On January 1, 2020, I made the first (and likely only) New Year's Resolution that I have ever kept in my life: draw a sketch a day and post it to Instagram Stories. I did not care what the subject was. I did not care how good it was. I didn't care how long I spent on it. My only goal was to do one sketch a day and post it, without shame.
Why? It seems silly now, but there were so many reasons.
1. The Pandemic
Like many others, I was self-quarantined for quite some time during the pandemic. My 96 year-old grandmother lived 15 minutes away from me and I wanted to be able to see here - when and if allowed and needed - without worrying about giving her COVID. For this reason, I was very isolated. Alone with my work, this meant that I spent hours upon hours every day in front of a screen and without much mental stimulation. Words weren't exactly on my side during this time, so journaling didn't seem like an option. Plus, what would I write about? Getting up to stretch?
Learning to create art seemed like an unobtainable goal, but perhaps I could do something to eventually get there - something that would give me some sort of accomplishment every day.
2. Learning to Create Art
Aside from one beginner's art class in high school and one very basic watercolor workshop prior to the pandemic, I had no idea what I was doing when it came to drawing or painting. But, the one thing I had always heard was that in order to "become an artist", you must practice. Practice could make the imperfect beautiful.
So, a sketch a day, posted to my Instagram stories, could perhaps make my artwork a smudge better. At the very least, it would force me to practice some stick figures.
3. Build Confidence
Here's the real reason: at this point in my life, I was at an ultimate low in self-confidence. This was not just in my artistic endeavors, but in my daily life. It was debilitating. I would self-sabotage everything I did based on insecurities. Where I was competent, I would portray incompetence solely based on insecurity. When I would meet new people, it would be difficult for others to know how to react because of the issues I was facing.
What if I could work on my self-confidence in a way that had zero consequences?
If this sounds like an odd reason to draw a sketch a day, just remember - it was the pandemic.
Nothing is more intimidating than sharing your first attempts at "art". So, that is what I would do. If I could do this, I could be confident in anything that I did.
Draw a sketch, post to my instagram stories. What is the worst that could happen? Someone would tell me they were awful?
It worked and gave me so much in return.
By sketching every day, I gave myself something to accomplish each day of the pandemic. By sketching every day, my skills improved. By sketching and posting every day, my confidence grew.
What's more, as I grew and I shared more, friends actually started asking to purchase my pieces. After a few small purchases, I decided to start an etsy page. After I realized how absurd the transaction fees were on etsy, I decided to start this website.
Yesterday, I decided to bring back a sketch a day. I may soon or eventually reveal my reasoning for doing so in another rambling blog post... or maybe I won't. But now you know the origin story of Lollies Follies Studio. I hope you enjoy the sketches.