I Became an Artist During the Pandemic

This is my latest big project that I’ve completed with my art – a custom art collection for my brother’s birthday present 2 weeks ago

I haven’t blogged in months and now I’m back writing in a completely different light. For those who follow me on my Instagram anyway, you’re up-to-date. For those who may have discovered that I was missing in action or simply didn’t know that I existed until now, the main title is the update in a nutshell: I became an artist!

Firstly, I hope everyone is okay in what’s been a turbulent 2020 to say the least. I know certainly for me, all the good came with all the bad both emotionally and mentally during the pandemic lockdown.

For the first time in a long time, I had time to make art – time I always said I didn’t have (in order to make art). Suddenly with a lot of it, I thought I’d make do and before long, I realised that it was healing my mind and soul especially during the days when I was feeling rough. That’s how I know now that art therapy is totally a thing. As cliché as it might sound, art has transformative powers.

Initially I dedicated a day or 2 a week to paint using acrylic which was what I used the most of when doing art in school. But somehow, I couldn’t get back into it and there would always be paint that I’d waste which – since I’m trying to be more sustainable – made me sad. (Water pollution is another issue but we’ll touch on that in another post).

It wasn’t until I discovered oil pastel art on YouTube that made me really get back into making art. The results came out so stunning – the colours were rich and vibrant, the finish was ultra-smooth; and most of all, there was this ethereal feeling which I enjoyed. I found myself thinking that I wanted to paint like that one day. Before long, I treated myself to the Mungyo Gallery Oil Pastels (48) and the rest was history.

Along with the onset of the pandemic and everything that came with it afterwards, it was a great way to beat the boredom and make productive use of my time. But also – I relieved myself of so much stress and anxiety on the days when I was feeling horrendous. The reward from this was making nice artwork which I shared casually on Instagram as you do. The ongoing kind and encouraging comments would sometimes be the only high points of my day, but it meant – and still means, everything. So what did I do? I channeled this energy into bettering my art skills and giving myself art goals.

It’s been over 6 months already and I can say I’ve improved a lot and have never felt better. It’s been a long road but 2020 might not be so bad after all despite a second lockdown. Of course, I am using the term ‘artist’ very loosely however I do hope to sell some art as I cannot keep everything. (I am currently working on the logistics of this – there’s so much to consider! You might also see some changes on this website in the coming months).

If you’ve come over from Instagram, thank you for reading. If you know me from this platform anyway – I’m back!

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