As a teen, I won a summer art scholarship to take two classes at a local art college. One was a still life class, the other was a figure drawing class - a nude figure drawing class.

I remember feeling intimidated, shy, and generally awkward - but I also truly enjoyed the experience.

I’d drive to class every day - with my mom in the passenger seat. I’d walk in with huge pads of drawing paper and my supplies and get lost for hours in art. And then I’d leave after covering sheet after sheet with graphite and charcoal.

This was when I saw the biggest jump in progress with my drawing skills. When flipping through my old work, I see that we worked mostly large and gestural, not worried about mistakes because it was all practice.

Somewhere along the way, I’ve forgotten how to let my work take up more (paper) space. And it was a nice reminder that perhaps I should get back into doing that.

I’ve been documenting my childhood artwork in a series of videos. Last week, I shared art from my primary school years. This week, in my latest video, I’m sharing my work from high school - including work from the summer art scholarship I won.

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ℹ️ This video includes figure drawing studies (including nude sketches). If you'd prefer to skip that section, I include a note in the video and timestamps so you know when they show up.

I’m curious if you have had any moments where you felt like your art progressed quickly - I think it feels like dots getting connected, like that ‘lightbulb moment’ in an art context.

Thanks for letting me share my old artwork with you!
Susan