Azalea - almost

I'm getting there!  I must admit, as I stare at this little twig of blossoms, I am re-evaluating my stance on azaleas.  Well, native ones anyway.  This is so frilly and pretty!  Like a Spanish dancer twirling her skirts... I'm sorry you can't see the detail with the low resolution of this scan, but I think you'll see more with the finished drawing.

Azalea - continued

You can barely make out my faint pencil sketch - the first thing I lay down when I do a colored pencil drawing on paper.  Sadly, not enough time today to take this further.  Will finish tomorrow!

Azaleas

We bought our house in the dead of winter, and moved here in the summertime, so experiencing our first spring was a complete surprise.  I didn't know what to expect. What would pop up out of the ground? What would bloom?  I was sure it would be a feast for the eyes.  So I was very disappointed to discover the only flowering things on the property were a few measly daffodils, a neglected stand of peonies, and azaleas.  Tons of azaleas. One of my least favorite shrubs.  OK, the masses of flowers are stunning for a few days, but then what?  You end up with a scruffy bush with small, flat and thoroughly ordinary green leaves.  Yawn.  And our yard was full of them.  As one landscaper remarked categorically, "Your property is over-azaleaed."  They were everywhere, where flower beds should be.  And not in any particular color scheme, either.  In front of our house, for example, there's a whole sea of azaleas in every shade of pink, red, white, coral, lavender and flaming orange.  I'm not kidding.  What were the previous owners thinking when they planted such a jarringly hideous color combination? 

Over the years my irritation grew, until I had an epiphany a couple of years ago when I stared out the kitchen window one spring morning.  Aha!  I get it!  We are living in the Yellow Submarine!!  Back in the 60s, when this place was built, I am certain the owner said to her yard guy one day, "What we really need out front is a big mass of azaleas!"  And he said, "Groovy, Mrs. P.!  Like wow, man, I can do that for you."  And without a moment's hesitation, he planted a tribute to The Beattles right in my front yard.  'Hallucenogenic' is the only word to describe the riot of color out there. It must have been the most hip-looking place in the neighborhood.  Now, fifty years later, we're stuck with what I call a Mature Baby Boom Landscape out front: scruffy around the edges, thinning in spots, and yielding once a year to one loud, nostalgic, psychedelic scream.
 (I'll post the drawing tomorrow...still working on it.)

Paul

Well, as long as we're on  the subject of capturing a likeness (or not), here we have an example of not exactly capturing the likeness, but capturing some essence of it.  This is a quick sketch of Paul playing Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata.  I will be the first to admit I am not especially good at drawing people.  This is why I chiefly draw plants.  However, every now and then it is good to go beyond that comfort zone and try to hone some underdeveloped skills.  So I picked up the pen when Paul sat down to play for us last night.  Now when someone as talented as Paul is playing the Moonlight Sonata so beautifully you want to cry, and his whole body is one with the music, channeling Beethoven . . . no sketch can do justice to that sublime moment!  But if the sketch is done well enough, it will trigger the memory of that moment better than any photograph can.

 

Henry's sketch

I've been having so much fun sketching that Henry wanted to have a go.  "This doesn't look like you, Mom, but still I think it's a pretty good sketch!"  I agree!  We can amaze ourselves if we drop the notion that "we can't draw."  Of course we can!  We can write; we can draw.  If you just try to draw what you see, and not what you think you see, something wonderful will happen on the paper.  I promise!

Ten Minute Sketch #1

I managed to do a quick drawing today while waiting for Henry to finish physical therapy.  Hooray for philodendrons!  King of indoor plants.  Really tough to kill them, though I've managed to put an end to several over the years.  When they are healthy, they almost look plastic they are so shiny green. This one in the waiting room is happy as can be.

Egg #1

The incredible, edible egg.  Great subject.  Love to capture the shaddows, the roundness, the smoothness of that shell.  Stippling with pen and ink is fun, too.  Always the question, though . . . when do you stop?  There's always room for one more dot!

Right Hand #1

When in doubt, draw your hand.

