Somewhere between the hours spent feeding her and putting her down (she took so long to get to sleep when younger! Hours, sometimes) I learned to draw. First, just as bare-bones doodles, then slowly seeking out tutorials on youtube and skillshare.
I’m still no great shakes as an illustrator- and it’s ok and valid to have a hobby that’s for me and for enjoyment and relaxation, and not for money or validation.
But Nothing I will ever draw will ever have the emotional impact on me that this captured moment does. How all the emotional exhaustion from dealing with a challenging day – the tantrums, the fevers, the refusal to eat – disappears when I embrace her.
How once again, my heart is full.
This is so lovely, thank you for sharing!
I remember once when I was going through a period of depression after a breakup. I started messing around with watercolours. One day I did a quick little doodle of myself and it perfectly captured how I was feeling at that time. That gave me a little moment of pride and hope that really helped pick me up.
It was just on a bit of envelope, I think I still have it somewhere tucked away! Thank you for reminding me of that!
Thank you. Do you still use watercolours? I would love to see that little doodle.
I have a few I’ve done in dark moments (the ones I still have are to do with health stuff that happened from 2010-2012) that are cartoonish at first glance, but raw and very much sum up that moment.
Art is just this thing that we humans do to feel better and to communicate our experiences. We ruin it when we make it a competition or about followers/ likes. xxx