Why I paint and draw

My life has changed now that I have a job. I have now been back hard at work for a month. It certainly feels good and I have been even busier than ever because I had a whack of volunteer work on the go that I now have to finish off or wind down.

Which means that my passion for visual art has slowed down considerably. I just don't put pencil, pastel or paintbrush to paper or canvas like I used to. It's understandable and I don't really mind but I have to be disciplined to stay at it. So far, I have been pretty good.

What I have found over the last year is that I continuously surprise people when they find I am an aspiring artist. It seems out of character for me, so reserved and by the books. And certainly it has been a long time coming as I feel I have been in development for over ten years and only now feel confident enough to actually talk about it.

The irony is that art is a lonely pursuit, you need to spend hours by yourself to explore your vision of the world. And yet, it has helped me stay in touch with dozens of people. I actually have something to spam them about - and they don't mind! I can tell them about upcoming shows and they actually want to come (actually coming is another matter though).

It enlivens conversations and picks up my energy level along with my friends' curiosity. It has been a curious development. I never undertook art because I wanted to talk about it, I actually avoided it for quite some time. But now that I do talk about it, that time alone is actually helping me create a connection with more people. Funny how things turn out.

Thanks for reading!