I’m Already Failing

We are not even a full month into 2014 and I am already failing with my New Year’s resolution.  My resolution was to make more art (separate from my graphic design) and I thought it would be a great way to exercise and expand my creative muscle.  When I was young, I used to draw all of the time and always had a sketchbook handy.  I stopped drawing in high school.  I went to boarding school for the last two years of high school, and no, I was not “bad.”  It’s a family tradition and my father and several relatives attended the same school (it’s coed).

Being an introvert, living in a dorm and not having a lot of privacy made it difficult for me to draw.  I don’t like people looking over my shoulder while I am drawing.  In elementary school kids would do that and try to guess what I was drawing as I was doing it.  “Is it a dog?” “Is it a horse?” “Is it a lion?” I would give them the stink eye and tell them to wait for me to finish.  Then, I would get the, “oh, it’s a unicorn with Rainbow Brite hair!”  I could not avoid the over the shoulder’s at boarding school, so I just stopped.

I really want to get back to drawing and that was where I wanted to start this “more art” resolution, but I have not drawn a single thing.  Not one line, stroke or erasure this month so far.  Every evening when I am winding down from work, I procrastinate and say, “maybe tomorrow.”  The same thing happens on the weekend.  1 month in and I am failing.  So, I’m thinking announcing it to the world, might shame me into kicking myself into gear and sketching.

After all, I am super rusty and the only way I will get better and find my “style” is if I practice, right?