Happy World Art Day
Happy World Art Day!
It took a long time for me to consider myself an artist. I have always been able to draw. I used to copy images from Fighting Fantasy books, comics, video game magazines, things I saw around me and more. It came easy to me so, while I knew it was pretty good, I never really valued it as much as I should.
I was always copying things and could never get the images in my head down on paper. Because the copying was no bother, I never had the discipline to sit and work more on those imaginary images.
All the artwork in this post is by me.
Couple that with some disparaging remarks from an art teacher during my teenage years, and I ended up feeling a bit of a fraud. People saying I just traced the images also hurt, even though I should have taken that as a compliment. The imposter syndrome had set in.
The damage was done. What had started as something I loved doing and brought me peace, became something that filled me with self-doubt and worry. Every image I finished made me feel bad, despite the fact people would say how good it was. In my head, a voice kept saying, “You just copied it. Anyone could do that.” The sensible part of me knew I should just ignore it but we always seem to listen more to the criticism than the good.
Then I had a daughter. Hannah. Kids love drawing and painting. Making a mess and finding the joy and the art in that mess. I would sit and draw with her. We would make paint splodges and doodles, pass them to each other and find the images within those messy shapes.
I would marvel at the mass of different faces Hannah would confidently draw on a page and think “I wish I could do that.”
It took a while, but I realised that I could do that. All I had to do was sit down and do it.
An epiphany set in. I was enjoying creating artwork for the first time in years.
It didn’t matter if it wasn’t quite right. The joy was in just doing it. A pencil, some paper and away you go.
The marriage crumbled. My confidence and sense of self shattered. I lost myself.
It took a long time to get back to who I had been, but in the times when my daughter was with me we would make art - drawings, paintings, amazing things in Minecraft, bizarre concoctions in the kitchen and more. It was wonderful. The art brought us together “Life creates it, makes it grow. Its energy surrounds us, binds us. Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter.” Yoda was talking about the Force but it felt the same way.
Then, oh so sadly, my daughter was not too well. I won’t go into details as she would not want me to, but I ended up not seeing her for the past few years. I didn’t hear from her for a long time.
The art died in me.
I thought it was gone for good. I thought Hannah, the Hannah I knew was gone for good.
Yet it was art that helped Hannah back. It gave her a voice where there was none. I heard about it from others. Then I heard from her via WhatsApp. The bird of joy fluttered awake in my heart.
The typed conversation led to a connection. Talk of books, films, comics, music and more. The Hannah I knew was still there. The things we had enjoyed together, still there.
Hannah sent over her artwork. Drawings, doodles, paintings. She got better with every piece and she was already so good.
A site called ScrawlrBox caught my attention. They were a monthly subscription service which sent out new art supplies every month. I signed up to it and got them to send the box of goodies to Hannah. She would send me pictures of what she had created with them. Each new item inspires and sends her on different paths.
I realised I wanted to draw something, to send to her, to build the connection. I picked up a pencil and started to draw. It took a while to get into the swing of things, and there were weeks and months when I still found it hard, but it came back.
I was creating drawings and paintings. Some worked some didn’t. I had a go at portraits of film stars. I couldn’t quite capture them, but I persevered until it just clicked. Instead of looking at the whole face, it was just a matter of seeing the simple shapes that the light and shadow create. Focus on them and it was like putting a jigsaw together.
Portraits of my Dungeons & Dragons group, friends, family and myself appeared before me.
I liked how they looked. I felt proud of them. I did not feel like a fraud.
Both of our artworks improved. Hannah sends me paintings that absolutely blow me away. I would love to share them with you, but I would not want to betray her trust and will only share them when she feels comfortable with that.
I have usually always worked with 2B graphite pencils and paper. I then tried painting with acrylics. More recently I have dabbled with watercolours and I quite like the way that is going.
Recently, I discovered Danny Gregory on Sketchbook Skool who has really inspired me to keep drawing. I am now keeping a sketchbook and trying my best to do things with that.
Art is a wonderful thing. It can be big, messy, scary, beautiful and so much more.
Looking back, part of me thinks of all the wasted time when I could have been drawing, but the stronger voice says “But you are doing it now.”
That’s the important bit.
I am doing it now.
I have a connection with my daughter again.
What does art mean to you?
Share your thoughts and artwork in the comments.
Thanks for reading.
Each year, on 15 April, World Art Day celebrations help reinforce the links between artistic creations and society, encourage greater awareness of the diversity of artistic expressions and highlight the contribution of artists to sustainable development.
The background of World Art Day can be traced back to its founding organization, the International Association of Art (IAA), which began in 1954. The IAA got its start as a partnership agency through the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to learn about artistic freedoms as well as associate artists together with UNESCO’s work.
The first World Art Day was celebrated in 2012 when the IAA started it with the idea of promoting awareness about creative activity all over the globe. The idea for the day was approved by more than 150 artists as well as all of the national committees of the IAA organization. And because of this connection, World Art Day continues to be supported and promoted by UNESCO.
World Art Day seeks to raise awareness about and honour the contributions that various artists have made throughout the world, while promoting the importance of art in the lives of each human. In addition, the day organisers hope it will pique interest about the importance of art, encouraging art education as a path toward inclusive and equitable education.