I would like to start my story from the beginning...
Art has always been a big part of my life and ever since I was able to hold a pencil as a child I've expressed myself through various scribbles. Whether I was happy, sad, or anything in between, I had a way of turning that feeling into a visual representation. Granted, I've not always been very great at it; when I was younger I didn't seem to realize peoples heads were attached to something called a body, so everyone I drew had arms and legs sticking right out of their faces - which were quite massive to be honest (probably due to all the supposed organs crammed in there I guess??), but my mother always encouraged me to keep going.
To be honest, I think it was kind of a let-me-live-my-dream-through-you type of thing since she gave up drawing in her teenage years and regretted it ever since, and at the time I remember being a stubborn teenager, thinking to myself "You can't tell me what to do, I'll stop drawing if I want to!".
I'm glad I never did though, because although I've felt like giving up several times for different reasons, my art has grown in so many ways and branched out to so many different artforms, one of which I'm pursuing as a career at the moment. I'll talk more about that in another post though. For now; on with the beginning!
Throughout my school years I was a very shy person, and in many ways I still am. My family and I moved a lot, which led to me changing schools more times than I can even remember. I would have a difficult time approaching people, so I usually just sat down with my trusty pencil and some paper and drew whatever came to mind, luring people in for a conversation that way. I also took art classes every chance I got and in high school I ended up in Advanced Placement Art where we got to mix and match all sorts of creative ideas, styles and mediums which were never included in the basic art classes. This fueled my creativity and desire to experiment with other artforms and I dipped my toes into oil painting, sculpting, digital art and anything else I could get my hands on. Now I'm studying to become a tailor, but again; more on that later!
Unfortunately a lot of my old artwork is lost due to the constant moving up until my 20's, but I've kept (most of) the drawings I could fit into a binder safe with me for many years.
Over the years the question "what if?" has stayed with me. It was an advice from one of my former teachers. "Always wonder what if" she said, and even to this day, any time I feel stuck in an artist's block, I do just that.
"What if an elephant came crashing through the roof right now?"
"What if a pirate got onto an airplane?"
... Or any other random "what if" question that pops up in my head.
It doesn't necessarily have to make any sense, and in fact I'd say it shouldn't, but I bet it will get you wondering about things you've never thought of before, possibly inspiring new art!
On that note I am going to end this post, but first I would like to thank you for your time.
I hope you've enjoyed the read and I look forward to sharing more of my work and stories with you in the future, where I plan on talking about my experiences with different mediums! I'd love to hear what you think, so drop me a line or two in the comments, and if you have any content suggestions or advice,
Until next time,
Ellisif Ýr Heiðdal
PS. As you may notice, I have a habit of leaving my drawings unfinished.
I usually have a hard time returning to a drawing without it feeling like a burden later on, most likely due to them being so connected to my mood and emotions, so unless I finish it all in one sitting while I'm still in the right mood, most of them are left undone.
The photos are not ordered by year, but range from around 2006-2016.