I started drawing again.
Nothing big. Just little bits, doodles in a sketch pad when I’m stuck on an idea, or my computer is loading too slow.
I’m glad I’m doing it. Drawing helps calm me down when technology, or life, frustrates me. Taking a pencil, drawing curves and circles, helps me focus.
I’ve been rereading Austin Kleon’s book, Steal Like an Artist, and I found this quote, which I loved the first time I read it, too:
It’s so important to have a hobby. A hobby is something creative that’s just for you. You don’t try to make money or get famous off it, you just do it because it makes you happy. A hobby is something that gives but doesn’t take.
I used to draw all the time, especially in high school. Doodles, my own cartoon characters, Sonic the Hedgehog fanart and my own invented Digimon. It was a fun thing to share with my friends, or to just spend an afternoon working on.
Then, I fell away from it. I’m not sure exactly when or how, but it just stopped being something that I did all the time. But picking up a pencil, doodling BMO or drawing circles on a page, I remember how much I miss it, and also how much I probably need it, for myself and for all my other art.
Good FOR YOU! I am glad you didn’t wander too far before realizing the value of using a pencil versus a tablet or keyboard. You are able to put those down and unwind your mind with a relaxing activity. [As it stands, I need to stop typing and attend some little ones myself.]
Personally, I never was much of a Sonic fan. But, I did get into Digimon quite a bit. I thought it was going to be a Pokemon rip-off. But, it was surprisingly gripping…minus all the need for more power to beat stronger bad guy stuff which is repeated in so many shows.
I can’t say I’ve had enough sharing fun with others, though. Sure, there’s that initial smile if someone likes what I drew. But, that goes away faster than a firework pop. It’s fleeting.
It’s nicer when someone asks you to make them a copy to display somewhere…provided they actually display it in a frame or as a loose poster. Some people get dazzled by talent and WANT but don’t really have a place for such things. It’s one of my concerns when I see the talents of others. I like the works of many artists…I just don’t have enough wall space or money for all that good work.
So, I start to think maybe an artist’s work is best done in his/her own space and displayed where people may look at it…but not necessarily own a copy…or slap it on a greeting card that gets discarded because people can’t hang onto everything forever. I don’t want my work in a recycling bin until it naturally breaks down after decades or centuries of human existence…unless I really need to make room for someone else. Am I taking up too much space?
The strange bit is…I’ve never looked at doodling as a means of improving focus. I can see it as a method of relaxing a stressed brain. But, does it help me focus on anything? It’s kinda funny that I wrote it that way into a story of mine. A character doodles to help him answer questions on a test. But, I never actually did that myself. Though, I have gotten in trouble for doodling “on the job.” I doodle to fill gaps in activity or to calm me down.
Food for thought!
if you ever want to discuss drawing or Digimon, stop on by my space. :)
Doodling’s always helped me focus. I would do it in class in high school a lot, and having my hands focus on that kept my mind from wandering so I could pay attention to what was going on. I did have one teacher accuse me of being rude when I was drawing while a presentation was going on, but then another that let me at it when he realized I could repeat everything he said back to him while I doodled squiggly shapes on my folder.
But, adults/teachers always consider it a distraction from class/studies. So, I guess I never could see it as a focusing tool. Again, I just did it to de-stress. Some teachers would get on my nerves; so I needed to do something to remain calm. I used to draw one history teacher into single-panel comic strips and try not to let him see them.
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