So after graduating, and my graduation images generating very little interest from publishers (luckily I had a lot of interest from agents, which at least saves my ego) – I had a bit of a question to ask myself ‘I know it’s not working, and so, why ?’
I decided I need to have more FUN with my drawing.
Now, as a single mother of two boys with not a lot of dosh to hand – there is a lot of working, a lot of worrying about how we will manage – and there shouldn’t be a limit on fun, but sometimes it’s just hard. I am, in current parlance, both cash poor AND time poor. It’s not just the not having money, the not being able to go on holiday, not being able to buy a new sofa or get the TV arial fixed when a suspected rat has munched through it – it’s the worry, the constant feeling of not doing well enough, combined with the lack of actual time to simply indulge passions and interests. It’s hard, almost impossible, to indulge that creative energy because if you get a phone call saying ‘can you do this for money?’ it always takes priority. It has to.
So this is where trying to have fun comes in – with my art (and yes, of course with my children too). The experiments here – the drawing of dogs, and trying to create people that look like them – I’m not happy with the human figures, but working on it… (definitely more to come on this).
Now the warmer weather is on its way, I think I’ll have to go sit in the park and surreptitiously draw dog walkers. It is amazing how many owners do look quite a bit like their dogs.
Natalie Eldred 