Reflections on 2025 and Plans for 2026.

1. THE REVERSE SIDE OF THE DREAM: A Reflection on Paths and Scars

   
   

The year 2025 ended with one prevailing sentiment: FRUSTRATION. That’s right. I finished the year with this word floating through my thoughts and invading my feelings. I wouldn’t say 2025 was a bad year—quite the opposite! It was a different and very productive year.

I make a dream come true!!!

But why am I carrying this sense of frustration, feeling as if I haven’t achieved anything at all? What is the reason for this void? At first, I thought of Schopenhauer’s philosophy:

"Life is a constant oscillation between the craving to have and the boredom of possessing."

Often, we are led to believe that achieving a great dream is the final destination of our quests—the moment when the puzzle pieces finally click into place and fulfillment sets in. However, reality is quieter. Once the goal is reached, life simply moves on, revealing a void that compels us to seek the next horizon.

Yet, the frustration I carry today does not stem from this natural melancholy of achievement. It has a much more specific and painful origin.

My disillusionment is the fruit of misguided choices along the editorial path; of having trusted the harvest of my effort and investment to hands that did not know how to honor it. It is deeply bitter to realize that, instead of support, I found negligence. I paid not only a financial price but a devastating emotional one for a service that disrespected and discarded me. I watched what should have been the celebration of a creative work transform into a process of personal devaluation.

The consequences of this journey were severe, deeply affecting my mental health and leading me to question my very will to keep going. It is disheartening to realize that there are institutions that, under the guise of publishing dreams, operate through toxic and predatory dynamics, where mistakes are blamed on the author and empathy is nonexistent.

This is a necessary release. I needed to externalize this weight so it would stop suffocating me. I close this cycle not with gratitude for the experience, but with the resilience of one who survived it. I leave these pains behind so that, finally cleansed of this burden, I can dedicate myself to my next book with renewed lightness.

2. ARTISTIC RETROSPECTIVE:

   
   

2025 was a year of shifts, mainly artistic ones. I participated in several courses and mentorships regarding children's illustration and realized I needed to take more risks and incorporate more "art" into my projects. Even with my style already established, I felt the need to improve. I felt I had to make it more "marketable" or "pleasing to the eyes of the adults behind the publishing industry."

It’s funny how people implicitly decide what the "right" or "wrong" style is for children's illustration. Adults deciding and influencing the artistic vision of children...

So, I began experimenting with new materials and techniques.

• I joined the mentorship of Brazilian author/illustrator Rogério Coelho;

• took courses on Sketchbook and Oil Pastel techniques by Ukrainian illustrator Elina Ellis (Indigo Bee Academy);

• a Gouache technique course by illustrator Ema Malyauka;

• and many other free courses I found across the web.

However, all these experiments to change my style only led me to a creative block. I no longer knew who I was. I lost my identity. Well, maybe not entirely. But I think I need time to assimilate all these new techniques and information before I can naturally incorporate them into my own style.

3. LIFE REFLECTIONS:

   
   

If at first you don’t succeed… …have a breakdown, quit everything for five minutes, and after a good bit of wallowing, start again with that stubbornness only we possess.

I don’t really believe in "natural talent" when it comes to art. I like to think of it as a path that is open to anyone willing to walk it. That "spark" people call a gift or innate skill is, at its core, nothing more than a unique, individual passion. Maybe not everyone has it. But if you’re here, chances are you’re either already an artist or someone dying to start your creative journey.

The truth is, you already have everything you need inside you to create something that only you can bring into the world. There is nothing missing that time and practice cannot solve. Now, let’s be honest: that doesn’t mean it’s easy. Many people give up along the way.

But if your will to create is strong enough to keep you from giving up for good, then you’ve already won. You have that "spark." You don’t need a magic talent to reach your goals, and you don’t even need to be "super good" at something before you can enjoy the process and reap the benefits.

4. PLANS FOR 2026:

• Finalize and publish my second self-authored book;

• Get my feet back on the ground and return to my work as a Ship Pilot (while continuing to create my books in parallel);

• Continue studying writing and Children’s Book Illustration;

• Travel;

• Read more books.

I don't want to create an endless list—just the basics to keep my mind moving and avoid stagnation after so much effort and dedication. I want 2026 to be light and free from excessive pressure.

I hope 2026 is kind to you as well. Thank you for being here with me.

With love,

Robbie.