Old Timey Subject Matter Matters
Dear Sarah - Day 132 of our daily drawing exchange
May 12, 2025
Hi Nikki,
I was entranced by an old photo (1899) I saw on Instagram of a woman training a horse. Apparently it is a famous image--as it should be. The way the photographer, Felix Thiollier, caught the drama and the motion of the scene is electric. Drawing it seemed like a good idea...
What I'm sending today is the underdrawing, wherein I try to capture the motion of woman and horse. Definitely a WIP, and I think I'll switch to charcoal when I get the damn legs right on the damn horse!
I had to take my car, a 2010 Honda Fit, to the autobody shop today to get a couple of things fixed. My insurance paid for a rental, and I was given a 2025 Volkswagen Jetta, the smallest car they had. Now, keep in mind that I bought my car new 15 years ago, and have an aftermarket backup camera and Apple CarCare from about 12 years ago. I have not driven a new car for a very long time. I did know how to start the rental car without a key, but I had no idea that new cars can sense rain and darkness, and come equipped with not only Bluetooth, but a wireless phone charger!! I felt like such an old lady, but it did give me (and my son, when I told him) a good laugh. Now I want a new car! Which is not gonna happen, but I have 9 days to enjoy the rental!
XO S
Hi Sarah!
Oh, I am intrigued by whatever is coming next (and I feel your pain re horse legs and the drawing thereof…) I can also totally relate to the delights (and mysteries) of driving a new car. A button to turn it all on? Sensors to keep me in the lane and to warn me when a pedestrian is walking behind me in the parking lot… locking onto the car ahead on the highway and automatically adjusting speed when in cruise control… Well. I. Never. This year is a big year for me - my first ever new car… You will soon get to meet Bloop as I’m hoping to pick you up at the airport in Calgary when you come to visit/write/draw this summer.
Back to drawing… Around here there is a HUGE conversation ongoing about balancing the needs of locals (just try to find a property here that’s affordable for normal humans with normal jobs), visitors (who find much to enjoy in our little town and who need places to stay, eat, recreate), and those who come and go and are lucky enough to be able to afford a second home here. Where should we build more houses? Infill? Build higher (what about the views?) Spread out? (What about the wildlife?) Here in the older part of town there are very few small, old, homes left - but one is right around the corner (now sold) and is dwarfed by the recently completed four-plex next door. The old house may or may not still be here by the time you arrive in the summer and when I walked past this evening I snapped a photo with the intention of drawing the contrast between the old and the new.
The shed front left is actually listing, not just having a perspective problem.
When you are here, the weather should be warmer so we can go find a picnic table somewhere and draw. Very much looking forward to that!
Until tomorrow -
Nikki