‘...keep going. Just draw, draw, draw’
Meet Ellen Pavlov, an artist on Sktchy. In this Q&A she gives some creative wisdom and a peek at her Sktchy profile.
What’s your background?
I'm a children's librarian working in a public library in Lund, Sweden. Becoming a librarian was actually a childhood dream, one I lost and found again in my 30s.
As a kid I also dreamt about becoming an artist, I used to draw all the time and often built small houses and sew and knit clothes for my dolls and stuffed animals. My high school education had a focus on art, everything from classic drawing, ceramics, painting to photography, film and digital editing. Then came life and I kind of lost all things creative.
The first thing I found again was handicraft, knitting and sewing and such. I started when I was expecting my first child and then I just kept going, creating my own patterns and just having fun.
A couple of years ago I decided to find my way back to drawing. I missed doing it during all of these years, but since I didn't draw regularly it didn't go so well when I did draw. And everytime I got more and more frustrated. I realized I had to do something more than just some sketch now and then. So I challenged myself to draw everyday for a year, I made it my new year's resolution. It didn't have to be something big, but it had to be something. And I had to share it on Instagram.
The sharing part was the hardest. First I had a locked account, just letting a couple of friends see my work. But after a while I grew more confident. I started to follow other people showing their art and before I knew it I was out there sharing my work with completely strangers. And it was so good. Don't underestimate the power of ""likes""!
I have always loved making collages and creating art from old things. As a library lover – and a librarian – old library cards have a special place in my heart. I've often used these book cards when making birthday cards, bookmarks and so on. One day I drew a self portrait on one and I really liked it. As I've always loved drawing portraits I thought that could be a fun project: drawing portraits on library cards. At first I had trouble finding inspiration, but that was solved when I found out about and joined Sktchy.
Since then I have drawn 365 library card portraits all in all, not everyone with inspiration from Sktchy but most are. Sktchy is a big part of my creative life. I get so much inspiration here, both from photos and other artist's work. Right now I have taken a break from the library card portraits (I think…) and I'm focusing on strengthening my creative "voice" and finding out where to go next.
When you’re looking for inspiration on Sktchy, what jumps out at you?
I love candid photos! But I also love portrait photos in which the model is looking right in the camera. I often choose photos that don't have to much things happening around the people I want to draw, no messy background and such. I often have ideas of what I want to draw and collect photos that can help me in that process. And babies, I do love babies.
What’s your medium of choice when you’re creating art?
I almost always mix. Pencil is often what I start with. And for colours I like to use ink wash, polychromos coloured pencils and markers. I often cut and paste all kinds of stuff I find, like washi tape and bits and pieces from old books. I rarely know from start what medium I'm going to use.
What’s one quirk in your creative process?
I'm not good at planning and I often rush things. Sometimes it works out in the end anyways, but many times it doesn't.
Any words of advice for fellow artists?
Look at what other artists do. You learn a lot by looking at other people's work. You get a feeling of what you like and dislike and inspiration for new things to try out. And just keep going. Just draw, draw, draw. Experiment and have fun. And don't forget to get out those old drawings once in a while to see how far you've come. Because you always have.
Get the Sktchy iPhone app to join Ellen on Sktchy. Featured art:
https://sktchy.com/bYG0ND https://sktchy.com/rJnN7C https://sktchy.com/q0bXv https://sktchy.com/u0QYiD https://sktchy.com/j7lrKC https://sktchy.com/NYpGOc https://sktchy.com/nA6QDc