It’s been months since I graduated from University of North Florida with a degree in Fine Arts and I’ve been busy for way too long. I was starting to feel like I didn’t have time for creativity or I wasn’t making time for creativity and it was really getting to me.
I tried bringing a camera with me to shoot with, but due to the bipolar weather I’m experiencing in Florida (heat waves during the first half of the day, heavy rain during the second half), the humidity made it nearly impossible to photograph in. So the camera had to be put away.
Then I read the latest issue of In Her Studio, a magazine series published by Stampington & Company, and I was inspired by some of the female artists within the pages. Many of them were practicing traditional mediums of art like drawing, painting, weaving, etc. Plus, there was some good advice for other artists in there too!
I’ve done drawing in the past when I took two required drawing classes in college and I was pretty good at it. But I picked photography as my medium and just stuck with it for a long time. But who said that you had to pick one and only one medium when it came to being an artistic person?
So after work, I ran to the nearest arts/crafts store, purchased a sketch pad and some sketching pencils, and started drawing again.
Right now, I’m a neophyte so I’m moving slow and doing basic tutorials like shading techniques, 2D shapes, 3D shapes, and sketching without erasing. It’s been really helpful and it gives me something to do when I don’t have anything to read or I need a break. Plus, I feel like an artist every time I bring my pencils and sketch pad with me on the go!
I’ll get better at it and soon I’ll start sketching some objects from still life pieces I setup. But like any form of art, it takes time and practice to truly master what you’re doing.
Even with the cameras I use for my photography.
le fleur artsy 