Our Daily Lives by Kat Pham

Picking Up a Paintbrush After a Long Time When I was little, I used to draw all the time. I would make little comics and create stories all over the pages with my crayons and pencils. I even aspired to be a manga artist when I grew up, but those dreams were quickly shut down when my grandparents disapproved and my art teacher told me my work wasn’t any good. I remember having to complete a self portrait for my art class and upon submitting mine, my teacher pulled me aside and said that I needed to take the class seriously since my work looked “too cartoony” and not realistic enough. During high school, I rarely drew seriously or completed any pieces. The only art I ever made were the doodles on my class notes. Years later, during my first year of college, I met numerous artistic and creative individuals who had similar artistic aspirations as me and instead of being deterred by others, they pursued them. My closest friend and boyfriend were both artists and had their own online shops where they sold their work alongside other merchandise. Inspired, I wanted to do the same. My mom gave me her old iPad and I got to work, staying up until 3 AM trying to refine whatever artistic ability I had left. Although my style may not be suited for some peoples’ tastes, I love my “cartoony” style and am glad I am starting to find people who also appreciate more child-like illustrations over hyperrealism.

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