A Good Man

In recent posts I've mentioned my pop-in-law's medical crisis.  It has now come to an end and I feel compelled to share.  Bear with me.  This is an art blog and I'll include how my artist was affected, though it seems a small thing compared to his struggle.

2014 will always be the year without spring.  Flowers bloomed, leaves appeared, and nests were filled.  We scarcely noticed.  Early tulips held no joy.  Recent irises are melancholy.  I couldn't draw spring.  I managed a few other pages.  Some held concerning objects like prescription bottles and hospital masks.  Others, though not medical, will forever be markers of the ordeal, such as the day we took my pop-in-law back to the hospital or the moment of hope at the nursing facility.

Days and weeks passed.  Improvements were fleeting.  Father and son are close, having farmed together since forever.  The growing concern weighed on my husband.  My sisters-in-law came often, but between visits relied on us for information - worrying at times from afar.  I had no desire to sketch or even cook.  We existed on a drive thru diet to and from the hospital.  We watched my pop-in-law's health sink beyond hope.  There was little comfort in food or nature or art.  I've seen other bloggers draw their loved ones in the hospital.  I couldn't.  The man in the bed was not the spirited, jovial man I had known for 30 years.  To draw him now seemed a betrayal.

Al lived a long, good life and was a man of faith.  He was a husband, father, grandpa, farmer, veteran, dancer, welder, crooner, poker player, bowler, galushki maker, and favorite uncle.  Extended family was precious to him.  He was quick-witted and had an amazing knack with one-liners.  He was ready to lend a hand or give advice.  When he offered praise, it was honest and true.  He was grateful for harvest field meals, but it took years to earn a firm compliment of my cooking.  What a day of victory that was!  I will miss our banter.

We are in process of digitizing old faculty files in my office and last week I came across a lovely comment regarding the 1941 death of the university president.  The sentiment expressed suits my pop-in-law...

My son aptly stated yesterday - It's still sad and weird, but we will be alright.  Healing will be found in each other and, to some extent for me, in sketching life continuing around us.

Life Happens - Draw It

It's hard to get on a roll when life keeps happening.  We unexpectedly admitted my pop-in-law to the hospital for heart-related issues Tuesday.  He's getting better and will be going home soon.  I could've been sketching while tests were happening, but I lose interest when in coping mode - something to work on.

Back to the trek.  In addition to working through Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain...

I'm tackling my list of must-read art books - because that jungle grows daily.  The latest library trip unearthed a shortish book on John Singer Sargent, a fat book of illustrators from 1900 to 1960, and Webb on Watercolor, which has great tips on painting your own interpretation instead of exactly what you see.  The issues mentioned last time happened when I got to the "encounter" (now-you-do-it) pages.  Not quite ready for his loose style.  Instead, I will dive into One Watercolor a Day - a birthday gift from my dear husband.  I also happily discovered our library has Guptill's Rendering in Pen and Ink.  Yes!  Saving that until Drawing on the Right Side is complete.

I have been adding to the Live Simply planner nearly every day.  About a year ago I posted tiny drawings from a very tiny calendar.  I got halfway through the year with that one.  I'm hoping to make it all the way through this year.

There was a photo shoot Sunday.  Of course, you-know-who had to check it out.

Some entries were done rather quickly after a crazy or stressful day, as in the first photo below.  My team was awful, awful, awful and I was very vocal.  There is more (sloppy) writing than drawing on some days and others are mostly sketches - like supper on the stove.

I recorded our first portrait without the kids.  My sweater had a long cowl-type affair in front and long beads that are now immortalized as a strange medallion or something.  Also, this is not the best likeness of my husband, but it's just a sketch, so I'm posting it anyway.

I leave my planner on the end table now instead of the night stand, so I have all evening to remember it.  I still sometimes procrastinate & have to catch up.  It's amazing how much you forget after just a day.

I also signed up for Sketchbook Skool (and you can too because it's for everyone regardless of drawing skills or lack thereof).  That starts in April and we can chat about it more then.

Waiting with Pens

My husband had a few medical tests last week (all results normal - whew!) and I spent a couple of hours in a waiting area.  I hadn't expected to wait so long and didn't bring extra art supplies.  However, I did have a thin Moleskine and pens strategically stashed in my purse.  The usual procrastinating first - Facebook, email and such - and then sketching.

My husband sat with me and chatted between testing portions, so sketching time was broken up into three sessions.  First a hugemongous potted plant and then, of course, my shoe.  It soon fell asleep (my foot, not the shoe) and that was that.

fine ballpoint on Moleskine Cahier

The waiting room had a wall of windows with a nice view of some native grasses and the parking area.  I switched to the Copic pen.  My husband walked out as I was adding the framing leaves.  "Is that a Dodge?"  He glanced from my drawing to the pickup outside.  "Oh, nope it's a Ford."  Oops - I had ignored the partially hidden logo.

Copic multiliner on the Cahier

Sketching in public is a little less nerve-wracking now.  The details of the moment are forever connected to these pages, especially the good news!

NaBloPoMo

No, I am not typing with mittens on.  The title is correct.  I just discovered November is National Blog Posting Month or NaBloPoMo.  I knew of NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month).  My sister is a writer and partakes every year in the writing frenzy.  I was oblivious to the blogging event.

