4 Things I learned after Drawing everyday for 17 years
Yes I have been drawing for over 17 years now, no it isn't precisely a daily practice which translates into 6205 drawings, but the total number of drawings and scribbles I have amassed in my lifetime is roughly in the thousands. I'm still young, and still learning, you can read more about my oh-so-exciting origin in my introductory post here. However I am proud to say that during my journey of drawing almost everyday I have learned a few facts about the craft, about myself, and about the thing we waddle through called life.
1: You don't suddenly become good at drawing (or anything really)
This might be an obvious fact that almost each of you reading realizes, but I have to admit it feels much more satisfying to sorta feel this fact after looking back on the years in retrospect. As I shuffle through my drawings that are chronologically (and avoiding a prideful tone while saying this) and historically organized in my various folders, I start to see a pattern of improvement, an evolution of sorts. Through the years not only did my handling of the dangerously underestimated craft of lineart improved, but my ability to conceptualize ideas and translate them into art saw a great amount of expansion.
I remember when I was 15 years old and had trouble drawing Spider-Man in one of his humanly impossible, and quite elastic poses. I was staying at this hotel with the family, and I can still remember my mother's face when she walked into the hotel bedroom, filled with crumpled papers and a grim look of frustration on my face. I explained my case to her, she smiled for a bit and grabbed one of the crumpled papers and uncrampled it. Her eyes witnessed a drawing of Spiderman that would cause Jack Kirby to shuffle in his grave, it was hideous.
"It's okay son, here let me show you where you went wrong," she said, and with the gentlest and most natural control of the pen I have ever seen at that age she fixed my Spider-man. I was amazed how my mother was able to draw Spidey in one of his most challenging poses in a few minutes, I was jealous and inspired at that same time. Nowadays I'm 23 and I can confidently reproduce that drawing with no trouble, it sure took a lot of time to get here, but I'm satisfied the journey was worthwhile. I wasn't suddenly just good, I didn't even realize it until I looked back, and that brings me to:
2: I'm not that good yet
Sure I was the most talented person in my high-school class when it came to drawing and sketching monsters, superheroes, or visually amusing landscapes. Sure I was perhaps the best "Artist" in school, and the most admired conceptual artist in college, but I'm nowhere near of good let alone perfect. I have never been to an art school, or an art academy as my journey was a hybrid of self teaching and shortcuts provided to me by my mother.
Seeing other people's work either in art galleries, or via the internet allowed me to position myself into a hierarchy of sorts. God forbid I'm claiming to be better than anybody, in fact I am stating that I realized the opposite. A lot of people out there are way better than me in producing the most beautiful and visually stimulating pieces of art. To an outside observer it might be clear that many of these people are experienced artists, all above the age of forty with an impressive portfolio of their life's works. However I noticed that a lot of these artists that are much more capable than me are people in their 20's, people my age, some even younger. Did it hurt being exposed to this fact? Sure, it did a little, but it inspired me to be better and learn more about my craft than it did any permanent damage.
3: Drawing allowed me to look at objects, people, and empty space in a different way
You don't draw thousands of images and keep your lens that you look through at life intact, it is bound to shift and change in all the exciting ways it can. Drawing allowed me to experience the visual spectrum in a new light, I am more than ever filled with both wonder and appreciation. When I look at a cactus plant I don't only see a plant that could hurt me if I touch it, I instead map all the spikes, the bumps on its surface, the way the light cascades on its different geography and how that creates different shades of colors and levels of shadows.
When I read fiction I am as occupied threading together the plot as I am painting the described setting in my head, I tell myself this scene will make for a great painting, or that conversation between the antagonist and the protagonist could be a fun cute doodle. When I am striding through town and notice all the buildings, I can imagine pieces of artwork occupying all the empty facades of brick, how each surface can be a canvas for a meaningful artwork, or random scribbles of signature and creatures.
When I look at people I start to capture visual snapshots of their faces, notice the subtle differences that makes each person's face unique, how wrinkles, moles, and different skin patches can create identities and reflect personalities. I take the whole world in to service the creation of my artworks, and in the process I learned to appreciate them and their intricate details.
4: I am in the process of understanding my identity, my personality, and existence through drawing
Or perhaps I made drawing and art so much a part of me, a part of my dna so to speak, that if I ever stopped drawing I feel lost. I been through days where I review my recent artworks, get extremely frustrated at how average they are, or how they show no improvement over my previous artworks, and feel this weird emotion of being dishonest to my self. I understand it can be a radical way of looking at things or experiencing life, however I deeply believe if one is to stray away from their core identity then something is seriously wrong with where they are headed in life.
I am all for change, development, and evolution of yourself and personality. However a set amount of predefined values and elements must be kept intact as you move through life evolving and changing. For me one of those values is drawing and art, I can never just leave them and pursue other things without feeling completely lost, dishonest, or not myself. See the thing is as long as it doesn't feel like a burden, or something you must keep doing to fight off the feeling of guilt, then it can be a core value of your being. I have never felt that art or drawing in extension as a burden I must carry to protect my sense of identity, but they are the core values or defining elements of my personality and identity that I must nurture and develop in order to make progress in any aspect of my life.
Those are not the only things I learned drawing almost everyday for as long as I held pens or pencils, but I thought those were the interesting and important ones that I could share with you all. I am willing to share more of course in the future, but for now those will do and I thank you so much for reading thus far. Please add to the conversation if you have anything to say about this, I sincerely want to hear your thoughts on this matter. What did you learn through drawing? Or any craft or hobby you call your own?
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