The Beginning
I'll start with an introduction, and what set me out on a journey to become an artist. I know what you're already saying, "Anyone can be an artist!" and I would mostly agree with you. Of course everyone has potential to be an artist, but up until recently I would have added an "except me" at the end. I couldn't do anything more than stick figures and basic shapes. I always envied artists, people who can drag a pencil or brush across the paper and create a breathtaking image with almost no effort.
I, myself, am a writer. I am included in two horror short story anthologies and have several novels in progress. My favorite piece is a children's story written for my son when he was about two years old. Being younger and not part of any artistic community, every path I went down in hopes of obtaining illustrations for my story led to a dead end. There was a fleeting moment in time where I had the thought: "I'll just draw it myself!" But that optimism quickly faded as I realized just how lacking my skills were. So, my story got set on the back burner, tucked away on a shelf.
I turned my back on writing for a few years, mostly due to a busy schedule. I finally came back to writing almost two years ago and joined a bunch of writing support groups on Facebook. As I looked through my old writings, that story re-surfaced. My excitement was reignited and I began my search for an illustrator again. With the guidance of more people with experience in the art community, I was able to find a few solid leads for illustrators.
It didn't take me long to realize just how expensive illustrations cost! I reached out to the artist of the work that captured my attention the most. Of all the artists I had looked up, he was by far my favorite. Unfortunately, his expertise and skills had a price tag of around $500-$600 per illustration, and with my story needing at least ten illustrations, there was no way I could fit this in my budget. Finally, I found an artist who fit my budget —barely— and had beautiful work displayed on her website.
So now, I am officially getting my story illustrated so I can self-publish it! (Now that my son is almost ten years old...) As excited as I am, I have learned one thing. You have to be rich to publish a picture book. So, there I was again, just a few weeks ago, with those delusional thoughts of wanting to be an artist myself. That thought was quickly dismissed with a reality check, because we went down this road, already. I'm not cut out to be an artist. It would be an unattainable goal with too much heartache and disappointment.
...Or would it? (There goes my little optimism demon, springing back up as he has a tendency to do.) As much as I tried to silence him, he kept going. "Just look at all this stuff you've accomplished that you thought you never would. Not one but *two* short stories in published anthologies (horror stories, at that!), getting a novel signed by a publishing company, being less than a year away from graduating from your dream college with a Bachelor's degree. AND the beautiful painting you made at the paintbar! And that is just the stuff without really digging deep. You have literally learned everything you've put your mind to!" So finally, I said to this little optimism demon, "You know what? Maybe you're right." And I started looking up tutorials and "how-to-draw" websites. The first thing I drew, a woman's face and decolletage, came out halfway decent. As I looked at the finished sketch, I couldn't help but smile and think, "Hm, maybe this is possible."
After drawing a few things, and realizing that they weren't turning out to be horrendous scribbles, I decided that it is true. Anyone can be an artist. Did you hear that in the back?
ANYONE CAN BE AN ARTIST!
Seriously, if I can do it, anyone can do it. Which is the main reason I decided to document my artistic journey. If I just inspire one person who thinks they'll never learn or can't ever learn, even if I can only change one mind, I'll consider this all worth it. Because art (in any form) is life.
I hope you enjoy watching my journey!
Michelle
