It had been a while since I played in my sketchbook with absolutely no idea where I was going.
I started with scraps of paper, paint, colored pencils, and whatever else happened to be within reach. I liked some of what was happening—the blue sun, the heart, the sweeping brown lines—but the finished spread itself?
Not so much. 😆
Still, I wasn’t quite ready to give up on it. So I did what I often do when I’m stuck: I photographed the page and took it into the digital space. Using AI and Photoshop, I began pushing the fragmented, angular qualities further—layering, reshaping, adjusting color, and seeing what else might be hiding in all that chaos.
The vertical stripes across the right side came later, and they were what finally pulled the piece together for me. They added structure, but also a little interference and tension—which felt fitting.
The final piece is still chaotic. Still a little strange. But unlike the original sketchbook spread, it now feels fully itself—bold, complicated, and not especially concerned with being agreeable.
I named her Unruly.
