For nearly four decades, I hardly drew at all.

Life has a way of filling every empty space. There was work, family, responsibilities, and eventually a used bookstore to run. Like many people, I quietly told myself that someday I'd get back to the things I loved.

Someday became years.

Then years became forty.

I never imagined that a simple pencil and a blank piece of paper would change the direction of my life.

Here's the video that inspired this article:

Ironically, I didn't return to drawing because I suddenly felt inspired.

I started because I needed a different creative outlet.

For years I created gardening videos on YouTube, but the physical work was becoming harder on my body. I wanted to build something I could continue creating for years to come. Drawing seemed like the perfect place to begin, even though I hadn't seriously picked up a pencil in over forty years.

The first drawings weren't masterpieces.

Far from it.

Some of them make me smile today because I can see every shaky line and every beginner mistake. At the time, though, I almost didn't upload them because I didn't think they were good enough.

I'm grateful I did.

Every drawing taught me something new.

One line became another.

One sketch became another.

One video led to another.

Slowly, something unexpected happened.

Drawing stopped being just a hobby I had rediscovered.

It became a purpose.

Those simple sketches eventually grew into my Lost & Found Critters, tiny illustrated stories about animals who lose something important before finding hope again. What started as a few drawings has grown into prints, digital downloads, coloring books, storybooks, and this website.

None of that was part of the original plan.

It simply grew one drawing at a time.

One of the biggest lessons I've learned is that purpose doesn't always arrive before you begin.

Sometimes purpose is discovered while you're doing the work.

That's why I believe so strongly that it isn't too late to return to something you once loved.

Whether your passion is drawing, woodworking, quilting, photography, writing, gardening, or something completely different, you don't have to be an expert to begin again.

You just have to start.

Your first attempt won't be your best.

Mine certainly wasn't.

But every page you create...

Every project you finish...

Every small step you take...

Moves you closer to something you can't yet see.

If you've been waiting for the perfect time to return to a forgotten dream, maybe today is that day.

Forty years passed before I picked up a pencil again.

I'm thankful I finally did.

Thank you for visiting the Hand Drawn Project.

I hope my drawings, videos, books, and Lost & Found Critters remind you that even after a very long pause, creativity has an amazing way of finding its way home.

Keep creating.

Mitchell Trumble