Whether it’s drawing stick figures or doing more complicated illustrations, the few times I seem to completely lose track of time are those when I’m busy with a pencil (or some type of drawing implement) in my hand. I even sometimes forget about lunch and anyone who knows me personally knows how much I love and constantly think about food!
I know it’s a bit of a cliché but so much of my life is spent working on a computer and more and more communication and staying in touch seems to consist of staring at some sort of screen. Now I do love technology, and wouldn’t be able to do my job without it, but those times when I can just switch off from all of that and scribble on a bit of paper are just as satisfying to me as watching a great movie, savouring a slab of chocolate or drinking a glass of Rioja…
I think most types of hands on creativity are the same. In addition to drawing I’ve always loved making things and get the same sense of escape from the real world from that. I’ve never quite got the hang of ‘mindfulness’ in normal life, but I’m imagining that it is something similar to how I feel when I’m drawing or making stuff – just focusing entirely on what I’m doing in each moment. It’s such a relief to switch my thoughts off for a while (am I the only one whose thoughts drive them a little bit crazy sometimes?) I’ve heard it called ‘flow’ too which I think is a great description.
So I guess that drawing is (another cliché) a type of therapy for me, something that keeps me looking and acting sane when I’m really not…
