I have surprised myself with what I have been able to create with your support – and this is probably the most significant thing as it was completely unexpected after not drawing since I was at school 35+ years ago. I have always known I have a creative part to me which I have used in my work life, but it feels like a hidden talent has emerged – one that I did not even realise I had!
Another significant thing you have helped me with your mentoring support is to really study an object to see what lies underneath the photo.
When I started your on-line course via Udemy in 2020 during COVID shutdown, I never thought I would be able to draw to the level I am able to do now. It was when I did the ‘Shoe well-travelled’ that I realised that I could create a detailed drawing – and enjoy it as much as I did. Then when I joined your mentoring programme in 2023, my skill level increased so much more because of your personalised support and guidance.
The importance of having a purpose for a drawing is key for me. Since re-starting drawing in 2020, I have drawn several different things – buildings, scenes, flowers, shoes etc. It was through this experimentation that I found I liked portraits and animals. When I lost my ‘mojo’ for drawing a while ago, you offered to have a call with me, and this helped me focus on identifying an emotional link to what I could draw. For me, it was my love of elephants – so doing a few ‘bite size’ detailed studies of the elephants’ anatomy were really helpful – and led me to draw what I consider to be my best drawing of the Mother and Baby Elephant. This personalised support really helped ‘unblock’ me.
I like the challenge of drawing something that is complicated (like the safari animals) – your encouragement has been fabulous, and it helped me to push forward when I was feeling a bit overwhelmed when I first started a new project.
I really valued the progress videos you did for my various projects. Your use of photoshop to help explain what I needed to change was so useful and they were/are a useful resource to use and refer to. Also, encouraging me to ‘go bigger’ (going from A4 to A3) and use different mediums like charcoal. This help me become more confident on what I could do. Plus, helpful practical advice on types of paper, tools, and techniques etc.
When I consider my professional life (I retired in 2019 at the age of 53 after my husband and I sold our management development business) I can see that I used my creativity skills in different ways – designing training and development programmes for clients, pulling together sales proposals but using diagrams and images rather than being all text. I know I see things in pictures, and it helps me make sense of things. I can also see that I approach my drawing projects in the same way as I did whilst working – very focussed and committed to achieving an outcome – and not giving up when my confidence wanes. However, drawing and being creative whilst being retired is much more relaxing! I have also enjoyed giving joy to others when I have undertaken commissions for beloved pets – I am very proud of these works as well.
My drawing journey has also exposed me to an appreciation of the arts – I visit art galleries, watch art programmes, observe other artists etc. This is something I never did before I started drawing again and it has opened a whole new world (and one that my husband also enjoys!).
