I have been diligent with keeping a sketchbook lately. I am usually terrible about it, inconsistent. I use to think there was a right and a wrong way to use a sketchbook and it discouraged me. I always make things harder on myself then they really have to be. Like there is a secret I don’t know about and I’m doing everything wrong. Why? I don’t know. I chalk it up to not having confidence. That’s changing now. I’ve realized that instead of trying to be confident in my work, I really need only to be confident in myself. Then the rest will follow suit. I stopped worrying about trying to be good at everything and started focusing on just being good at “me”. This idea completely changed my perspective. If I can just simply be proud of myself, then I am, by default, proud of everything I do. With this thinking, I don’t make mistakes. It’s just practice. You get better the more you do things and it’s your choice to better yourself as you see fit. No one else can say your doing it wrong because your the only one who knows what feels right. I wrote in a previous post about a sketchbook entitled Drawing is Magic by John Hendrix. There is a page in it that states, “If at any point in this sketchbook, if you are unhappy with what you are drawing, it is your fault.” It is so simple. I can’t believe it wasn’t this clear before. It goes on to explain that you create your own universe, or in an artist’s case, visual universe. With very little effort and change of perspective, I now am more motivated then ever to sketch! It is so relaxing to not have to fuss about every line being in the right place. I’m not concerned about it coming out “bad” because as long as I’m drawing what I want it won’t be bad! It’s just what I do; there is nothing wrong with that. If I’m the only one that likes it, then that’s all that matters. I have just recently began to create art for myself again, instead of everyone else. I have never felt more free and motivated with my work, then I do now. It’s a fantastic feeling. With this new-found pride and passion, I have been drawing like crazy! 

I’ve been sketching “pets” lately. (I hate the word pet. It makes me feel like I’m putting them beneath me.) My aunt sends me pictures of her furry friends all the time so I decided to start sketching them for practice. I learned to draw portraits using a grid to get the details exact. I still use this method when necessary but I am trying to get away from it for a majority of my work. In the same time, I feel like I take too long to finish pieces so I am also working on my speed.

The first friend I drew was Hank. He is absolutely adorable! After I drew him I wanted to do more, more, and more. So I kept going. I got through Gemma, KiKi, Sal, and Zak. My sister-in-laws birthday just passed so I also did Cooper. Cooper is her cat that recently passed away so I wanted to do something to honor him. I like to call these “Animal Shout Outs”. The title is a work in progress. I have a lot of fun doing these sketches though. I enjoy drawing different types of fonts so it also helps me improve that skill, as well. I have so many thoughts that I want to draw now and my hand is literally getting cramped on a daily basis. It’s great. I can’t stop. So I won’t. I’ll keep going until my hand falls off. Hopefully that is a long time from now. I have way to many ideas I need to get on paper first!

Until next time,

“If you want something, go get it. Period.”