Although I’ve always enjoyed looking at art, I stopped creating anything myself shortly after leaving secondary school. I tried drawing a few times after that, but the limited skill I had at 18 had atrophied over the years, and I was quickly disheartened by the formless scribbles that I out on the page.

That changed some time in the spring of 2019, when a late night conversation with a close friend, who is an incredibly talented portrait artist herself, left me with an idea for an illustration. Unfortunately I lacked the skills to make it a reality. What I did have was a bit of spare time, and a copy of Fun With a Pencil, by Andrew Loomis. 

I then spent several hours a day for the next few weeks working through the book, as well as Figure Drawing For All It’s Worth and Drawing the Head and Hands also by Loomis. Putting in several hours practice a day, and working with such a good teacher, albeit one who had died in 1959, I progressed rapidly, encouraged by an incredibly supportive group of friends. Within three months I was ready to attempt the illustration. 

With the illustration finally out of my head and on the paper, I continued practicing as much as I possibly could, trying to identify elements I wasn’t happy with in each drawing, and focus on it in the next, while also working in a wide variety of media. Something I continue to do to this day.

At the start of this year, I began getting commission requests from friends. When the Coronavirus Pandemic hit only a few weeks later, my industry shut down almost completely. I now have a lot more time to dedicate to improving and broadening my skills as an illustrator, as well as the time to take on more commissions and focus on turning this into my full time job, even after the world returns to normal.