What happens when you lose confidence in yourself? It’s easy to slip into doubt and despondency when you attempt something you haven’t done before. I admit that drawing is not my strong point. I am not an illustrator or an artist who can paint realistic pictures. To get around that I started photography, then moved into printmaking and collage. It’s how I’ve got by, until now.

I used to have a daily practice of creating an artwork. It lasted for ten years with six months off in 2016. This year I abandoned my practice in March and haven’t gone back to it. I felt it was getting stale and I wasn’t enjoying it. Now I see how valuable it was.

Doing a small art piece everyday helps you feel ‘in the flow’. It’s like exercise or music, you need to practise to have a practice. I discovered how rusty I was at making a semblance of a map for the book I am creating as part of my final Arts and Place Masters project.

I needed a map of the places I am investigating in Pottsville. I started by printing out maps of the area onto mud marked paper. They didn’t work. Then I tried to draw a map with all the subdivision houses and streets. Totally out of proportion. I took a break!

After a trip to Brisbane where I saw a fantastic map of the Brisbane River, I tried again using inks to mark out the creeks. Some of the inks had gone syrupy in their bottles from underuse and the lines were wonky and overbright. I then tried watercolour which was somewhat an improvement. I knew I was overthinking so I did a quick sketch in my notebook. Much better, but it was portrait orientation, not landscape.

Fifth time lucky! I copied the sketch using inktense pencils and watercolour. It looked too wishy washy. I’ve been playing around with overlayering and thought this might strengthen the image. I found a photo of the creek with sunlight upon it that I had taken the other morning. Layering it with the map made it a little translucent. It’s definitely not perfect but I don’t think I can improve on it any further before the print deadline.

Which brings me back to my realisation that I need to resume my daily practice. Starting January 1st I’ll begin again, this time creating with watercolours so I can become more confident in using them. It’s a whole field I have never really explored. Maybe I’ll even take a course in beginner watercolours in 2024. It’s a positive step forward to regain my confidence.