Why I Draw

            Ever since I could hold a pencil, I’ve been drawing, and granted I haven’t done it much outside of my drawing class lately, I still love it just as much as I did when I first started. Even after months and months of never picking up a pencil or touching my tablet, as soon as I sit down to draw, I have so much fun. It allows me to basically just spill my imagination all over the page or screen. I have the freedom to do pretty much anything; only my mind can limit what I can draw. Drawing lets me escape reality for a few hours and escape into this world where anything and everything is possible.

There isn’t any one specific reason why I draw; it’s a combination of things. Drawing gives me this euphoric feeling whenever I sit down and completely block out everything but my art. It’s really easy for me to basically get lost in a drawing when I’m in the zone. Everything around me just sort of stops, and it’s only the pencil, the paper, and me. Hours feel like seconds when I delve into it fully, and that’s what’s great about it. It really does seem like time flies when you’re having fun. Fun isn’t the only reason I draw. It’s also a pretty relaxing experience. Usually when I sit down to draw, I plug in my earphones, crank up the volume, turn off my brain, and let my hands take me where they want to go. Everything just sort of flows and it’s a real calming practice. Now that’s when everything goes according to plan, which is admittedly not as often as I would like.

Along with being fun and relaxing, drawing can also be extremely frustrating. When I just can’t get that hand or foot to look right after drawing over and over again for what seems like a million times, I just want to call it quits, but I don’t because the positives greatly outweigh the negatives in this case. When I come across one of these moments in a drawing where whatever I do, nothing looks right, I’ll step back and take a break. Maybe I’ll pop in a game or just watch some TV, anything to keep myself occupied. After a few hours of completely ignoring my artwork, I go back to it and I’m usually able to draw whatever I was having trouble with on my first try. The sense of accomplishment I get after completing a piece of work is well worth putting up with some frustrating and irritating moments. Seeing how I improve over time is particularly satisfying. I may think the drawing I do today is the best thing I’ve ever done, but come tomorrow I may hate it. Just being able to spot mistakes a day later is an improvement in itself, and it helps me grow as an artist.