The Quick Sketch

Quick sketch on hot press 140 lb. postcard size "Fluid Watercolor Paper: The Easy Block"

Sometimes you have to work really fast. It could be that your companion is waiting for you. And that it's cold & your fingers are freezing. Sometimes it's awkward, balancing a little sketchbook, your pen, your waterpen, your watercolor box, & your paper rag while standing on a sidewalk on Main Street, sketching a display. And sometimes, if it's windy & your rag blows away, you go chase it halfway up the street, laughing, because you know you must look absolutely ridiculous.  And when you return, your watercolor box falls to the ground, upside down & leaves cadmium red on the sidewalk, but it's OK because it's watercolor, after all. Sometimes the shop owner comes out while you're sketching because she's opening up & you exchange good mornings & she tells you who it is that made the display & what a wonderful job they did & you tell her to please tell the person that you agree. And the owner stays to chat a bit, about how mellow the weather was yesterday & how it had been her birthday & what a great walk she took & you tell her how you all had hiked in Acadia, & isn't it so different today, the weather?  When you're done, you quickly throw everything into your bag & return to your companion & even though what you have is a seemingly unfinished, scribbly sort of thing, you feel great because you got to really see that display & you hadn't known that there were 2 olives trees growing in big pots & you hadn't known how beautiful each individual plant was, & how many colors there were. And your electrodes or endorphins or whatever they call it are now all aligned because you had spent that brief moment seeing & drawing. And it's still morning & you have the whole day of Sunday to look forward to!