About

Hi, I'm Jan and I'm 32. During the day, I write software at a big tech company but at night, I moonlight as an artist! This blog is about my journey to learn something new and have fun exploring the world around me with my pencils and brushes.

If you're wondering about the name of this blog, in a previous life, I lived in China and Taiwan. One of my favourite Chinese sayings is 摸着石头过河, "crossing the river by feeling for stones". I like the pragmatism and spirit of experimentation it expresses and strive to bring it to my artistic work. I also chose it because early on when I got interested in drawing, I was mostly following people from the urban sketching communities who draw the stones that make up cities.

Thanks for visiting and I hope you enjoy. If you want to get in touch, I'd very much enjoy reading your thoughts at <my first name>@drawingthestones.com. I'd especially like to hear from you if you're learning a new art form as an adult. Once in a career, it's easy to get stuck in the rut of the day to day and it needs a lot of bravery to face being a beginner again, I struggle with it often as you'll see in my posts. If you're in a similar position, you have my respect and interest and I would love to see your work if you're willing to share it with me.