I’ve always regretted not keeping up with drawing and art after college. Part of the problem was feeling like my drawings could not compete with photography, part of it was feeling like an impostor while getting an art degree since I wasn’t angsty and postmodern enough, part of it was my general laziness. There are a lot more parts to it, and at the time it was okay for me to let go as the jobs I kept getting allowed me to be creative while serving some educational/social purpose. I became a designer instead of an artist.

But then graduate school happened and I became a social scientist. And it sort of crept up on  me that something was missing. Now that the dissertation is done, I’ve been feeling a little (sometimes a lot) out of sorts for the past 3 months or so. Directionless; sapped of energy; too many games to play, not enough time; too many projects to work on, but none of them all-consuming like a dissertation is; too many people to coordinate with and manage. Some of this feeling is just temporary as I transition to a postdoc and become better at dealing with OMG-people!

Today, in an effort to motivate myself and feel productive again while I go through the transition, I decided to pick up a pencil and draw again. I think it’s been over a decade since I actually just drew something that wasn’t for a design project. I think this first one kind of sucks and I’m a bit disappointed with the scanner I’m using to digitize it, but it’s probably a good first stab at getting back into the groove. I’m going to try to draw something every day, and hopefully this blog will chronicle some improvement to my drawingz skillzors.

From mark's daily art