Welcome!

Art should be more concerned with life than with art. - Kiman Nicolaїdes

Hey y'all! Welcome to my first-ever blog post! I'm Sydney, a Mississippi girl who is fueled by Jesus and the strongest coffee I can get my hands on; I love all things art, music, food, sunsets, and animals. I started this blog to share what goes on in my life as an artist who deals with mild depression and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). I plan to share weekly updates on what current art pieces I am working on, how I cope with life mentally, and my absolute favorite quotes and Bible verses. If you are someone who doesn't mind hearing my innermost feelings, then this is the place for you! I hope you will stick along for the confessions of an artist.

I have kept a digital journal since my senior year of high school in 2021, and I have been writing anything that comes into my mind in the moments I feel like I can't speak the words I need to say. This first entry is about the art part of my life, rather than the depression and anxiety part that seems to creep up in my more recent posts, so please enjoy what young and innocent Sydney has to say:)

From the Confessions of an Artist:

Art is hard. I sit there wondering what to do. Staring at a blank background with all these ideas rushing around in my mind brings an overwhelming amount of artist's block, so I decide to do nothing. I can't draw original cartoons. I can't do calligraphy. I can never seem to come up with my own style. All my childhood consisted of was me looking at a book cover or an image from the internet, and I could draw it to make it look almost the exact same. As a kid, I kind of resented myself for not being original, but in the end, I was training myself to be able to look at something and study every single detail to a T.

As I matured in my art, I was able to look at a bunch of different images and combine them. If someone flipped through all my sketchbooks, they would see that I do not have a style. I am not an original artist, for I am an observer. I always have been, whether it was creating art or watching others silently in the back of the classroom, in the store, or on the roads while riding in the passenger seat. The ironic thing: I get a lot more commissions for my observant art than my original MSA (Mississippi School of the Arts) visual classmates. I think that's because I try to use my God-given talents to bring glory back to Him. I help Him, and He helps me. I have all these ideas of taking verses from the Bible and turning them into paintings. Then when I start to think of what I would do and how I would do them, I get overwhelmed again and decide to watch television. Calvert and Varner (my art teachers) tell me to just start. Don't think; just do it. It seems pretty simple, right? Wrong. Yeah, I can put my pencil or paintbrush on the paper or canvas and make a line. Then after that line I make another one and another; all of a sudden, I have the outline of a still life or a face. Then comes in the work of shading and blending and bringing the piece to life. Right. Easy.

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"Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and He will establish your plans." Proverbs 16:3 NIV