A Return to Childhood (Activities Anyway)

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When I was a child, I loved to draw. I went through paper like crazy drawing princesses and landscapes. As a teenager, I focused more on drawing hands and faces, and I was always doodling.

As an adult, I find that I don't draw much any more. Other interests have superseded drawing in my life. Yesterday, during Sacrament Meeting, I found myself with a scrap of paper in hand, and a box of crayola twistables at my side. Almost subconsciously, I began to draw. I drew a picture, and then began inserting letters of the alphabet into that drawing, and I got as far as "j" before Peter noticed what I was doing and removed the paper from my hands to look at it. After church, I came across the drawing in the pocket of my scripture bag, and I came to an important realization.

Compare to last picture here.
I realized that I really enjoy drawing, and that I should do it more. I'm not saying that I'm good at it by any means, or that other people will appreciate my drawings. I'm just saying that I find drawing to be fun and relaxing. If I did it more often, I might become better at it, to the point that other people might begin to appreciate my drawings, but that isn't really the point. The point for me is that it is something that I had forgotten that I enjoy doing, and so I should do it more.

Along with that thought, I remembered a technique I used almost a year ago when I illustrated my cat walk story. I used Photoshop to "trace" photos for the story, and I really liked the way the pictures turned out, so I had some fun doing a couple more of these type drawings today. Yes, they are tracings... but I hope that as I do them, I am learning things that will help my drawings to become more realistic. And besides that, I think that it is fun!







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