I’ve started to doodle again.
This is my memory of Duluth, Minnesota, where I attended college. I had an obsession with the hills and trees and the radio antennae on those hills. I used to think of them as mechanical flowers that I could plant and grow entire fields of. Whenever I create a piece of work, it comes directly from my brain and memories, not photographs, which also transports me to a place which usually has an entire story behind it. (It’s quite possible this will lead to a pretty cool project in the future.)
Drawing hasn’t been just a hobby or a passing phase, it’s something I’ve loved and been pretty good at since I was a kid. I used to sit in church and draw on a yellow notepad for the entirety of the service. People from time to time would call me out for being rude or not paying attention, but I could retain whatever was said during my creative sessions, since drawing uses the opposite side of your brain. (I also had very little interest in paying attention to any adult as a kid, let alone a pastor.)
I recall drawing for hours and filling out entire notebooks with cut scenes from mansions, car factories, cities, and ships, most likely inspired by one of my favorite books from childhood, “Incredible Cross-Sections” by Stephen Biesty, which is literally one of the coolest illustrated collections of art that exists. I learned three-dimensional renderings with charcoal and pencil through high school and took figure drawing courses in college to perfect my art, which brought me tons of inspiration.
…then smartphones came along.
I can’t actually blame technology for my a creative slump, for killing my desire to hold pencils and paper and create, but I feel the death of my illustration coincided with the iPhone launch. (and of course being an adult with very adult things to do that took priority.) This was a full 10 years of my life where I stopped drawing. When the iPad came out and I realized I could doodle again digitally, inspiration surfaced, and now I’m making doodles on Procreate for iPad for fun.
I sincerely miss creating tactile media with charcoal, pen, and pencil, as it hits differently—there’s a more intimate connection to your work. I don’t miss the mess that happened every time from being left-handed and dragging my hand over the unsettled media (typically leading to me looking like I have a mechanical robot virus taking over my body!) I might pick up the analogue version one day soon, but digital is a great place to start.
Taking time to create just for myself has become very theraputic, and I’m connecting with my inner-child-illustrator Phen yet again, who’s starting to bubble up way more frequently. I couldn’t be more happy about that.