Faded passion

When my first grade class was given an art assignment to recreate Vincent Van Gogh’s famous painting “Starry Night” with pastels, my fascination with art began to blossom. My teacher’s enthusiasm inspired me to continue drawing not only in class, but also in my room. 

The joy of watching anime combined with my love for art accompanied my inspiration to create my own series of comics reporting fictional news. Crafting a plot with my own characters under my style gave me a sense of control of my own world as a kid.

I began officially exploring art in fourth grade through drawing books to guide me on how to perfect the features of a person. I’d spend several hours at my desk watching tutorials and using my books until I created a piece that would bring a satisfactory smile to my face from being able to add another art piece to my collection. 

This routine continued at school during my classes where I’d scribble on my homework and collaborated with a friend to make a conjoined comic series for our other friends to read. At one point, my mom began to notice the immense amount of time I committed to my art that prevented me from focusing more on school. The continuous lecturing would echo in my head as I stripped away the time and supplies I used for art until my desk cleared with my drawing notebooks and the scratch papers full of sketches. 

Over time, my art phase became a memory and I would rarely use my art skills for school projects and assignments. However, when senior year arrived with the opportunity to take AP 2D Studio Art, I saw the class as an opportunity to recover my art phase and use it to the best of my advantage rather than let it be a side hobby. It was a fun and exciting experience for me that I was finally able to touch once again after blocking it.

As months passed by in the class working on art pieces nonstop, the rejoice that art once brought to me was no longer there. Having to finish my art pieces in a timely manner for every assignment, it all felt like a task rather than something I was doing for fun. Although my passion for a hobby is at loss, I’ve been able to look back at my previous work and see the memories it has brought me and my improvement over the years.