Living in the region known as the ring of fire, natural disasters are our best friend. We grow up either experiencing it or watching it from afar. Either way, it's not something that is excluded in our daily conversation. And though we have natural disasters, we are equally blessed with amazing landscapes which makes a 9 year old me use that as an inspiration during my artistic journey back in the day.

The thumbnail above is my 2nd work as the original one was displayed at my school for years and belonged to them. So it was already the second edition that I drew which I don't even remember why I did a second one.

The theme of that drawing was natural disaster and I chose Volcano because it's what intrigued me the most compared to flood or forest fire. And as a 9 years old, that was the scene I pictured when the eruption was happening, people running around, livestocks, family.. I mean these drawing is quite illogical because if the distance between the volcano and the village are a lot closer, considering the materials that the mountain spews, there would be no people. But anyhow.... it was how I pictured at that age, that people would still have the time to run and save themselves.

It was colored with Pentel and finished with Pylox clear spray, a technique that I learned during my art class. Now, almost 17 years later, that drawing is still intriguing as it was. Some other of my works are also done the same way and some displayed in the following are mostly my "practice" drawing.

These drawings reminded me of my artistic and creative journey. I found them while cleaning some of my old books and they were a few pieces that were unfinished. Anyhow, I'd tell a little story of it though I didn't draw anymore nor do any of it as my profession but once, Art was a big part of who I am.

My Drawing Journey...

My drawing journey started quite early. When I got into elementary school at age 6, my art teacher noticed my talent and I began drawing and coloring competitively.At that point, I joined so many competitions and I took an extra drawing class every afternoon for the next 6 years of my life. My specialty was landscape and cultural activities from my region that I turned into drawing. I still have the sketch but I forgot to take a picture of it.

I was also mostly in a class with a lot of older students who were really good and I have to say, artistically gifted. While I was among them, I wanted to have the same perfection as these older students and the similar style as them. They were well-supported with much better art tools while for me, art wasn't the only thing I did. So, my parents could only support me with the best they could as they also divided their finances into my other activities like Karate, Swimming and my academic life where I was also doing those competitively.

Now, I realized that when I was among these students, I was never proud of what I drew ; I am prone to constantly comparing my drawings or anything to my friends, who were often significantly older. This is the mindset that I had which hindered my progress and never really went through anything that I have the potential to be good at. I could be an artist, if I were patient enough and stopped comparing myself to people or friends and only focused on my work. But again, I got distracted and once I graduated from my elementary school,though I was still doing art but it wasn't the loudest part of my life anymore. At the time, I was already into tech, programming and writing stories which started another journey of my life that apparently is still a big part of me at the present moment.

About two or three years ago, I stumbled upon my art teacher who asked me if I am still drawing. I obviously didn't do it professionally but I told him that it was just something I did as a hobby that I do once in a blue moon. That moment, I began to realize that I had such a vibrant life that I forgot. And that perhaps, those early days shaped my creative journey and parts of me today. Whether it is through photography, digital drawings, or writing, I am thankful that those early exposure helped fuel the creative part of my life and it will always be the memory that I cherished as a part of my identity.