Why I Haven't Been Drawing Lately

My sketchbook has been a barren desert over the past month or two.

I’ve felt a MASSIVE amount of resistance toward sketching, and I’ve let it hinder me from even trying. But what’s been CAUSING that resistance?

1. Laziness. A bit of an uncomfortable truth here, but I’ve genuinely been lazy. A decent amount of my work (both creative and administrative) has kinda fallen by the wayside the past few weeks simply because I didn’t want to do it. I would work on a “productive procrastination” task instead of editing a new video. I would watch someone else paint on YouTube under the guise of “education” because watching someone else do it was easier than giving it a try myself.

2. Fatigue. Although some of my lack of effort has been pure laziness, a decent amount of it has also been a general “not feeling well”. A less-than-happy report from the doctor and a flare-up of symptoms have left me feeling both physically and mentally drained. I struggle a lot with creativity when I’m under the weather because I like being HAPPY when I create. I want to feel good and excited and joyful! And going into a creative session in a negative headspace (or a groggy headspace) makes that extremely difficult.

3. Lack of intentionality. I know I say it all the time, but nurturing your creative practice requires INTENTIONALITY, and that hasn’t been present in my life lately. I’ve been telling myself that I just haven’t had much time for my sketchbook lately, but the truth is, I haven’t made time for my sketchbook lately. When you aren’t intentional about being consistent in your creativity, your skills (and motivation) will inevitably regress, at least a little bit. Every time I open my sketch-book, all I can think is “how bad is this going to be? How do I even hold my pencil?!”

Adam Duff (one of my favorite art YouTubers/podcasters) recently shared a video about his own journey of getting back into drawing after a dry spell. It was immensely encouraging for me, and, if you’ve been struggling to get into your sketchbook too, I’d recommend giving it a listen here. 💛

Whenever I’m in a sketching rut, I like to look back through old sketches that I’m fond of. A little trip down memory lane reminds me that:

a) I AM capable of sketching

b) I do LOVE sketching

This little sketch of the Tomato Girl is one of my favorites from last year, AND the original is available in my shop if you’d like to adopt her! 💛