16: A Look Back At Old Art Skills

Whatever I think I've learned now ...is definitely going to feel primitive when I look back. I'm reminded of this epiphany every single time I stumble upon my old art. Today I'm going back to not so long ago when I started this journey.

I've always loved drawing, but until my 30s it never progressed beyond small doodles. But when we were stationed in Paris in 2018, I took up a drawing with a passion. It helped that there was a heck of a lot of people-watching available. On the way to school, gym, or getting groceries, I would sometimes surreptitiously snap pictures so I could use them as references to draw. Those pictures were immensely helpful to study shapes, and practice hand-eye coordination and line fidelity. (Probably wasn't legal then to take pictures, but I never posted any of them, so I hope it was ok.)

Illustrations @thesmarti

After half a year of these drawings, I got obsessed with line thickness and photo-editing to maximize the black/white contrast. My work became more stylized and it was probably the most freedom I felt while drawing. I love how sloppy and expressive my lines started to be. (You can see more of these type of minimalist drawings here.)

Illustrations @thesmarti

After that, I started testing out my drawing skills with pencil only. There's something about feeling the pressure of the lead and how it can create softness and depth with textures and weight. I made a little travel paper pack and it made drawing-on-the-go a lot easier when visiting museums and being about town.

Illustrations @thesmarti

In the lead up to corona virus in 2020, I started transferring images and playing with my iPad's procreate app drawing tools and playing with layouts. I had a lot more time on my hands without errands outside of the house. So I started trying to be more serious with my instagram postings and sharing curated storylines. And gosh, I had so much fun creating these series and pushing my creativity. The ability to tell a bigger story felt like an 'aha' moment for me.

Illustrations @thesmarti

And well, that's enough navel gazing for now. What I'd like to share is that I'm not one of those people who ALWAYS had the skill. Nope, I learned and erred and practiced. And then through everyday exercise in learning, playing, experimenting, I started to trust myself.

Yes, there's cringe when I look back sometimes. But I also have so much compassion for wherever I was then. I'm grateful Paris gave me time and space to explore this.

I read somewhere that if you don't look back at your art with dismay, then you really haven't learned anything. I'm still learning a lot, but it's fun to look back and see how my skills change each time I try something new.

here's to hoping you find some joy looking back on your own progress,

smarti