I can relate to your aversion to practice… even when it comes to drawing, I’m not really one for filling sketchbooks that aren’t directly in service of a project. Though whenever I do “aimless” sketching, I don’t regret it! But omg the THOUGHT of practicing 😆
Yeah the irony is that I can fill sketchbook upon sketchbook and never get tired of it. The problem lately is more that I feel anxious, like i SHOULD be doing "real" work. Hard to carve out time for these new ideas to grow roots.
This hit the nail on the head for me. In the past couple of years my definition of practice has moved towards the noun and I feel better for it. For me it started after getting into yoga. Similarity, it was for the physical benefit after mountain biking or stationary cycling workouts. However since my diagnosis of fibromyalgia about 2 years ago I had to shift. No longer mountain biking because I can’t physically do it without feeling terrible pain, I found the meditative side of yoga to be just as crucial to my ability to move and function with less pain. While I can’t do the poses I use to, it is less about the achievement and move about the present state of my mind and body. This also made me change the way I think about my art practice. Using my sketchbooks, painting, and drawing are all just a continuous practice as well. That has helped me focus less on the final result and more about what I am getting from creating. Actually the only thing that didn’t resonate for me was trying to keep my space cleaner as I tend to stray towards an OCD level of organization. Reading your post and seeing your awesome yoga pose illustrations this morning made was a superb way to start my day. Thanks for sharing Random Orbit Brian as it has been so insightful for me on many levels. Can’t wait to watch you and Mark Hoffman create together as well!
Hey Chris, thanks for this. I'm always glad when I stray off-topic and write about illustration adjacent things (versus new book out! how to work with editors! etc) that people find something relevant in it. I know several friends and family members with fibromyalgia and that's rough.
I can relate to your aversion to practice… even when it comes to drawing, I’m not really one for filling sketchbooks that aren’t directly in service of a project. Though whenever I do “aimless” sketching, I don’t regret it! But omg the THOUGHT of practicing 😆
Hi Kelsey.
Yeah the irony is that I can fill sketchbook upon sketchbook and never get tired of it. The problem lately is more that I feel anxious, like i SHOULD be doing "real" work. Hard to carve out time for these new ideas to grow roots.
This hit the nail on the head for me. In the past couple of years my definition of practice has moved towards the noun and I feel better for it. For me it started after getting into yoga. Similarity, it was for the physical benefit after mountain biking or stationary cycling workouts. However since my diagnosis of fibromyalgia about 2 years ago I had to shift. No longer mountain biking because I can’t physically do it without feeling terrible pain, I found the meditative side of yoga to be just as crucial to my ability to move and function with less pain. While I can’t do the poses I use to, it is less about the achievement and move about the present state of my mind and body. This also made me change the way I think about my art practice. Using my sketchbooks, painting, and drawing are all just a continuous practice as well. That has helped me focus less on the final result and more about what I am getting from creating. Actually the only thing that didn’t resonate for me was trying to keep my space cleaner as I tend to stray towards an OCD level of organization. Reading your post and seeing your awesome yoga pose illustrations this morning made was a superb way to start my day. Thanks for sharing Random Orbit Brian as it has been so insightful for me on many levels. Can’t wait to watch you and Mark Hoffman create together as well!
Hey Chris, thanks for this. I'm always glad when I stray off-topic and write about illustration adjacent things (versus new book out! how to work with editors! etc) that people find something relevant in it. I know several friends and family members with fibromyalgia and that's rough.
Enjoy the gab & doodle. It was a fun session.
I know about Pilates. And cats.