So it has been a significant amount of time since I posted for this blog. I've been told that to be a blogger, you need to blog everyday. That idea to me, does not sound like much fun (and in turn, won't generate much happiness) but I will make it a goal to write more often.
The Experiment failed, in fact, not a whole lot changed between J and I. I hardly see him, or talk to him right now, and I'm sure when the school year starts up, we'll see each other in class but never outside of it. I've decided not to dwell on that. He is not the only friend I have and I'm very excited for the ones returning to campus in a little less than a month.
I'm into May of The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin and now she is talking about having more fun, and finding things to do that are, to her, fun. So today, I want to talk about something that I find fun to me.
Rubin describes something fun as being something that brings pleasure and enjoyment without economic or social gain. For me, this is quite hard to separate but I do so quite well. I enjoy drawing and making anime-type illustrations.
I've been drawing in an anime-style since around 4th grade and while at first it started as merely copying images from already made pictures, I practiced until I could eventually come up with images in my own mind. For about two weeks in early July, for some reason I felt really down about my art. My coloring, which I do in special Copic markers (made for higher-level coloring, they are like watercolors but in a marker) had gotten significantly better over the past years and with the addition of my airbrush systems, I was finally making headway into actual backgrounds, but I felt like my actual drawing was suffering. Sketches took forever, I couldn't get poses right the first time and it irked me.
Usually when I need a small art pick-me-up, I run to one of my non-artsy friends and show them my latest endeavor, but in this case, I needed to speak to someone who would critique my work and who in all seriousness, knows more than me. One of my elementary school friends who now lives out in Arizona has kept in close contact with me despite our many miles apart and she, like me, enjoys art. After consulting her, we had worked out a deal to do 10 gesture sketches everyday.
While this solution lost my interest quickly, I did find that because I had begun to draw everyday since then, I've been happier. I enjoy doing my own art and sometimes, I even enjoy making art for others, for no economic gain. I do however have commissions as well, but I've found that when I enjoy actual drawing by itself, I begin to enjoy the commissions as well. It's wonderful now that I'm drawing everyday and not forcing myself to do everything how much happier I am. I look forward to August, when I no longer have to work in chem lab and can stay at home and work on my grad school stuff while also drawing and reading and doing other fun things. Here's to the beginning of a great new school year!
