Drawing again, 2025

I’m drawing again, and it feels great. I took a five-year break, starting back in 2020. I felt burned out—across the board. No energy, no spark, no desire to pick up a pen. I've always loved art as a place to unwind and explore thoughts. When lines and color come together it’s freeing. But there I was, finding other ways to decompress. I took up HIIT workouts (big fan) and reading as alternatives. Still, every time I walked into a shop or museum, I’d catch myself saying, “I want to make something again.” Fast forward to a trip to Portland, Oregon this January, and I finally did.

My husband and I live in Seattle, Washington. We like to drive down to Portland every few months, mostly for the food. We stopped at Water Avenue on our last trip for coffee and bagels. When we left, we stopped to look back at the coffee shop. This adorable dog was looking at us and I said, “Let’s snap a photo. I’ll try illustrating this”.

I missed this! Drawing is like meditating for me, or like a really good workout—the kind where my world gets to enter a different dimension for just a little bit of time. I’ll throw on an album, give myself an hour or so at a time, and just be. This illustration of a labrador outside Water Avenue: it’s a souvenir from a memorable day in Portland and a reminder that making time for hobbies is always worth it.