Out Standing (sitting) in the Field

My "typos" drive me batty - fending off flies.

I sat in the pickup Sunday while my husband did fieldwork.  A ticker tape of "I should be drawing" sputtered through my mind as I sat waiting.  Did I draw?  Of course not.  Instead, I read the paper (tick tick tick) checked Facebook and email on my phone (tick tick tick) daydreamed... a lot.  (tick tick tick)  Why is it so blasted hard to start when I really do want to?  It's not a mystery.  That nagging voice insisting it won't be perfect so don't even try.  It's a sketchbook for Pete's sake!  It's not going to be hanging in some museum!  Yes, I do often have these internal arguments.

I finally pulled out my pen & a hand-sized Moleskine Cahier stashed in my purse specifically for these found moments.  What to draw?  The biting flies were persistent - hence the bug spray line drawing.  There's some satisfaction in quieting the voice - SILENCE!  Just as I was getting into the groove, the tractor pulled out of the field and rumbled down the road.  Time to stash the pen & put my shoes back on. (It was getting warm.)

A couple miles to the next field and parked again.  No hesitation this time.  A weathered wood post said matter-of-factly, "Me next."  It was an odd angle and the foreshortening was a challenge, but I dove right it.  We weren't there long and I didn't finish.  However, in the process, I realized something.  Though I have grown accustomed to, and will continue to use, the tidy dark Microns & Copics, a nice fine ballpoint is a better match for my sketching style.  Little discoveries like that make me smile.  Ahh - insight.