i never thought i’d describe myself as an artist.  my ‘doodling’ (as i referred to my drawings) was just something i did without thinking.  i could be eating a meal and something would come to me and i’d draw all over my napkin.  if there was ever a paper and writing tool of any kind in front of me – watch out!  i worked as a preschool teacher, and doodling was something i did (a lot!) during staff meetings…

(click on images to see them larger)

i love filling every inch of paper…

in fact, it was during these staff meetings that my friend & coworker Sheila would watch me draw.  one day she told me bluntly (as was her way), “you’re going to hell if you don’t use the talents God gave you.”  i laughed at the time.  i loved drawing, but i also loved writing.  at the time, in addition to being a full-time preschool teacher, i was taking a creative writing class that i was very involved in.  i was even starting to send poems and short stories out and getting published in small magazines and publications.

fast forward to now…no more preschool teaching, not much writing, but lots of drawing and painting.  so sheila (wherever you are!) – i’m trying! 🙂

i wanted to share one of my first – and favorite drawings.  it’s a black and white heart, done with a Sharpie permanent marker.  i LOVE drawing with Sharpies – i never start with pencils.  just straight on with Sharpies.  love the details you can create with them.

i always drew only in black and white.  loved the contrast and boldness of it.  then – surprising myself – i started experimenting with colors.  i started making copies of my black and white drawing and coloring them in with markers (the heart on the bottom left side).  i wasn’t sure i liked it at first, but i kept going.

the heart painting on the right side may be the first colored painting i ever did (i think it was around 2004?).  until then i’d focused on drawing with either black Sharpies or colored markers.

i now paint mainly in color and lately have found myself missing working in black and white.  so i’ve been drawing a LOT lately.  just me and a black marker.  on anything i can get my hands on – sketchbooks, manila folders, napkins, junk mail.

i feel like i’ve gone back to my roots.  i’m doodling and i’m loving it!