Tag: everday matters

Something To Be Thankful For

DRAWING

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I’ve been gone for a while, but I’ve had a wonderful week! Birthday celebrations (mine), guests from out of town and a general sense of well-being that comes from looking in the mirror and realizing that even though I’ve grown a year old, I still don’t have any crow’s feet. YES!!! Life is good. Now back to drawing.

I’m posting some drawings I’ve done last week of my husband Michael. I’ve decided that should work for EDM Challenge 42 – Draw Something That You are Thankful For. Well I am thankful for Michael, my best friend and all-around favorite person. I could go on for quite a bit about all the wonderful things about him. But I’ll skip all that mushy stuff. He knows why I like him so much and that is the important thing.

The drawing above is an attempt to work with watercolor pencils. It seems that everything I’ve been trying lately has been such a struggle for me. While I like the drawing, I don’t like the muddy look of the shadowed side of the face. I also know that I would much rather use a hot press paper than cold press. The texture of this paper was really unsuitable and I struggled mightily with it. But you don’t learn if you don’t try, right?
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This is a quick sketch of Michael I did while we were sitting outside having coffee yesterday. I don’t know why I like this one so much. I think because I feel I really captured his characteristic squint/frown that he gets when he’s reading the paper. I used my sepia Pitt Artist pens and then colored it with watercolor pencils when I got home.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope you come again.

Drawing in Public

DRAWING

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These little sketches may not seem like much, but to me they represent a personal victory. I finally got up the nerve to draw in public again. When I was a teenager I drew all the time. I drew during class, during lunch, on the bus. I can’t remember when I actually stopped. Probably when I finished school and had to grow up. Like many people I dropped drawing to pursue more “effective uses of my time.” Silly me. I went to college. I eventually ended up studying accounting. How did that happen? As for productive use of time, I never even finished.

When I came back to drawing again (15 years later), I was so rusty I was ashamed to show anything. I only drew at home and I would cover up my sketchbook if my husband came into the room. I finally got over myself a bit and began to take classes. It helped me quite a bit, but I still never quite felt “safe” drawing in public.

street.jpg Everyday Matters challenge 36 is to draw out in public. So I did. I plunked myself down in a cosy chair in a coffee shop and drew quick sketches of what I saw out the window. I don’t know what I was so worried about.

These sketches may not be masterpieces, but they are special to me because they will always remind me that the fear of doing something is always worse than the doing of the thing.

Thanks for stopping by! Your encouraging comments contributed to this victory. I appreciate you all so much. 😀