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The Scribblers

For the ones who think they can't draw.

By Leah CraftPublished 3 years ago 3 min read
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I come from a family of artists, so naturally, that was the path that I wanted to take. Both my grandmothers are gifted painters. My parents musicians. My sister can make the most realistic portraits I've ever seen with only a mechanical pencil. So, as you can imagine, I was confused when my hand would not make the elaborate work of art that lived in my brain. Why couldn't I steady my hand to draw a smooth line? Why couldn't I draw noses? Why did my proportions look so...weird?

I always loved making art with my hands, but I just knew that I could not draw. That was that. Why keep trying?

I luckily inherited my parents' love for music and the stage, and I dove into that. I loved it and I still love it and I always will love it. I went to school. I got a degree in film. I found a niche in photography, got a job, and I love it. But through all that I still wanted to draw, but I couldn't.

I flooded my social media feeds with other artists. Why couldn't I make art like that? Their's was so good, so aesthetically pleasing. So, proportionate.

I started to dabble in digital art. It was therapeutic, and I enjoyed it. I liked what I made, but I didn't love it. I didn't feel that proud of it. I didn't look at it and think, "wow, that looks like something that me, Leah, would make." It felt phony. I felt like a fake, like a copier. I only made art to see what other people thought about it.

One day I sat down with my iPad and I started to just scribble. It hadn't been a particularly good day, and the few glasses of wine I had were only making me feel more blah (that's when the tears really start flowing. Ladies, you know what I mean.)

That night was when I drew the piece at the beginning of this. That was the first time I had ever looked at a drawing I had done and thought, "yeah, that looks like something I would make." I had this overwhelming feeling of holy crap, can I draw?

So I kept scribbling. I didn't worry about proportions. I didn't worry about clean lines. I didn't even worry about making it look "good," because in my mind, it did look good. It looked good because it FELT good, and that was all I needed. I finally believed, after 24 long years, that I could draw.

When it comes right down to it, art is subjective. Sure, it's made to be seen, to be consumed, but art is really meant to be felt. By both the artist and the consumer. Art is a heart on a page, a canvas, a roll of film, a stage. Making art is one of the purest forms of self expression that exists. That's why it's important (I think) that everyone does it. No, not everyone is going to go to school for art or become some ridiculously famous painter with a piece in the Louvre, but everyone has an artist in them. That part of you is so important to tap into, and it can influence so many parts of your life (because we all know that this crazy life takes a little creativity to navigate.) I encourage everyone to make, in some way, even if it's just with sidewalk chalk.

I used to look at my art and think man, this looks like something a child would make. Then I realized that children are amazing artists. Why? They do it just to create. They do it because it makes them feel good. They don't care what anyone else thinks about it. Why do you think they have such a hard time staying in the lines? (Those little abstract geniuses.)

Remember. The only person who has to like your art is you. You have so much beautiful, wonderful, wild creativity in you. So make. Make and make and make and make. Embrace your inner artist, you deserve it.

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