work in progress

I never took Art classes in school.

I was always friends with the people who took Art classes but never took classes myself.

For some reason, as a child and later as a young adult, I thought that Art classes were a waste of time. "Art isn't practical. Art won't help you get a job," my younger mind thought (somewhat strangely for a young mind who did not have this kind of pressure from my parents). I signed up for classes that would be practical or that I had to have to graduate --Spanish, German, Biology. Practical subjects. Art was self-indulgent, and school wasn't about self-indulgence. School was about preparing for Life. 

This thought process continued on into college. With Art classes costing more than other classes, it made no sense to sign up for them. I was still hanging out with the artists, but I was studying things like Psychology, Economics, and Linguistics. You know, practical subjects.

I no longer feel the way I did. Enough of life has passed that I realize, there's more to life than practical. Those friends who were artists managed to find jobs or make a living. So did I, but I felt like something was missing. Part of that something was Art.  

Fast forward to now, and I'm still learning.

I've been participating in Inktober this year. For those of you unfamiliar with Inktober, it is during the month of October (see what they did there?) and is all about drawing using ink.

I've discovered I really enjoy drawing with ink. I feel more comfortable with it now than I did a few years ago. Part of Art, I think, is figuring out what works for you and what you are comfortable with. I still don't have a style --I'm all over the map --but I've done more things that I'm pleased with. I still compare myself with other people, and find myself in awe of what they can do, but I'm okay with what I'm doing, too. It'll come.

I'm finding I like to use black & white. I like watering down ink like watercolor (interestingly, watercolor scares me because I just can't wrap my head around color) to use for shading. I like keeping things minimal, even though I love to look at texture.

I'm including a couple of things I've done for Inktober because I am proud of them --not so much proud of myself, but I really like the way they turned out. I hope that I can continue to make things that I am proud of and that I enjoy looking at. Are they perfect? No. But like Art and like Life, it's all work in progress.

Based on the Sistine Chapel (turn it sideways) -prompt word: underwater

Based on a photo of Flannery O'Connor -prompt word: crooked

Do what you need to do in your life, but remember to enjoy the impractical.