✏️ Capturing the World with a Pencil – My Path into Art
Louisa Lindholm, artist in her studio
For as long as I can remember, I’ve had a deep curiosity for learning new things. But it wasn’t until I asked one of my older sisters to show me how to draw that a lifelong passion truly took hold. It all began with a graphite pencil – and drawing is still where I feel most at home.
As a child, I was often the one sitting at the edge of the schoolyard with a sketchbook in my lap. While the other kids were running and playing, I let my pencil wander across the paper. I drew flowers, gardens, houses, and people – anything I could imagine became an image. It was a way to create a world of my own, shaped by my hand.
✍️ Drawing as Language
Even as a schoolgirl, I realized that drawing was more than just a way to pass time – it became my way of expressing myself. There was something peaceful about focusing on the details: a leaf bending in the wind, a barely-there smile, shadows cast at an angle across a table. Through drawing, I wasn’t just depicting things – I was feeling and understanding them.
When I started at Silago High School and took my first art course, my interest deepened. I was especially drawn to portraits. Faces say so much – not just what a person looks like, but what they feel, think, or long for. I loved sitting in silence, tracing the lines of a face, carefully shading life into the eyes and cheekbones. It’s still one of the most rewarding parts of my artistic process.
🎨 Graphite, Charcoal and Ink – Techniques I Love
There’s a special beauty in black and white. Graphite, charcoal, and ink allow me to work with contrast, texture, and subtlety in a way that’s hard to replicate in color. I appreciate the simplicity – the stripped-down honesty – but also the precision required to capture something using only a few tools.
I often begin with soft, light lines, almost like a map of the subject. Then I gradually build form with light and shadow, layer by layer. Sometimes I use an eraser to bring out highlights; sometimes I work directly with stronger strokes to add drama. Drawing, for me, is both meditative and technically challenging – a balance I return to again and again.
👤 Favorite Drawing Subjects
People and animals are recurring themes in my drawings. I love capturing expression – a glance, a posture, a fleeting moment. It could be an elderly man with a thoughtful face, or a small puppy with tilted ears. The true portrait emerges in those small nuances.
Flowers are another subject I return to often. Their shapes and patterns are perfect to explore through drawing – from a simple line sketch of a bud to a detailed study of a petal in deep shadow. Here it’s not about color, but about structure, form, and rhythm.
🎨 Painting – A Companion to the Line
Though drawing is my foundation, painting has become a way for me to grow as an artist. Oil painting in particular has opened up a world of color, layering, and creative freedom.
But even when I paint, I notice how important drawing still is to me. Almost every painting starts with a careful sketch, and my focus remains on form and expression rather than color effects. I see painting as a way to deepen the world I’m already building with my pencil.
🌱 Creativity as a Way of Life
For me, creating – especially drawing – is not just a way to work, but a way to live. When I draw, I feel most present. The pencil becomes an extension of my thoughts, and every line tells a story. It’s in the quiet focus, the careful process, that I feel most whole.
My hope is that my images can offer something to you as a viewer as well. Maybe they stir a feeling, a memory, or simply a moment of stillness. Perhaps you’ll see something new – or something familiar – in a subject you thought you already knew.
Thank you for taking the time to read!
If you’re curious about my work, would like to book a portrait, or just want to say hello – don’t hesitate to reach out.
/ Louisa Lindholm
Artist focused on drawing and portraiture
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