Welcome
Who I am? I'm sure everyone's dying to know...
Blogging is a very new experience for me. To
be honest, public social media as a whole is rather new to me. I started my art
account back in May 2023 on Instagram, which felt like a rather big deal. Since
then, I've begun branching out into other sites such as Artfol, Reddit and
TikTok. I've been honestly very grateful for all the support that I've received
and I'm really excited by the sales that I've made; not just for the money, but
mostly because it's so exciting to think that my art is out there in the world
being enjoyed!!
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| Birds of a Feather, one of my personal favourites from 2023 |
Despite being of the generation where it was
hammered into me to never give out any personal information online, I do think
it might be a good idea for anyone reading this to know a little bit about me.
My name is Hannah, I'm 22 years old, I grew up (and still live) in the South of
England, and I am currently studying Physics with Astronomy at university.
My journey with art has not been entirely linear. As a child, I was always drawing, but almost stopped, except in art classes, at secondary school due to a lack of time. I took GCSE art, and during this time did mostly graphite pencil drawings unless made to do otherwise; but decided to pursue science at A-level. I don't regret this, as I really do enjoy maths, problem solving, and my degree, but I will say it wasn't very conducive for practicing painting or drawing. Then, lockdown hit, and for the first time in years, I had nothing to do. So, I picked up some watercolours from my old art kit, and I painted a cow.
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| That first highland cow from 2020; there's a lot I would change, in hindsight, but he's still proudly framed in my mum's living room |
I painted my way through Covid, and proudly
showed friends, family, and occasionally my snapchat stories my creations, but
dropped off regular practice again when I went to university. I was still
drawing when I found the time and during the holidays, but it wasn't until the
last year or so that I really found myself coming back to it properly.
In the last year, I suffered a chronic back injury and the physical injury itself, combined with the mental payload and some personal issues I was having, lead me to take the best part of a year out from my studies. During this time, I decided to pick up a paintbrush properly again, and I'm so glad I did. It gave me a renewed sense of purpose, and something to aim for during my days, especially last winter. I completed three or four sketchbooks in this time, purely because I was excited about trying new things, improving and chasing the next idea.
I began showing friends and family my paintings again, some of whom were uni friends who had never seen them before. And the same topic, that I should try selling or sharing it, came up time and time again. Over time, I warmed up to the idea. At heart, I really am a bit of a show off, and the idea of being able to show other people my art was tempting. And the idea that someone might want to own something I'd made? Sensational.
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| A watercolour painting I did recently from a family trip to Derbyshire |
I headed back to uni for the 2023-24 academic year, and surprised myself by being able finish the year this time, and also keep up drawing and painting for the majority of the year. It's become quite a nice way to ensure that I head a little more into preserving that work-life balance that everyone's always on about, and thanks to the kindness of some wonderful friends I was even able to take a few commissions while studying.
Which brings me to where I am now; starting this blog, so that I can try to engage more personally with people who like my art and other artists. It's a really wonderful community, and one that I'm hoping I will get a chance to be more involved with in the future.
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