How To Go From "I'm Not An Artist" To "Yeah, I'm An Artist" With Art Challenges

(Or, how drawing has helped me cope with job hunting, navigating said new job, loss, and celebrating big wins).

Or, or, How Nature Drawing Turned Into A Healthy Habit

Being creative was something that was always a given for me. I saw the world in color. I saw how green the trees outside my house were. I saw how pretty and blue the sky was each afternoon as I drove home from work. I saw my favorite time of day -- exactly 7 o'clock in the evening, on a walk with my dog, and how the sunlight settled on the American Dream Mall across the river.

So, I started to draw it. Everything. The river, the trees. My dog. Sketches of birds and flowers filled my notebook in early February of 2023. The park I grew up playing in was just outside my house.

Then, I looked online for drawing tips. I didn't know what I wanted to improve, but I just wanted to get into a habit of something.

'winter park', 2.9.25

-'meadowlands', sketch

The irony was, I didn't go to college for art. I went to college for marketing, looked for two years, couldn't find a job in the field I studied, and in August of 2024, I got my first paid gig as a Paraprofessional.

(Adulting, woo).

Then came the art. I drew with my students. And in doing so, I found they were more engaged than me initially attempting to make small talk or conversation in between work. Now, some students have become so accustomed to my habit that they ask me what I'm doing for the day. A small side hustle win alongside the Big Adult Job.

#Nikki's100Days

I've done two art challenges in the last two years. The first was unplanned and uncoordinated. However, after learning about challenges from Instagram and not knowing if one was happening, I created my own.

I titled it 'Nikki's 100 Days', and when I started, I didn't know where I was going to work. Drawing helped pass the time. First, I drew on colored stock paper, using pencil, and started with simple sketches.

Nikki's 100 Days - Day 1 "starter "

Nikki's 100 Days - Day 23 "fantasy bookstore"

And by the 23rd day, I was trying to be brave and draw full scenes. Looking back, I am proud of myself for succeeding in such a daunting task.

Nikki's 100 Days - Day 100 "pride"

I've come to learn that even the quickest of drawings count. It doesn't have to be this grand, big piece. Even if in an artist's mind, that's the expectation. Drawing every day, from 2024 - 2025, has helped me let loose with my art.

"reference warm up" - 5.23

"miles" 4.26

#Mermay2025

Then along came May, a new year, a new job. My interests changed. My art style changed. I evolved from drawing on paper with a pencil to using a Wacom tablet, then an iPad, and finally a Huion. The Huion tablet admittedly is something I'm still a novice at, but I like that it's making me relearn a few things.

Then, a loss. An emotional blow with the passing of a friend from cancer. I shut down for a few days. It rocked me, and even though I've told myself I've done this before, I felt this pain before, I can go through the motions and do it again.

Until finally, the dam broke. The tears came. The anger came. And oddly, some of the most creative and unique pieces I've ever done in all my years of honing my art skills.

The creativity came in crashing waves, and I believe that in some way, that was reflected in each piece.

Mermay was created as an art challenge in 2016 by Tom Bancroft, after a drawing with his teenage daughters using their "shellphones" went viral.

#mermay Day 4 - axolotl" 5.4

I'd never drawn any large ocean piece like this, only small rivers and lakes and beach fronts. I looked up tutorials, and how to's to help me capture the image of what I had in my brain onto Procreate.

It was wildly fun. Finally, I remember thinking. This is it!

I don't think I've reached the level of art competency I'd like to be at, but it's a truly stark difference compared to today and last year, and even the year before.

"#mermay Day 22 - psychedelic" - 5.22.25

What I do know, and what I think, is that anyone can participate in an art challenge -- and anyone can draw, even if its basic sketches. Sketches turn into ideas. Ideas turn into line art. And line art turns into full colored pieces.

#mermay Day 30 - exoskeleton" - 5.30.25

And then you draw, and draw, until the last stroke, the last undo. The last upload.

For my last peice of Mermay, I wanted to pay an homage to my last 100 Days prompt, using the pride flag colors as a main feature in the art's sunset and water. A quiet celebration of chosen family and love -- where in last years' art, it was meant to be two friends taking a selfie, loud and proud. Now, a family of queer river mermaids. To me, both pieces are held dear and close to my heart, and I couldn't be prouder that both challenges just so happened to end on the same day, only a year apart.

#mermay Day 31 - serenity" - 5.31.25

Call it what you will. Fate. Destiny. A mermaid. Somehow, two drawing challenges helped me overcome some of the biggest hurdles life had to offer, and if that's not divine intervention, then I'm not sure what it is.