The Easter Robin

Sketch on mix media Canson sketchbook, 11" X 14"

His Peeps have been keeping me company, 
right outside my windows.

Three, four Robins, sometimes more.

Since the heavy snow, 

they come close to the house. 

Hop hop, walk walk, peck peck. Stand. 

Hop hop, fly fly, walk walk. Stand.
Peck peck. Catch a worm. Walk walk,

Stand. 

Early this morning, 

he stood very still, staring at me.

"What??"

"Come on, sketch me! I'm posing!

It's a gift. Take it!

Sketch me in this little patch of light.
And, SW, I'm here to tell you,
you can find your own patch of light,
instead of that dark place you were in yesterday."

"I'm here for you.

I am The Easter Robin."

Finding my Sunflower Voice

I have been continuing to sketch my sunflowers.

One artist suggests to draw something100 times in order 

to really get to know it. 

I've been re-finding my ease with sketching

after not doing it for awhile.

I probably won't make 100 versions of my sunflowers,

but I did make 3 more renderings this morning.

And I did notice new things each time.

I didn't enjoy the above rendering 

(2 posts ago) which was made

after a long period of not drawing.

Not because I thought of it as good or bad, 

but because the process & end result

didn't reflect my spirit. 

It was a labored study 

rather than a more dancing,

free-flowing, good-feeling process.

It was important to do, to start somewhere,

but I am happiest when I am sketching lightly. 

Why do I draw? 

It's the feeling I get. 

It's in my whole body,

rather than just in my eyes.

And it's the feeling of my calm mind.

I respond to gesture & movement

in a subject.

When drawing the sunflowers 

on the back patio this morning 

I loved the flickering, changing morning light, 

the delicate fluttering 

of the petals, the cool air.

The vivid yellows & greens 

against our still gray landscape.

And the flow of water on my brush,

 the luscious paint.

The freedom of not thinking about what my 

picture would look like. 

Sometimes I draw to bring pleasure to others,

with more focus on product,

as in a card or sketch for sale. 

But even then, I need to find pleasure 

in the act of drawing itself. 

Why do I draw?, I ask 

as I watch snippets of drawing lessons 

on YouTube.

(I've been writing answers in my journal.)

I'm happy to be drawing again,

& to come back around to my true

Sketchbook Wandering self. 

If you are a draw-er, 

what is it that you enjoy about drawing?

Yellow Therapy

 I finished the final paste up on my yellow folio book.

The text is in French (I hope not incorrect French...) 

Le jaune. 

La couleur du bonheur, du soleil. 

Une couleur animée. Le jaune, lumineux, joyeux, positif.

Yellow, the color of happiness, of the sun.

A lively color. Bright, joyful, positive.

 

(The first draft, above, is in my Jan. 22 blog post, 

titled "What I've Been Up To".)

The accordion folio folds up neatly into a booklet.

From time to time I crave YELLOW.

Like a visual form of Vitamin C.

The yellow Dixon Ticonderoga pencils from the 50's

still make my heart skip a beat!

"...I would send you a bouquet of newly sharpened pencils

if I knew your name and address."

 ~You've Got Mail.

Autumn yellows against blue sky in a nearby state park.

Talk about lively!!

Muted yellows and ochres in Arles...

Love! Thank you, YELLOW!

Do you have a color that is uplifting or healing?

A Gift of Sunflowers

My neighbor dropped off a gift

of a big bunch of sunflowers.

They cheer me,

especially on these grey, rainy days

in a world that is struggling,

and while I am in most of the time.

It's been awhile since I've drawn on a larger scale,

(about 11 by 12 ").

I did this as an electronic thank you note 

for my neighbor. 

Thanks to YOU for visiting me here.

Please do leave a note.