Birds from the Shelf, Wheelchair on a Shell
Dear Sarah - Day 54 of our Daily Drawing Exchange
Dear Nikki,
February 23, 2025
I didn't feel like doing any online tutorials today or doing a lesson from one of my books--all those things are certainly useful, but the results often feel a bit lifeless to me. So I grabbed a few things off the shelf and started drawing.
The birds are all ceramic--handmade and full of personality. There used to be three ducks (this is the mother duck). Her ducklings met an untimely end when they tried to fly off a high shelf in a small child's bedroom. The bunny is a small solid brass paperweight that my mother inherited from her mother. Its facial features have been worn away by over a hundred years of handling.
Tomorrow is drawing class--I think we're going to be focusing on pen and ink. Never tried that before.
I had hoped to go for a short walk today after Kianna's birthday party, but it was raining by the time I left the party and I was tired and coughing up a lung. Party was a big success (if shrieking and spilling lemonade and dropping ice cream cake on the floor is anything to go by).
I couldn't get to sleep last night--thinking about Revise or Die. I even turned on the light and made some notes, which I incorporated into a scene when I woke up. I have come up with a plan for another suspect on the island...
I assume your Sunday was busy, and hope you are safely home now. I keep forgetting to thank you for being the keeper of the Substack flame. I know it's one more thing for you to do, and I appreciate it--and you.
XO S
Dear Sarah -
What a fun menagerie! I got stuck on a project that was weirdly harder than expected - drawing the simple (apparently not) shape of a Camino shell.
Several failed attempts and I got as far as this:
… which will, I hope, become part of something relating to what I’m working on for the collaborative essay/art project I’m working on with Dani.
Have fun at drawing class tomorrow! It’s always very cool to see what you tackle/what you learn.
G’night -
Nikki