Hi Nikki - January 12, 2025
I didn't start drawing until after dinner tonight, so I am going to attribute the extreme wonkiness (or is it wonky-ness?) of my drawings to the fact that I am tired and drawing in artificial light. Probably more the former than the latter.
At first I tried to draw a hand painted sugar bowl from the Quimper region of France. It's from a set of dishes that my mother was given for her wedding, back in the mid-1930s. Turns out this innocent little bowl, with its cracked lid and charming little woman (there's a charming little man on the other side) was WAY too ambitious. So instead of excoriating myself (my go-to response), I put it aside and picked up a kitchen whisk to draw. Complicated but somehow much more forgiving. Does it have anything to do with one object being freighted with history and memory, thus rendering it less straightforward? When I look at the wonky whisk, I smile. Its wonkiness has charm, I think. I don't even want to look at the wonky sugar bowl. It has "mistakes were made" written all over it.*
I had a friend-filled day today, which was, as my mother used to say, "a balm to my soul." She also used to say "Procrastination is the thief of time." I know what she would have said about doom-scrolling. "Go outside" or "Go read a book." I did both today, but I also procrastinated. Thanks, Mom.
*This reminded of Life in Hell, a wonderfully weird comic (and book) by Matt Groening (of Simpson's fame). I have included here one of my favourite panels.
Dear Sarah - January 12, 2025
Speaking of mistakes… sigh. Drawing a sumo wrestler is difficult, even when having decent photo reference handy. Yesterday we were treated to a behind-the-scenes viewing of a practice session at a local sumo stable. We were able to sit in and watch as the wrestlers stretched, chanted, did drills and then fought some practice matches. I hear there’s a Netflix series set in a sumo stable and now that I’ve been to one, I’m keen to watch when I return home (imminently - we will soon be back in similar time zones!!)
After my frustrating efforts to try to get the quick sketches even vaguely close to accurate, I imported the reference photo into my iPad and then used it inside Procreate to provide enough guidance to get the basic proportions correct.
Even though there are only a few lines, they are at least in more or less the right places, which makes a world of difference.
We are packing and then heading off to the airport later today - what a great trip we’ve had!! I have so many cool photos of random things in my phone I wouldn’t need to leave the house in search of inspiring stuff to draw for at lease a decade!
For now - sayonara!