Lindsay Oliver
WRONG HANDED
I have always loved to draw, paint, and write. When Covid hit I hadn’t left my house for a year, because of painful back spasms, which I found difficult to manage due to I’ll-health (I have multiple sclerosis), and disability (I use a wheelchair full-time). I had long ago given up drawing because of weakness in my preferred left hand. I found it impossible to write because of my inability to concentrate because of the stress of lockdown. When I came across the 100 day project, I decided, with little hope of success, to draw, using my right, non-preferred hand, every day for 100 days. These are those drawings.
I chose what to draw at random. I started with a self portrait, then moved on to things I could see from my bed. I drew my left hand for the first time. I completed drawing exercises to improve my skills. I drew from real life, from photographs, and from my imagination.
I found it difficult and frustrating. At first, I lacked control and my hand would often go in the direction opposite to the one I wanted. But slowly things improved, and I found I was enjoying drawing again. I also found that my right hand’s drawing style differed from my left hand’s. Before becoming ill, I made big bold drawings that were focused on expressing and evoking emotions. Drawing with my right hand, I became more concerned with accuracy and detail.
The experience was transformative for me. I discovered I could draw again. Multiple sclerosis is a progressive neurological condition. Its progression left me grieving one loss after another. Yet amid the losses that Covid brought on a global scale, I had regained an ability I thought lost to me forever.
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