…I had a key that could open my head so I could put in and take out anything I wanted? This bewitching thought that I’ve been mulling over came to me from something I read two weeks ago. In Vol. 2 of Joe Hill’s epic comic book series called Locke and Key, one of the characters named Kinsley dug out all her fears and the ability to cry while her older brother Tyler jammed in textbooks to ace school exams!

 

If I were to play along and assume that the lid on my head was off, what would I put in? After a bout of gruelling self-assessment I came up with the answer which believe it or not is ‘nothing’. Yes, I’d pass it up, coz I can’t bear sabotaging the masochistic sense of achievement I derive from learning anything new. I revel in that sort of thing. But, that’s just me.

On the other hand there’s a lot I want to get rid of. All kinds of fears starting from facing a blank page to a room full of people at a party. A long standing one has been that of drawing people. I sort of stiffen when faced with this task and the lack of spirit shows in the drawing and then these insipid drawings gnaw at my courage to start afresh. Hence the beguiling temptation of this fantasy key.

Fantasy it may be, but what if it’s also a metaphor for our willingness to open our minds? What if a single turn of this key can unlock our courage to explore new ideas, challenge our beliefs and make mistakes, learn from them and then build up confidence? I put the key to test. In other words I started drawing even more people and in a style that felt most natural to me and decided to focus only on the process, enjoy it without worrying about results.

These 5 drawings above are the fruits of my dogged efforts and reflect my altered mindset. I used watercolours and crayons to make the process even more exciting and developed this gestural style that I’m growing quite fond of and wish to explore further. Rest assured there’s going to be one overworked key in this house!