Take the Time to Create

Sitting idle is taxing and tiring. We dwell on "What-Ifs", we mourn the previous routine, we vegetate, we snack, we nap, we eat more snacks...

We become stagnant.

About two weeks into the Covid-19 Closures, I realized I had to do something more productive than what I was doing. First, I tried my hand at Minecraft (which I totally love, by the way), and then I moved on to revisiting my former love of drawing.

I hadn't - really - done any drawing for years. Maybe even a decade. I wasn't really sure where to start, so I dug through some old supplies (which I happened to find during one of my moments of extreme organization--my walk-in closet looks SOOOO good!) and opted to try some colored pencil art first. It started with a couple Disney-Pokémon crossover pieces (which I'm overall happy with), but then I found an old spiral pad of watercolor paper, and I knew I wanted to try something different.

I recalled drawing a self-portrait in 8th grade. I was in the awkward "in-between" stage of growing out my bangs and losing gained weight, I had asked a boy out and I had been rejected, I had bad skin and a sweater vest...and we had to draw a self-portrait.

But, I remembered that project--it was the first time I had ever used chalk pastels. They were new, they were different, they were fun. That was the one and only time I'd used them, and I thought, why not try those again?

So, I asked around, got some recommendations, and ordered my first set of chalk pastels. I've decided I love them, because they allow for imperfections--perfect for me!

And thus began the "Cat Art" series. First, I'm doing a series of cats with coffee or food (I've even had someone ask for me to personalize one for me...I didn't expect that!) and then I may turn cats into cyclists. Or astronauts. Or the Golden Girls.

Only time will tell!