An illustrator who began drawing as a way to pull herself from a ‘dark place’ when she lost her father and went through a break-up has won the hearts of hundreds of thousands of fans with her incredibly relatable art.
Mari Andrew, 31, is a writer and artist based in New York City. The California native has 624,000 followers on Instagram, an upcoming book, and a firmly established spot in the online creative community—yet, she never went to art school and began drawing as a hobby.
Through her art, the talented Andrew has explored themes such as break-ups, death, and awful dates, but also resilience, life in New York City, and life’s simple joys.
Touching: Mari Andrew, 31, has won the hearts of hundreds of thousands of fans with her incredibly relatable art, which chronicles the highs and lows of life
Illness: The California native recently shared this drawing, which illustrates her struggle with Guillain–Barré syndrome, an autoimmune disorder that left her paralyzed for two months
Feelings: Through her art, the talented Andrew has explored themes such as break-ups, death, and awful dates, but also resilience, life in New York City, and life’s simple joys
After years of trying to find her ‘thing’ throughout her twenties, Andrew decided to experiment with various activities that made her happy. She bought a cheap watercolor set and got starting, drawing in addition to her day job in marketing.
At that time, she was dealing with her father’s death and her break-up, which happened within a small time frame. Andrew also found out she had to get cancerous cells removed during a ‘pretty traumatic’ surgery, as she recounted in a video.
‘I felt like I was at the bottom of a pit,’ she told Nylon in a previous interview. ‘I had to pull myself out. It took months to decide what was going to bring me out of this. I just wrote lists of things that make me happy. I liked to draw. I wanted to learn how to play guitar. I wanted to learn how to dance. So I just started all these hobbies. The doodling one stuck.’
The artist has since explained that while drawing soothes her, it’s not her passion, or even a passion.
Joy: After years of trying to find her ‘thing’ throughout her twenties, Andrew decided to experiment with various activities that made her happy
Process: The artist has since explained that while drawing soothes her, it’s not her passion, or even a passion. She enjoys sharing one illustration a day on Instagram
Experiences: When she started drawing, Andrew was dealing with her father’s death and her break-up, which happened within a small time frame
‘I always felt a lot of pressure to find MY THING throughout my twenties,’ she wrote in a post in August. ‘I’m 30 now and still haven’t found it. So if you’re feeling pressure: I’ve learned that a passionate life doesn’t mean finding ONE THING that is the center of your life. YOU are the center of your life, and all your interests and curiosities can float around you like good company and consistent friends.’
At the beginning of her drawing career, Andrew resolved to post one illustration a day on Instagram.
She kept up with this self-imposed challenge, not by putting pressure on herself, but by relying on drawing to bring joy into her life.
‘That was the amazing thing about having such a tough year, I just didn’t care anymore,’ she told Nylon. ‘I didn’t have to have a career. I didn’t have to have a boyfriend. I didn’t need to have abs. I can exercise because it makes me happy. I can start drawing because it makes me happy. It was very freeing.’
Honest: Andrew recommends using one’s toughest experiences as inspiration, and often touches on grieving, dating struggles, and other difficulties in her drawings
Experiences: Earlier this year, the illustrator was forced to stop drawing for two months after being struck by Guillain-Barré Syndrome while traveling on her own in Spain
Little by little, Andrew gained more followers, and she now has more than half a million people following her daily drawings.
Earlier this year, the illustrator was forced to stop drawing for two months after being struck by Guillain-Barré Syndrome. She was traveling on her own in Spain (solo traveling is celebrated as a source of joy in her drawings) when the autoimmune disease, which results in paralysis, started manifesting itself.
‘The symptoms felt like something was really wrong with my limbs,’ Andrew told SELF after recovering. ‘Both my legs and hands felt really heavy. I could barely draw, and it just felt like I couldn’t control my hands. I couldn’t walk very well, either.’
Feeling weaker and weaker, the artist, who was staying in a small town, tried to catch a bus to Granada, but collapsed as she tried to leave her hotel. She first landed in a local hospital before being transferred to Granada.
There, her symptoms got worse at first, then started easing, and Andrew made a ‘remarkably fast’ recovery.
Her experience with the illness eventually inspired some of her drawings, including one in which she explained how alienating it can be to be branded ‘inspiring’ when you have a disability.
‘Having a disability doesn’t automatically make you inspiring, and hearing “You’re strong” wasn’t a great consolation prize when I really just wanted to be dancing and drinking sangria,’ she wrote in a post.
Multiple outlets: Andrew, who has also expressed her creativity through writing throughout her life, has a book of essays coming out in 2018
Hope: ‘All of my favorite things I’ve created came from a deep place of pain or plaguing confusion,’ Andrew said about her creative process
‘I learned (once again) how good it feels to be listened to while I was afraid and in every way weak, and not pressured to be a beacon of inspiration while going through something I certainly didn’t sign up for.’
One of Andrew’s most recent drawings, which she shared two days ago, shows her in a wheelchair at the bottom of a mountain. At the top of a mountain is a sign that reads: ‘Life! Is happening here!’
‘Self-portrait, March 2017. Except I couldn’t use my hands then so I drew this in my head,’ the artists wrote. ‘If you have trouble walking, I’m thinking of you. If you assist someone who has trouble walking, I’m thinking of you. Even going to a coffee shop in March was a very scary event for me, and just as challenging for my mom (who had to wheel me there). So much of regular daily life felt so, so far out of my reach. It really meant a lot when someone would help get the door.’
Andrew, who has also expressed her creativity through writing throughout her life, has a book coming out in 2018. While she drew the cover art, the book is filled with essays she has written about various topics including finding oneself, dealing with heartache, and feeling at home in a new city.
She also has an online course, in which she teaches how to use drawing as a self-discovery tool. Andrew recommends using one’s toughest experiences as inspiration.
‘All of my favorite things I’ve created came from a deep place of pain or plaguing confusion,’ she told her friend Susana Alexandra. ‘You may think “I’m working this lame job, I’ll never be a true artist.” But what you don’t realize is that your lame job will become part of your art. I’m serious! If you keep creating throughout the hardest, loneliest, ugliest, directionless times of your life, you’ll some day wake up and realize you paved a highway heading toward a really spectacular place.’