an unsatisfactory situation, he entered art school. 
​
  But he couldn't do homework or paint because the art course needed financial support such as materials, exhibitions, and advertisements. He was always frustrated whenever he faced reality. However, his friends, who felt sorry for his situation, secretly threw the charcoal and pencils he had drawn on the floor. And they signaled him to take it without any permission. He was able to graduate safely with the help of these friends.

  ​Wouldn't it be great if Rudy could freely and safely enter and graduate the painter without these angels? However, even with the changing times and the passing of time, the admission fee for art colleges is not low enough for poor students to comfortably try. Even after admission, they have to think about the material, exhibition, and publicity costs. Even after graduating safely, finding a job is not easy. An artist's desire to live with only a brush expresses his will to starve to death.

  ​Like Rudy in the movie, many senior artists overcame these adverse conditions and moved forward. However, I hope that the society we live in one day will become a society that does not require Rudy, not a culture that makes such a Rudy. So I hope that those who are poor but want to paint can safely pursue their dreams. I hope that you will not worry about your livelihood for the rest of your life and worry about your future simply because you love to draw and want to draw.

  

   New York state is under a state of emergency amid a winter storm that is bringing heavy snow and strong winds. ​Near-blizzard conditions were reported in parts of eastern Brooklyn and Queens as well as on Long Island Saturday morning.

   The snow that has been falling nonstop since last night is said to have accumulated up to 36 inches. ​The snow that is falling now is in the form of fine powder and has no adhesion, so children cannot even make a snowman. Light and small snow crystals scatter like dust from the sky, giving a shape to the wind whenever the wind blows.

   ​On a snowstorm day like today, we have to stay by the fireplace of the house until the snow stops, to the sound of the wind blowing hard and hitting the house, and the blizzard passing through the empty road.

  ​I tried to capture the snow piled up outside the window with my camera to see how much snow is falling.

   ​The wind engraves the shape of the wind on the snow like this. You can see how strong the wind is.

  ​If more than 10 inches of snow falls and accumulates, the next day is busy clearing the snow. It has been snowing heavily for the past few years since I first moved to the United States. So I bought a snow removal machine and it has been working very well every year.

    In 2016, there was a record cold wave. At that time, the sea with the tidal flat nearby was frozen, so I took this picture.

  Today's snow has created a natural gutter like below. 

  ​There is a landscape that comes back to life when there is a blizzard like this and a lot of snow falls. These are the white snowscapes I saw when I went to Zakopane, Poland in 2008.

 A little winter fox sat nearby the gate of the cable car and took pictures with the tourists. As if this happened often, the little fox was not afraid or threatened at all.  

 ​I couldn't really capture the energy that the little fox conveyed in a photo, so I tried to express it in a picture like this.

   This seems to be the effect and pleasure of painting. Pictures can capture the vitality, strength, and curiosity that are difficult to capture with photography.

  The snow still continues to fall and the cold is getting stronger, but I have to deal with it as calmly as the patience of a little fox struggling to survive at a high altitude.  

   Today is the 6th and last day of My Art Festival. Today's topic is a record of 6 days. 

 ​ My Art Festival started with ordinary motives. When I couldn't participate in the Rockland Art Festival due to the registration fee of $25, I had to decide to create the festival myself. I immediately set up a schedule and selected a topic to frame the week's event.

  ​And today is the last day of the event. First of all, I confess that it was a very informative and enjoyable time that made me make up my mind to be my art festival an annual event.

  ​First of all, "My Art Festival" was a good opportunity to look back on the past from the beginning of my debut. In doing so, the determination, motivation, and passion for painting that I had made at the beginning of my debut were revived. I was able to find myself returning to the first love of art while organizing and uploading the materials.

  ​Above all else, I felt like I had a tighter and more structured day when I made a schedule in advance, worked on it, and posted it. When working as a freelancer, it is difficult for me to effectively carry out my workday by day with a regular will because I am the only owner of my working space. So, I needed a lot of motivation and commitment to do something, but it was nice to manage my day more efficiently like a 9 to 5 office worker by planning this 6-day schedule.

  ​Above all, from the point of view of a blogger, it has the advantage of creating unique content. Unique content with six single themes will be helpful for rework or something special, such as writing an artist statement. It seems like a perfect idea to look back on one's work like this and personally open a festival that fits one's career.

  ​And it was nice to be able to take the time to try things that I couldn't try before because I did not have enough time to spare during the event. For example, I was drawing 12 animals of the zodiac calendar with an illustrator. I didn't have time to draw animations like this because I didn't have enough time to do my work, but it was nice to draw them as the theme of the event with strong struggles. This animation was also uploaded to the Red Bubble site, and I personally like it as a product.

  ​And finally, it's beneficial when blogging. I think it would be good to hold your festival like My Art Festival when you are also in a slump while blogging or having a hard time because of running out of subjects. It was good not to worry about the material or the content for a week because I planned the schedule. And the festival itself is also suitable for an advertisement to another site such as Pinterest.

  Below is a summary of the 6-day festival.

 Let's open a festival where you can fully enjoy yourself according to your field? And please invite me to your My Art Festival.

   ​Today is the 6th day of My Art Festival. Today's topic is drawing animals with children.

  Today, I drew 12 animals of the zodiac with illustrator.

 First I drew a mouse. In the zodiac, the rat has the ability to predict something and foretell future events, and it is a symbol of thrift and frugality.

