My family has a lot of artists in it. Several cousins, my grandmother, and even my niece (dipping into the NexGen) are amazing with a pencil, pen, and paintbrush. The genes for that skipped me.

When I used to run a home daycare, I always joked that coloring with the kids was awesome because they always felt empowered after seeing what I came up with. They were always better.

Now that I’m on sabbatical with limited travel plans thanks to Covid, I’m trying to pick up new hobbies that are not connected to a computer screen.It can be argued that I’m still using screens, since I’m using the computer for tutorials, but the activities I am embracing require more off-screen time than on-screen.

I found this delightful tutorial by someone named Paul Priestly called Absolute Beginners Drawing. And he does mean beginner. In one of the first lessons, I learned how to hold a pencil properly. Guess what? I wasn’t doing it correctly by nature. I actually had to learn that 48 years into my existence.

Today I learned how to try to make something have dimension using shading, and also learned how to make a basic ribbon.These are my first drafts, but I will keep practicing so they look a bit better. Then I look forward to going on and learning more.