2024 Will be the year of discoveries.

HI! How are you? I mean, how do you really feel?

The start of a new year brings a burst of energy, an air of renewal. You can turn the page and start over. The beginning of a new year can be just this: a sort of reset, a blank page to fill with whatever you like (including nonsense doodles!).

But, hey, it’s not always so positive, right? There are times when instead of feeling full of energy, you are a little anxious and under pressure. Like, “I don’t know what I want to do this year, I just want to feel good, but how do I do it?” Maybe you have a thousand wishes and dreams, but not the time, energy and support to chase it all. And maybe you find yourself discouraged instead of refreshed and invigorated for the start of the new year.

Me too! And this is exactly what I want to share here with you. The (also) difficult side of things. The bumps along the way, the uphill climbs, the winding and sloping roads (and consider that I also suffer from vertigo!). Those times when I said to myself, “Oh dear, now what do I do?” And in the end, I made it.

I want to start 2024 with a different approach, because the overload of expectations, I’ve learned, leads to burnout. Because it’s completely normal not to know which path to take but, at the same time, feel the need to change course. Have you ever considered: what if this simple push is all it takes for change? What if that’s the beauty of life? Not knowing which steps will get you to your goals, living it like an adventure, a discovery?

What would you like to discover in 2024? Maybe that you know how to smile even when everything seems to be going wrong? Maybe that what makes you feel good are simple things, like a walk among the trees? Maybe that you need your time and space to be yourself.

I want 2024 to be the year of discoveries and adventures. I want to venture along the most impervious paths of my emotions, I want to climb the highest peaks, I want to overcome the boundaries of my known world. Above all, I want to share this journey with you and I want to do it through this blog.

So, here I am. Armed with an iPad, acrylic paints and brushes, ready to embark with you on the discovery of the hidden corners within us, our emotions, and our dreams.

For anyone new, let me introduce myself: my name is Marina Ester Castaldo (yes, what a long name, I know!), I’m 33 years old and I’m an artist. I was born and raised in Italy but I’ve lived and worked in London, UK, for almost 8 years. I’ll then tell you, perhaps in more detail than I’ve ever done on Instagram, about the path that brought me here.

My specialty? Hyper-coloured, often (and increasingly) abstract landscapes, sometimes full of dense patterns, other times simple and instinctive.

My idea for this blog is to tell you how some of my most famous illustrations are born or were born in the past; to reflect on some subject matters that are very close to my heart such as being an artist but also a woman and mother in today’s society; art as a form of expression but, above all, art as form of care to heal the wounds of the soul; art as emotion; art as uniqueness.

I’d like to share my experiences with you because I think they can be useful. Answering questions like: where inspiration comes from, how do you overcome an art block, where do you start when you don’t know where to start? And again, books, materials, digital drawing, applications, social media, small business topics, ecommerce, and much more.

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