241. The Artist I Always Denied - Tatiana Gallardo
Tatiana Gallardo
Drawing has since become my favorite daily ritual. It has all the liberating, self-reflective benefits of stream-of-conscious journaling—just in visual form.
I never saw myself as an artist. My father, a painter and creative director, was the artist of the family. His work covered our walls. His “quick” sketches resembled Picasso’s. And his creativity came to him with an ease I could only envy.
As a child, I loved creating—in English class, art class, and everyday after school. I would lose myself in drawing, but my elementary sketches could never compete with my father’s. So I stopped drawing and decided I’d become a writer instead.
A year ago, I began a 100-day drawing challenge because I wanted to remember what it felt like to draw for fun again. Most of all, I wanted to remember what it felt like to draw for myself again.
Drawing has since become my favorite daily ritual. It has all the liberating, self-reflective benefits of stream-of-conscious journaling—just in visual form. In my visual journal, I don’t chase perfection. I just play. Marker on paper. Thoughts on the page. Oftentimes, I draw something I used to never dare: a self-portrait. I learn more about myself every single time.
Recently, I heard someone say, "You are what you do."
I write. So I’m a writer.
I journal. So I’m a journal-er.
And now—I draw. So I’m an artist.
- Tatiana Gallardo
