When in doubt, don’t think.
I have an Excel sheet full of illustration ideas, categorised in groups by topics, colour coded and what not. I also have gotten bored looking at that sheet, but nevertheless, it is a helpful guide for when I want some ideas and motivation to make art.
Anyway, last year when I got a devastating diagnosis, everything in my life just stopped. My overthinking mind also stopped. I spent days just gazing at the sky with no thoughts in my head. Silver lining, huh? A couple of weeks later, things started to settle a bit and I decided to doodle again. So I picked up my colour pencils which I never use, and just starting making shapes. I had no concern of what I would be making, how it would end up looking, I didn’t care if I make ugly non-art. I just wanted to move my hands while my mind was at a standstill.
In my family, there is a Punjabi word called “Illupatode”, roughly translated as something non-sensical, or jumbled up; like a language or script you don’t understand, or doodles that don’t make sense. So here are the colourful little Illupatode I made, just doodles of a blank mind, for a change.