​The basis of all animal drawings starts with a circle. Below is a simple drawing process. 

   ​It is also a good idea to fill in the colors as shown below.

  Cows are animals that are recognized for abundance, wealth, auspiciousness, righteousness, and charity. ​Due to the nature of the cow's shape, a long oval is drawn as a basis.

   ​Today is the 5th day of My Art Festival. Today's title is an introduction to some of the most impressive recent works.

​ Since 2020, I have unexpectedly been involved in many online exhibitions. With virtual art exhibitions, digital art is also mainstream in my recent works. But this year, I would like to take out the brush again and increase the proportion of acrylic work. Ideas to pop on this year are already filling my mind.

  When participating in an exhibition online, there are some events when I have to vote for  favorite among the works of other artists. At that time, regardless of my drawing style or preference, I gladly and happily press the like button of the vote.

  ​ But today, I have to change my situation and choose a picture to press the like button among my works, so this doesn't feel easy. Because emotions are added to the choices, and the feelings and hard work I experienced while drawing those pictures are conveyed.

  If you know each effort, experience, situation, and feeling on a certain day, you will realize that voting is a tough task and difficult to decide.

  Still, if I had to choose for the My Art Festival, I would like to select the "waterfalls and fish" below. I like this piece of art, so I'm also using it as the main header image for my current homepage as well.

  ​The above illustration was created digitally. In the hope that the liveliness and activeness of the fish and waterfall will not depend on color, it is simply black and white.

Although digital, I felt as if I was experiencing the energy of a painting drawn with a brush from this painting. So, I want to start the new year energetically, so I am using it as a header image.

  ​  Salmon spawn in rivers. An alevin, baby fish of Salmon, live for almost a year after birth there before moving down to the sea. After living in the ocean for about three years, they return to the river with a strong instinct about the birthplace. So they try to return to the river in the opposite direction and swim with a fight across from waves. The journey from living in the open sea to the narrow, rough, gravel, and rocky riverbanks is arduous and fraught with dangers. So, almost when they reach the river where they were born, the salmon's body is covered with torn wounds. Salmon fights so hard, chasing back the rough currents and swimming, eventually laying eggs in the place where they were born and ending their lives.

  ​I feel an intense energy in that salmon's life journey. Going back needs a lot of challenges and energy. It means a complete change of the pattern of life that has flowed naturally and easily without any hurdle. Why would salmon have to do that?

Because of this miraculous habit of salmon, many scientists continued to study with profound wonder and eventually discovered that it had something to do with the Earth's magnetic field.

  ​This regression instinct of salmon raises many questions and brings lots of curiosity because its task is unusual and different. So, for many years, people have been doing research, writing poetry, singing, and observing the return instincts of salmon.

  ​On the other hand, salmon's instinct also leaves questions for those who want to live comfortably in reality without any challenges.

It is the same in society. Some groups adjust well to the system, adapting to reality and being complacent and obedient. But some people keep asking questions as always. The outsider continues to question, explore, and detour taking away from the easy path if they adapt well and move forward with yes. These are people who think differently about things.

  ​But research shows that people who think differently are more accomplished and satisfied because they believe creatively and forwardly. The closest example is the company slogan of Steve Jobs, founder of Apple, "Think Different". At the time, Apple's competitor, IBM, had decided to "Think" as the slogan. That's what IBM founder Thomas Watson emphasized to his employees. Watson believed that thinking is the most important value to turn information into knowledge. However, when Steve Jobs returned to Apple in 1997, Apple's advertising changed as follows.

 ​Of course, personally, I do not want to state that only the criteria for building wealth and fame are everything and indicators of success in life with a success-oriented mindset. I just want to say that the habit of thinking differently means making things progressive and creative.

 In particular, for artists who have to go through a lot of trial and error by constantly asking themselves what art is, to think differently is not only the virtue with encouragement and motivation. Thinking differently is essential for artists. In fact, the genre of art itself is probably the path they took because they wanted to think differently. It is a path that we take a detour, wanting to think differently, see the world from a different perspective, explore the meaning of life more deeply, and try.

  ​I believe this artist's journey is very similar to the salmon's return process and involved energy. This is true even if we look at the works and lives of masters. Most of them give up on the easy path only for pursuing fine art. Like Gauguin or Rousseau, they left a stable job. Escape Paris, a marketplace with guaranteed success like Millet, and moved to the countryside. Cézanne abandoned all of his chances for earning money and went into the mountains to find the essence of art. Van Gogh passed away in solitude and only saw that his work doesn't sell well. Monnet was his success is in front of his eyes, but he let himself isolate himself in his home for a long time, to discover the pure beauty of nature. 

  ​ In general, their life would be the lifestyle they would like to correct and need counseling if they had a life coach. 

 What the heck drove them to wild as salmon? But which fact and energy made them come alive, like salmon bouncing up the riverbank?

But this answer is already up and running in our minds.

  ​ I wanted to draw such a spirit. And whenever there is a temptation to go easily without effort, I want to take it out and see. So, this picture is constructive when I am tired of something under the gloomy slump.

 You feel the energy as if jumping while listening to the superb sound of a waterfall.

 The reality is difficult and not easy, there are many blocks and interruptions but lets our weak knees raise and run.

 And that energy will be recorded like a painting in every corner of our lives.