Hello and Welcome!

First blog posts are always the worst. So I may as well just delve right in!

Hello there! My name is Hazel and I enjoy drawing and painting. At least I do most of the time. Unfortunately for the last couple of years I haven't been doing art as much as I would have liked to for many reasons. But the main reason being I put too much pressure on myself for the stuff I made to be up to a particular standard. I would have never labelled myself as a perfectionist but in certain ways I probably could be called one. I see this as more of a hindrance than a help.

So recently I have embarked on getting back into the swing of things and trying to rid myself of the unnecessary pressure I have been putting on myself. So this year I decided to set myself the challenge of sketching something, no matter how big or small, everyday of 2016. Within this challenge I'm also trying to push myself slowly out of my norm so by the end of the year I'll be able to look back through my sketches and see variety, instead of the same old faces. Of course I love portraiture but it can get a little boring if that's all you make. By drawing new things I wouldn't usually think to draw and using different materials, I'm finding art to be a little more interesting and enjoyable. At the moment at least (I'm only on day eight!).

My goal is for sketching to become like second nature and for it to inspire me to go on to make bigger projects with hopefully original(ish) ideas. At the moment I'm just sketching but hopefully with time I can do more. It's almost like I'm getting in touch with my old self at risk of sounding corny. Art used to be such a big part of my life and identity but recent years took me in a different direction. I just feel the need now to get back to my roots.

If you made it through this awkward first post, well done you! I hope you stick around! :)

xoxo