I wanted to share some of the art I have been working on lately! I have been sending "fun mail" for a long time now - going back through my archives is quite the trip! - and I am turning to it more and more as a fun and low pressure way to create art, gift it away and hopefully make someone smile!
It's my step-Dad's birthday this weekend, but we celebrated last week. Lucas & I collaborated on a portrait of him and his cats! Speaking of Lucas, February meant a new semester for him and he's back in Art, so we had an art night at home and drew his favourite Sonic the Hedgehog characters.
These other pieces are going to dear friends, and are made with my favoured, trusty neon Sharpies. I felt like a kid again, doodling fun patterns on whatever surface I could find!
ART GOALS
This re-framing of my art "practice" is going to help me be a better parent. This month especially I am focused on how I can be a good role model to Lucas, and part of that is teaching him how to embrace a hobby that doesn't have to "do" anything other than make you feel good, stretch your brain a little, and bring you joy. Drawing is a simple activity we can do together without a lot of fuss.
Next month, in addition to continuing my journey in becoming a better parent I want to purposefully make time to work in my art journal for fun. I think this is going to have to start with a bit of a clean up or a reorganization of my work space, but it's long overdue! A key component for me and my low key art making is ease of access. It's the maintenance of that access that gets me into trouble, and right now I still kind of want to light a match to all my shit. So I guess I have some things to work through first!
Being off Instagram has removed some of the pressure I place on myself when creating. I do miss the community aspect of connecting over art, but I do not miss the pressure and comparisons I feel as I see other art in my feed. I find myself slowly moving back into art (of any kind), after taking a bit of a break. I still can't bring myself to touch a canvas, but maybe (hopefully) that will come back in time. Until then, give me all the doodles, cartoon characters, and neon sharpies.
FURTHER READING
Check out this post for an adorable photo of wee Lucas and what I think is my first mail art post!
xo
I love those neon colours and I love the drawing you created for Heath - what a treasure. I appreciate your comment about art being a hobby that doesn't have to "do" anything except make you feel good. With our budding artist Evan, I need to encourage him to not expect perfection but just enjoy what he is creating.
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