As a child, I would often be found drawing. Throughout my childhood my love for horses was hugely interpreted into my drawings. They were what I doodled most as evidenced from reviewing my school books from that stage of my life. They were also the subject that I spent a lot of focused hours on trying to perfect, i would get books from the library regarding horses to feed both my brain with equine knowledge and also my creative appetite, flicking through the pictures looking for one that sparked my inspiration.
When I attended university, the time I had for drawing tapered off as life responsibilities took over. I didn’t pursue art at a university level because I believed I needed to be practical and that art wasn’t practical to study. If I had a time machine, I would likely tackle that part of my life differently.
Now, in my mid-30s I have found myself return to my art as a form of stress relief and of doing something for myself, as I spend so much of time doing things for my family. I was struck with the thought of ‘why not’. Why couldn’t I try and make something of myself as an artist – true, the time constraints haven’t improved much what with a full-time job, young family and a home life to juggle BUT my time management skills are definitely a whole heap better than what I was as a young adult fresh from school! I have had no training with my art, a good chunk of it is down to instincts, what felt right and a small part involved experimentation. Even now, I have bought myself some pastelmats to experiment with for a series. I would also say genetics – my mum and my grandfather both had/have the amazing ability to sketch what the eye can see. With my paints though I intend to try and hone this ability further by pulling what is in my mind and putting onto canvas – I am choosing paints for this as you can erase mistakes with paints, it is not that easy if possible with coloured pencils!
I have dabbled in paints, watercolour, inks and charcoal – but have found coloured pencils to be my medium of choice. I enjoy the layering involved to find that right shade to match my subject, I like that you can smudge and burnish to achieve differing effects. I find them versatile and don’t have the same level of mess as what paints have. Also, when I whip our my coloured pencils, my toddler whips hers out – the same rule applies with paints… toddlers and paints are a messy combination (see below) – so I figure, coloured pencils are definitely my win-win medium with that in mind!
Though, I do break out the paints when she’s in bed for what feels like a sneaky paint session, hidden away in the spare room! The image below is something that was created once the tiny terror had gone to bed.
