I’ve been drawing all my life. My mum has kept a folder with things I’ve said and things I’ve drawn, memories, it’s adorable. And the amount of drawings at a super young age? Impressive! At three years old I produced art pieces with recurring themes, characters, interesting architecture.
I’ve been drawing all my life. All my life I’ve been training my hand-eye-coordination, I’ve been practising linework, I’ve been practising shading, colour theory. I’ve been paying more attention in school art classes cause I already had knowledge I could expand with the theoretical information I was given.
When I drew a realistic portrait for the first time I was absolutely shocked at how well it turned out. I had all the skills, I just hadn’t ever tried to draw realistically. Portraits have become my favourite thing, but there’s other things I want to get better at.
I study what other people draw. I study how other people draw. I went to the comic museum in Brussels and spent several hours instead of the usual one hour because I analyzed the pencil sketches underneath the linework. At a market an artist could tell that I do art from how I was studying her works the moment I got to her stall.
Not a day goes by on which I don’t work on my art skills. Consciously and subconsciously I make an effort to build my skills, and I have been doing it for decades.
And I love it. I adore making art, I adore studying art, I enjoy weird art and exceptional art. It’s a hobby, I wouldn’t want it to be my job. It’s my outlet, it’s fun, it’s what makes me me.
It breaks my heart a little when people say they can’t draw. I think you have the wrong idea. I wasn’t born being able to draw, I was born wanting to draw. And so I did. If you’ve never held a pen, never paid any attention to how three dimensions become two, maybe your skills aren’t where you want them to be. But there’s millions of ways to build these skills. The question lies in whether you can put in the work. And if you want to draw, you will.
jenyoyo 