Lilac Creative

I project I'm currently working on for a client called for some hand-drawn images of vintage cameras and typewriters, so I got out my Moleskine and had fun doing some sketching. Getting off the computer and taking pencil and paper in hand felt really good, and I realized that I don't do that enough anymore. I used to fill entire sketchbooks full of drawings and illustrations to the point where I was going through two full-sized sketchbooks in a year.

My creativity migrated to the computer after M was born. The computer was a nice, neat way of having everything I needed to be creative all in one spot, with no sharp implements or permanently-staining paints or toxic glues for a pint-sized person to get into. If she cried, all I had to do was hit save before I ran to see what she needed, and I could be sure that when I returned to it, my work would be exactly as it was when I left off. In short, the computer was (as it was intended to be) convenient.

But what I always loved about physically drawing, or painting, or writing, or even cutting and pasting, was the tactile feel of it. The way my fountain pen felt as I drew it across lined paper; different than a ball point pen, or a felt-tipped pen. The way watercolor paint spread outward from my brush strokes on rice paper, or 150lb Arches, and swirled and mingled with the other colors. 

I guess I always assumed that I liked to draw and paint for the purpose of visual accomplishment, but now I realize that the physical act, the tactile senses involved in the creation process are an equal part of the enjoyment for me. I need to make a point of working time into my schedule for painting and drawing again.