My Artistic Journey in Pictures

It's high time I shared my art with you. Of course, you probably have already gathered that I appreciate art, but I have shared precious little of my art with you. I am now excited to do just that, but instead of doing a random photo dump, I thought it would be fun for you to see a bit of my journey as an artist.

There is no doubt about it, I have always loved art. Interestingly enough, I can see my love of stories in my drawings---from before I could even write. Many of my pictures tell short, simple tales, but a great many more were an attempt to copy figures that I knew well, whether it was someone from a movie or a book. I think I have always loved drawing people the most.

In this case, in a sketch from 2014, I drew Mary Ingalls from The Little House on the Prairie. In this case, I had a long way to go before it began even looking like a person. Much less a specific one.

Following that, in a different sketchpad from about a year later, is Merida from Brave, one of my favorite movies. At least the red hair was there to suggest who it was. 😅

After that, about another year later, my drawings began to resemble humans more, but I was far from serious about them. I was most likely seven when I drew the picture below.

Quite a few years later, when I was twelve, I began to get into drawing again. But this time, I had two drawing books from Hobby Lobby to help me out. The first was a portrait book, and I attempted Julie Andrews as Maria Von Trapp, encouraged by the tips I had learned in the book. Her nose looks hilarious to me, now.

The second book taught me many different things about drawing, and I also worked through it with a teacher at an art class. The picture below was done in late 2021. It's incredible to me how much of a difference occurred in the few years from 11-13.

Then, in 2022, at the age of thirteen, I attended the Middle School Art Camp at Bob Jones University. The effect was electric. Right away, I became more confident in my skills. A painting of mine, similar to the drawing below, won third prize at the camp.

After the camp, I began to try new things. Color became more important to me...and so did drawing realistic portraits. Below is Merida from Brave, again. Almost ten years produced some improvement, I'll admit.

Earlier this year, I did my 10th or 11th attempt on a drawing of Frodo from The Lord of the Rings. I will spare you the gory details and share only the last one. :) I was by far the most pleased with it. (This was placed as a final in a local art show.)

Finally, my favorite, newest drawing is that of Arwen from The Lord of the Rings. I finally got the guts to start drawing real people in color. (Merida was a cartoon, so it was easier.) Drawing Arwen in color was based on an impulse, but I'm so glad that I did it!

And that is a rough view of my artistic journey, with Arwen being the peak of my ability (as of the autumn 2024)! What did you think? Which drawing was your favorite? I'd also love to know what you think of me putting up a small gallery on my blog of all my best art. Would you be interested in seeing what I'm working on, or what my latest achievement was?

Let me know in the comments!