In a world of AI, why I still draw by hand

There has never been a quicker way to make an image.

Within seconds, artificial intelligence can create landscapes, portraits, logos and illustrations that would once have taken hours, sometimes days.

It's extraordinary.

And yet...

I find myself reaching for my pen.

Not because it's quicker.

Quite the opposite.

Because drawing slowly asks something different of us.

It asks us to notice.

The way someone holds a mug.

The curl of a dog's tail.

The tiny gap between two people sitting on a bench.

The way sunlight catches the edge of a leaf.

Drawing isn't simply about making a picture.

It's about paying attention.

It's about saying,

"This moment is worth noticing."

Perhaps that's why I've never been interested in perfect drawings.

I'm much more interested in honest ones.

The slightly wonky teacup.

The scribbled line that somehow captures a smile.

The sketch that still carries the movement of the hand that made it.

I don't think illustration is becoming less important.

I think it's becoming more human.

In a world where images can be generated instantly, a hand-drawn line tells us something a computer never can.

Someone was here.

Someone noticed.

Someone cared enough to spend time looking.

And perhaps that's what I'm really drawing.

Not mugs.

Not frogs.

Not school shirts.

Just little reminders that ordinary life is full of extraordinary moments.