how I started as an artist

I have never been very artistic. I wasn’t in art classes in school, never gave painting or drawing a second glance. I was more concerned with writing and baking than I was with art.

That all changed when I got into bullet journaling. I honestly don’t remember the exact moment I came across it, but I am pretty sure I saw a post about it on Instagram. I have always loved planners and stationary and I just loved the flexibility of it. What really got me interested in it however was the handwriting of some of these people! It is an entire art form on it’s own. I couldn’t stop looking at the videos of people lettering.

To say I was hooked is an understatement. I became obsessed with watching these videos on social media. I have terrible handwriting. I can’t write in a straight line to save my life, and doctors have better handwriting than me. So I didn’t think that I could ever do it. I sat on the sidelines for awhile, just admiring everyone else, and I was okay with it. That is until I saw a tutorial on fake calligraphy that changed my life. Who knew that you would make traditional cursive look fancy just by thickening the down stroke? I didn’t, but when I figured that little piece of information out, boy was it on!

I think it is really important to go back to the beginning and see how far you have come. It can be with anything, your job, your hobbies, even your relationships. I know for me, I always look at my sketchbooks and journals to see my progress as an artist. Yes, you saw that right, I called myself an artist. I may be newer to the game, but I still create things every day. I create art when I doodle a cute quote on my notes at work, or when I design a card for someone’s birthday. It may not pay the bills, or allow me to quit my day job, but it gives me joy. There aren’t a lot of things in the world that can bring me joy. Real life is tough, and seriously so stressful. It is important to me to be able to decompress after a crazy day at work, and one of my favorite things is to draw or letter.

One day I hope I can create things that people will want to buy, maybe I will be able to quit my job and turn my passion into a career. But as of now, I am happy just creating images and sharing them with my followers. A couple of years ago I couldn’t even draw a flower without it looking like a toddler did it. Now I can draw bouquets of flowers digitally and using watercolors. There is nothing wrong with being self taught. I think a lot of people care way too much about where you got your education from, or what degree you have. There are a lot of self taught artists out there that are pretty successful. I am proud of what I have accomplished watching YouTube tutorials and Instagram videos. I think it makes me more proud because I have done it on my own.

I don’t know how many people actually read this blog, but if you do I hope after reading this post in particular it helps you want to achieve your dreams. I went from not being able to draw to being able to create some pretty awesome pieces. Who cares about what other people think. In the age of social media with all it’s likes and shares, people can get lost in the shuffle. Each and every person on social media has been a beginner. We are all struggling to showcase our craft and be an original in a sea of way too many. Instead of breaking each other down,how about we just lift each other up. Can you imagine what type of world we could create with that much positive energy? A world that I hope I can see one day.