21. Starting an Artistic Hobby

I love the idea of being a Renaissance Man. The simple fact that I'm so familiar with this term when so many I know have never heard it confirms this fondness. One of the many aspects of a well rounded man is an effort toward creativity. Great men of the Enlightenment age wore many hats: scientist, philosopher, teacher, inventor, and often... artist. Leonardo DaVinci is the poster child for a Renaissance Man. While I'm no where near a level to create a masterpiece, I have to start somewhere.

In addition to being a cool aspect of manliness, the creation of art has it's own benefits. It is an opportunity for one to express himself in ways that words fail. It is a stress relieving and therapeutic hobby. In order to create art, you must be able to pause and look at the world in a different way. You must be able to appreciate the intricacies and details of life and objects that make them beautiful or profound. In so many ways, you have to see the world anew - and try to let others see the same.

I've been thinking for a while on where to begin with this. Most people are short on money and/or time, myself included. So I figured the best way to pick up a hobby is to make it work for me while I grow into it. My biggest challenges are that I live very simply & mobile, leaving little space for complex art supplies, and that my income is constantly changing. After much looking I've found a highly portable and very cost effective means of trying my hand at art: colored pencils.

This is a hobby that can be started with literally a box of $4 colored pencils from Walmart and a scrap piece of paper. Because I want to take myself a little more seriously so that I don't give up immediately, I'm willing to spend a little more. With my needs, I'm able to get started with good tools for less than $25. This includes:
I look forward to receiving these in a few days and getting started. Hopefully I'll have some awesome artwork to post. At the worst, it should look better than what I drew in 3rd grade.... hopefully.

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