Catherine Carey mentioned daily posting today and I thought  "Wow, she's brave, especially in the busy month of November."  That rolled around in my brain a few minutes until I decided to check it out at BlogHer.  Hmmm - supposed to be taking little leaps on this journey.  Plus, I'd conveniently already accidentally posted on day one of NaBloPoMo.  Perhaps, in some odd way, this relates to yesterday's post about doing something every day - badly or otherwise?  Well, what the heck, let's just do it!  I signed up and put the badge on my blog and here we go.  Now I have to put away Halloween stuff, pick out carpet, do dishes and check on the caterpillars before I can make some time to make art to share this month.

2 down... 28 more to go.

Capturing Inspiration

Scattered amongst the sketches are inspirational quotes from blogs or books - mostly art related.

These thoughts are from An Illustrated Journey by Danny Gregory - a book full of illustrated journal artists telling their own stories.  The left side is Suzanne Cabrera and the right is Lisa Cheney-Jorgensen.  There are more, but I won't share all of them.  I highlight or underline meaningful quotes in books I own (never library books - just don't!).  Recording these directly into my sketchbook, and adding bits of illustration, helps them stick a little better.

So it Begins

As promised, the first two spreads of the little blue sketchbook...

 Appropriately, the first sketch is of my feet - on the dash - where they are about half of the time we travel.  However, my right foot really is not that much bigger than the left.

Sketching people you know is weird, at least for now.  I did this so fast and slyly, that my husband didn't have a clue I was drawing him.  I showed him on the cycle trip to the car show.  His response - "What did you do to my nose?"  In all fairness, it's really not a great likeness of his face.

Itty Bitty March

We painted flowers for week four of the virtual class and I'll share soon.  In the meantime - my tiny daily calendar continues.  Here is a bit of March.  I stayed home the 19th & 20th to clean and reorganize the junk storage guest room - drawers, shelves and closet.  My daughter used the closet to stash anything she didn't know what to do with when she cleaned her room.  Many forgotten "treasures" were found.  The closet now houses a stack of drawers for my art supplies! ... and a few prom dresses... and a letter jacket ... and a few dance costumes... but the majority of the space is all mine!

Itty Bitty Scribbles

One of the plans that evolved last fall was to draw a bit of the day every day.  While not as elaborate as intended, a new daily habit has resulted.  The drawings were initially sporadic.  Then inspiration hit while perusing calendars in December.  Notebook planner = new daily sketchbook.  However, I wound up with this pocket-size baby.  The spaces are small, so the challenge is to record the day with at least one tiny drawing.  Using the fine point of a 0.05 Copic Multiliner pen, I scribble (my handwriting is atrocious) a few highlights with itty bitty illustration.  The goal is to get in the habit and next year move on to bigger spaces - more drawing.

Here's just a bit of my itty bitty February.

The smile is the day our 17" snow began.  I like snow.

Also, real daily sketching has returned.  Today - random objects and views from the couch.  Lazy Sundays can be productive as well.

Stick(man) It!

Let me make this perfectly clear.  Anyone, I mean AN-EE-ONE, can keep a sketchbook or drawn journal!  Drawing ability is irrelevant.  It's all about making marks.  The act of scribbling on paper is therapeutic.  It can be literal scribbles, stick figures, recognizable shapes, or words mingling with drawings.  I know I neglected my art for most of my adult-ness, but I've been inspired and I want to get other people in on this.  So, several family members received some kind of sketchbook and drawing supplies for Christmas.  They laughed when I told them not to just hand the nice sketchbooks and quality drawing pens & pencils to their grand kids.  Grown ups need to play too!  One brother has an obvious natural talent.  He probably laughed the most.

A month later, that same brother sent me a birthday card with a stick figure preprinted on it and commented how this is what his drawing efforts would look like now.  A statement which makes it obvious he is ignoring my pushy art supplies.

So, this one's for my gift-ignoring brother.  A full page of quick stick figures.  Now pick up that lonely sketchbook or calendar page & DRAW A FEW OF YOUR OWN.  Yes, I just yelled that.

Sleepy Cat - Sleepy Artist - Sleepy Plan

Milo sleeping on my art books

Tuesday:  Sketching sleeping Milo - not easy when he's easily disturbed by the dog, the husband, bugs, noises, sudden dirty fur spots, etc.

Wednesday:  At midnight - an insanely quick sketch of sleeping stick people.  I was beat & it was a lame attempt to keep up the daily drawing.  I'm just barely counting it.

Thursday:  Brought out the conte crayons from the tackle box.  Considerable fun testing the colors & making swirls on the page, then turning them into a random group of leaves.  Later that night - quick little doodles in the little sketchbook illustrating the worst and best parts of the day.

The past few days have hatched two plans.  One - spend a few days, or a week or two, sketching the cat (& likely the dog who is tired of the cat hogging my attention) until it feels familiar.  Nice to have a specific goal for the pages.  Plan number two - make a quick sketch in the little sketchbook every night of the best and worst things that day.  I'm a bit excited about that one.  Will it be a temporary obsession or develop into one of those lovely life long habits?  This idea came from another blog and I lost track of which one it was.  Sorry unknown blogger - I'd like to credit you, but I was evidently too scattered that day.

Conte crayon fun -  It's Autumn!

the good and the bleh

PS  While researching art blogs, I happened upon a blogger who intended to draw 365 days in a row.  Her last post was day 10 - in 2009.  I wonder why there was no day 11 or 12 or 365...  I am grateful I've passed day 10 - still here & still drawing!