Know more about Sky!

Sky is an illustrator, also self-proclaimed life enthusiast and healing soul. She creates emotional illustrations… ‘with a pinch of salt’! Her captivating creations and unique style are the output of a life lover, troubled soul, positive spirit and a beautifully creative mind amalgamated together. Her profound positivity and creativeness aim to not only touch a soul but move them one step closer to their best self. She also aims to amuse — who doesn’t need to lighten up a little? — and succeeds so very well indeed! Sky‘s illustrations are a blessing and a booster to everyone’s life journey and we are so happy to have her onboard FeelJoy!

We decided to ask her a few questions about her take on self care, self-love, about her journey and a few other things. The answers made us fall in love with her all over again. Here’s presenting to you some Sky-goodness!

1. What does self-care mean to you?

Sky- “I have spent the majority of my life battling with my own self. Taking in a lot of negative feelings from life circumstances that were out of my control or understanding, and taking them out on my own self. I have always been a kind person, yet never to myself (I have come to see this a lot in others too, which is a big drive behind sharing my illustrations). Understanding all this (which is a slow, painful and life changing process), and then learning to forgive my past self, accept that I am human and embrace vulnerability was the first step to self-care for me (an ongoing lesson, no doubt). Realising that life is really ‘too short’ and I’m the prime responsive of living my own best life are equally my drive for wanting to be as healthy as possible (inside and out) and thus truly embracing and investing in self-care.”

2. Why do you think self-care is important?

Sky-“To be a healthy partner (in business, romance, friendship, etc), a member of any large or small community group –the core for us humans-, I firmly believe we first must be a healthy individual ourselves. Anyone who is able to love and care for themselves is a strong a positive pillar of any group, and moreover a source of happiness and prosperity — for themselves and subsequently their surrounding environment.”

3. What message are you trying to convey to the world through these illustrations?

Sky- “I would say I create emotional illustrations, with a pinch of salt. And sometimes I just create for fun! My creations are the output of a life lover ~ troubled soul ~ positive spirit ~ creative mind in self-discovery. The whole scope of my illustrations going public is the hope that one more soul may be positively inspired, brightened or amused today.”

4. How and when did you come up with the idea of making sharing your illustrations with the public?

Sky- “It was literally an eureka moment, in the sense that drawing illustrations came to me one day and the next I had my first post up on @skybanyes. But it’s fair to say this ‘eureka’ moment was fully backed up by three factors: — a lifetime of art loving and creating (though never before illustrations), -my therapist advising me to incorporate art as an expressive outlet (seeing as it was for years so hard for me to ‘get things out’), and third –being a passionate life enthusiast driven by self-development and transmitting positivity to others.”

5. How has the journey so far been? How is the response?

Sky- “Honestly, the people’s response is by far the biggest motivation and achievement in this journey. Their support, whether it be their letter long messages telling me how much my illustrations brighten their days, or whether it’s their purchase of my creations and delightful feedback upon receipt, literally means everything to me. Moreover it is what encourages and allows me to pursue this (let’s be honest, not easy) journey further.”

6. Were there any challenges you had to face during the whole process?

Sky- “There are two challenges I face (present tense) in this journey, which are intertwined. One of them is time. The time to work so hard on my creations (because being an artist is much more than the few hours you sit down and ‘draw’) while maintain a full time job to support me and allow me to do this in the first place. The other challenge is the well-established struggle of every single artists out there (shout out to y’all) to be taken seriously and fairly compensated for the work that we do — no, it’s no hobby nor piece of cake. (Cake? Did someone say cake?)”

7. What are your plans for the future?

Sky- “I feel like my life has been a long ‘off-road’ drive to the ocean. Starting this was like finally reaching the shore and dipping one toe into the water. This feeling is unmet — a combination of pleasure, excitement and overdrive to dive deeper and further.
I’m planning, working, and dreaming about it every day.”

‘Don’t be afraid of the unknown for it’s what makes sky magical’

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