A little confidence goes a long way
Thanks to social media, talented artist Monica Lee finally made the big leap to pursue her passion, writes
WHAT if you have a hidden talent or a deep passion for something but just didn’t have the confidence to do something about it? Well, that talent might stay hidden forever or for a very long time. In the case of Monica Lee, it was stored away for 12 years.
Monica loved to draw, ever since she was young, and she even enrolled in an art college but due to lack of confidence, she did not pursue a career as an artist.
Instead, she took the safe route and worked for her father who ran an advertising photography studio.
She did that for more than a decade before coming across some artwork on Instagram that inspired her to get back to drawing. That was five years ago. Today, Monica works as a full-time artist and has built up a body of work that’s simply stunning. I always loved drawing but I didn’t think I had the talent for it. Even after going through art college, I was still terrible at drawing. I’m not naturally talented. I have to work hard at it. But I believe with hard work, determination and passion, anything is possible. Absolutely not. I remember when we were kids, my teacher used to ask us this question: What do you want to be when you grow up? I actually wanted to become an artist.
But all my friends wanted to be lawyers, doctors or teachers. As a result, I thought that drawing could only be a hobby and not a profession. How wrong I was. If only the Internet had existed during that time, I would have known better. They were very supportive, actually. What held me back initially was myself because I lacked confidence. But they knew I loved drawing and when I decided to go to art college, they were very encouraging. And even when I eventually decided to quit my job to become a full-time artist, they supported my decision. My dad is a photographer. Growing up, my sisters and I used to hang out in his studio on the weekends. He had a huge library of photography books that I enjoyed looking at. I think because I grew up appreciating photography, photorealism naturally appealed to me.
After college, I did digital imaging for my dad. Basically, it’s compositing different images into a final composition in Photoshop.
After 12 years of doing that, I began to question myself. Is this what I want to do for the rest of my life — just creating work for clients? I wanted to create my own work. I wanted to draw. Deep inside, a part of me still hoped to become an artist. Absolutely. In digital imaging, it’s all about patience, details, observation and refined craftsmanship when creating an Portrait Halfway Done; Portrait Completed.