Dogwood Day

Today the dogwood trees in front of our house are at thier peak of pink.  You wouldn't believe the brilliance . . .   like clouds of Pepto Bismol.  It is almost too much!  Fortunately, there is a riot of color happening everywhere just now, so the gaudy trees out front don't call undo attention to themselves.  Every year I say to myself, I'm going to paint this blossom.  It is so leathery and stiff and delicate all at the same time.  It pops out of a swollen bud almost in the blink of an eye.  Thankfully, it hangs around longer than the pear or cherry blossom, long enough to get our full attention before it gives way to the full cloak of green leaves sprouting further up the branch. 

Pebble #1

I don't know what it is about rocks... I really enjoy drawing them.  You are going to see many pebbles and stones over the course of the year, I imagine.  This is one of my favorites.  I keep a pile of favorites next to my drawing table, artfully arranged, of course.  They have come home with me from all corners of the globe, bits of Greece and Australia and Georgian Bay and elsewhere all thrown together in a heap.  Sometimes they are part of a still life, and sometimes they are useful in flower arrangements.  Mostly I just like looking at them, thinking about their journey from mountain or ocean to my studio.  And how much energy it took over the millenium to wear them down from craggy fragment of earth to polished round smooth stone.  I don't know whether the years are buffing and polishing my rough edges like this stone, but I like to think so!

Gratitude

I would just like to say a word about gratitude.  I began this day knowing I had a lot on my plate, knowing I didn't get to the drawing table yesterday or the day before, worrying that this little project of mine would crash and burn just a week after its launch.  But then a wonderful thing happened, like a wave of warmth washing over me:  Gratitude.  I am such a fortunate, well-loved human being I can hardly believe it!  The reason I am days behind in my responsibilities and projects is because family and friends took time from their busy lives to celebrate my birthday.  They came from far and near.  Some stayed for days.  I got whole chunks of practically uninterrupted time with my children, my husband, my special friends and relations.  I am not worried about things left undone.  I am not fearful this project will fold.  There is a time and a place for everything!  And this past week has been the time to connect, to celebrate, to live.  Tomorrow I'll start fresh, just like the sun-washed morning after a spring rain, all sweet-smelling and full of promise.  How wonderful to be truly alive!  That is gratitude.

Tulip Attempt

Coming along...

Doodle Day!

Tulip Mania

I have a tough time drawing tulips.  Probably because there is no room for error when it comes to drawing the long, fluid lines of the stem and the precision and symmetry of the petals.  But I do love them.  I am not alone.  The tulip was introduced to Europe in the mid-16th century from the Ottoman Empire and quickly became a rare, prized luxury item.  Collectors fought over the bulbs to the point of hysteria in the early 17th century.  During the Dutch Golden Age, tulip futures trading created the first speculative bubble in history.  At its peak in 1637, contract prices for some tulip bulbs sold for more than ten times the annual income of a skilled craftsman!  Alas, the Greater Fool Theory hit its tipping point and prices crashed, bringing an end to Tulip Mania.  I don't know.  I think there are still plenty fools like me out there in love with tulips.
(stay tuned for the drawing...)

The clock is ticking . . .

This goes to show that you can get pretty far along in a drawing in ten minutes if you adhere to a couple of basic rules:
1.  Make it a teeny weeny drawing
2.  Make it a line drawing
This gorgeous arrangement was delivered to me yesterday and took my breath away.  Big hunky huge white hydrangea (my favorite!) and spring tulips, lilies and blue iris.  Thank you Madeleine!  I could settle in to a twenty hour study of this one, no problem, but here it is after 10:00 PM and I'm only now sitting down to do my daily draw.  (Clearly, I have work to do in the Time Management Department!)

Today is my birthday!!

You might think this is a strange drawing to begin this project, but hey, it is what is on the drawing table at the moment . . . I found this possum skull a few years ago and I've been wanting to draw it ever since.  The pearly white curves on top and sharp jutting jawbone below are so beautiful, and only hint at the animal that once was. Even after he is long gone, this part remains to inspire. Thanks for this gift, Mr. Possum!