The Gift of Being a Student (Again)

Creative Practice

Feb 17

There is a strange thing that happens when the thing you love becomes the thing you rely on.

At first, it feels like you have been given everything you could have ever asked for. You get to wake up and paint, experiment, make something with your hands. But eventually as time passes the questions change.

Instead of
What do I feel like making today?
it becomes
What would be useful to make today?

Creativity slowly stops feeling like a refuge and starts feeling like responsibility. I knew that deep down I did not stop loving art, but I had lost the peace and rest that I felt inside of it.

And I did not realize how tired that had made me until I took a class where absolutely nothing depended on me.

I came across Elaine Lee’s (dearelaineco) Illustrative People and Urbanscapes classes on Instagram and was immediately drawn to the carefree and whimsical style of her work. I knew I wanted a small shift — different materials, different subject matter, a chance to learn again instead of lead. So I took a chance and enrolled in both.

I was so excited to focus on mixed media: watercolor, gouache, and colored pencils layered together. That alone already changed my mindset and had me inspired to take the classes.

Honest Review

The first thing I noticed about the both classes was that it was encouraged to use the supplies you either already had or that were accessible to you. What I love about that is that sometimes when we try a new medium or skill, we assume that we need to have the EXACT supplies that the artist is using. But with this class it was encouraged to experiment and just have fun. So I grabbed my Dots & Dust handmade watercolors, some white gouache I had lying around, my kiddo’s Crayola colored pencils (later I would get the Faber Castell Polychromos), and some watercolor paper that I normally save for my students to just get started.

I also immediately noticed the comforting tone that permeated throughout each class. Each lesson was not too long and no where near intimidating. Both classes were very beginner friendly and gave me the immediate feeling that I could do this.

Each lesson was broken into very manageable steps. I never felt overwhelmed, but lessons were clear enough that I could see progress immediately. That matters more than it sounds. Many tutorials out there unintentionally teach comparison.

The projects themselves were whimsical and so cute! This is a style that I have never explored before as my style tends to lean more into the elegant or classical. Elaine encourages you to have fun and experiment. All the little illustrative people had personality and the buildings within the Urbanscape class had character. Nothing had to be rendered as hyper-realistic and mistakes didn’t feel like failure. They felt like part of the illustration and what made each drawing so unique.

What I Learned

Yes, I learned practical things:

how to use gouache more in my illustrations
how colored pencils add structure, character and whimsy
how almost EVERYTHING that you sketch can be broken down into simple shapes
how layering actually removes the pressure of getting it right the first time

But the real lesson for me wasn’t technical. It was remembering that creativity thrives in SAFETY.

These classes worked for me personally because they removed intimidation. The instructions were clear, the expectations were gentle, and the projects were approachable. That combination creates confidence in a student and I was so honored to be a part of it.

Now mind you, I didn’t come away with a new aesthetic. I still LOVE painting loose watercolor florals in my bible.

But what I came away with was a softened relationship to my own creativity.

I finally understood that my sketchbook is meant for playing, experimenting, and experiencing.

Sometimes what a creative person needs most is not inspiration, but permission to be a STUDENT again.

I felt creative joy return very quietly for me.

And that was worth far more than any new skill I could obtain.