Artwork by Michelle Horgan

This is my moment of bliss…

I can fondly remember when my mom gave me Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain…I had to have been 13 or 14. It was a very big deal for us as my parents were immigrants from Germany and we did not have much money, but anything to do with art always came first. It started my dream of creating a masterpiece and one day going to art school.

I wish I still had that book, I’m sure the pages would have been very well worn as I devoured everything I could from it. I can remember my mom critiquing my work and showing me how to change just a simple angle to make something more realistic. My mom is now close to 80 and she paints in watercolours almost ever day…beautiful landscapes.

Fast forward 30+ years, art school never happened. As with many young people I became a rebellious teen and put aside my pencil for other things.

In my adult life I ended up working in chocolate ?, running a very busy Chocolatier in downtown Toronto I had little time for anything else. I always was creative even with chocolate but I never was able to satisfy my desire, even if I had no idea what that desire was. Last September after 8 years I became unemployed and I had no idea what to do for the rest of my life!

Then this January I clicked on a YouTube video on “how to draw a bunny”, I picked up a regular old pencil, found a plain paper journal and drew my first bunny. I felt so complete, so full of joy and oddly full of peace. I had that excitement in the pit of my stomach when I finished my drawing, I was so proud and I knew right then what I have been missing all my life. I was so excited I even sent a copy to the YouTube instructor Mark Crilley via Instagram and he said..”can’t believe this is your first! Great lines!” Now…lol, I was a kid at Christmas, just that little bit of encouragement and his great instructions opened up a door that I closed so long ago.

All my memories came back from my childhood…how much I loved drawing and how I knew this is what I am. I am an artist. I want to be the best I can and I am in awe of the amazing art that I see here and online….people’s work is truly breathtaking.

I have drawn every day for hours on end…I can’t imagine a day now where I wouldn’t draw! I’m reading everything I can and I know I need to fine tune the little skills I know in order to get better. I am facinated by the old masterpieces, the play with values and perception. I just don’t know how to get that all in place on paper. I also would like to advance in oil’s and need to learn the fundamentals from the beginning.

Watching Drawing Academy free videos has helped so much, the instruction is very clear and easy to follow, I see improvement already. I have ordered the Bargue book (for my b-day lol) and I am excited…and honestly a little nervous to get started on the plates. I know I can create beautiful work, with the right training. I can feel it in my gut….this is what I was born to do and I feel blessed that I found my bliss in this life….even at the age of 48.

The work in progress that I submitted of the Jackrabbit is my first piece working with coloured pencils. (and my 4th drawing) I was intimidated by the process but I was more determined to learn how to do it. I am proud of it, but I know it can be better.

I hope people vote for me to win a course in the Drawing Academy. Not only would I be thrilled, I would work very diligently to master every course and never give up my dream again. I have always believed that if someone is willing to really learn and practice anything is possible.

Creating art is my moments of bliss
Michelle Horgan