A few years ago I was chatting with a friend over brunch. We got philosophical about life at some point and he asked me:
"Where do you see yourself in five years?"
"I honestly can't give you an answer...wait a minute, I can't give myself an answer to that question at this point."
That was the time when I have just moved to Singapore and was going through a transition phase. I was adjusting to the new home and new job. I was simply thinking about what was on my to do list for the next day or following week. And here I am, three years later writing this post and thinking... no, no, knowing, where I see myself in the following five years.
My passion for picture books was the wind that blew me in direction of the idea to create picture books for children. And I took action. I enrolled myself into a beginners course for illustration of children's books. In addition, I have arranged meetings with some local authors to discuss the process of story writing and the creation of picture books in general. Buying and reading picture books has practically become an addiction.
Now about my learning so far. I was quite disappointed with the first course task. We had to interpret a fairytale of our preference through three drawings and I chose one version of Rapunzel. It is interesting how I can visualize things but I just can't put the same on paper. I chose three crucial moments in the story. The first was when the husband steals a lettuce for his pregnant wife from the next door garden that unfortunately, belonged to a sorceress. The second scene is when the sorceress is cutting Rapunzel's hair. And finally, the third one when Rapunzel's tears save the blinded prince.
Oh, the joys of sketching, drawing and painting! I decided to share some of the "masterpieces" for the sake of recording my work and growth via this blog but also to make the point that we all need to start somewhere. Here it goes:
The first one was supposed to represent the evil lettuce. The rest should probably make more sense for you. :)))
I think I abandoned the project because I wasn't happy with how I expressed myself. I forgot how it feels to learn a new skill and I honestly, got frustrated. And then I realized that I am just not there YET! I love the power of YET!
So this weekend I started the second module where we needed to play and try various techniques and media. I took a trip to the art supplies shop. I was overwhelmed but I did buy the things I needed thanks to the kind and helpful staff. At home I played with oil paint, a little touch of ink and watercolors and decided to try and apply what I was experimenting with. In my journal I always keep a poem my best friend wrote a while ago for all the moms of children with special needs including herself. I thought I would put on paper my very first visual I got while reading it. It turned all right. I was proud with the first trial. It truly made my day. Looking forward to see what the next module brings.
I am enjoying the breeze and taking my journey slow. I am not an author or Illustrator, YET!
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